Amateur Journalism Department!
; Conducted by James Larkin Pearson i
THE SOUTHERN BUNDLE.
: -
It was my intention to , start the
Southern Bundle in August, but no
papers showed -up, hence there was
no Bundle to mau out. I shall try
it again in September. This change
will advance all bundles one month
September, November, January,
March, May and July.
Why the members of the Southern
do not come together and help make
this bundle a success has always
been a mystery to me. It is far the
cheapest way to mail an amateur pa-
m I t 1 "1 1
per. to maKe tne Dunaie a success
and self-sustaining there should be
six patrons for each Bundle at fifty Wake up you Southern amateurs,
cents each. Its costs about $3.50 to and get busy. You have elected me
mail out the Bundle whether there as your President, and I am going to
are two or six patrons. You can do my level best to make things hum
readily see what I am up against if tnis year.. But I cannot do much
only two patrons show up. I must out your support and co-opera-pay
$2.50 out of my own pocket to tion As i have before stated, I am
mail out these two papers, or .else
hold them over for the next Bundle.
If I hold them, then there is a howl.
Some think I should perform all the
labor and then furnish the money to
mail out the Bundle. No one would
be more willing to do this than I, but
1 have not the means, and it is an
imposibility for me to mail out these
Bundles unless I have the hearty co-
operation ot the whole membership,
It seems to me that there should
be a dozen members in the Southern
who would be glad to keep the Hun-
die moving promptly once each two
months. It costs but little to send
out a small bi-monthly paper, and if
each one would plan to come togeth-
er in each Bundle we could do much
for the cause in this section, jind the
Southern would continue to be the
most active clUb in the A. J. world,
I often receive letters asking what
is the matter with the Bundle: Why
don't" you mail out the Bundle? THom-
rade, stop writing such stuff and ask
v yourself this question "What have
1 done to make the bundle possible?"
Remember, I will mail the Bundle
just as often as you make it possible
for me to do so. No use to write me
about it. All I ask is the filling and I
the means and I will attend to the
elbow-grease. Shall we "keep up the
Bundle, and thus keep our place in
the A. J. world? Comrades, what
shall the answer be?
. I wish to mention one more thing
before I close. Often patrons send
me 150 copies, and seldom more than
250 copies of their .papers, and ask
me to mail a copy to each member of
the Southern, National, United and
A. P. U. Now I cannot do this with
150 or 200 copies at my disposal,
If each Bundle has six patrons I
can mail 300 copies for fifty cents,
but no more, and I can mail 300 for
the same price that I would have to
have tor mailing 200 copies, provided
I had $3.00 for each Bundle. When
I mail out the Bundle, I mail to as
many of the active members as I can
reach in the- different clubs. I am
no respecter of associations. Patrons
will find this method to their interest,
for it puts them in close touch with
the whole A. J. world. When a
patron wishes his paper mailed to
every member of any one association,
he must pay for it.
Now, comrades, I have tried to
sfcrve you .faithfully and impartially,
I 'feel that I have a right to expect
your cordial support. Let each one
determine to make six Bundles pos-
sible for the Southern this year. Be-
gin with September and stay in to the
finish until next July,
Fraternally yours,
LOUIS M. STARRING,
Grand View, Tenn.
" t '
GET BUSY.
working under very great difficulties,
aim cannot hope to do half as much
as j would like to do. So, friends,
don't depend on me to do it all, but
get busy yourselves and let the voice
Qf the amateur journalists be heard
in the land. This department, which
wni appear each month will be in
the nature of an unofficial message
from the' President of the S. A. J. A
i want to use this space to spur up
the members to greater activity along
the lines of writing, printing, recruit
ing, and so on. I am anxious to see
the Laureate honors more eagerly
sought after than has been the case
in recent years.
Starring is giving us a talk this
month on the Southern Bundle, and
n hope every member of the Southern
will read his remarks and, heed
them. You surely cannot ignore
such an appeal as Starring makes for
the support of the Bundle. There
ought to be at least a dozen papers
ready each mailing time, and yet it is
like pulling eye-teeth to get six
Think it over, boys. Consider the
great advantages of the Bundle, and
write Starring that you will be with
him every pop. I will try my best
to reach the Bundle, and if I fail
that is no excuse for you to fail, too
The eyes of the whole A. J. world
are on the South today, and they aje
expecting great things of us. We
must not fail. Writing and publish
ing papers is the main test of activi
r ty, and if those now in the ranks will
see to that, then new members will
come in without much begging. Get
busy I Remember that the pleasure
and benefit you get out of amateur
journalism must depend altogether
on the effort you put into it
ACTIVITY COMMITTEE.
I have appointed the following
Activity Committee to look after gen-i
eral activity, recruting, contributing,
publishing, correspondence, f ratern-
alism and enthusiasm throughout the
South: William T. Way, Chairman,
Maude Tuggle, Julian T. Baber, W. C.
