THE ILLUSTRATED BEE.
December 6,
Thb Illustrated Bee.
lubllBhed Weekly by The Bee Publlshmg
Company, Hps Building. Omaha. Nab.
Price, to Per Copy Per Tear. J2.00.
Entered at the Omaha Poslofnc aa Becond
Class Mail Matter.
For Advertising Ratea Address Publisher.
Communications relating lo photograph of
artlclee for publication snould be ad
dressed. "Editor in Illustrated Bee.
Omaha."
-
Pen and Picture Pointers
,H TIIAT mine enemy would write
a book!" exclaimed the psaimisi,
probably In his exasperation, Just
aa on another occaalon, In hl
hrat ha said. "All men are llara."
It Isn't recorded If David the king wanted
the satisfaction of reviewing his enemy's
effort, or If be was merely anxloua that
the offender should exhibit his own short
coming In his own way. Giving David the.
benefit of the doubt, It U to be admitted
that he would have passed on his enemy'
book with no less of satisfaction than Is
the lot of the modern who Is called upon
to sit In Judgment on the spirit In which
the task Is spproached. In the modern In
stance the critic Is not prejudiced by any
feeling of friendship or enmity for the
Writer; merely deals with the book Itself,
allowing no thought of the individual to
shade his Judgment. To be sure, the author
Is frequently of deep Interest to the reader,
but this Interest generally comes after the
book, and when the critic has pronounced
on Its merits, good or bad. It not Infre
quently happens, public opinion to the con
trary, that the critic gets as much genuine
pleasure out of the book as anyone.
Alas, for the critic. Too often the pub- -llo
refuses to heed him, and Insist on
eelng for Itself, and It Is not a rare In
stance that the critic has pronounced the
book bad, and the public has taken It to
Its heart and pronounced It blessed. Only
the more sober and aedote of the people
pay a great deal of attention to the critic,
and the result has been that the revlwer
has come to take very largely the plao
f the Individ'-. who formerly sat In
solemn Judgment on the work of the
writer. And the reviewer has learned from
experience, more or less sad, that the part
of wisdom lies In" merely pointing out the
text of the book. Its central thought. If
it have any, commenting Indifferently on
It makeup, and letting the reader decide
for himself. Book reviewing I not lightly
to be undertaken, though for the reason
that If "of the making of book there
la no end" was true when first said, how
much more true today. In these time of
fast presses and binding machine that
turn out book at a rate that astonishes
evn those who are In the trade. And
each turn of the press mean more work
for the book reviewer. This multiplicity
of production ha on decided advantage,
and that 1 It enable everybody to have
a fine collection of books, for even the
"standards" are now produced at a cost
that allows them to be easily owned by
Che humblest, and great works that once
were out of reach of any but the wealthy
are now within the reach of ail.
Other featurea of book making have kept
pace with the merely mechanical, and the
artistic side has developed a rapidly aa
any. Bo that nowaday the text 1 not
only embellished, but 1 truly illuminated
by the Illustrations that accompany, and
the Idea of the author la supplemented by
the Idea of the artist, the two combining
to Impress on the reader Just what the con
cept of the situation la or might be. And
Instead of being bound In somber black or
sober drab, the book of today come out
tricked out In colors and design that lend
a marvellous beauty to It exterior, a
pressing and Irrefutable Invitation to enter
and feast on the good things prepared
and watting within.
And in other ways has the progress of
the world In general contributed to the
making of books, for each move In ad
vance has opened a new vlata for ex
ploration, - and as fast a the horiaon of
human view has expanded the book writer
has gnne forward. New realms of thought,
new fields of activity, new avenue of In
dustry, hive iP required the pen and
pencil for their exploitation, for their
Justification, or for their Illustration that
the people may know. Today la the
theme, but the yesterday is not forgotten,
and out of the records of Its dead and
gone business and concern come themea
for novelist and morullbt. for historian
and essayist, for the serious and the gay,
and all are garnered home in the harveat
Of books.
