DIGGER SCANLON'S STORIES

NZ Truth, Issue 1203, 20 December 1928, Page 9

DIGGER SCANLON'S STORIES

IT is not the purpose of this article , to review Scanlon's literary efforts. That privilege can be reserved for the thousands who have handed over • their, shillings to enrich their bookshelves with copies of his numerous publications. The purchasers of these books must be numbered m thousands, because it is a long time since "Digger Stories" made their first appearance to the New Zealand public. A member of "Truth's" staff remembers when they were 'offered from door to door m a small mid-North Island township, over two years ago, and practically every town m the Dominion receives periodical visits from Scanlon's salesmen. ' In fact, Scanlon literature is almost as regular at the household doorstep as the quarterly milk-billj-and . just about as elevating. Let Herbert write about mademoiselles, trenches, yin-blanc and shellshock until he's blue m the face or gets writer's cramp, but when it comes to hnwking his outpourings from door to Guor and pleading With householders to "help the. returned soldier's at a shilling a throw, it is tiftie to protest. The strings of war-sentiment - are interwoven with- the average citizen's purse-strings, and it takes very little to loosen the one which controls the other.. Scanlon knows this, and uses the door-to-door method of marketing his wares; not on their merits, but on public sympathies. , His cheap and nasty frontispieces, depicting a peaked-hatted Digger with „_ — . . . — — His References - arm m sling or minus a leg and on crutches, are the fly-papers which .-. catch the silver butterfly. „' "Truth" would like to know whether Scanlon is seriously under the impression that his "works" carry a sentimental value, and are therefore worthy, additions to.< the home library, or 1 whether they are merely the .chief factors' in a well organized method of exploiting public patriotism and individual sympathies. Scanlon is not an ex-member of the N.Z. Expeditionary Force, though he may be an A.I.F. exserviceman. Further, m the introductory pages of several of the recent booklets which "Truth" has seen, Scanlon fails to mention any unit (Australian or New Zealand) to which he was attached. -- ' Just "Herbert Scanlon', late Anzac," introduces him as the author, followed with a half- page of "military references." , ■ • ■ These references intimate that "No. 28.07, Private Herbert Scanlon, served m the Great "War, and returned per hospital ship after being wounded; was honorably discharged as medically unfit; and holds the 1914-15 Star. A so-called "identity certificate," appears m his latest publications to substitute a previous misleading form of credential which originally figured m Scanlon's pages. The name affixed to the .."identity ' certificate" is identical with that of the individual who now fills a very important part m boosting the circulation of Scanlon's' literature. "C. J. Gordon" is the signature • Under this certificate, which , vouches for Scanlon's war service, and C. J. Gordon is the name of a • man who is organizing-salesman for the Anzac author. Ih these "references" the mention of any particular unit, or even a specified Force, is conspicuously absent, though hig number as a private, No. 2507, is mentioned. A perusal of four different publications from Scanlon's "vivid pen" reveals nothing to suggest any particular unit m which the writer' was. interested or had experience. Nor. can the reader detect one iota of. New. Zealand flavor about any one of the twenty or so short stories. >. ';. . ...

For Whose Benefit Is War ' ' Literature " Hawked About North and South Islands?

NO AUTHORITY FOR CLAIM OF R.S.A. BACKING

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.)

In his remarkable staying" powers for churning out stories, the famous Edgar Wallace has a rival m one Herbert Scanlon, "late Anzac," who claim's authorship of a stream of piffling "Digger stories" which by now must have trickled into a big percentage of New Zealand homes. The time has arrived to invite this "most popular and gifted author "—as Scanlon modestly prefaces one of his gaudily covered booklets— to turn his pen to a little personal biography, supplemented with a brief resume upon the tactics of some of his door-to-door salesmen.

