1830
Sister walks past the garden wall
In monstrous hoop, and slippers small,
And polonaise, and sash, and all,
To join the Dorcas Circle.
She'll sit indoors, and stitch, and moon,
And sip her tea, and clink her spoon,
This whole blue, breezy afternoon!
For so do all Young Ladies.
Come, Poll, come, Bet! Escaped from school,
We'll wade across the shallows cool
Of Roaring Tom and Silver Pool,
And climb the pines of Randal.
Far up the mountain path we'll go,
And leave the Raven Rocks below,
And creep inside the caves of snow,
To hear their echoes thunder!
Let briers scratch, let brambles tear
Our oft-patched frocks--we shall not care:
Green are the woods, and fresh the air;
Then who would be a Young Lady?
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Vol. XXIII No.2 AUGUST 1910
INSTEAD OF AN ARTICLE {page 209-214}
About Pittsburg and, Incidentally, about Editing a Magazine
Important articles in magazines of the type of "COLLIER'S,"
"MCCLURE'S," the "AMERICAN," and "EVERYBODY'S," like plays, are
rewritten rather than written. Too begin with, there must be the
idea, then to find the man or woman best able to embody it. That
settled, the author must steep himself in his subject. When he
acquires mastery, his findings are written down and submitted to
the editor. This may take months; it often requires years.
It has happened that the editor did not know what he wanted until
he read this first draft. Now he has the subject spread before
him by an authority. His associates all read it and criticise.
Sometimes that first draft is flawless, but most often it is
returned to the author with direction for reconstruction. The
process may be repeated half a dozen times. Finally the
manuscript is satisfactory, which means that it is valuable,
simply expressed, and readable. It is in shape for publication.
It is put into type and sent around to outside experts who are
the representative authorities on the subject.
In these days a magazine can afford to have its conclusions
disputed, but its facts must be incontrovertible. Perhaps the
trouble the big publications take to be right--and that means
square and just, as well as accurate--explains such prestige and
influence as they now enjoy in America.
At a women's club gathering in Mississippi, recently, Harris
Dickson told his audience something about an article of his that
had recently appeared in "EVERYBODY'S." He explained that a
manuscript written by another man had been sent him to put in
shape. The facts were there, and the moral, but the treatment was
technical. It lacked carrying power. Dickson knew nothing of the
other author, and so proceeded to get up the subject at first
hand. He took not one of the facts for granted. After three
months he returned the revised manuscript to the magazine. It was
sent back, with specific directions for rewriting. In due course
he again remailed it to the editor, who congratulated him on his
achievement--for that is what it was. Then the article, having
attained a satisfactory form (it was on Fraternal Insurance), was
sent round among the experts. The first man who read it was a
high official of one of the old line insurance companies, but a
hearty believer in the fraternal system. He returned it with
approval and an elaborate criticism. Then it was submitted to the
chief insurance commissioner of a western state--the undoubted
political authority on the subject. The approval and criticisms
of both men, with the manuscript, were again forwarded to Mr.
Dickson. The necessary corrections having been incorporated, the
manuscript was ready for the printer. To make assurance doubly
sure, proofs were sent out to prominent officials of leading
fraternal organizations, who returned them with most commendatory
letters. And then, and only then, did it appear in the magazine.
Mr. Dickson's audience, doubtless under the impression that
magazines are produced by editors out of the contributions sent
them by mail, expressed surprise that so much time, effort, and
money should be devoted to what seemed a comparatively
unimportant subject. Yet it involved a matter that concerned five
million men and their families, and a tremendous controversy. Its
appearance has made the controversy even keener, and of course
the enemies of sanity and good order in fraternalism are now
hurling bolts at us. However, when we have done our part and know
we are right, we stay put.
Mr. Dickson told part of what to us is a familiar story. In this
instance he knew nothing of the time and trouble the author and
ourselves had taken just to get together the facts and place them
in the right perspective. We began on this particular article in
November, 1906, and during the interval it was being worked at or
over by one of some dozen men. The same is true of most of our
big series. "The Woman's Invasion" represented two and a half
years of work. Fifteen months elapsed between the delivery of
Judge Lindsey's first manuscript and the beginning of publication
in the magazine. Trained writers, the best men we know about, are
out investigating and gathering the facts for the articles we
will print a year hence. This is the process of magazine making
to-day. It is not peculiar to "EVERYBODY'S"; it is the rule with
"COLLIER'S," "MCCLURE'S," the AMERICAN, and SUCCESS."