Chapter IV

So much for my observations and investigations of the two gentlemen, MM. Nathan and Mencken. I have told you, not everything that is known about them, nor even all that I know myself, but enough, I hope, to enable you to conjure up colorable images of them. As I have said, it is by such small and often grotesque lights that character is genuinely illuminated—not by the steady and distorting glare of orthodox biography. It remains for me to tell you how they do their joint work—work which rests upon the apparently perilous basis of an absolute equality of authority, for each owns exactly the same amount of stock in _The Smart Set_ Company that the other owns, and each is editor equally with the other, and both derive from the property exactly the same revenue, to a cent.

Their system is very simple and admirably workable. When either, by any internal or external process, generates an idea for the conduct of the magazine, he lays it before the other in all its details. This is always done in writing; never orally. If the other approves the idea he writes upon the brief the words “Nihil obstat,” and it is forthwith executed. If, on the contrary, he disapproves, he indorses it with the word “Veto” and it is returned. The same idea may be revived by its author thirty days later, but not before. If thrice vetoed it is forever banned. The office records for the past three years yield the following:

Plans Proposed Approved Vetoed
By Nathan 18 13 5
By Mencken 12 8 4

In the handling of manuscripts they pursue a somewhat analogous system. Mencken never reads manuscripts while in New York; all such work he does in Baltimore. As the offerings of authors are received in the office they are scrutinized by Nathan’s secretary, and the following classes are weeded out and immediately returned:

Mss. written in pencil or with green, purple, or red typewriter ribbons.

Mss. fastened together with ribbons or pins.

Mss. radiating any scent or other odor.

Mss. of plays which begin with soliloquies into a telephone.

Mss. bearing the recommendations of the editors of other magazines.

Mss. accompanied by letters of more than one hundred words.

Mss. accompanied by circulars advertising books written by their authors or by other printed matter.

Mss. of poetry by poets whose names do not appear upon a list in the possession of the secretary.

Once this preliminary clearing out is accomplished, the manuscripts that remain are shipped to Mencken, and he reads them within twenty four hours. Those that he rejects are returned to their authors. Those that he approves are returned to Nathan, with the Dano-Norwegian word “bifald,” signifying assent, written across the first page of each. They are then read by Nathan, and if he agrees they are purchased and paid for at once. If he disagrees they are returned without further process. Once a manuscript is bought it goes to Mencken a second time, and he reads it again. If he finds that it needs revision in detail, it is turned over to his private secretary and valet, an intelligent Maryland colored man named William F. Beauchamp, a graduate of Harvard. After it has passed through Beauchamp’s hands it is set up in type. In case Mencken deems it necessary to reject a manuscript by an author who must be treated politely, he sends it back with a note putting the blame on Nathan. In case Nathan, in like circumstances, votes no, he blames it upon Mencken. This, of course, is lying, but in the long run it amounts to the truth. The two never discuss manuscripts; they simply vote. They never buy anything from personal friends. They have a strict agreement, in fact, that each will automatically veto anything sent in by an author with whom he is on good terms. This agreement is never violated. Nathan, for example, has a brother who, under a _nom de plume_, is a frequent contributor to the leading magazines, but is barred from _The Smart Set_ by the relationship. In the same way Mencken was, until recently, the intimate friend and confidant of an eminent woman novelist, but her work has never appeared in _The Smart Set_.

When Mencken is in New York, he and Nathan meet at _The Smart Set_ office every day, including Sunday, at 10 A.M., and spend two hours discussing the minor business of the magazine. At noon they proceed to Delmonico’s and have luncheon, returning at 3 P.M. They finish all business by 4:30, when they leave the office. They often dine together and spend the evening together, but they never discuss office matters at such times. They never invite authors to luncheon or dinner and never accept invitations from them. They never attend literary parties or visit studios. They are not acquainted with any of the literary lions of New York, saving only Dreiser and Huneker.

Thus these meritorious _redacteurs_ live and have their being. Neither belongs to a literary clique; neither subscribes to a clipping bureau; neither ever sits on a committee or joins a movement; neither needs money; neither ever borrows anything or asks a favor; neither is accountable to anyone; neither is ever indignant; neither gives a damn.

Transcriber’s Notes

pg 29 Changed: The End of Ilsa Mentieth by Lilith Benda
to: The End of Ilsa Menteith by Lilith Benda