Communications
18 THE COMMONWEAL May 8, 1929 COMMUNICATIONS DANIEL AMONG THE LIONS New York, N. Y. To the Editor:—In your issue of April 3 there is an article entitled Daniel among the Lions, referring...
...Robert K. Haas, President, Book-of-the-Month Club, Incorporated...
...To be logical and hold their advantage, the union laborites would then be compelled to exact a higher wage, relatively, than all else...
...We are glad to print Mr...
...3. Now let us hasten to the Catholic Book-of-the-Month Club...
...Absolutely...
...Haas's letter, but feel that certain marginal annotations are necessary...
...It was formed simply in order to do what one could to prevent Catholic expression from being completely swamped by the new sales methods...
...We notice that the editor of The Commonweal, Mr...
...Besides being assured of obtaining a Catholic book on any subject, the Catholic book purchaser often receives a discount on his purchase, if the purchase is made up of more than one book, or if it is intended for church, school or mission purposes...
...LET THE QUESTION BE DISCUSSED Pittsburgh, Pa...
...We do not believe that in this statement you intended to slander this organization...
...The facts are that, in the February Book-of-the-Month Club News, which gave the advance description of the book enabling subscribers to decide whether or not they wanted it, the following appears: "Several of them [referring to members of our Selecting Committee] felt that while the book was interesting and that our subscribers would not want to miss it, it was not either in its writing or its subject-matter equal in literary importance to the books recently sent out...
...Macrae, or to cast aspersions upon the business methods of the Book-of-the-Month Club...
...Many are their restrictive regulations and arbitrary and oppressive, and they all mean greater rents and costs for householders...
...First, letting yourself be railroaded into a course of reading is a disastrous intellectual habit, especially since the mentality of each and every club has revealed itself as stereotyped...
...Macrae's own widely-advertised Editorial Board did not choose The Pathway as his own equally widely-advertised Dutton Book of the Month...
...All books submitted to us are sent along to an Elimination Committee, directly under Dr...
...Oxford New, Mr...
...He does not seem aware of how calamitous all this is...
...The Commonweal has made a good start toward a beneficial general discussion...
...Personally, I have purchased books on Barclay Street, and particularly from P. J. Kenedy and Sons (this is not, of course, voicing a preference for a particular Catholic book store) and have yet to pay a price for a Catholic book more than that printed on the book by the publisher...
...The fact is, of course, that there is not the slightest ground for such a suggestion...
...The Commonweal requests its subscribers to communicate any changes of address two weeks in advance, to ensure the receipt of all issues...
...The building trades are an especial example of this...
...Few people have ever believed that this presents anything like an ideal solution for the difficulties confronting Catholic letters in the United States...
...Our system of choosing is described fully in our catalogue, enclosed...
...It would seem that an incessant verbal opposition against an unheard adversary might be effective without being prudent...
...Canby's words seems again not to be fair...
...Most of us are not members of labor unions, but the price of all that we buy which is in any way handled or made by union labor is thereby enhanced to our detriment...
...Haas draws for us a picture of an Elimination Committee presided over by Dr...
...The picture is not, of course, as simple as this and meliorations may be pointed out...
...TO the Editor:—It appears timely to ask what is the matter with the discussion of prohibition...
...The Commonweal can be credited with action on the subject, as rarely does an issue come from the press without some unfavorable comment on this law which has been written into the constitution of our republic, the most progressive one of all times...
...The reason given is that, owing to the comparatively small demand for such books, it is inadvisable to stock up with them for fear of their becoming "dead stock...
...The one whose word is chosen will receive a copy of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch's On the Art of Writing, which has a chapter on Jargon...
...Not so, of course, when purchasing Catholic books...
...I should like to propose as judges in the Word-of-the-Year Club, after its illustrious founder, Mr...
...but we shall stick no ribbons in his coat...
...Stephen J. Palickar, American Newspaper Publishers Association...
...Permit me space to assure your readers that the impression referred to is erroneous...
...Is it not true that union labor, so-called, exacts its relatively high wages from employers at the expense of the unorganized community...
...Book stores on Barclay Street are the same as those elsewhere so far as transactions are concerned...
...Canby's control and supervision, and such of them as are considered worthy are then passed along to all the members of the Selecting Committee...
...Canby's letter to the Times) no book can be "best" for all people...
...We must all have access to the bounty of the earth in an untrammeled manner...
...As it is, antagonists are so busy counting the hypocrites of the other persuasion that they can get no further...
...It has been conducted at great cost of time, energy and money, primarily because Catholic critics could not approve the selections of the dominant clubs...
...The business management, as has been publicly stated, has nothing to do with the choice of books...
...Ryan has recently given a forceful explanation of his striking views, and next in order would be the presentation of the opposite stand on the question secured by The Commonweal for its readers, written by some eminent Catholic or non-Catholic— for the faith of the writer does not enter, as the liquor problem is a political and social problem...
