Cottonwood chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1917-current, 1923-05-11
DESCRIBES OLD
new YORK
HUSSMAN SAYS HE is NOT
NARY HUGHES AS SOME
THINK.
Editor Of The Chronicle,
Cottonwood, Idaho.

Cottonwood, Idaho.
Dear Sir:
The letter, or advertisement Of
Mary Hughes, appearing in one
of your late issues, has, SO l am
informed, been thought by many
to come from me and in justice
to the lady, the firm, the man or
whoever or whatever it may be,
l hasten to inform you and your
readers that / am not Mary
Hughes. Most emphatically notl
Of course / don't know whether
there would be any money in
writing a series of letters like
that nor can / tell anyone any
thing about whether they would
be worth the money. Probably
they would, that is if one were
interested in reading about New
York. That first one sounded
breezy enough and if they are
all like that they should be
worth reading, if for no other
reason than to see the childish
delight that some find in any
thing that is new to them.
No, l can't give you any light
on those letters even tho 1 feel
complimented by having been
considered the writer of that
advertisement. All | can say is
that if / were trying anything
like that l should choose another
field as there are many other
communities in the west besides
the one | happened to come from
and if there is any particular
interest in this city it is probably
as great in one place as in
another. For my part, if the
people of Cottonwood and Camas
Prairie care to read anything l
am able to write about this place
or any other places where l have
been I shall be glad to write ana
send it to you and then the only
cost will be what it takes you to
print it. Should it happen now
that Mary Hughes is really a girl
who came here to make living
and just happened to pick on the
people of Cottonwood to see
whether it would pay to send out
letters like that well, my heart
isn't made of stone. If she can
show damage due to my competi
ton I'll not only make good on
that end Of it but will buy her
good dinner and take her out to
a show afterwards. Could any,
thing be fairer than that?
However, it isn't likely there
would be any real competition.
This is the city where bunk
flourishes as tho it were under
hothouse forcing but | take it for
granted that Mary came here
just the way she says she did
and that she really feels about
these places the way she says
she does. In that case she can
write interestingly about these
places whereas l, well, years and
years and years ago / found
what is known as a philosophers S
stone and before l really knew
what I was doing had picked it
up, Now, the peculiarity about
such stone is that once picked
up it remains with one always.
1t can't be given away, stolen of
even lost and the person having
it is always more interested in
the people he finds in place
than in the place itself. That
is in how they live, why they
live, what they think and so on
Besides all that when I start out
to write about anything | never
know just what I am going tt
say so that even tho | am sup
posed to write about New Yorl
there will probably be as much
in it of everything from raising
children to the best apples to ca
in the fall as of the actual sub
ject. Still, as | am to write abou
our no mean city suppose W.
have some of that first.
Well, New York is so big tina
it is hard to describe it so tina
the reader will have any idea o
what it is like. In the main tn,
it looks just like the pictures OF
the post cards. How true that i
of every place! Of course tho
don't expect ever to get to an,
place that doesn't. Only, o
course. the colors are not quit
so brilliant. They never are. Nc
not even down in Washington
But for something of a descrir
ton. How wish / hadn't lost tn
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