garding the assignment through which they could be represented in draw-
of undeveloped peoples by mandate to the care of ing up such a document, and to this fact its obvious
tutelary powers must be carried out in conspicuous shortcomings are due. It is a Covenant of Govern-
good faith. The examples which the world has ments. To remedy its defects, to fill in its outline,
before it of such professed guardianship in the cases
to make it a genuine and vital instrument, however,
of Morocco, Madagascar, Egypt, the Congo Free
the people have a weapon which President Wilson
State, and Korea are not such as to inspire con-
himself suggested in his Boston speech :
fidence in this form of machinery.
The nations of the world have set their heads now to
So much for matters in which the nations repre do a great thing, and they are not going to slacken their
sented at the Peace Conference, especially the five
purpose. And when I speak of the nations of the world I
do not speak of the governments of the world. I speak
executives, must act through their representatives in of the peoples who constitute the nations of the world.
order to fill out the sketch of the League of Na-
They are in the saddle and they are going to see to it
tions in such a way as to give it the color and
that if their present governments do not do their will,
some other governments shall. And the secret is out and
meaning implied in President Wilson's repeated ut the present governments know it.
terances on the subject. There are other matters
The people have resolved on
which will be left to later action of the League, possibly a greater thing than even President Wilson
and which will be decided accordance with the
realizes. They will accomplish it either through
attitude of the several contracting nations. First the medium of existing governments or by over-
of these stands disarmament. The constitution of turning them. They understand the causes of war,
the League is obviously vague on this point, but and realize that they are deeply rooted in the struc-
it is certain that here we come to the supreme—or, ture of a society founded primarily on the possessive
as President Wilson would say, the acid-test of instincts of mankind. It is the representatives and
the reality of the whole structure. If nations con guardians of the vested interests of this society who
tinue to pile up armament, if they permit the manu-
facture of munitions to be a matter of private specu-
are met in Paris to draw up the protocol for the
settlement of the world. As was pointed out in The
lation and public corruption, if above all they train Dial of January 25, the all-inclusive question of
their populations for war under any system, Swiss the Conference is still whether the forces there rep-
or Prussian, then clearly they have not the root of resented can in such a world make peace at all. The
the matter in them. Second stands the commercial draft of the constitution of the League does not
intercourse of nations. If this become progressively answer that question; it postpones it; it may indeed
free there will be supplied an economic basis of become an evasion of it. But it will be an evasion
peace which will render superfluous the safeguards of which men will be well aware, and they will rez
of the League; but if the business relations of na sent most bitterly the action of those who have had
tions continue to be dictated by selfish considerations the largest share in the deception. Only as a prom-
only, especially if it be the selfishness of a class, we ise to be redeemed in full in the terms of interna-
shall have exchanged one form of warfare for an tional settlement repeatedly laid down by President
other likely to become more terrible and desolating Wilson and endorsed by all the Allies can the pres-
as the economic exploitation of the world proceeds.
ent Covenant be honestly offered or accepted.
Third is the freedom of movement among peoples,
It is in this sense, as the basis of an alliance of
not excluding Japanese and Hindus—obviously a all nations, an instrument of international coopera-
necessary condition of that mutual respect which is tion among all peoples, that we accept this Cov-
at the basis of a League of Free Nations. And enant. Unless it is this, it is nothing. It is in
finally there is the matter touched on briefly in
this sense that we can call on liberals to accept it,
Article XX, the treatment of labor in the several
always reminding ourselves and them that the
nations—a matter of internal administration, in present document is only a beginning, the first dawn
which, however, the nations comprising the League of the morning, and that the burden and heat of the
may powerfully influence each other. It is by some day are all before us.
such cooperative effort of democracy as that sug-
ROBERT Morss LOVETT.


THE DIAL
22 I
Reversing an Emergency
How acute must an emergency be to war-
we stop shooting shells and dropping bombs. Sud-
rant the suspension of the Constitution? Or is it a denly we stop pulverizing shoes and uniforms. We
question of whose emergency it is?
stop manufacturing and saving up shells and bombs
When we entered the war we lost comparatively and uniforms and army shoes. Presently we with-
little time in mobilizing our resources in men, in draw restraint from the paper market and from the
materials, in money. These were quickly placed at lumber market. The War Industries Board is al-
the disposal of the government; or the govern lowed to disband; the Capital Issues Board evapor-
ment, recognizing the existence of an emergency ates; the War Labor Board sinks into desuetude.
whatever that may be established new agencies It seems that private initiative and enterprise and the
for their seizure and administration. Many seri traditional wisdom and motivation of business can
ously questioned the motivation of our entry into now be relied upon to produce what is necessary, as
the war, but nobody questioned the authority of the economically as may be, as promptly as our general
government to assume its new powers. In a great welfare may require.
emergency, it is recognized, ordinary rules and ordi-
The emergency is past. But a new emergency
nary agencies no longer work, at least adequately. has come to replace it. The commodity labor, of
At such a time we depend upon the leadership of which there was a serious shortage but a few weeks
the community, whether official or unofficial, to ago, is rapidly changing into a vast array of hungry
assert itself, to override routine, and to use all men and women with no income in sight. The
necessary force to establish order, or security, or munitions factories, the uniform factories, the gas-
health, or whatever it is that the emergency de mask factories stop producing wår supplies. That
mands. Our entry upon the war was no doubt a is excellent. That will liberate capital and ma-
serious emergency. But with the cessation of hos terials for peace-time production. That, plus the
tilities the emergency is completely reversed, in demobilization, will liberate workers—to look for
certain respects. Yet our officials are doing nothing jobs. And that is the new emergency. In the past
very prompt, nothing very drastic, to cope with the such situations were looked upon as the emergen-
situation.
cies of those directly concerned. In the past we
One feature of the conduct of the war has a took official cognizance of unfortunate people's
special significance for the future of our national emergencies because we were more or less humane,
policies on the economic side. That was the or more or less sympathetic, more or less disposed to
ganization of the administration of essentials on a relieve distress. But now we have an uncomfort-
comprehensive scale. The Transport Administra able feeling that there is some official responsibility
tion, the Food Administration, the Fuel Adminis for meeting this new emergency.
