of a five-minute talk about Paul Lafargue's
"Social and Philosophic Studies" the audience, in three minutes, bought
250 copies, and more than a hundred would-be purchasers had to wait
until the following Sunday for a new supply. A few Sundays later
Blatchford's "God and My Neighbor," a dollar volume, had a sale of 204
copies--the total book sale for that morning reaching what I believe is
the record for a Socialist meeting--$220.00. The last lecture of this
season (April, 1910,) had a book sale of $190.00, which included 380
paper back copies of Sinclair's "Prince Hagen."

These figures are given to show that this work can be done, and if it is
not done the lecturer alone is to blame. Anyone who can lecture at all
can do this with some measure of success. There can be no sane doubt of
its value. About 500 young men in the Garrick audience have built up
small but fine libraries of their own through this advice given in this
way, and there is no part of my work which gives me so great
satisfaction.

I never allow my audience to imagine for a moment that my book talk is a
mere matter of selling something. There will always be one or two in the
audience who will take that view--natural selection always overlooks a
few chuckle-heads.

Now let us tabulate some of the results that may be obtained in this
way:

(1) By getting these books into the hands of our hearers we give our
teachings from the platform a greater permanence in their minds. We not
only help them to knowledge, but put them in the way of helping
themselves directly. This alone is, justification enough, but it is not
all.

(2) We encourage the publication of just those books which in our
estimation contain the principles which we regard as destined to promote
the happiness of mankind.

(3) The difference between the wholesale and retail prices is often
enough to make successful a lecture course which would have otherwise
died prematurely of bankruptcy. Where a meeting cannot live on the
collection, the book sales may mean financial salvation. The morning we
sold $220 of books at the Garrick we also took a collection of $80.
Without the book sales $80 would have been the total receipts, and this
collection was normal. Yet the Garrick meetings cost $140 each. After we
had paid the publisher's bill we had a balance from book sales of $120,
which made the total receipts not $80 but $200. And this is among the
least important results of book selling.

Ever