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Show THE FLOOD OF BOOKS. It has come to bo a trite observation observa-tion to any that about one-half of America's population confess to "literary" "lit-erary" aspirations. The moro reading of tho titles of now stories as they como from tho modorn presses In an over-Increasing flood would take up all tho sparo tlmo of tho average man. "Best selling bdoks" now follow so rapidly upon ono another that It Is hard Indeed to recall what was popular popu-lar a year or six months ago, whllo of tho scores of books tho sales of which havo been phenomonally largo during the past fow years, not half a dozen have lived. Now, of courso you knew all this before, but a consideration of its significance sig-nificance In tho literary field possesses unusual Interest. First of all, it seems to us that the demand for Action of today has grown beyond normal proportions. Readers now devour stories so rapidly and In such quick succession that they havo not tho tlmo, if they possess tho ability, which is often questionable, to appreciate appre-ciate them. Skillful advertising and tho "rush" of things in general have both helped to bring about this condition. con-dition. Tho effect of this heavy demand for readable fiction has, In more ways than one, been detrimental to tho literary lit-erary taste of tho public. Tho glittering glitter-ing offers mado by popular publishers to writers of genius have tempted many of them to turn out work of which a conscientious amateur would bo heartily ashamed. Lust for gold lias supplanted tho fire of genius in the mind of dozens who a fow years ago gavo promise of adding something truly great to fiction. It is easy to see how this has lowered low-ered tho public taste. Readers who lack discrimination aro ready to take a book because It Is tho work of somo author who once did something good to take It without question, and make an Indifferent or bad talo their standard stand-ard of measurement. Tho other phnse of tho que&tlon is not less strong In Its bad effect. Seeing See-ing the tremendous demand for stories, stor-ies, thousands of men and women, "boys and girls oven, rush for a tablet and a lead pencil and blossom out as writers In a single day. Fortunately lor tho public, only a small portion of this "copy" ever gets Into print, and yet the amount of weak, inane, coarse or worse stories that aro thrown out lor tho public to read Is simply appalling ap-palling to the lover of good literature. There 'Is, however, a brighter side to all this which should be remembered. Today the young writer of ability usually us-ually finds encouragement, sympathy and success without a long period of probation nnd starvation. |