Before anyone gets too excited, I should point out that this ad comes from the September 1924 issue of The Goblin. The Toronto Sunday World, like The Goblin itself, is no more. A shame because it sure paid well. Easy to see how the thing attracted such big name authors:
Well, they were big names back then. And G.K. Chesterton lives on, right?
Here's the thing: Canadian short story writers – "special" or otherwise – had little place in the magazine. Rudyard Kipling, E. Phillips Oppenheim and Mary Robert Rinehart featured, but not Arthur Stringer, Frank L. Packard or Isabel Ecclestone Mackay. The sole Canadian I've found is Sir Gilbert Parker, and he hardly needed the money.
The Sunday World published its last issue in November 1924, just two months after that Goblin ad. Maybe they were paying too much for those stories.
The Bank of Canada informs that $3500 in 1924 is the equivalent of $48,883.33 today.
