Letter from John G. Neihardt to Julius T. House, July 31, 1926

Branson, July 31, '26. Dear Comrade:

I think I wrote you last from Austin, and that is a deuce of a long time between times. Your second letter since my last arrived today, and I could hardly believe at first that I had not written you. Things have been moving in a rapid excited way for me, and I hardly know which way to jump, for there are three good ways to jump. Here is the situation.

I have been giving nearly all my time to the J-P of Kansas City at what is really a ridiculous salary.

I was doing this, however, by way of winning out in Kansas City and getting a nucleus for a syndicate. The syndicate idea is working out nicely, and I could have from eighty to a hundred dollars here - that is, per week.

When I was in Lincoln several weeks ago, Avery offered me a full professorship (active, to begin Sept. first), and his proposition was good. He suggested two lectures per week and a seminar. For this I was to receive half pay of a full professor, that is $2250. I can go there if I want to go, and the plan was that I should run my syndicate and give a course on Contemporary Literature, based on my reviewing. Avery was strong for this and so was Sherman. Sherman has written me a long letter, setting forth his ideas of what I should do up there. I was surprised to note that he had a lecture a day in mind.

Well, we have been thinking of getting the St. Loouis

Post-Dispatch into our syndicate. Leigh Leslie of Omaha, who has been travelling for the syndicate on Judge Vinsonhaler's money, met me in St. Louis last Thursday, and we went to see the editor of the Post-Dispatch. He had us to lunch, and it looked mighty good - almost a cinch, we thought. The Post-Dispatch, however, would prefer to have me for its own man, and wipe out the syndicate idea. $100 per week was mentioned by the editor, and I would be required to live in the suburbs of St. Louis. This job would givve me, with my royalties, over $6,000 per year, without counting occasional lectures. And the best part of it is that I would be expected to write no more than two columns per week. My job would be editing the book page, for most of the material would be contributed. Johns, the editor,has asked me to write him my notion of a good book page and to send my Journal-Post pages. He himself is sold, it appears. He wants this stuff for Pulitzer, who was not in town. I should know soon, for I must either accept or reject the University offer. There will be a quick decision, I was given to understand.

If I go to St. Louis to live, I can work five mornings of the week at home on the MESSIAH, and my God, that is what I want to do and must do. Two mornings would be spent at home writing on my P-D stuff, and all afternoons would be spent at my office in town. I have a Buick master-six, and could drive in, even though I should live out 15 miles, as Jonhs thought I might well do. I had to have that car. It was necessary if I stayed here, as we'd have to go to Springfield once a week for music lessons. If we leave, it will be more necessary, if possible. I got an astonishing bargain on the car, and it's a moose. I drove to Eureka Springs and back with eight in it the other day, and the hills are terrible. The damned beautiful thing purred up nearly all hills. Yesterday I made the Cave trip, another hard drive; and the performance of the beast was superb. I have a new car guarantee - 90 days, and I know the man who sold it to me. He's honest. It is almost new and looks like a brand new car. But the price was much lower than on a new car.

So I may not be so very far from you next winter.

My royalties took a bounce this year. $1,028. Increase in sales all around, really extraordinary, and I'm delighted.

The more I think of it, the more I want to get hold of that Post-Dispatch page. The P-D is one of the best papers in the U.S. and has weight all over the country. Also, it is absolutely free in opinion. The editor said: "I want you to understand one thing now: there would be no commercializing on that page". And I said, "You could not get me to commercialize it for all Pulitzer's money". So there would no row there.

Endless love, best of Comrades! You do not grow less dear, but more so! Jno