Life — June 8, 1911 — page 18: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“TAPE FIRE AND BRIMSTONE AKE NOT ALWAYS ESSENTIAL pipe—above all things is Cracklethorpe Tothering Blutt dem- ceratic. “How do"—he nurses his underlip thoughtfully— “How—well, I get my central idea, that’s the first thing: I want to impress this on all the young writers that are spring- ing up these days, if you are going to quote me, then I elabo- rate this central idea; nice phrase ‘central idea,’ a little ex- pression of my own; its not brilliant, perhaps, but it sums it up, it sums it up—I elaborate it; this requires thought. I think out the story, then I get some pads and an indelible pencil.” “Do you advocate white or cream white paper?” “The cream white is best for novels, although I did write *Ye Gods and Sardines’ on plain white paper, and you may remember what a—ahem—success that was, “Now, Mr Blut, will you tell me how you sit in regard to the light?” “T always seat myself firmly in this Morris chair and cross my knees- The right over the “Yes, over the left, and I always have the light coming over my shoulder. I think this is really essential in novel writing—poetry is different—you often get better results in poctry in a semi-reclining posture, with the light full in the face.” “And then?” + “Then I take my indelible pencil and begin at the first chapter “And so on— exactly, and so on to the end!” Spoiled M* GILLET (over the ’phone): 1 want to complain of a mistake in our order. Caterer: What was wrong? Mus. Gitte: There was a little ice cream in that salt you sent us The Taxicab Privilege = have spoken on another page of the hat-tip trust, out W of which New York hotels get a considerable rakeott at the cost of inferior service to their customers. And we have said that there scemed to be nothing to do about it but to swear—if one has the gift and can get a license to do so, But to recall it brings the mind to bear with increased energy on another kindred matter. It seems that one difficulty about getting a good, cheap taxicab service for New York is that the hotels and restau- rants claim a taxicab privilege which they sell just as they do their little skin-flint hat-tip privilege, and the big sums the taxicab companies have to pay for the right to stand near the hotels make it be so much harder for them to haul the general public at a moderate rate. But the taxicab privilege which the hotels farm out in- volves a use of the public streets to which they have no ex- clusive right. Our city government ought to regulate the taxicabs for the convenience of the public, and without any regard for the side profits of the hotels, and if the job of doing it is put in the hands of bribe-proof men it can be done. Come, therefore, brethren, and let us stand up together and exhort our city government to put its foot down hard on all the private cab stands by means of which—to quote the Evening Post—" hotel proprietors and others take pos- session of the public streets for private profit,” and to sub- stitute for them “a general system of public stands open at all times to all licensed cabs up to the limit of the number designated for cach stand.” We are advised that this is a vital step towards having a satisfactory taxicab system. By all means, let's take it. It amounts simply to the abolition of the hotel and restaurant tax on taxicabs, a tax that the collectors have no right to impose, that we all have to pay, and which is just such another little, mean grab-penny ex- tortion as the sale of the hat-tip privilege to the hat-tip trust We can't help the hat-tip impo: but this tax on taxicabs we can help—if the city government is truc to us —for the rights in this matter are on our side. LIMONY is a pension paid to those who have been dis- abled on the domestic field of battle. ror bas Anis! Nee Liv craKs | -entTer | BAD ODER ‘comicbooks.com