After all, the
tration, the War Industries Board, the Capital men and women who fought and carried on are
Issues Board, and many other agencies represented something more than convenient supplies for the
the principle that an essential commodity which is
conduct of business; they are an integral and a very
limited in amount and which may become the limit considerable portion of that something “we” were
ing factor in the execution of the national purpose
fighting for – and moreover, they will not be
must be controlled, on the one hand to guard against ignored.
or sequestration, and on the So we must take official note of the new emer-
other hand to insure the most effective utilization
gency, and we shift it to the Employment Service.
in the emergency. In accepting the slogan “ work And the Employment Service, with the best of in-
of fight,” in establishing the United States Em-
tentions, with the best of organizations, with the
ployment Service to administer labor power when
best of executives, will fail to meet the emergency.
labor threatened to become the limiting factor in
Then the Employment Service, and the Department
the successful conduct of the war, and in the deter-
of Labor, and perhaps the Democratic Administra-
mination of labor priorities, labor was treated pre-
tion will be discredited. Indeed the very idea of the
cisely the same as other commodities, and rightly so.
government's interfering with what is historically a
All of these things mean that in an emergency it is private affair will be thoroughly discredited. But if
no longer safe to leave to private initiative and
it fails, the Employment Service will not be at fault.
enterprise—and patriotism—the control of national
You might as well blame your refrigerator for not
keeping your apartment warm., It is not built that
Suddenly way. It was built for an entirely different purpose
waste and dissipation
essentials.
But suddenly the emergency is over.


2 2 2
THE DIAL
March 8
warm.
special chemical; now we should be concerned with
—an opposite purpose. No matter how good a re ment, we should establish a condition of continued
frigerator it is, it cannot keep your apartment low wages with constantly rising prices; but per-
And neither can the Employment Service, haps we should then be forced to recognize that we
which was built for administering a shortage of the had a real emergency on our hands.
commodity labor, successfully reverse itself and ad If the present emergency concerns only discharged
minister a shortage of jobs.
munitions workers and discharged soldiers, it is but
The reason for this is that, whereas the govern the front end of an emergency that concerns the
ment could establish some control over the commodi very existence of the nation. We must recognize
ties it undertook to administer-food, or fuel, or quickly that there is needed an organization, on a
labor—as a war measure, it has no control whatever comprehensive scale, for the production of funda-
over jobs. The making of jobs is in the hands of mentals that are immediately and continuously
those who own the machinery for production-cap usable. We must recognize that we cannot depend
ital and organization and technique. So long as we for this prompt and comprehensive organization
leave it to these, the emergency will continue—with upon those in control of the industrial and commer-
Auctuations in volume and acuteness, but it will cial and financial machinery of the country. Those
continue. For the job makers can afford to wait. in control are, from a traditional and legalistic
There is of course a great need for goods of all- point of view, quite legitimately taking their time
kinds, but this great need is not an “ effective de until the situation is so clear that they can see profit
mand." That is to say, there is no immediate buy in making jobs. But while they are waiting, the
ing ability proportionate to our potential produc- organisms that constitute labor, the flesh and blood
tivity. It is not considered good business to plow of the country, are undergoing deleterious changes.
lands or build houses or weave cloth today because If now we are to assume national responsibility
the labor cost is too high, and because labor, as for this emergency, instead of ignoring it, or in-
market, is too poor.
stead of allowing it to be the exclusive concern of
It is true that a given acre of tillage or a given those upon whom it happens to impinge, we must
mile of trackage represents the same amount of first of all reestablish the various administrative
labor, whether the wage rate be one dollar or ten bodies maintained during the war for the purpose
dollars a day. It is true that the food and clothing of controlling the production and distribution of
required by a worker's family in 1919 is inde • war essentials—with certain important differences.
pendent both of the wage rate and of the current Whereas during the war capital issues, the purchase
prices of commodities. But the factors that deter of materials, the allotment of labor, and the assign-
mine whether or not it is worth while to produce ment of transportation priorities were administered
food and clothing and houses and roads are not the solely with a view to war needs, today capital and
productivity of able and willing workers, nor the materials and labor must be administered with a
needs of men, women, and children. The determin view to the normal essentials of working people.
ing factors, are the probability of profits for the Whereas during the war competition for workers
undertakers and of dividends for the investors. had virtually to be prohibited to prevent the sky-
So private capital is waiting for a recognized need rocketing of wages, we must now prevent competi-
to become translated in some mysterious manner tion for jobs from knocking the bottom out of living
into an effective demand; but the workers cannot standards. Whereas during the war we comman-
wait. It is not merely a question of keeping idle deered labor and left to it a minimum of oppor-
folk occupied; it is not even a question of furnish- tunity for self-direction while we merely controlled
ing a wage or a stipend. It is primarily a question capital, we should now commandeer capital
, leaving
of maintaining production and distribution of essen it a minimum of self-direction, while we merely
tials. That is why any agency for dealing with the guide labor. In short, we must now recognize that
emergency, whether the Employment Service or
the emergency is reversed.
what not, must start something substantially like The first difference this reversal makes in any
the organization of production and distribution.
Reservoir or buffer employments will be neces-
program of organized production and distribution is
this: during the war we were concerned with pro-
sary; but they will not suffice. While we may ducing to the very utmost, limiting ourselves only
raise enough money to pay emergency wages for by such limiting factors as were beyond our con-
such employments for many months to come, we
shall be producing values that the emergency wages
trol-chiefly shortages of essentials—now transpor-
tation, at another time equipment, or labor, or some
cannot buy, that workers cannot use to live on. If
we established only emergency reservoir employ establishing a minimum program, in the fear that


1919
THE DIAL
223
industrial equipment is not the fear that some fool
is the sort of obstacle that may at any time cease
any excess of production would affect unfavorably The assumption of national responsibility would
those factors of national or foreign markets that mean in the second place the immediate starting
furnish the prerogatives of merchants and finan of all our statistical machinery for ascertaining the
ciers. Because the fixing of prices and of wages actual needs of the nation—that is the people—in
would to a certain extent interfere with the specu the months to come. How much food, and what
lative elements of investments and profits, we kinds, how much iron and coal and gasoline and
should undertake to produce only as little as would copper and lumber, how many pairs of shoes, and
suffice to meet the prospective needs, with the nar how many dwellings during the next fiscal year?
rowest possible margin of safety.
