The Washington herald., 1918-04-28

thur Henry. turned him toward
story writing. The two had met
while Henry was city editor of the
Blade. and Dresser q reporter look
ing for job. (The episode Is re-
lated in "A Hoosier Holiday.") A
frm friendship sprang up and Hen
ry conceived high opinion Of
Drsisier's ability. and urged him to
try q short story.
Dreiser was distrustful of his
own skill. but Henry kept at him,
and finally. during a holiday the
two spent together at Maumee.
Ohio. he made the attempt Henry
had the manuscript typswritten and
sent 1t to Ainslee's Magazine. A
week or SO later there came check
for SIS.
This was in 1898. Dresser wrote
four more stories during the year
following. and sold them all. Hen
ry now urged him to try q novel.
but again his distrust of himself
held him back. Henry finally tried
q rather unusual argument; he had
q novel Of his own on the stocks
GA Princess of Already" published
in 1900, and he represented that
he was in difficulties with IL and
in need Of company.
On day in September. 1899. Dresser
took q sheet Of yellow paper and
wrote a title of random. That title
was Sister Carrie" and with no
more definite plan than the mere
name offered. the book began. Il
went ahead steadily enough until
the middle Of October, and had
come by then to the place where
Carrie meets Hurstwood. At that
point Dreisler gave 1t up in dis
gust.
1t seemed pitifuliy dull and in
consequential. and for two months
he put the manuscript away. Then,
under renewed urgings by Henry,
he resumed the writing, and kept
on to the place where Hurstwood
steals the money. Here he went
aground upon a comparatively SIM
pie problem-he couldn't devise a
way to manage the robbery. Late
in January he gave 1t up.
But the faithful Henry kept at
him. and in March he resumed work.
anu SOOu lhc eNOIy hhiohNu. 4 hS
latter part, despite many distrac-
tions, went quickly. Once the manu-
script was complete. Henry suS-
gested various cuts, and in all about
10000 words came out. The fair
copy went to the Harpers.
They refused 1t without ceremony.
and soon afterward Dresser carried
the manuscript to Doubleday. Page
and Company. He left it with Frank
Doubleday. and before long there
came notice of its acceptance, and,
what Is more, a contract. But after
the story was in type 1t fell into
the hands of the wife Of one of
the members Of the arm, and she
conceived SO strong q notion of
its immortality that she soon con-
| WINGED her husband and his asso-
ciates.
There followed a series Of acri-
| monious negotiations, with Drets-
| er holding revolutely to the letter
OF his contract. 1t was at this point
that Frank Norris entered the COM
| bat-bravely but in vain. The pious
Barabbases, confronted by their
signature, found it impossible to
throw up the book entirely. but
there was no nomination in the
bond regarding either the style of
binding or the number of copies
to be issued, and so they evaded
| further dispute by bringing out the
| book in a very small edition and
with modest unstamped covers.
Copies of this edition are now Gag
erly sought by book collectors. and
one In good condition fetches about
$26 in the auction rooms. Even the
second edition Qs0O, bearing the i'm
print OF B. w. Dodge & Co.. carries
an increasing premium.
The passing years work strange
! farces. The Harpers. who had re-
| fused Sister Carrie with a spirit
bordering upon Indignation in 1900.
took over the rights Of publication
from B. W. Dodge & Co. in 1912, and
reissued the book in new formal.
with a publishers note containing
SNUG quotations from the encomiums
! of the Fortnightly Review. The
Athenaeum, The Spectator, the
Academy and other London critical
journals. More. they contrived. hu-
morously to push the date of their
copyright back to 1900.
But this new enthusiasm for artis-
tic freedom soon died. They had pub
lished Jennie Gerhardt' in 1911 and
they did 1.-THE Financier" in 1872, but
! when "The Titan followed in 1914.
they were seized with qualms and
| suppressed the book after It had got
into type. In this emergency the
English firm Of John Lane came to
the rescue, and 1t has remained
Dreisers publisher ever since.
/ For his high services to American
letters the head Of Doubleday, Page
& CO., Walter H. Page. was made
ambassador to England. where ISIS
ter Carrie" Is regarded according to
the Harpers) as 1.-THE best story, on
the whole, that has yet come out OF
| America" A curious set of episodes.
Another proof, perhaps, Of that Cos
mic imbecility upon which Dresser
himself is so fond Of discoursing.
Modern Civic Art.
Modern Civic Art q. p. Putnam's
Sons, N. " written by Charles Null
ford Robinson, Is a book Of all books
for Washington. II there is any city
in the country wthoe residents have
both studied and practiced civic art
It Ii Washington. the National Cap
ital.
Nevertheless. Mr.. Robinson tells 6
great deal more about how cities are
made beautiful than we have ever
learned, or ever will learn, from Con.
gressional debates on the subject. Be,
ginning wita an explanation Of his
book, Mr.. Robinson deals with every
Imaginable problem that is apt TO q
1 NA In ~