The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1916-05-24
The Age of Gold.
~ Or. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915. by Frank Crane)

article of mine entitled 1.-THE Agebi
Brafs." A'young friend, who writes
living, has just sent me the followbs'
letter. There are thousands of yolts
writer's who are toihng in Greater Go
street who may perhaps profit by rex
ing it: II
I'D like to answer that Age of Bra
thing you wrote. For the past this
months have been working on the pAr
ciple that the Age of Brass is bunk r.
ton. made up my mind to cut out n
hack work so far as possible, put the d
lars just as far out of mind as | cou.
and write my best. gave up my r
room and moved my worldly goods III,
a New York hall bedroom which forme,
ly had no distinction above being e
office. Thus saved myself about d6
lar day in rent | bought no nj
clothes and kept patching the seats +
my old ones. | cut off all expenses tlF
weren't absolutely necessary, seekiP
first the kingdom-and | don't say tn
in jest, but in deadly earnest. | had
audience now; my mother, you kind
was the audience in the old days, and
pleased her | didn't care what the oil
ers thought. The result was surprisi{
I've sold nearly thirty manuscripts, me-
ly all of them written with entire dis I
gard for whether or not they were bred
winner bets; and as writer | neNt
have been half so happy in all my l5F
1t seemed all a matter of swallowing n
pride and taking the desperate plumb
! was losing interest in writing but MI
I've got it back. Best of all, have
least one token that the quality is col
ing up-the other day landed one of u
little essay paragraphs in no less NH
ket than Century!
81 didn't pity myself on my hall b{k
room discomforts for more than a wdI
or so. Pretty soon | got sort of sn(
itual eXaltation out Of the idea, and colt
tell every one what | was doing and nj
feel the least humiliation in it. You II
member Tom, the southern kid liked \
well. Toms been making lots of mon(
doing hack commercial art. When I'll
him what ! was doing, the good side 4
him just naturally brimmed over.
got up and paced around the room, all
wanted to know more and more. | til
jim, and Jim began to spend little md
time on all his work and hire models oil
ener instead Of taking. Tom went to 1
art exhibit on Fifth avenue yesterdlI
and saw some work that one of the fsJ
mer boobs Of the class was produciTj
The boob had stuck to his guns
worked on the things he loved to do, \
stead of on the things that make an eat
living, and the boob was doing thini1
that made Tom restless as the dey1
Before the years out you'll see Tom md
ing out Of the Royal and taking a litfI
skylight studio in Brooklyn or a farid
house in Woodstock. There's lot J,
your Age of Brass idea, but a wht1
lot more in the Age of Gold. Stevens,a
said something when he observed:
1--WE are not cotton spinners all, 4
at least, not all through. There is soI!
life in humanity yet, and youth will nd
and again find brave word TO say in ds
praise Of riches, and throw up stuatiI
to go strolling with a knapsack. Aye,
even III ~ SCthlIlS VIC nv VI IOiu
this the Age of Brass.
"This is what you get for preachingl
you have to stand by once in while at
hear upstairs preach back at you, ev,
from r-dollar-a-week hall bedroom
Youths with patches in the seats of thdi
trousers, by heck! Youths who didn't /
to the Authors League dinner last mig !.
because they figured that five dollan
means day and half's eXpenses-a do,
and a half that can be spent in doing q
essay that may never sell to anybody, bl,
will be as well knit as if it were SOM,
thing ordered by the Atlantic Monthly. |,
Behold me, former acting managik
editor of Blanks Magazine with HI,
name in Who's Who and paying an 10
come taxi reduced now to hall bedrooS
and rejoicing in it! | used to run raclt
with my expenses and my pride. Now
make little, and spend a little less an
if / met my pride on the street cou'
laugh at his embarrassment. The mot
study the problem the more convince
am that all the folks who get along tx
easy way get nothing out of life but fal,
ter pay checks. Whenever my inconf
threatens to run over $50 a month,
finish that month by writing somethiH
that | used to put off because it mean
too much hard labor. All ! lose in wh$
7 used I'm call ntide I oct hack in eeIf rli