All these things we can find out with reasonable
The apparently arbitrary limitation of wage de accuracy, even if the financiers have no way of
pression is the second point of difference, and this knowing how much can be profitably marketed.
is quite as justifiable as was the previous restriction Next we can find out how much our farms and
on competition for workers. Under war conditions mines, our forests and factories, are capable of
those in control of industry, whether they dealt producing—assuming organization and labor and
directly with the government or with the public at materials and technique-profit or no profit. And
large, were amply protected against excessively then we can find out just what private enterprise
high wages. Through cost-plus contracts, or through contemplates producing and when it plans to start.
fixed price contracts, the margin was all on the Prices being what they are, wages being what
side of the capital owner.
An excessively high they are, visible stocks of supplies being what they
wage, which strictly speaking means a wage in ex are, what do you plan to do with your silk mills,
cess of the social value of the worker's product, may with your clothing factories, with your machine
indeed - have been attained in some trades; but - shops, with your furniture factories?
generally speaking the living standards of the Suppose our War Industries Board, converted into
workers of the country have not gone up unduly
National Safety Industries Board, receives from a
during the war, whereas, generally speaking, the
certain munitions plant, now converted into a sport-
families of the capital controlling classes have not
ing goods plant, a program of the year's production.
been exposed to undue privation, and the
There being an abundance of labor and raw material
ings” of capital have been of such magnitude as to
available, our board allots coal and materials to the
lead many to confuse“ profiteering with the factory. But a compilation of all the sporting goods
sequestration of excess profits. Under these circum reports shows that there is contemplated a shortage
stances the danger of alloting to the workers an ex-
of tennis rackets. Now you cannot force the manu-
cessive wage means at the worst a draft upon our
facturer to take any risks; but you can undertake to
material reserves; whereas an unduly low wage
manufacture a supplementary lot of tennis rackets in
would mean a draft upon our human reserve-
a commandeered and converted airplane factory.
the disintegration of men, women, and children, if
What is needed, in other words, as a third step, is
these stood for it long enough.
the determination of what work must be undertaken
The third difference, the determination by public
to supplement the private voluntary undertakings. If
agencies of the' location and uses of private capital,
there is enough machinery in the country to produce
is but another implication of our acceptance of na-
the necessary shoes, and only enough is working to
meet half the needs, we must start enough additional
granted, in accepting the draft law, that at least machinery going to supply the other half. If private
so far as they were able officials would place each
capital is too timid to take the risk, it may waive its
conscript where he would be of most service. Can profits while the machinery turns out peace essentials.
the same way commandeering of private fixed capi-
This means the fixing of wages for workers in
tal should result in placing each tractor or sewing
terms of living costs and living standards. It may
machine or lathe where it will do the most good.
mean the fixing of prices that leave too little profit.
What stands in the way of an official seizure of
The fixing of wages in terms of prices would tend to
stabilize wages. This would be embarrassing to the
officer might try to grind heavy castings with a
manufacturer whose program for the year was based
spinning jenny and thus ruin a perfectly good ma-
on the hope that wages would drop speedily. But
chine. The chief obstacle is the refusal of those
the fixing of prices might bring its compensations.
in control of the government to recognize the sit-
At any rate, we shall eventually have to choose be-
uation as a national emergency. That, however,
tween making unwilling capital serve the nation at
what its owners consider inadequate pay, and leav-
ing willing but unemployed workers to their own
earn-
tional action in an emergency.
to have meaning.


224
THE DIAL
March 8
I.
2.
.
devices. As to the former alternative, we do not owners of equipment and credit to furnish the or-
know what constitutes adequate compensation for ganization and to employ labor and to exploit tech-
the service of capital; empirically it is anything be nology. The present emergency means that the own-
tween zero and several hundred per cent. And as ers of capital are not ready to start. Some other
to the latter alternative, we do not know to what agency must do the starting, the national govern-
devices idle workers and outraged soldiers may re ment—or those who feel it to be their emergency.
sort. But we do know, or can easily enough find There are here then four important questions:
out, what lands and materials and machinery are Have we enough resources in the way of mate-
required for producing the consumable utilities of rials and tools and machinery and fluid capital
the coming year; we know where the machinery (or credit) to employ all willing men and women
and the materials and the workers are located.
in a producing organization ?
The matter is not altogether a simple problem in Have we available the intelligence, the expert
arithmetic; there are many variables and many un knowledge, and the executive ability requisite for
certainties. There is the possibility that private cap effecting such an organization?
ital will discover that it is not as timid as it had
3. Can such an organization produce enough to
feared itself to be, and that it will then come forth maintain the corresponding portion of the popula-
to steal labor away from government undertakings tion, and carry its overhead costs?
by the offer of higher wages. There is the possibil 4. Is the organization of capital for the purpose of
ity that workers (even unemployed workers) have enabling available workers to produce and to main-
already discovered that what they used to consider tain themselves and their dependents a matter of
good jobs are today beneath their notice. There is national importance ?
the possibility that unforeseen importations will It is only the fourth of these questions that re-
leave the relatively high-priced domestic products on
mains open. It is the whole question whether un-
our hands, too valuable to throw away, but too “ex employment, however extensive or enduring, is or
pensive" to use up. But all of these possibilities mean
is not a public emergency, is or is not a strictly pri-
that an emergency is an expensive proposition; that
does not need to be decided. What needs to be de-
cided is, who is to pay the cost? Shall it be the re-
When we recognized the existence of an emer-
turning soldiers and the discharged second line?
gency that called for more labor than came forward
Shall it be the next generation, forced to liquidate service. Now that the emergency is reversed, shall
voluntarily, we knew how to conscript the additional
long term bonds ? Shall it be the few who are both
we have the vision and the energy and the courage
wealthy and generous ? Shall it be those who have
accumulated war profits beyond all decency? The
to cope with it?' That is, shall we have the vision
fact is that not one of these classes can bear the cost,
and the courage and the energy to continue conscript-
however much it may wish to. To carry the cost
ing, whatever and whomsoever may be needed, until
the emergency is past?
means to produce continuously, and that requires That depends on whose emergency we think it is.
workers, plus organization, plus equipment, plus
technique. Heretofore we have depended upon the
BENJAMIN C. GRUENBERG.
vate matter.
Night Smell
The quivering night smell
Comes and touches
my
heart
Till it swoons, almost,
In the darkness.
I am like the happy bending and floating
Of unknown and outworn spiderwebs,
So without importance
In the exultant brooding
Of the night.
The bloom, and the blush, and the nod
Of it lean over me,
And make a long soft sound
Like a bird asleep.
