Evening star., 1925-07-25
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW 1of(A, july Z0.-SOmeWnere
In the vicinity of Balboa, Canal Zone
sun-bit captain of marines with a
Texas drawl is bossing the u. s. s.
Rochester's complement of leather
necks, placidly Indifferent to the fact
that the literati of New York have
named him the greatest writing find
since the war. He knows that his
first story, illustrated by himself was
given the most prominent place in
Scribners Magazine last month"; and
he was told in a cable that it was
warmly received, but the sluggish
mails have yet to inform him that his
second vivid war narrative had been
accepted by Scribner's for its lead"
position in the September issue, and
a third short story. sent back to New
York since he sailed for the tropics,
also has been accepted.
This newest author is John w.
Thomason, jr. His story, Fix Bay
onets," an account of the charge at
scissors, in the June Scribners
brought a flood of letters from vet
ing his colorful and undistorted tale.
These communications are now in the
mail, forwarded by the publishers to
the far-off writer.
Capt Thomason's second narrative,
which concerns itself with the ma
rines at Blanc Mont. was held by
Scribners until the editors sensed the
reaction of their readers to FIX Bay
onets' War stories are looked at
askance: the public is not supposed
to like them and the fate of the sec
ond manuscript frankly rested on the
reception of the first.
Whatever doubts the editors had
were so completely dispelled that
they accepted Thomason's second
story on June 10 and wrote him 1t
also would have first place in Scrib-
ner's. He already had been engaged
to illustrate a Navy story, An Un-
charted Course" written by Harriet
Welles, wife of Vice Admiral Nelles,
for the August Scribner's. About this
time Monkey Meet Thomson
first fiction story, came back from the
South and no time was lost in accept
ing it and accompanying sketches for
early publication.
Sticks to Marines.
Capt. Thomason has achieved over
night the success which thousands OF
young men and women are struggling
and scheming for. In reply 10 the
cable which first told him OF this, ne
walked over TO the heat-trled cable
station in Balboa and wrote: Il follow
it. l would be very happy if mate
rial of mine added to the reputation
of nv corps, but l hear no call to go
outside my professional duties to act
as press agent or that sort OF thing
my stories were written without
Interior motive and my drawings We're
made the same way. l wished to record
my impressions of certain interesting
events and l was more concerned with
the men who took part in them than
in the events themselves. The stories
were written in the West Indies dur
ing 1919 and 1920 from letters and
notes had made in the war.
"My drawings were made in France
or from material l had collected there.
did not think of publication when l
made them.
The drawings were seen by Miss
Ruth Thomas, secretary OF the Art
Institute at Newport News, and eX-
hibited by her there in 1923. Some
of them were shown to Capt. Lawrence
Stallings, U. S. NJ. c. (retired) of the
New York World. Capt. Stallings
took them to Miss Neysa McMein and
carried to Scribner's. l submitted my
stories to accompany the drawings.
Worked on Newspaper.
"I did some newspaper work on the
Houston Chronicle in 1916, and have
written tactical studies for service pub
locations. l am naturally pleased that
my stories and so forth were well re-
ceived, but l was assured by Capt.
Stallings and Miss McMein they were
good. They ought to have known. 1
know nothing about literary matters
myself.
II am fiattered by your cable, but
reply principally to express publicly
my obligation for the courtesies and
friendly interest of Capt. Stallings,
Miss McMein, Mr.. Joseph Chaplin (art
editor of Scribner's), and others of
that circle without whose efforts the
stories and things referred to would
probably still blush unseen"
Thomason's discovery as a writer
was, as he says, wholly Incidental to
the recognition of his talent as an
artist. Mr.. Stallings. author of the
novel "Plumes" and co-author of the
play What Price Glory?," heard re-
peatedly of Thomason and his war
sketches while he was serving in
France. Early this year he at last
prevailed upon Thomason to bring his
portfolio of drawings (many Of them
started on the backs of field orders
with the charred ends of matches). to
New York from Dover, N. j., where