...The purpose of the editorial in question was not to express a blanket endorsement of Mr...
...Standard and Mr...
...Century...
...Richard L. O'Brien...
...May 8, 1929 THE COMMONWEAL 19 In view of the above, your interpretation of Dr...
...in which he asserted that the monthly choice was not 'the' book of the hour, but simply a volume likely to suit 100,000 persons...
...Ryan to the anonymous "lawyer" are, in my opinion, quite as inaccurate as Dr...
...If this is correct, our inference is also correct...
...From this fact, are we correct in assuming The Commonweal endorses the activities of that book club ? If so, we do not see how it can then logically object to the operations of our own and other clubs, because certainly the Catholic Book Club (though within a circumscribed field) performs the same function as we do...
...Roget, Mr...
...RYAN'S VIEWS New York, N. Y. TO the Editor:—Some of your readers have communicated to me their impression that I am the anonymous "lawyer" referred to by the Reverend John A. Ryan in his letter in your issue of April 29...
...Our fashions, our foods and even our fads, are now chosen for us well beforehand, relieving us of the delay and worry of choice...
...Truth will not suffer by a more restrained speech than that which marks much of the discussion spread before the eyes of the reader of the press who must read what he sees or nothing else...
...We maintain that the clear import of that letter was a confession that certain kinds of books were taboo with the Club because they could not be sold to 100,000 people...
...Michael Williams, is on the selecting board of the Catholic Book Club, and that there is an advertisement of that club on the back page of the same issue...
...Thoreau's dictum that the only victory exists where no one is defeated would seem to hold true...
...We also feel that its general conclusions, wherein the cultural effects of the book clubs are emphatically aspersed, are incorrect—doubtless because they are based on incomplete information...
...Webster, Mr...
...We sincerely wish he did!—The Editors...
...Some of the statements in your article, however, are definite enough to necessitate specific correction, and we hope that, in justice to all concerned, you will print our comments upon them...
...Haas looks upon it as a dangerous or any other kind of rival...
...20 THE COMMONWEAL May 8, 1929 CHEAP TRUTH NEEDED New York, N. Y. TO the Editor:—In the April 17 issue of The Commonweal, Mr...
...We invite you to inform yourself fully on this and any other points in which you may be interested, either from publishers or from an examination of our files (which are open to you) and we then trust you will go on record publicly in regard to your findings...
...On the contrary, it would be productive of good if invective and rancor could be pried loose from the general liquor discussion of the day...
...Its Communications column, in its own peculiar way, is a feature deserving of much praise...
...WHAT'S THE NEXT WORD...
...We wanted only to voice a few reflections upon the general relations between books and civilization in the United States, in so far as these are involved in the methods of the Club...
...18 THE COMMONWEAL May 8, 1929 COMMUNICATIONS DANIEL AMONG THE LIONS New York, N. Y. To the Editor:—In your issue of April 3 there is an article entitled Daniel among the Lions, referring to the recent controversy between Mr...
...Dr...
...You have sensed, Mr...
...Masson, something of paramount importance and have set it before us in colorful style...
...Masson in his well-motivated article, What's the Next Word?, has made a timely contribution to a long-felt need...
...This big question of wet or dry, the discussion of which has prevailed for so many years with such profound effect upon the nation...
...W. J. H. MR...
...Can it be fairly said that in the above description we told subscribers the book was the "best" ? And as to the comparative suitability of Mr...
...What Dr...
...In a world of sinners its use need not be invoked so commonly...
...That, however, is true of most abuses...
...John Macrae, of E. P. Dutton and Company, and the book clubs...
...Publishers of dictionaries would no doubt be prepared to give 100 percent discount and pay carriage for the Club...
...Inhabitants of the world, including Scandinavia, will submit to the judges their favorite words...
...Second, it is impossible in practice to tell which book is "best," because no five judges can possibly read all the books issued unless they do nothing else, and because (as was clearly admitted by Dr...
...Arthur Kenedy, Vice-President of P. J. Kenedy and Sons, writes in repudiation of M. J. B.'s communication to The Commonweal of February 27 wherein it was intimated that Barclay Street is somewhat at fault for the seemingly exorbitant prices of Catholic books...
...You say that "it seemed to Mr...
...In other words, they hesitated to have their choice regarded as a guarantee of literary quality...
...Why not form a Word-of-the-Year Club...
...What they are doing for similes, short stories and poems, he will do for words...
...Wilstach, O'Brien and Braithwaite...
...MARSHALL ON DR...
...Example, as always, must lead the way...
...In purchasing books at a non-sectarian book store, the purchaser, if he buys more than one book, is sometimes offered a slight discount in price on his purchase...
...My choice for the judges is "sensed" with "colorful" and "paramount" as substitutes for subscribers to the Club who may long since have sensed all that is sensible or supersensible...