Best of ail. the book of today la for the
people of today, and comes to each and
every one a welcome guest. It matter
not what the taste is, the book has been
written to supply It. literature has
spread a bountiful banquet eud invites you
What Makes
IF I could tell what causes the pop
ularity of a book I should not
give away my secret to the pub
lic, but exploit my discovery for
a money consideration, and I ap
prehend that the Income from the sale of
thl Information would enable me to be
come a formidable tlval of Andrew Car
negTe In erecting library buildings to house
these favorites of the public
It I a topic of never-ending discussion
among librarians an to what. caus?s the
popularity of a book and the answer are
arlcd and conflicting. The oldeH and most
experienced librarian la apt to be the least
arrogant In the statement of the reason
for his belief. From the librarian's point !
view It Is desirable to anticipate the popu
larity of a book Just Issued in order to
- wisely spend the fund set adds for the
purchase of books, always too limited, and
to avoid slocking the shelves with dead
literature on the one hand and on the other
hand to provide a sufficient number of
copies of the popular book to serve the
public.
AH librarian learn from their experience
to prophecy to a limited extent along cer
tain well defined lines. For Instance, It la
not hard to fortell that Christmas stories
will be in steady demand during the month
of December, as each season of the yeir
has its peculiar literature. One need not
be a prophet or the eon of a prophet te
predict the demand for literature on Pan
ama and everything ' connected with the
proposed canal. It la reasonable to ex
pect a call for book pertaining to the
Sue canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps, histori
cal and political work dealing with the
various grant made by the Central Ameri
can republic to the French and other for
eign nations, work on the Monroe doctrine,
geographical work, book on physical ge
ography and the effects of volcanic erup
tions and earthquakes, and an Increased de
mand for fiction dealing with political rev
'olutlon and stories with scene laid In
tropical countries The popularity of many
books depends upon the interest evoked by
stirring events taking place In different
part of the world. For Instance, the de
mand for book on Africa during the Boer
war extended from the travels of Living
ston to the memoir of Oom Paul.
The Interest In the development of gold
mining In the Klondike account for the
popularity of Harriman'a "Alaska." An
other cause for popularity Is due to local
allusion a In the case of "The Crisis"
by Churchill, where the scene I laid In
St. Louis. It required over 200 copies In the
Books in
OMAHA'S fame has been spread In
song and story, poetry and prose,
blank verse and blank without
verse. No history of the west Is
complete without anm Krmn
to Omaha, and the older editions of pic
turesque America, while with vivid Imagery
portraying In art and photography many
Impossible scene of the early days, did
Omaha the Justice of picturing the old
Union Pacific depot, the then gateway of
the west, with all Its homely elegance and
Omaha's humiliation.
Books have been written of Omaha, and
the city has always been a favorite theme
of the magosine essayist and the western
novelist.
Look, perchance, at Owen Wlster's "The
Virginian" and his unkind references to
Omaha's cafes and restaurants and the en
tree of phraseology that accompanied the
serving of the substantial. Meredith
Nicholson In his "Main Chance" was more
kind, and being an Omaha product did bet
ter by Omaha.
The Irascible and dyspeptic John G. Saxe
many years ago gave vent to his poetic
fancy In a virile effusion entitled. "Then."
It was a bitter arraignment of the young
metropolis, and called forth a few years
ago a poetic reply from Robert F. Williams,
a loyal friend of Omaha, entitled "Now."
The two poems should be read the latter
following the first to enjoy the full merits
Of both.
William R. Llghton ha during the pres
ent year. 1903. produced a very good book.
In which many of the Incidents are laid In
Omaha, bearing the title of "The Ultimate
Moment." It la a work of genuine excel
lence, but not better than a work by the
same author entitled, "Sons of Strength."
published in
It would be Impossible to collate In one
article a list of all the books containing ref
erences to Omaha, but books written ex
clusively about Omaha might merit a bet
ter fate.
The Omaha public library must naturally
have the most complete collection of books
about Omaha, and among them ire many
that are as valuable as they are rare.
Among these latter may be Included the
"Ordinances of the City of Omaha. J 857." to
be found In the Byron Reed collection. This
book Is peculiarly Interesting from the fact
that It is the earliest of the municipal rec
ords. "The Early and Authentic History of
Omaha, from 1857 to 1S70." by J. A. Hall,
publisher, la about the first attempt under
f 1
the Popularity
Bt. Louis publlo library to supply the
home demand. An example In our own
city Is that of the "Main Chance," by
Meredith Nicholson, which combines a
local acquaintance with the author and
his subject. But to diagnose the symp
toms which produce fever of excitement
In the public such a to demand edition
of hundreds of thousands, as in the cose
of "Trilby" Is something apparently be
yond the ken of mortal to know.