JOSEPHINE BELL.


1919
THE DIAL
22 5
or
nicest adjustment to disclose a philosophy of life
book of a man in whose supernal mathematic ten
times ten always make one, and one only.
Ten Times Ten Make One
MR. JAMES BRANCụ CABELL of Virginia, that the history of conscious life may be only an
genealogist and twentieth century jongleur of let essay in romantic fiction, contrived by an all-power-
ters, now amuses himself by giving his fourth dimen ful author who uses men and women, rather than
sional arithmetic its official textbook, Beyond Life: written words, as his symbols. It is a romantic,
Dizain des Demiurges. (McBride; $1.50). This not a realistic, essay, because the demiurge or world-
charming act of concession may or may not be a shaping principle is nothing other than romance.
good thing for the future of the romantic and The universal human instinct for romance—which,
gossamer science thereby made manifest. In any I take it, would be the Cabellian defense of the
event, I mean charming” in all literalness supposition that man is made in the image of his
abhorring sarcasm on this subject, and leaving it to author-expresses itself in a set of “dynamic illu-
the really professional reviewer who reviews with sions vital lies,” each an elaborate denial of
out having read.
the factual truth about life, and a fashion of accept-
At first glimpse, the concession seems one of ing things not as they are ” but “ as they ought
humorous despair, whereby Mr. Cabell offers to to be.” The crowning merit of these dynamic il-
make himself over, body and soul-one group after
lusions is that, one and all, they work, whereas
another having refused him on whatever terms—to
nothing else does work. They improve the race,
the cults and the coteries, which remain hitherto better the shape and composition of the world it
as blankly oblivious of him as the newspapered and inhabits, hasten and control its evolution away from
Saturday-Evening-Posted multitude itself. This the ape, enlist it on the side of the angels. Man
would be, for the author of Gallantry and The
has the faculty of “playing the ape to his dreams”;
Line of Love, a dreadful form of suicide, compara-
he “can, actually, acquire a trait by assuming, in
ble to the self-extinction invoked by vice-presidents defiance of reason, that he already has it."
and the husbands of famous women. But what To exemplify: The love of the sexes is such a
Mr. Cabell has done, and notably done, in Beyond dynamic illusion, one of the chief of man's incite-
Life is to make an extension into philosophy of his ments to noble emprise. “When you come
artifice, perhaps also of his art. I do not know judge what he [man] made of sexual desire, ap-
that even the most enterprising of his detractors praising the deed in view as against the wondrous
has ever made any very serious attempt to convict overture of courtship and that infinity of high
him of a deficit in the sense of purely artistic unity.
achievements which time has seen performed as
He is nothing if not the workman, the welder. grace-notes, words fail before his egregious thauma-
Even in his volumes of tales—Chivalry, the Dizain turgy. For after any such stupendous bit of hocus-
des Reines; The Certain Hour, his Dizain des pocus, there seems to be no limit fixed to the con-
Poëtes ; Gallantry, the Dizain des Fêtes Galantes; jurations of human vanity.” The epic of Chris-
and The Line of Love, which started out to be tianity is another triumph of romance, the most
'the Dizain des Mariages, and was thwarted only
staggering of all: it is the tale of Cinderella and the
by Mr. Cabell's failure to have discovered at that Prince in a cosmic translation. And all religion
early period“ the decimal system of composition":
creates dynamic illusions based on human vanity; it
even in these volumes of ostensibly separate tales,
whispers to man that the gods are interested in
there is inflexible unity of design, an interweaving
him and his doings, and he, moved by the pretty
of parts patterned into a whole by composition,
fiction of a reward in eternity, does the best he
point of view, a selective principle, singleness of
knows how on this bank and shoal of time. Also
esthetic and philosophic accent. With these belongs
he abstains from doing: for virtue, which is
this newer volume, Beyond Life, the Dizain des
torious resistance to one's vital desire," a daily
ten essays of the same calculated and abstention from being 'true to life,'
preordained harmony, each essay coaxed into ten
plicitly on the expectation of being paid . . . in
neat sections strung together and fitting like verte-
a transfigured life to come.” (This, says Mr.
brae
, all the essays and all the sections falling into
Cabell, is religion's use of “that venerable artistic
convention, the happy ending.'”) Patriotism, a
Wrapped round a philosophy of letters. It is the
demiurgic product especially valuable in war-time,
is undefiled by any smirch of 'realism' or of that
which is merely 'logical'"; it is an anesthesia for
The central unifying speculation of the book is
saving us from truths which would drive us in-
to
"* vic-
Demiurges,
rests im-


226
March 8
THE DIAL
(6
as they
stantly mad if honestly faced, such as that “presi illusion, the demiurge, is the friend of the race, the
dents and chief-justices and archbishops and kings summum bonum, the author of all effort, all achieve.
and statesmen are human beings like you and me ment; realism, or insistence on the factual truth, is
and the state legislators and the laundryman." the inveterately inimical and destructive principle.
Whence the “mythos " built up round each of our And then, behold! we land with a thud against the
great men, so as to save us from the driveling astounding assertion that the crowning imbecility
terror that would spring from conceding our des of realism in fiction is its endeavor “to show our
tinies in any way to depend on other beings quite as actual existence from a viewpoint wherefrom no
mediocre and incompetent as ourselves.”
human being ever saw it” –that is, the viewpoint
And then there is the most potent and pervasive which penetrates and analyzes, which excludes what
of all demiurgic forces, plain human dullness. It it can of bias, which portrays the dynamic illusions
keeps the average man convinced of the ultimate not as the eternal laws of truth and beauty, but
value of common sense,” of doing “practical ” simply as emotion and predilection objectively ex-
things; it keeps us one and all perpetually con isting in the characters; the viewpoint of Flaubert,
vinced that life, however aimless and wasteful and of Conrad—and, I must add, at the risk of in-
unsatisfactory at this moment, is certain be al furiating a writer to whose work I, for one, warmly
together different by week after next. And respond—the viewpoint of Mr. Cabell himself in
finally dulness it is that lifts up heart and voice every book he has yet signed.
alike, to view a parasite infesting the epidermis of Now, if no human being does actually see life
a midge among the planets, and cries, Behold, this from this angle— I pass over the question how on
is the child of God All-mighty and All-worshipful, earth, if no one does, The Cords of Vanity and
made in the likeness of his Father!"