...However, if all were organized and wages generally raised to the union labor level, their advantage would disappear, and because of generally enhanced costs our dollar would buy no more than it does today...
...Literary merit can never be the sole question in such a decision...
...Third, the system is very bad for American criticism...
...But to debate fully—and we admit that some of the points are at least debatable—the whole subject of the effect of the book clubs upon author, publisher, book-seller and reader, would take more space than we could hope to be given in your column...
...Macrae's book, is it not appropriate to inquire the reason why Mr...
...and which offers so much interesting debate in other periodicals, has never in the Catholic press advanced untrammeled into a broad, open discussion where it could draw from all opinion...
...I feel urged through a motive free from the slightest partiality in either direction, to cite a few instances of my experience in the purchasing of books for "journalistic purposes and private collection...
...A metaphysical poem, admirable but excessively difficult, may have more sheer literary merit than the best novel of the year, but Mr...
...New York, N. Y. TO the Editor:—Mr...
...It therefore seems to me that by virtue of organization they profit at the expense of the unorganized...
...Messrs...
...Masson has entered upon a narrower but no less useful field, where the gleaners are Messrs...
...SCIENCE VERSUS THE MUSICIAN New York, N. Y. TO the Editor:—Your editorial remarks in the issue of April 17 concerning the introduction by Mr...
...The following remarks may clarify our attitude: 1. Regardless of all modifications which have lately crept into its advertising copy, the Club has been "sold" by the assurance that (a) it was no longer necessary to choose one's own reading, because (b) here were five illustrious judges who (c) supported by a faultless system of preliminary reading presided over by Dr...
...Canby, chairman of our Selecting Committee, "sent an epistle to the New York Times...
...Charles C. Marshall...
...upon which Catholics may differ as completely as their neighbors...
...Canby, can (d) tell everybody what is best in the recent literary output...
...Ford, Childs, Automat, Everyheimer, Searsroebuck and many others come to mind as outstanding benefactors to harassed choosers...
...These dealers are not so especially eager to order Catholic books for a purchaser, and if they do forward a special order, the purchaser will be told that there is a carrying charge, if the books are to be sent, and in addition will suffer a prolonged delay...
...Canby...
...Macrae would probably not offer that as a book of the month, even if it were his own publication, to 100,000 readers...
...You say, further on, that Dr...
...At any rate, the word hypocrite used as an appellation seems overworked...
...yet the words might justify such a conclusion...
...2. Our conviction is that this method is not commendable for three simple reasons...
...Canby's work for American letters has been earnest and, on the whole, beneficial...
...If 1,000,000 readers will buy history which is not history, and travel which is not travel, and biography which is not biography, they will, will they not, take hand-picked words, not for shelf or showy table, but for constant, everyday use...
...We do not believe that Mr...
...Canby actually did write was this...
...But to think of him pacing up and down surveying the tasks of the Committee seems to us very pathetic and very symbolic— particularly when the child that is finally born of all the effort is The Cradle of the Deep I It may be wrong to say that "for a handful of silver he left us...
...Book stores that are non-sectarian seldom, if ever, are able to fill the requirements of a purchaser of Catholic books...
...Elsewhere, referring to the Book-of-the-Month Club's selecting system, you state that "the most that anybody could expect was that after the preliminary choice [of books] had been made by those responsible for keeping the concern going, the illustrious supreme court would see whether they could approve...
...we must be freed from labor monopolists as well as all the others...
...The constant presentation of the views of one side on an open question may not blunt the wit of an observing reader, but it is hardly sufficient for those who would look for all that can be said in behalf of all sides of a public problem calling for an answer...
...The statements attributed by Dr...
...Love can find the way, but nought else...
...Only in a small way is this situation contrasted by an occasional letter in different strain from a correspondent in the Communications column...
...Speaking generally, perhaps a wholesome discussion would consider only the merits of the question itself...
...Macrae that his find [The Pathway] was of a quality decidedly superior to what was then [The Cradle of the Deep] being dispatched to more than a half a hundred thousand mortals, eager to read the book they had been told was best...
...Meanwhile, let us cease lauding union labor as a great and beneficent thing and call it by its true name, i.e., special privilege...
...Hammerstein of synchronization devices in order to relieve himself of the burden of union musicians moves me to write...
...Charles J. Byrnes...
...This is only one reason why we feel that your article is somewhat unfair...
...Ryan declares them to be...
...For if your insinuations were true—that a limited number of books only, culled out for considerations of popularity or profit by the Club's business management, from among all those submitted, are passed on to our Committee for voting—our Committee and we could indeed be accused rightfully of a most dishonest form of trickery...
...In the first place, it is an undisputed fact that Catholic books are not obtainable at any kind of book stores...
Vol. 10 • May 1929 • No. 1
