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Show The Tragedy of a Story By RING W. LARDNER. Authorship Beset With Woes Chi, March 10. i FRIEND MR. ED.: Well, Mr. ed., today I met several people and they all said they didn'lt care for what I had in tho paper the j other a. m. and I admitted that I ; i didn't rare much for it myseif when I wrote It, but if they knew what that; story went through before it got in the I paper maybe they would have a whole lot more respect for It. Well, Mr. ed., here is what happened: fgfc' Well, In the 1st jdace I got through j writing that story at 11 a. m. Friday fore- noon and I thought to myself 1 will file i that story nnd then I won't have no '. worn,' on my mind and I can devote the whole afternoon to retrospection. So I started downstairs to file that story. Well, you know how that filing is done. I merely stuck that story in a envelope and wrote "Mr. I-owry," the artist, on the outside so as he could draw pictures to it and I come downstairs down-stairs with that story in my hand and also 4 letters to out of town parties with stamps on them and I was going to mall the ones with stamps on them and keep "Mr. Lowry" In my hand and subsequently stick him in the box where ho could look for it. but Just as I got to t lie mail shoot I run into Fete Llanuza that I hadn't seen for 6 yrs. and whenever 1 meet a cartoonist I can't help from stopping and asking them bow they spr-11 and especially a man that starts his name with 2 Lis. So I stopped and shook hands with Pete besides the mall shoot and the next thing you kjiow I hod d ropned ''Mr. Ijfj.wry" with no stamp or address on him In the mail shoot. Q O the next thing was to go down and wait for T'nolo Sam's mail collector col-lector and I went down on the first floor and read the time table and it said the bird would come around the next ttmo at 11:45 so I waited till 11:45 and sure enough he came to collect mail. So in the mean while I had boughten a cigar that I was going to give him the minute min-ute he -give me the envelope. And the cigar cost $.15 and no hundreds. Well, he come as I say and I marched up to him and I said, "They's a envelope in there that I want to get back on acct. of a mlstnke, and they's no stamp on : It or no address only 'Mr. Lowry,' so can I get it back?" So lie said, "I haven't got time to fool around looking through all this mail," And all told he was the acme of hospitality. Vf KLIj, Mr. ed., instead of retrospec-' retrospec-' tion, tho rest of the entire forenoon, was spent in pbonev dialogue with Gen ' Stewart and Gen. Delivery and finely' I drifted into the local rni. sobbing and , the city editor seen me and said was Ji uiin"iimMiiwiii.ny.aj.m.iMJiii wM nm still harping on that story and T sairl yes In a broken voire and he t-a id well here it is because one of the gens, had just sent It back. Well, Mr. ed., that is the first story I ever, wrote that couldn't get through I the mails and 1 am ovry if It wasn't j a good story to stfirt with but I wili I leave it to you if it must n't of ben a ! good story eventually or why should we of made so much fuss over it. And the bird that starts the clevalos downstairs got the $.15 and no hundreds cigar 1 h;i t tho mall collector would of blew rings out of if lie had just smiled once but I 1 suppose his to.-ist wn s hum L thrtt morn- i ing and anv way I thank you nnd the; ge ns. and I think it wa-s a god story j even if nobodv else docs hM-ause my idear of a good stf.ry !y orr1 wi(h a bit of well known r.ani-;s in u like Itav SHialk. 'n. V, U |