I'd like to say a word in defense of Mark Twain's essays on imperialism. Gary Scharnhorst said that many more people learned of his views on imperialism through interviews than through his essays which were published in a journal with a comparatively small circulation. It might be true that many people first learned of his views on the subject through the homecoming interviews of October 1900, but later interviews in which he discussed the subject were not widely reprinted. Some of his essays were very widely reprinted. His speeches on the subject were also more widely reprinted than most interviews, probably because any newspaper could quote them as news or use them as filler without appearing to be recycling material from another newspaper. The comment he made in the speech about McKinley and the "polluted flag" was reprinted and commented upon in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast but his explanation in the interview was only available locally. The readership and influence of "To the Person Sitting in Darkness" and "To My Missionary Critics" should not be judged by the circulation of the North American Review. They were excerpted, and in some cases reprinted in full, in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. Half of "To the Person Sitting in Darkness" was reprinted in the Congressional Record and it may have been widely distributed from there using the franking privilege. The Anti-Imperialist League of New York also reprinted it in an edition of 125,000 copies. The essays were also discussed in numerous editorials and later newspaper reports as the missionaries and Minister Conger returned from China and were asked to respond. It would be hard to find a newspaper published in the United States at that time that did not publish excerpts or comment at some point on the essays and the ensuing controversy. I recently came across a report on Twain's influence on donations to missionary organizations that is a good example of how widely known those essays became. It is a report from Boston published in the Chicago American and reprinted in the Deseret Evening News of Salt Lake City on December 9, 1901. See "Twain Only Helped Them," about two-thirds down column five: http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/lccn/sn83045555/1901-12-09/ed- 1/seq-2 His essays were published in February and April. This is from December but they don't feel a need to explain why Mark Twain would have an influence on donations to missionary organizations except to say that "It was against a missionary of the American Board, Dr. Ament, that Mark Twain directed his attack." It assumes that every reader of the newspaper is familiar with Mark Twain's essays and only reminds them of Rev. Ament's affiliation. I don't want to downplay the importance of the interviews on imperialism but I think they are important for other reasons. They demonstrate how he used multiple forums to address political issues. The combination of writings, speeches and interviews amplified and extended public awareness of his views. The later interviews on imperialism are also significant because he stopped writing on the subject for publication by Harper & Brothers after it rejected "The War Prayer" and "King Leopold's Soliloquy" in March and April of 1905. After that, his anti- imperialism was expressed through other channels, including interviews, speeches, and short writings he handed out to newspaper reporters. In that context, the interviews demonstrate how he used one of the outlets still available to him. They also indicate the importance he still attached to the issue. Because of his strained relationship with his publisher, he was setting aside most of his writings on imperialism for publication after his death but it was still a front-burner issue. Jim Zwick [log in to unmask]