Headrick, Lenora Sheppard and Ezra
D. Sargent. I urge each member of
this committee to take an active part
in the work and strive by every means
possible to increase both member
ship and activity in the Southern;
Editors, should send the committee
extra papers to be used in recruit
work. Don't forget.
CRITIC COMMITTEE.
I have re-appointed the Critic Com
mittee of last, year to give short,
timely Criticisms on the work of our
Southern writers, the same to be
published -in the official organ: Hy1
man Blumberg, Chairman, Ella Mer
ritt and Sallie T. Parish. This com
mittee gave general satisfaction last
year, and I am presuming upon their
good nature to ask them to serve
again.
I wish I could keep up a regular
correspondence with each and every
member of the Southern, and with all
possible recruits, but under present
conditions such a thing is out of the
question. I must depend , on the
other officers for much of the work
of the administration. Lqt us all
pull together to the utmost of our
ability and the year will be a success.
SOUTHERN AMATEUR NOTES.
l am in receipt or Tne Record, a
C. M. A. paper edited by Flavius E.
Clark.
Mr. and Mrs. Sargent have return
ed from a trip to Buffalo, Niagara
Falls, and other points.
For one time the Southern has cap
tured the National Presidency. And
President Suhre is suhre to make a
good executive.
Herbert P. McGinnis and Hoadly
Maddox are editing the St. Albans
Sentinel, at St. Albans, W. Va. It
is an interesting local paper. .
E. Roscoe Hall writes me that he
has been having trouble with his eyes.
I hope his next Letter will tell me
that the worst is over and that his
eyes are all right again.
I have just received The Surrey
Amateur, publishesd by A. Sidney
Hickox, 17 Hill Rise, Richmond, Sur
rey, England. The cause is begin
ning to flourish in England once
more. "
3
The " North Carolinian, for July,
published by . Way and Stafford, is one
of the best Southern papers that has
appeared in a long time. Give us
more Ways and Staff ords in the
Southern.
The S. A. J. A. convention at Chat
tanooga was' very poorly attended,
but those present report a good time.
Go to planning right now for the Bur
lington meet and let's determine to
make it a success.
Misses Pearl and Ella Merritt have
been making a sojourn in England
I this summer. I received their proxy
ballots from London. I hope they
will soon be back home to help keep
f. Southern on a boom
Mr. Landon Covington Bell, 198
Merrimon Ave., Asheville, N. C, has
just joined the Southern. Mr. Bell
is a rising young lawyer and a very
charming writer. Southern ama
teurs, write to Mr. Bell and give him
the glad hand of welcome into our
ranks.
IDIOTORIALS.
Congress has authorized two
more battle-ships. So you see
the universal peace movement is
progressing right along.
The Fool-Killer is not a novel
ty, neither Is it a joke. I believe
in the ability of mind to over
come matter, and have set my
brain, brawn and energy toward
making the most unique, the most
original and the most eagerly
read publication in the United
States. -
I had forgotten to lie about my
editorial staff, and hasten to make
good at once. It consists of 2,000
editors and reporters, and not
one of them gets less than $100
a month. By sending in your
advertisement a year ahead you
are sure of an insertion
The Fool-Killer is a strange pa
per, and I intend that it shall be.
It 's like this : . Certain things
fair within my particular field of
vision which -would certainly
blow me up if I couldn't have my
little say about them. And so I
had to start this journal of fear
lessness, which is published to
quiet my nerves.
When old Farmer Corntossel
sends his big awkward, raw
boned boy off to Knowitall Uni
versity, he is supposed to go there
for the purpose of getting the
hayseed curried out of his mane
and to have his little warty intel
lect sandpapered and varnished.
But instead of that they take up
two-thirds of the time teaching
him how to kick a football or a
cow over the moon, and a lot of
other physical culture stuff that
he could learn just as well on
the farm. Verily, these colleges
are humbugs, anyhow.
Some say success- belongs to
those born to their work. Let
us follow their logic : Behold
the poets, born and not . made !
Burr-rr-r-r-rr ! Wait a moment!
Remember, brethren, even wheth
er a man is born a poet must de
pend on environment. If neces
sity obliges the youthful Shake
speare to be water boy on a rail
road construction gang, his poe
try will soon get buried with the
ties. Much depends on pur sur
roundings. The world never
hears because we lack the ability
to put feelings into words which
will awaken similar "feelings in
the reader. - Fame is only for
him with the ability totransmit
his thoughts for others who are
in the same mood as when he
wrote. No man can appreciate
a love story who has not loved.
For ten days each month, next
following The Tool-Killer's ap
pearance in public, I live in ago
nizing suspense and mortal fear
of being ruthlessly dragged from
my sanctified sanctum and pum
melled into a pumice or peremp-.
torily placed in prison by- some
irate victims of my literary lar
rup ing-maehine. But regardless
of the danger I go right on pour
ing the melted language down
the throats of the rascals and
hypocrites. lNow is the time to
subscribe.