Beyond Life and Madame Bovary and Une Vie
Thus, throughout the demiurge compels us to and Nostromo have contrived to exist-if the
interpret life as it is not, and thereby spares us the dynamic illusions are the whole sum of normal
dementia of seeing it as it is; it enables us to exist. consciousness, and presenting the facts
Having done that, it enables us to progress, on our are ” is “precisely the one indiscretion which life
maker's grand scale as the artist in fiction does never perpetrates”; if all this is so, why then of
on his tiny scale, toward “the auctorial virtues of
course it is
” which turns out to be the
distinction and clarity, of beauty and symmetry, of
servile and effortless copy of factuality, and by
tenderness and truth and urbanity.” And, of all the same token it is this very decried
realism
that is, no jot has come to be except by virtue of which alone takes imagination, expands the province
this will that stirs in us to have the creatures of consciousness, changes the shape, the boundaries,
of earth and the affairs of earth, not as they are,
the very center of the world each of us inhabits; it
but' as they ought to be.'”. This will about which is realism only, in fine, which is the authentic ro-
we talk is romance, the demiurge; but “when we
note how visibly it sways all life we perceive that That this may indeed be so is the one valid jus-
we are talking about God.”
tification of realism, the realist's all-sufficing
However clear the general purport of this apologia. If all of us are swaddled in illusion, then
philosophy, as a restatement of the truism that life the only adventure left is the effort to get rid of the
is somehow making game of us, there is somewhat wrappings, see ourselves stripped, and perceive at
in its detailed applications to ruffle the sense of last how infantile we really are. To do so may be,
logic. One wants the doctrine-because it is, how in fact, the one way for us to get our growth-
ever subordinately, a born artist's doctrine of art that growth toward the stature of archangels on
to achieve indubitable clarity on the main esthetic which Mr. Cabell more than once compliments
point. That point is the authenticity of “
the race. That this is the function of realism some
and the spuriousness of “realism”; and precisely of us have always contended. The fact that much
that point is left without any very exact locus. pseudo-realism has got no deeper than the pimples
Beyond Life, unlike life, teems with definition; but, on the skin of life-has remained, in the words of
through the piling up of definitions that do not Mr. Cabell's Charteris, " the art of being super-
agree, it leaves its major terms as undefined as ficial seriously”—has really nothing to do with the
those of life itself. The major terms here are
question. If Mr. Cabell's Charteris
, who has to
romance and realism.” Almost from begin- perfection the art of being serious superficially,
ning to end of the book, romance is understood to
to ask what I mean by realism, when the question
be the acceptance of life as it ought to be, realism
the acceptance of life as it is. Romance, dynamic masquerading as the art of fiction, I might very in-
is of literature and not merely of glib journalism
romance
99
mance.
romance
were


1919
THE DIAL
227
or
indeed he does become, since The Rivet in Grand-
telligently answer that I mean The Cream of the father's Neck, very special, very tricksy, very ex-
Jest and The Cords of Vanity and Beyond Life. clusively and (shall I say?) ostentatiously given to
The net result of these books, and of their neighbors pleasing the most whimsical part of himself, and
on the same shelf-excepting, perhaps, The Eagle's other considerations be hanged. But the real dan-
Shadow-is to shrink the domain of illusion and ger, after all, is not that the faddists will injure
faith and to expand that of disillusion and sight. his future by taking him up; it is that, by limiting
What criticism there is in this continent simply himself more and more narrowly to ingenious mock-
cannot afford longer to wage its war against the eries, he will injure it himself, and with it more
falsities without acclaiming the addition to its than he can possibly conjecture of the next quarter-
ranks of such a master of strategy as Mr. Cabell. century of letters in America. If this seem a fanci-
His present defense of the illusions of romance is ful speculation, consider that Mark Twain missed
the most insidiously damaging attack on them ever something of his due place by an almost lifelong
printed.
conformity, and Ambrose Bierce something of his
And therein it is of a substance with his other by a progressive embitterment. Those who think
work: indeed, philosophically it is little more than they understand Cabell do not wish to see him the
a hauling-together and piecing-out of fragmentary victim of a withdrawal into the most intricate
meanings from all of them. Charteris, Kennaston, passages of his own personality—not even if that
Townsend, Villon; Shakespeare, Herrick, Rudolph would multiply delights for themselves. That is,
Musgrave, Wycherley, Sheridan— does Mr. Cabell then, the danger—that he is by way of becoming his
show these men
as they ought to be as they own coterie. For himself, that would be all beer and
are"? He is far beyond pampering his own illusions skittles and the best o company. What an in-
about them, whatever theirs about life. And what dividual, for example, is that one segment of Cabell
dynamic illusion is it, one wonders, which drives named John Charteris (who, by the way, has evi-
him to the ruthless exposure of his own illusions dently moved from Lichfield to Fairhaven since
as fast as he can detect them? Not, it would cer Jasper Hardress killed him in The Rivet in Grand-
tainly appear, a wholesome love of viewing himself father's Neck), the man who talks the essays of
as he ought to be, nor yet that overmastering desire Beyond Life straight off between nine of a May
to play the part which is expected of one, to which evening and five of the next morning, in a study
he rightly ascribes much of the waste and tedium lined with such things as The Complete Works of
of our unsocial society. His posture of an enemy
David Copperfield, The Novels and Tales of Mark
to realism and an apologist of human sentimentalism Ambient, The Works of Colney Durance, The
must assuredly be, then, the cream of a prodigious Collected Essays of Ernest Pontifex, the last six
jest. It pleases him, here, to ignore the abysmal cantos of The Faërie Queene, and the latter Can-
difference in kind and consequence between the
terbury Tales, to an interlocutor who plagiarizes
sentimental self-deceptions of gross minds, and the
the favorite argument of the professional reviewer
idealizing urge of a fine temperament toward dis by failing to understand exactly what it is all about.
tinction and clarity, beauty and symmetry, tender But what I am thinking of is not the greatest pos-
ness and truth and urbanity”; the difference, say,
sible fun for Mr. Cabell: what I am thinking of is
between stupid conformity to what is expected of
the richest possible yield to a modest number of
one, and his own idealized vision of that conformity the rest of us.
