580 Hampton's sibly, too, odic policemen. There ought to be, certainly, when one ghost in Paris can fight a duel with another ghost in Lyons and actually kill the unfortunate human being who offered his clay as a tenement for the Lyons phantom. You will find the May installment of “Ghosts” well worth reading. The arti- cle may partly rob the “supernatural” of its terror. As man learns more and more he begins to fear less and less. Certainly after reading of the experiments and investigations of these Europeans, we feel that we know more about “ghosts””—and fear them less. On the other hand: ‘That “Trail-of-the-Ghost” business has been overdone and is not worthy of a first-class, progress- ive magazine like Hampton's, anyway. ‘It has no more right, or even less right, than a discussion of the theories of Catholicism or any religion in a secular magazine. I think it is to the best interests of Hampton's to cut it out.—C. C. M. Congratulations on the March Hamron’s. It isa magazine—and then some. Nothing better this month in the whole list. Incidentally, you have them skinned a mile on the Ghost article. "All other writ- ings on the subject are pifile beside it. ‘The cover is splendid—the ensemble is big. If you can keep the gait, youarcon the high road.—Dr. TE. G., Chicago. AS TO NIGHT RIDING ‘ACH issue of Haupton’s improves over previous ‘ones. At this rate you will soon publish a mag- azine without a superior anywhere. ‘The article by Eugene P. Lyle, Jr, on “They That Ride by Night” is an especially interesting, succinct, and truthful history of the tobacco situation in Ken- tucky, the writer stating facts well worth reading and preserving—R. H. S., Cincinnati, Ohio. In Platte County, near Kansas City, are about three hundred Kentuckians, driven from that State by Night Riders, who are doing what they could not do in Kentucky—raising tobacco. And they are raising it in quantities not heard of in the old State. ‘There, the common yield is a thousand to eighteen, hundred pounds to the acre. Hei an average of two thousand pounds. The tobacco is the same as that of Kentucky—white burley. ‘The Kentuckians who have come here have found that the soil of Missouri is even better than that of Kentucky for the raising of tobacco, and predict that within ten years ft wll be the second tobscco State of the Union, Of course the industry is new and small compared with Kentucky, but next year the yroduction will be doubled and’ the yield of Platte Bounty will be two million pounds. ‘The industry is spreading rapidly to other counties. —C. R. C., Kan- sas City, Missouri. THE FORTUNE-MAKING MACHINE, IN FULL OPERATION UCH has been written about American ways of piling up great, quickly made fortunes. At one time in our history—and this was not so many years ago—it was quite Magazine the fashion for newspapers and magazines to rescue our millionaires from obscurity and to hold them up as bright and shining patterns for the youth of the land. Then came the muckraker, and, for a period, scarcely a millionaire was able to hide from the ener- getic magazinist who yearned to explain the wickedness of the whole tribe of rich men. So the pendulum swung from sugar to vinegar, from sickly sweet praise to denuncia- tion that was often unfair and nearly always unduly sensational. But in all this writing we do not recall a single case in which the real machinery of American fortune making was displayed, entire and in fact. Charles Edward Russell will accomplish this feat before concluding the series of articles entitled “The Heart of the Railroad Problem.” The methods employed by Mr. Hill and his associates are set forth in a clear sequence by Mr. Russell, so that everyone can see just how in the United States three men working together may make $407,000,000 in thirty-one years, starting with an investrient of nothing, The facts upon which Mr. Russell’s article is founded come mainly from court records. In May Mr. Russell reaches the case of Spokane, Washington. Spokane was bur- dened by unreasonable freight rates. James J. Hill promised that if his road was granted a right-of-way, etc., he would give Spokane the rates it needed to enable it to compete with othér cities. Mr. Hill got his right-of-way— and Spokane did not get the freight rates. Then happened many things, and as you read Mr. Russell’s narrative you will see clearly things that have hitherto been hid- den or merely guessed at by journalists, states- men, attorneys, and others who have en- deavored to make clear the mysteries of huge new fortunes. CONFLICTING VIEWS ON CHES- TERTON LET me remark here that you did a good stunt in bringing out that Chesterton article. It isa corker —just the sort of stuff that is needed. We can be wholesome and sincere and a little old-fashioned, even, but we don’t have to be mushy or long-faced about it, I think you are giving snap in the best form.—L. M., Baltimore, Maryland. Highbrow, eh? Chesterton and Conrad in one [February] package. It’s a great number—not only on accotint of Conrad, which is literature, and of Chesterton, which is cake, but also of that Lincoln article, which so wisely and so well lets the pathos and the terror spring up at you from between the lines. It’s the best of the February magazines all right.