Styles of novels have their day like styles
of women's hats. There was the period of
the problem novel, the dialect story, the
historical novel, and the series of "Letters
to " But the old standards like "Van
ity Fair," the "Scarlet Letter," "John
Halifax. Gentleman." "David Copperfleld,"
and the "Three Musketeers" retain the
permanent affections of the reading public
One of the unso'ved mysteries of the
demand for books Is the unusual and sud
den popularity of some book which has
had Its decline and fall years ago, as
Ilelen Hunt Jackson's "Century of Dis
honor," which is now being more gener
ally read than at any time since Its pub
lication. And there are cases of arrested
development, as with "The Honorable
Peter Stirling" which created but little
Interest when first published, but became
after several years suddenly Immensely
popular. And who can tell why "Lady
Rose's Daughter," by Mrs. Humphrey
Ward has reached such unparalleled suc
cess when her works following "Robert
Elsmere" have with a few exceptions re
mained unknown to the general reader.
But it Is safe to say that one essential
to the popular novel is that it shall be
based on the story of the development and
happy fruition of love. Contrary to the
opinions of many of the story writers of
today a love story to live must be whole
some, clean and rational. As an" example
we have "Paul and Virginia." In com
parison with this such stories as "The
Call of the Wild" by Jack London, have
very little chance with the people, even
though they may appeal to some of us
as being among the best books of the
year.
But the people who draw books from the
libraries, the regular, persistent readers, re
fuse to be guided by what la written about
books. They seem to be a class apart from
the book buyers. They wish to Judge of
the literature for themselves. Just as the
publlo will Judge of a new play regardless
of the opinions of paid critics. This dif
ference between the library reader and the
hook buyer may be recognised by the fact
Which Omaha
taken to compile a corrected history of the
city.
There la In the Byron Reed collection a
"Record of Ordinances, the Charter, and
Former Charter and Amendments, 1872
" Mr. W. J. Connell compiled a very
complete and exhaustive work entitled "The
Revised Ordinances of Omaha, of a Gen
eral Nature, in Force April 1, 1889, with
Charter for Metropolitan Cities, etc"
"Oo-Mah-Ha To. We. The. (Omaha City),
with Illustrations, by Susette Le Flesche
Tibbies ("Bright Eyes")," was published by
F. R. Glffen of Lincoln In 1898, and is an
Interestingly 'written story of the genesis
of Omaha.
"Anecdotes of Omaha" Is an Interesting;
work dealing in an attractive and unique
way of many happenings In and about
Omaha, from lta earliest history to the
date of Its publication, in 1891. by M. B.
Newton.
"Leading Industries of the West, Omaha,"
Is the title of an anonymous publication.
Issued from Chicago in 1884, that Is very
creditable, coming, as It does, from a com
mercial rival.
In 1894 an excellent "History of Omaha"
was issued by J. W. Savage and J. T.
Bell. '
"Omaha, Its Past, Present and Future"'
was produced In 1884 by C. R. Schaller. The
work was in two parts and Is a very Inter
esting addition to the literature of and
about Omaha.
In 187C A. Sorenson produced' an "Early
History of Omaha, or Walks and Talks
Among the Old Settlers." In 1889 there ap
peared from the same author a "History of
Omaha from the Pioneer Days to the Pres
ent Time," and In 1888 he produced a work
entitled "Omaha Illustrated." Copies of
the two first named are to be found in the
Byron Reed collection and In the general
library.
"Omaha, the Trans-Continental Gateway,"
by Victor Rosewater (See Powell's Historic
Towns of the Western States) ranks
among the very best of articles yet pro
duced on or about Omaha.
"Omaha, The Western Metropolis," was
the title of a work Issued by the Omaha
Board of Trade In 1891.
"History of the Methodist Episcopal
Church In Omaha and Suburbs" is the self
descriptive title of an interesting and elab
orate work by J. Haynes In 1S9S.
In 1887 G. H. Brown produced a very
valuable work under the title of "Indus
tries of Omaha.'
Nearly complete files of the Omaha city
of a Book
that often books which are almost nnknowa
at the book stores have a large popularity
at the libraries.