as being no mean part of the demiurgic force. Yet
A fantastic possibility to close on is that Cabell
that difference, which he understands better than
may achieve popularity, notices, plaudits, editions,
any American who ever put pen to paper, is the all-
with this inherently and deliberately least "popu-
important thing, and every nerve of his artist's tem-
lar” of all his books. It is reported that Mr. Felix
per vibrates constant recognition of it. You really
Kennaston's Men Who Loved Alison achieved sales
cannot account for his words—some of them,
through a blundering allusion which everyone but
except as the words of a man with his tongue in his
the author perfectly comprehended; it would be
Mr. Cabell does in fact carry his tongue in his
hardly less fantastic if Beyond Life were instantly
to enrich its publisher on the strength of the adver-
cheek rather persistently of late: one hopes and
tising matter at the back of the book. Possibly to
trusts it is not going to suffer the untoward mishap
lend color to his theory that dullness is the final
de tongues, and persons, that venture where they arbiter, Mr. Cabell has included eight pages of
do not strictly belong. 'I mentioned Mr. Cabell's
journalistic comment on his own work, all of it
apparent overture to the cults and the coteries; and
maudlin almost beyond human credibility, and clos-
ing with the assurance of the New York Sun that
cheek.


2 28
THE DIAL
March 8
“ with time and experience, aided by the sympathetic
appreciation of the reviewer, Mr. Cabell will doubt-
less learn.” If these eight pages were to do for
the author what some three hundred and sixty of
his own resplendent prose could not do, life would
have committed a truly Cabellian jest transcending
laughter or tears.
“A good book,” the title-page quotes, " is the
precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and
treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life." Mr.
Cabell is one of a very few living writers who have
offered hostages to nothing in space or time except
this sort of ultravitality.
Wilson FOLLETT.
Two Latter-Day Hamlets
In the average audience that attends a per-
of a portraiture of the essential as it shows through
formance of Hamlet there are represented, roughly the veils of rapid transitions, and to shape those
speaking, three distinct types. First of all there are transitions in such wise as to produce a unity of
the persons who attend from a sense of self-educa- " impression. Is Hamlet mad? Half-mad? Wholly
tional duty. These constitute almost but not quite sane? Was his love for Ophelia real love or merely
one half of the audience. Then there are the persons a passing fancy? If real, in what estimation did he
who thoroughly enjoy either the poesy of the lan hold her mentality ? Her character? Did he think
guage or the beauty of the stage pictures or both. his mother an accomplice to the murder? The ques-
These make up a comfortable half of the audience. tions which suggest themselves could be multiplied
Last of all there is the handful of discriminating a hundredfold.
Shakespeare lovers, to whom Hamlet is a great An enormous mass of stage tradition accrues to
salient, vitalizing, and humanizing fact, to be care Hamlet. No actor of any note has ever attempted
fully studied and pondered over and fathomed—as to play the part without injecting into it some new
far as one can fathom the unfathomable; and these business, intended to aid visualization of the lines
attend because to hear the lines rendered with any-
or to lend emphasis to some usually unobserved
thing approximating adequacy is as breath in their point. The contributions of Burbage, Garrick,
nostrils, and because they hope to find in each suc Kemble, Kean, Fechter, Booth, Forbes-Robertson to
cessive interpretation some new intrinsic but hither this tradition are recognized by all students of the
to undiscovered beauty. Or, if they have made a actor's art.
It is against this background that
very close study indeed of the greatest of plays, they every new Hamlet is projected, and every one chal-
hope, by some miracle, to witness the manifestly im lenges memories of the greatest actors in the
possible—a perfect interpretation.
greatest part on the English stage.
Why manifestly impossible ?
The answer is The two
new Hamlets who appeared simul-
simple enough. Impossible because Hamlet is a taneously in New York during this season cannot be
creature of moods and in the quick Aux of his vari-
praised too highly. Nor can they be compared save
ability it is doubtful whether he himself—if the
Hamlet of the play had had a historical prototype— conception of each actor; for integrally, tempera-
for the purpose of bringing into clearer relief the
would have given utterance to the same words in mentally the Hamlet of Fritz Leiber and the Ham-
the same way when the wind was “north-north let of Walter Hampden are situated at emotional
west” and when it was “southerly.” For there is antipodes.
perhaps more truth in Hamlet's words that he is
but mad“ north-northwest" than has been generally ful, lovable, and high-bred gentleman. His melan-
Leiber's Hamlet is intrinsically a pathetic, wist-
observed. The north-northwest wind of intense choly shows so gentle a complexion that if the time
and intensive anger and righteous wrath certainly had not been out of joint it might have been worn
whips him to the very brim of the chasm of mad- by him as nothing more ostentatious or corrosive
ness; the southerly wind of philosophic rumination than a mental mannerism or eccentricity. Words
shows him to be infinitely saner than the man in
cannot adequately describe the poetic beauty with
the marketplace who deems the multiplication of which he invested the Suicide Soliloquy, of which
shekels the only philosophy worth knowing. he delivered himself leaning upon the arm of the
The first task of the actor who essays Hamlet, Queen's throne. There was no violent start after
therefore, is to pluck out of the shifting quicksands the words
to sleep, perchance to dream,” but he
of temperament Hamlet's essential character, and shifted his position slightly, as a man who is deeply
to bend his energies and his talents to the achieving preoccupied will unconsciously do. The problem


1919
229
THE DIAL
1
(
a
interested but did not agitate him. With the Ghost ing parent. It showed that the deep well of his
he was tender, reverential, and unterrified. His affection had been poisoned but not dried up by his
reading of the line “ Angels and ministers of grace
mother's shame. It was the cry of a tortured,
defend us was indicative of a nervous shock, of spiritually stricken creature, and the unearthly
amazement, of bewilderment, but not of fear. His beauty of tone in which Leiber spoke, or rather
Hamlet followed the precedent set by Fechter, and cried, these three words can be indicated but not
held the hilt of his sword—the sign of the cross described. In the speech comparing Claudius and
between himself and the Ghost in following the his father, Leiber's Hamlet pointed throughout to
‘questionable shape.” As he himself had experi the medallion which he wore and to a portrait sup-
enced wonder but no fear upon seeing the Ghost, posed to hang upon the wall. This is one of the
this protective action was probably employed as a most ticklish scenes of the entire play, and it is to be
concession to the fear of Horatio and Marcellus. deplored that Leiber, who is grace personified when
The words “Alas, poor Ghost were vibrant with in a natural pose, stood almost throughout this scene
filial feeling and sheer human pity.
in a cramped and unnatural position.