—J. H., New York City.Editorial Notes I appreciate Haupron’s because it has few equals in the battle for the common good, which men are beginning to seis the only gem admire Mr. G. K. ica,” in which he misrepre- sented the belief of Christian Scientists, I am a Presbyterian, but have made a study of modern re- ligions, which evidently is more than can be said ‘of Mr. Chesterton.—A. C. W., Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama. PROFITS FOR OUR STOCKHOLDERS BEFORE this issue of the magazine reaches its readers our stockholders will have re- ceived notification of a very satisfactory profit on their investment. And as they are regular and careful readers of the magazine they will have observed our increasing progress. With each new issue of the magazine we are mak- ing a big and decided gain. "You have probably observed, for instance, that Hampton’s is becoming more prominent every month on the news stands. There is just one reason for this. The newsdealers know that it is a “good seller.” When any merchant has a particularly attractive article for sale he is sure to place it conspicuous- ly before his customers. That is exactly the attitude of the news merchants toward ton’s. They have felt the increasing demand for this magazine, and as merchants who want to sell all the goods possible, they are stacking up each new issue of HAMPTON’S in as prominent a position as possible among their magazines. The circulation figures themselves are the best evidence of the increasing demand for our publication and the newsdealers’ growing appreciation of this demand. In February we made a splendid gain. We believe that the gain for March will be even greater. Have you looked at the advertising pages? Have you noted the quantity of high-class business? The advertising receipts for Feb- Tuary, 1909, were three times greater than for February, 1908. The receipts for March of this year were five times as great as those of March a year ago. April is very good indeed. The outlook for future months is splendid. We are going ahead rapidly— growing far faster than any other magazine. We are swiftly approaching the big things which our success all along has promised, Our profit-sharing plan, by which maga- zine readers may share in the profits of our thriving magazine enterprise, is extremely successful. This plan enables those who accept it now to come in with us on a basis that should make an investment pay extraor- 581 dinary dividends, Men and women from every part of North America, and from nearly every part of the world, have hastened to take advantage of our very unusual offer. Per- haps you have not learned about it. If you have not, you should inquire at once. Write a letter or postal to the Secretary of Hampton’s MacazinE, 66 West 35th Street, New York, and ask him to send you the booklet, “Profits in Magazine Publishing.” This booklet will give you some astonishing information about the big popular magazines of the country, and will tell you all about the remarkable offer which we have made. “RADICAL” SAYS THIS READER WHEN 1 began reading Hawrron's Macaztee several months ago I did so because I sup- posed that Ben Hampton would run a conservative magazine. I must say that in my opinion you are pflsducing the most radical ofthe popular magazines, r big cot indoubtedly the railroads and ot! tions have do ne many things that are wrong, think you go out of your way sometimes to Sills mc) t Rider articles you had many little at the Tobacco Trust which were not warranted by the facts as I read them in your ‘own magazine. ‘To my mind you are going too far in your anti-trust attitude. Why don’t you take up the labor unions? ‘They are just as bad in every way as the trusts. Why not go after both sides.— C.C. M., Chicago. CRITICISING THE CRITIC [N22 recent copy of your magazine appeared a dra- matic criticism of “Salvation Nell” which I, as a reader of Hampron’s and member of the large body of playgoers of New York, wish to take exception to. ‘When f say take exception to, I do not express my- self strongly enough, for I feel that your dramatic criti has gone so far wrong 2s to make most sane: minded people absolutely doubt his judgment, an abo to do your ine considerable harm. “There aie two objects of dramatic criticism, I take — is to guide those contemplating going to the and the other, by maintaining a standard of ex- lence, to elevate he drama, Your ericion of this play is not only wrong, but worthless, and, as it vas anonymous, the magazine assumes the respon sibility and blame.— .. New York City. THE PSYCHOLOGIST AS DETECTIVE Gary, or seventy years ago Edgar Allan Poe invented a way to tell a detective story. Since then a happy mob of ingenious writers have Sherlocked and “slooched”— as Abe Dingle so felicitously miscalled the gentle art of sleuthing—their way through twists of crime and trails of clews. But no one of them ever thought up a new way of detecting. It has always been the same old thumb-print-and-muddy-shoe detective story. Now comes a real discovery, a startlingly