It is only reasonable to assume that any digger, m penning stories which he hoped would appeal to the sentiments of his own community, would make use of a little local padding. Evidently Scanlon's stories are a compilation which serves two purposes while favoring neither. It seems that he has tWO barrels to his literary gun —one for Australia and one for New Zealand, with the same cartridges to fit both barrels! If this be so, perhaps Scanlon will come out of his scribbling dug-out on to the .public parapet and reveal the name of the force with which he faced the foe? He will then have fulfilled the desire so earnestly expressed m the foreword of one of his booklets wherein he hoped to "establish for myself a reputation,

by bringing my name prominently before the public." At the same time, Scanlon might be good enough to tell the world whether he receives the sole benefit (after salesmen's commissions are deducted) of the proceeds from the heavy shower of digger dope which finds its way into various parts of New Zealand as regularly as- the coming* and going of the four seasons. These columns will be open for the publication of an ' audited account of his dealings during the past 12 months with his printers, the "Unity Press, Ltd., Auckland," and anything else Scanlon can produce to give an authentic denial to the' allegation that he and his associates are making hay while the sun shines shillings upon a class of literature which would be dear at twopence a time!

Scanlon's salesmen, he obligingly reminds the public per medium of book- preface, "must be scrupulously honest, and of irreproachable character and integrity." It would be ridiculous to suppose that these go-getters take scrupulous care to. qualify their preliminary introductions to householders— chiefly womenfolk — m such a manner that there can be "no misunderstanding whatsoever as to the disposal of the proceeds of the book sales. Undoubtedly, Scanlon's prolonged canvassing lends itself to the impression, direct or implied, that the sale of the books is on behalf of a publicly-recognized returned soldiers' institution, arid this alone is sufficient to bring Scanlon and Co. under the closest scrutiny of the R.S.A. authorities. . It is only within the last two months that Scanlon was obliged to withdraw .from his publications a form of certificate alleged to have been issued by the secretary of the R.S.A. The matter was first brought to the notice of the R.S.A. Standing Committee by the executive of the Dunedin branch, and a remit was forwarded to "the conference held last June, asking that steps be taken to prevent Scanlon using the name of the R.S.A. to further his sales. As a result, Scanlon, who, it waslearned, was m receipt of a war . pension from the Commonweaith Government, delegated his representative, C. J.

• ■ / Well Organized Gordon, to appear before the R.S.A. authorities m Wellington. No certificate from the R.S.A. could be produced to legalize the "reference" m Scanlon's publications, and the R.S.A. adopted a remarkably lenient attitude m allowing the author until September 15 to dispose Of his stock of books. Being- still soft-hearted' on receiving a later communication from Scanlon, the R.S.A. further extended the time for unloading his edition until October 15. No doubt the controllers of the R.S.A. know best how to conduct their own affairs, but it is hard to understand their leniency m the circumstances. If the R.S.A. hopes to retain the public support to which it has primary claim, it must guard jealously against any individual who attempts to trade on its name.' The whole-hearted response -whichgreets any returned soldiers' movement is a sacred gesture which must be protected with the utmost respect, and it is up to .the R.S.A. authorities to instigate a thorough investigation into the personal affairs and ( business routine of Herbert Scanlon and Co. . One of his salesman who was recently canvassing m Dunedin admitted that he was not a returned soldier, and it is known to the R.S.A. authorities that Gordon cannot claim any such honor. This fact is not to Gordon's discredit, as he is too young to have been; able to enlist. The sale of Scanlon's books is carried on m a big, well-organized manner. That he has a definite itinerary for his men is established by the fact that his representatives appear m different towns at regular intervals. . For instance, the same set of offices m Dunedin have been hired ori behalf of Scanlon foV a period of several weeks m February-March and JuneJuly, 1927. and similar periods during the present year. | Herbert -Scanlon claims that he is a "Digger," and certainly he is a digger digging deep into a " public sentiment which is already /fully taxed through legitimate channels. '"iiiiiiHiKiiiiiiiiiiiiim