The scenes with Guildenstern and Rosencrans In the fencing scene Leiber's Hamlet caught the
were unduly truncated, the second, the Recorder foil as it fell from Laertes' hand by making a wild
Scene, being entirely omitted. The two “adders dash for it, thereby showing that he suspected
fanged ” were thereby rendered even more wooden treachery. Mercifully the audience was spared the
than usual. Leiber has been criticized for not de entrance of Fortinbras and his opera-bouffe crew.
veloping sufficient sparkle in these scenes and in the This excision was in the best of taste and an innova-
lighter scenes with Polonius, but his deliberate, al tion for which to be devoutly grateful.
most slow reading of the lines was quite in keeping Leiber's Hamlet has the unequivocal charm in-
with his portrait of a creature so fundamentally herent in poetic delicacy, refinement, and breeding.
gentle that even to say an unpleasant thing was an He is not so much a prince as a gentleman. When
unwelcome labor. There was nothing spontaneous
Horatio said of Hamlet's father, “He was
in his malicioụs raillery of Polonius. His unami goodly king,” Leiber's Hamlet flung back, “ He was
able replies seemed to be wrung from him in the
a man!” He slightly emphasized the word “man,
vain hope that Polonius, being tartly answered, as if to be a man, in every virtuous sense, was far
would at last cease pestering him. In handling more than to be a crowned head.
Guildenstern's medallion, this pervasive gentleness
Compared with Leiber's Hamlet, which is pitched
was again apparent. He did not fling the damning throughout in the minor key, the Hamlet of Walter
miniature in Guildenstern's face, but handled it Hampden shows the vigor, the freshness, the domi-
with a gesture of profound contempt, as something nance of a triumphal procession of major chords.
Hampden's Hamlet is not a wistful, brooding,
Once only did white-hot anger Aare up like a
essentially sane Hamlet. There is. in him a decided
rocket in Leiber's Hamlet-upon the discovery of
straining toward the danger-mark of madness. He
the “lawful espials.” Then he was stung to the
has not yet crossed the line of demarcation—but he
quick, and the turbulence and tumult with which may. He is not so much a potential poet, a gentle-
he berated Ophelia were the impotent fury of an
man of cultured tastes, as a royal prince. He is a
ingrainedly gentle creature driven to desperation by
man in whom exceptional mental endowments,
a series of damnable treacheries. Now and then
turned awry by the course of events, have assumed a
there came a rift in the storm-cloud of his black-
corrosive virulence which is eating into the very
visaged rage, and he stretched out his arms yearn-
marrow of mind and soul. He is a man capable
ingly to the woman whom he still loved although
of prodigious endeavors. But his energy, real
she had failed him so lamentably.
In no other enough while it lasts, spends itself with the celerity
scene was the pathos, the cruel, harrowing soul-lone-
of an alcohol-fed flame. His mentality is impetuous
liness of Hamlet more exquisitely suggested.
and creative. But it lacks organization and fixity
Leiber's Hamlet did not play the Play-Scene of purpose and thus becomes sterile.
violently. He had set the puppets in motion, and
rich sonorous-
Hampden possesses a voice of rare,
awaited the outcome in profound but veiled excite-
the
lithe grace
part,
ness, a figure perfectly suited to
ment. Some of Leiber's finest work was done in
of movement, and great freedom of limb. Not once
the Closet Scene. He came into the room crying
did he fall into an ungraceful posture. He is for-
with a crescendo of tunate in having a superb supporting, caste, which
feeling which gave a harrowing notion of the out-
enables him to make many fine points which are
fage worked upon his filial feelings by his remain-
usually slurred.
too despicable for anger.
Mother, Mother, Mother


230
March 8
THE DIAL
sencrans.
us
Hampden's Hamlet is a very princely, masculine inflection of his voice made of these three words a
Hamlet, and it is characteristic of the interpreta- sublimated lullaby.
tion in its entirety that he made Hamlet's friendship Hampden, very properly, retained the second-
for Horatio far more convincing than his love for the Recorder—scene with Guildenstern and Ro-
Ophelia, and that, while he placed the greatest pos-
In the earlier scene he was very
sible emphasis upon his love for the murdered king, cross with Guildenstern and all but spanked
the queen aroused in him only a passion of aversion the medallion into his face, so that Guilden-
and condemnation, but no conflict in his soul. stern, quite “affrighted,” involuntarily drew back.
Hampden's Hamlet probably thought Gertrude an In the scene with the players Hampden introduced
accomplice in the murder. His tempestuously vo a pregnant bit of business. There was in this com-
ciferated Almost as bad, good mother, as kill a pany of players a young lad who later, in the Play
king and marry with his brother " lends warrant to Scene, spoke the Prologue, which is usually omitted.
this assumption.
Upon this lad's pate the clown of the company
The Ghost Scenes were played as probably no rapped soundly apropos of nothing, bringing upon
generation since Garrick has seen them played himself Hamlet's rebuke, “And let those that play
Hampden thoroughly impressed upon his audience
your clowns speak no more than is set down for
the dreadful, portentous nature of the Ghost's visi-
them,” for which the clown, when Hamlet's back
tation. His “ Angels and ministers of grace defend was turned, made a “mow at the prince. Hamp-
sent a chill of apprehension down the spine; den's treatment of Polonius was almost as deliberate
and his “ I'll call thee Hamlet, King, father!-
as Leiber's. With Leiber, deliberation fitted into
Royal Dane !” were replete with a gracious, the picture, but Hampden's Hamlet, to be con-
thrilling solemnity and with a filial affection which
sistent, demands greater spontaneity in this scene.
could not have been bettered. After the word
In the three great scenes which apply the touch-
father” he changed the reading of the text so far stone to an actor's qualification for the part, Hamp-
as to come to a full stop, throwing into the one word
den acquitted himself superbly. His reading of the
a world of palpitating love and tremulous rever-
Play Scene, the Closet Scene, and the Scene with
ence. In following the Ghost, he dragged his sword Ophelia was stupendously dynamic and moving.