The reading of books has become a pop
ular amusement. It la a form of recreation
unknown In Its present development to our
grandparents. The busy brain worker finds
his recreation In the reading of a light and
pleasing story between Saturday night and
Monday morning. He wants something of
a romantic, pleasing and interesting nature
In contrast with the dull monotony of his
dally life. He has learned that a change Is
rest. This accounts for the laundress read
ing with avidity the works of the "Duch
ess" living for the time being a great lady
In her castles In Spain. To criticise these
people for their lack of taste In their selec
tion of literature Is presumptuous. For how
ever unreal and Inane the characters may
seem to the critical taste, they are to the
reader live heroes and heroines, embodi
ment of honor, courage, tenderness and
truth. "As the reader thlnketh so Is the
book."
The . highest compliment a writer can
achieve la to be a favorite author of chil
dren. Their prime favorites are few and
they stand the most severe test of the ma
ture critic. A child seems to Intuitively
know that which Is good and true and un
affected In man and In man's creations.
The child's mind is unbiased by the preju
dice of reputation, nationality, religion or
politics, which so warp the mind of the
adult Children never grow tired of Miss
Alcotfs "Little Men" and "Little Women,"
of the old folk tales which have stood the
test of ages, and the fairy tales of Grimm
and Andersen.
What makes a book popular? The sams
thing that makes a song popular, that
makes a picture popular, that makes a man
or woman, popular. Popularity i not
achieved by rule or regulation. It win
grow In Mrs. Wlggs cabbasre natch when
It refuses to stow In specially prepared
soil. The reading nubile forms a true
democracy and Ha allerlnnce to a popular
hook Is not to be boueht. allured or coerced.
The verdict of popularity Is the result of
countless subtle Influences of the time, the
occasion and the sentiment of the hour.
The Question, "What makes a hook oop
ularT" has not yet been answered, will not
be answered, should not be answered. If
answered It would he like the discovery of
how to make gold In the laboratory, Its la
trltudo value would be lost.
EDITH TfYRTTT. .
librarian Omaha Public TJbrary.
Has a Part
directories from 186 to 190 are to be found
In the general library, as well as In tne
Byron Reed collection. In the Byron Reed
collection Is to be found also business di
rectories of Omaha for the years 1877-78-79,
1888-89.
There are also an Infinite variety of
municipal reports dating back for many
years, that are especially valuable to the
student of municipal affairs, and which
comprise a comprehensive history ,of the
municipality of Omaha. These Include the
reports of the city engineer, park com
mission, superintendent of education, etc
There have been many guide books pub
lished for the benefit of visitors to Omaha,
and probably the most elaborate Is the
"Official Guide Book to Omaha and the
Trans-Mississippi and International Ex
position," with ma-T, m 1898.
The annual recurrence of the Ak-Sar-Ben
festivities has each year caused the
production of Illustrated literature per
taining to and of Omaha, showing the
growth and progress of the city.
Among the miscellaneous literature per
taining to Omaha filed away in the publlo
library shelves are "A Catalogue of the
Art Loan Exhibition of 1879," "Catholio
Album and Directory of Omaha and South
Omaha." 1301. 1902, "The Clinic" 1888-95,
"and files ot The Omaha Daily Bee, morn
ing edition from February, 1S78, to June,
1903," also the issue of the "Women's Edi
tion" of The Bee, May 1, 1895, and F. K.
N. Orff "Trt-Clty Directory, 1890-91" of
the business and professional men of Oma
ha, South Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Nor does Omaha figure only In com
mercial, social and political history. In
the archives of the government the name
of Omaha appears very frequently con-,
nected with matter of national Importance.
As one of the greatest military depart-
menta of the country, there have been
volumes and volumes of reports about
Omaha, and In truth few cities have had
more prominent mention In every variety
of literature, In fancy as well aa in fact.
Omaha has been the favorite the-ne of
the great military novelist. General Charles
King, and It was left to Fred Nye to per
petuate the city in comic opera In his pro
duction "Mr. Jones of Omaha."
Renew Copper War
Mr. F. Augustus Heinse announces that
the copper war Is about to be renewed.
In "all the intricate recesses of the Mon
. tana mountains. Is there no place where
Mr. Heinse can lose himself, and stay
lost?
