On the Right Special: An Interview with William F. Buckley Jr.(Brief Article)(Interview)

April 1 was the 40th anniversary of WFB's column, On the Right. Our librarian advises that he has written 5,610 columns, which, measured in gross, adds up to 4.5 million words, the equivalent of 45 medium-sized books. We put a couple of questions to our old friend.

rich lowry: Whose idea was the column?

wfb: It was Harry Elmlark's, a great character. I didn't meet him personally during the negotiations (he became a dear friend). He proposed one column per week. I said okay, but I wanted $75. How can I offer you $75? Harry -- he was out of Damon Runyon and tightfisted -- asked. He explained over the phone that syndicates get 50 percent of the revenue, and he could only pay me $75 if he had $150 of clients. We didn't make $150 for opening day, so in months ahead he repaid himself his (postponed) claim.

rl: Were there other right-wing columnists at the time?

wfb: George Sokolsky, preeminent, was dead. John Chamberlain (my valued friend and colleague and brilliant literary critic) took over his column for Hearst, but columns weren't his natural medium. Raymond Moley had a column in addition to his pieces for Newsweek. The great James Jackson Kilpatrick came around a few years later. And the preeminent George Will was 15 years or so down the line.

rl: Why did you switch a few years ago from three times a week to two?

wfb: Because I gradually discovered that editors do not publish three submissions per week. Once upon a time that had been the case. When, after one year, I proposed going to twice a week, Harry said: No! Editors like three times or once, not twice.