New-York tribune., 1918-08-26
i" The A. E. F. "
By Haywood Broun

l SUBSCRIBED 10 Chipping ouieau.
Hearst's Chicago paper said that the book
should be in the hands of every mother in
the United States, but then along came
somebody else to write that it was with
out adequate human sympathy" AS long
as the reviews ran in that fashion, some
spcuously right and other obviously
wrongheaded, there was fun enough in fol-
lowing the criticisms. But by and by the
clippings from the small town papers began
drifting in and was surprised to find that
the first two | looked at were exactly alike
Investigation showed coincidence i'm
possible for before | was done l had
twenty-five clippings from assorted papers
which varied by not much as a word
They were all favorable, too. l compared
them with the description of the book
printed on the wrapper and there identl-
fed the source Indeed, had suspected
much, for all the reviews spoke rapturously
Of chapter entitled, "Our Friend the Cen
sor" and there wasn't any such chapter.
1t came out in the revision. I remembered
that "Our Friend the Censor" had appeared
in the original chapter list which I gave to
the publishers, and somebody in the house
was SO enthused by the titles that he COM
pleted his review three weeks before the
book was written.
I turned my consideration then from
criticism to more constructive work. First
7 lectured at a department store, where the
man who introduced me said | would auto
graph any books bought at the end of the
lecture. They had the books heaped up
head high at the back of the ROOM In their
lookoI 1ika
stacks of gold or laundry soap. The dis
play kept me short of my best form all
through the talk.
II can never sign all those books and get
home to dinner" kept thinking to myself.
Three people came up at the end Of the
talk. l signed my name for the old lady
with the ear trumpet and the little girl
with the sailor hat. I told the stout lady
that I had not happened to run across her
brother in France.
Later lectures did not seem to go so
we'll and SO I turned to a more persuasive
and less public scheme for booming circu-
lation. I went into numerous bookstores
and made careful search to see if I could
find "The A. E. F." If it was there told
the clerk that I was just browsing around
and didn't know what wanted as yet.
Gradually working over to the "My Four
Years in Germany" counter near the door,
| generally managed to make an ncon-
spcuous exit. If the book was nowhere
to be seen I boldly asked for it, At least
l did up to the time tried Gimbel's. There
the young regarded me stonily when
| made my request.
"What's the authors name?" she said
brskly
Fear and embarrassment pinched me in a
salient. lied, as l always do when get
scared 81 don't know the authors name,"
I said unsteadily "but it's book about the
American army in France" I wanted to
get away at once, but she insisted on going
through Chldrens Books, Recent Fiction
and New Thought before she would admit
that the book was not in stock and allow
me to depart
However, there was method in such a
wide search on her part l remembered
that | had felt perfectly safe in asking for
the book at Brentano's, only to have the
clerk fish it out from the middle of a coun-
ter designated as "Truck and Gardening"
l didn't have the heart to refuse a pur-
chase, and the transaction constituted a
net loss of $1.35, which marks the differ
ence between my royalty and the retail
price.
There were other occasions also when 7
fell into traps, but nothing disappointed so
keenly as my trip to the store where lect-
ured One of my scouts got me into this
difficulty
They've only got one of your books left
at Wanamaker's," he said. I remembered
the golden mountain at the back of the
lecture hall, and it seemed to me that if
should go to the store and order two coniea
the book department. people would give me
the remaining volume and then order an
other huge cons ignment. looked over tho
ground cautiously and there was inst tho
one "A. (. F. rather worn and thumhad
by the many who had read part of the fret
chapter and decided that they didn't
want it.
Give me two "A. E. F's," I said Down
from the counter came one and then III.
clerk lifted cloth that concealed tho ca,
ern below. | followed her eyes as thev
rested upon yellow mass There was the
mountain.
OF course I should not like anvbodv n
infer from anything in this article that tho
book is not an excellent one and desorvod1v
popular, too. If I gave any other imnres-
sion would be unfair to D. Appleton g. Co