Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-02-12
SIXTY FIVE SHORT STORIES

LNDITOR MEN and successful authc~- al
IL ways advise young hopefuls to write love
stories PLAY up the love stuf' they reit-
crate with wise air And reading the maga-
zines casually, you get notion in the back
of your head that love stories swing about 80
per cent. of the space. But, like many other
popular Impressions, this is incorrect.
OF So fiction stories in II current magazines
only II are regular orthodox love stories-17
per cent The next most astonishing fact is
that there are Just as many stories about
married people as there about lovers
another II per cent. or course, in an ideal
state story with and his wife for
hero and heroine might be love story, too
but In fiction, in life, this is rarely the case.
So the IL married people stories are chiefly
about alterations and irtations and recon-
citations, and various relations.
The next most popular class of story is the
boy story, and there are eight of these, rang
ing from 17-year-old William Sylvester Bax-
ter, hitherto invulnerable and scornful writ
ing love poem to a beautiful unknown
whom he has has just passed on the village
street % to 7-year-old Lester, whose artist
parents neglected him, and who advertlses In
the paper for a home (2). Surprisingly
enough, there are only three war stories. 1t
seems to take time for the war atmosphere
to permeate the divine afflatus.
The serial stories are in class by them
selves, because they require distinct class
of readers, temperaments compounded of just
the right degree of courage impetuosity, pa
tience, perseverance and spare time There
are IL in the IL magazines.
The most prolific magazine writer at the
moment is easily Booth Harrington. He is
writing more of his famous Penrod stories
i,, t1,a aINp
older boy, aged H. in the Metropolitan He
also has grown-up serial in Harper's. The
next busiest man is John Galsworthy, with a
new serial in Scribners, a charming little
desert sketch, also in Scribner's, and Love
Letter to France" in the Atlantic Monthly.
To sum up the 65 stories, their main sub
jects may be classified as follows:
II Love-
II Married people.
Boys
Detective and mystery
Adventure.
Psychological analyses.
War.
Z Miscellaneous.
12 Serial.
The news item of the month in magazine
fiction circles is easily the marriage of Emma
McChesney, which occurs in the Cosmopoli-
tan (3). For several years readers of Edna
Ferber stories have followed the fortunes OF
this clever young business woman. who, by
q combination of hard work and breezy
charm, flooding the Middle West with
FeatherbIoom pettcoats. The "old man" of
the firm died, and his son. an attractive but
pampered young chap. did not have the cali
bre to step into his fathers place, so that
Emma McChesney was virtually boss" OF
the T. A. Buck Featherbloom Petticoat Com
pany, when she went to South America for
four months tour introducing Featherblooms.
On her return she found to her surprise that
young T. A. Buck had somehow risen to the
responsibilities which came to him in her
absence, and 1t VIZ with pang of jealousy
at first that she deferred to hm-but let
Edna Ferber tell about it. Emma and Buck
are sitting in front of the fire in her apart
ment, having dined together there; Emma
speaks:
"r. A., II want to tell you that know
I've been acting the cat ever since got home
from South America, and found that you had
taken charge. You see, you had spoiled me.
thing that always happens to those who as
sumo to be dictators. 1 just want you to
know now that I'm glad and proud and happy
because you have come into your own"
Buck sat silent for a moment. Then:
II had to do it Emma" She looked up.
then, and the two utterances seemed con-
nected in his mind. THE example you set
accomplished this; ii wasn't l."
Compliments seemed to bring no great sat
isfaction to the woman to whom he addressed 4