December 11 Wednesday – In Riverdale, N.Y. Sam wrote two sentences to Daniel Carter Beard:

“Good—send Mr. Crosby along. I’ll see him any morning between 10.30 & 12, with pleasure” [MTP].

Note: Beard was associated with Ernest Howard Crosby (1856-1907), in the New York Anti-Imperialist League. Crosby was the president of the NY chapter. Ernest and John S. Crosby (probably brothers) were also active in the People’s Club and the Civic Council. Zwick writes of “a little-known episode of mutual inspiration” between Ernest Crosby, Dan Beard and Mark Twain:

On January 16, 1901, three days after Twain joined the Anti-Imperialist League of New York, Ernest Crosby gave a speech on “The Absurdities of Militarism” at a peace conference held at Tremont Temple in Boston. During the speech, he noted that Cervantes ended the literature of chivalry with the satire in Don Quixote and suggested that “a new Cervantes” should arise to destroy militarism by making it equally laughable.

“There is an opportunity today for a new Cervantes to perform a far greater exploit than has ever been ascribed to the Spanish author. A new Don Quixote might, nay, could, make the profession of war impossible by opening our eyes to the irresistible comicality of it. Mr. Dooley has done excellent work in this direction. Mark Twain has given us some evidence of his insight into the truth. Will not one of these gentlemen, or some other genius yet to be discovered, turn his winged shafts squarely against the war and the war-maker?”

After the speech, two officers of the New England Anti- Imperialist League who were in the audience suggested to Crosby that he write the book himself. He agreed, and completed Captain Jinks, Hero, before the end of the year. It was the first of only two anti -imperialist novels published during the Philippine-American War. Dan Beard illustrated the novel, and in December of 1901 he asked his friend Mark Twain to review it [email from Zwick Oct. 20, 2007].

Note: See also Jan. 13. For more, see Jim Zwick’s article, “‘Prodically Endowed with Sympathy for the Cause’: Mark Twain’s Involvement with the Anti-Imperialist League” Mark Twain Journal 32.1 (Spring 1994): 2-25. Ernest Crosby was also a poet and crusading vegetarian. Gribben lists one book in Sam’s library by Crosby, Swords and Ploughshares (1902) [166].

Sam received and responded to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s Dec. 10 invitation, the response is not extant but referred to in his Dec. 12 to Rogers.