Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-10
THE CHAFFING DISH

I'm your travels round among authors
said the reporter, you must come across
many amusing things. Do you find people
who write agreeable to deal WITH"
The publishers eyes twinkled. He
opened his mouth as though to speak; then
caution appeared on his lineaments and he
said nothing.
About those manuscripts" said the re-
porter. ''Do publishers have to go out
looking for stuff do their greatest finds
come to them Unexpectedly and unsolicited?"
Again Mr.. Doubleday looked round appre-
hensively. half as though he expected to see
windows thrown up and unpublished manu-
scripts fiuttering at him all down the vista
of the little street. Through an open case
ment came the aggrieved voice of an author
complaining that his novel had not been
sufficiently advertised. The visitor began to
look more at home.
" A RE there any particular authors in
"A Philadelphia that the publishers are
specially interested imp
Il think every one is Watching Mr.. Her
gesheimer's career with much interest"
said Mr.. Doubleday. "And one wonders
whether Mr.. Owen Wister is writing any
more novels. A new novel from his hand
is something the book world would look for
Ward to with keen anticipation -
"A great many young English writer's are
visiting this country these days Do YOU
think they are superior to our own younger
novelists?"
'Candidly, l do" said Mr.. Doubleday.
They have a certain richness of appeal.
they seem to have thought over their material
more carefully and show a greater subtlety
IN their presentation of the story Perhaps
1t is due to the fact that there is more
established leisure class in England. But
YOU mustn't forget our own novelists of
serious artistic purpose, Harrington, for
instance After William Dean Howells,
isn't he the greatest American novelist TO-
day! One interesting thing to be noticed
is the great number of women who hold high
| places in our literary ranks. In nv deal.
ings with writer's l think l see more women
| than men.
"INHiS is very prosperous season in
the book business. Prohibition NAV
| prove to be stimulus to the book trade.
ieople VIII get the habit of staying at home
| in the evening. Even the printers strike
| though hope it is only ephemeral. NAV helm
| the sale of books. If there is shortage of
magazines for any length of time people will
| turn to books for amusement. People are
| reading many more serious books than thew
| dld, Particularly there is a very great in
| terest in psychical matters. Recently wa
had three books on psychical topics offered to
us in one week The movies, which were
once said to be going to take the place of
books, seem to have helped the business.
| Now that many theatres have raised their
prices, some people remember that for the
| price of theatre seat one can buy two or
three books. The other evening | wanted
to go to The Follies.' When / was told
that two seats would cost me $50 I deter
mined to buy some books instead. l went
out and bought book on psychical experi-
| ences, book on the Arizona desert. a vol
ume of Bernard Shaw's plays and Nav
Sinclair's new novel. All I need now il
about years vacation to read some of the
books I've bought. And if you ask me what
think is one of the most hopeful signs in
the literary world, it is the growing ponu
larty of Joseph Conrad.
ST UNFORTUNATELY said Mr.. Dou-
" bleday, 81 don't know Philadelphia
as well az l would like to. | used to come
here years ago, when Y was working for a
certain. magazine which has since become n
very great magazine indeed, but then had
very small circulation. In fact, we none
OF us knew just what the circulation was,
and in the three years l worked for il
was never able to find out. My mission over
here was partly to collect bills and partly to
solicit advertising, and the hard headed
Philadelphia advertisers seemed to think
they ought to know what the circulation of
our magazine was before buying space. Sc
| used,to pound the Philadelphia pavements
and got an impression that your city was
rather hard hearted. / am very happy ia
have chance to come here again and revise
the impression"
II BY this time the rumor that a publisher
u was nearby had gone down the street Of
a authors and artists. and the bright eyes o
81 inteliectuais were gazing beckoningy throusl