after him, as if fully convinced of the Ghost's The scene with Ophelia he played without a
honesty," but wary lest Horatio and Marcellus, break—that is, he gave no indication of having be-
in all loyalty and devotion, attempt to drag him
come aware of the “lawful espials.” He seemed to
away once more. The Ghost, let it be parenthetic mistrust Ophelia from the outset, from the very
ally remarked, was quite the handsomest and most
moment when she offered to return his tokens and
convincing ghost yet seen on our stage. The cere-
letters, just as he mistrusted Guildenstern and
ments which he had burst seemed to swathe him, Rosencrans because he discovered the medallion with
making him indeed an astonishing apparition.
the miniature of the king hanging from Guilden-
Hampden's Hamlet, like Irving's, resorted to the stern's neck. He gave the impression throughout
use of tablets after the Ghost had left him. His
excitement verged on hysteria, and Hampden's re-
the scene of a mind so harrowed and harassed by
markable histrionic ability shone with spectacular
continual brooding upon a Zwangsidee that, for the
nonce at least, the value and the sanctity of love had
brightness in the brief scene which follows between
Horatio, Hamlet, and Marcellus. He contrived,
receded in his mind to a coign of signal disadvan-
by an art so flawless that it is impossible to dis-
tage. The sight of Ophelia distressed him because
he realized that his love for her, if given free reign,
sect it, to convey the impression that Hamlet re-
fused to impart the Ghost's mission only because he
might divert him from the awful business in hand.
His wild words were rendered more wild by his
and Horatio were not alone, and that he intended
to tell Horatio all about it at the earliest possible
He was guilty of downright incivility to
moment. The grim humor displayed by his irrever-
his lady. He rushed frantically to and fro. Tow-
ard the close of the scene, he flung off the stage and
ent appellations of the Ghost as
and “old mole
back again, frequently beginning the opening words
-
of his clue while off stage.
exultation that his soul had not been a false prophet hysterical, and the frenzied words rushed from his
Very touching, very beautiful, and very sincere was
his use of the sword hilt as a cross, held almost upon
lips like a cascade over a cliff.
the very ground, as he said, “ Rest, rest, perturbed
tempest, a whirlwind incarnate, fury embodied. As
spirit!" He pronounced these words as a mother
a lover he was terrifying, and poor Ophelia—the
may speak words to soothe a frightened child. The
most timid, shrinking, little violet sort of an Ophelia.
that we have ever seen—was simply scared out of
manner.
old true-penny
He was plainly semi-
He was a human


1919
THE DIAL
231
13
11
1
12
Laertes' unbated sword, plucked his sleeve-with
her wits. The whole scene was a magnificent tour a look of perplexity, the perplexity being succeeded
de force.
almost immediately by certainty of Laertes' treach-
In the Play Scene his nervous excitement tran ery. When Laertes was disarmed, his foil fell upon
scended all bounds. He was all movement, all fire the ground. Before Laertes could recover it, Ham-
and Aash and dash. He was here and there and let placed his foot squarely across it, at the same
nowhere and everywhere. He was elemental as the time offering Laertes his own bated foil. Laertes,
incoming tide is elemental, and quite as irresistible. willy-nilly, was bound to accept the proffer, leav-
He was ubiquitous as a sea of fire from whose every
ing the unbated, poisoned foil for Hamlet's use.
point a myriad tongues of Aame rear themselves In this final scene, as in almost every scene through-
simultaneously. Very fine, very fine indeed was the
out the entire play, Hampden's marvellous ability
stage management of this scene. Claudius, who,
to externalize emotion and thought illuminated
strange to say, was not the odiously repellent, be points which heretofore were ineptly considered ob-
tinselled, gilt-paper crowned, red-whiskered, hideous
scure or a matter of indifference.
toy-king whom we have been accustomed to, but a In conclusion: Both interpretations are beauti-
man of sufficient presence and attractiveness to make ful with the surprising beauty of perfectly polished
his fatal fascination upon the seeming-virtuous and perfectly set gems. To continue this metaphor,
queen quite plausible, asks Hamlet, after the first
Leiber's Hamlet may be likened to the delicate
half of the play, “ Have you heard the argument? iridescence of the opal, with its amazing complexity
Is there no offense in it?” And Hamlet, approach- of elusive, interpenetrating, subtly pervasive color.
ing the throne, replies with an exaggerated air of Hampden's Hamlet scintillates and Aashes like a
innocence, “No, no, they do but jest, Poison in diamond, and like a diamond wears the mantle
jest; no offense if the world." The air seemed and the insignia of accepted supremacy.
Leiber's
fairly to vibrate between this uncle-father and Hamlet is primarily a poet, a dreamer, a philos-
nephew-son who hated each other so bitterly after opher, and a gentleman. Hampden's Hamlet is
this passage at arms.
One could sense the true
chiefly, authoritatively, self-consciously, and unfor-
situation. Claudius, by this time, had seen enough gettably a prince. Leiber's Hamlet is an exquisitely
of the play to know that Hamlet was lying, and wrought pastel; Hampden's Hamlet a vigorous can-
Hamlet knew that Claudius knew and didn't care
vas in oil, in which gorgeous color runs riot. Leiber's
tuppence, because Claudius, without giving himself Hamlet partakes of the mysterious, chaste witchery
away then and there, could not possibly refuse to of an intaglio, lucid but not sharp, distinct yet sub-
allow the play to continue. Then, when the climax tly vejled, so that its outlines may be seen clearly
came, and Claudius, angry and troubled, rose with yet with the delicate elusiveness of a landscape
his queen and court and left the lobby, Hampden's shrouded in mist. It is mellow rather than bril-
gave vent to a joy rendered terrible by the liant, subtly suggestive rather than emphatic and
now potent impulse toward revenge underlying it. direct. Hampden's Hamlet on the other hand
There remains the test of the Closet Scene, and
possesses the incisiveness, the detached, clear limning
in this also Hampden showed a superlative achieve-
of the cameo. He is splendid like a sun-burst, but
ment. He discarded all by-play with miniatures the haunting loveliness of star and moonlight is
panel portraits while drawing his comparison
not for him.
between the two brothers, and delivered the speech
Which of the two actors presents the real Ham-
standing upright, his eye fixed on vacancy, as if let? Who can say! Hazlitt said, “It is we who
seeing there the image of his murdered father. Hav are Hamlet.” There are many species and sub-
ing stabbed through the arras, and not knowing species of We, and as Hamlet sits enthroned in the
whom he had killed, he took the solitary candle
universal soul, and the universal soul is a myriad
with which the apartment was lighted, and with souls
, there must be, logically reasoned, not one
it in his hand investigated his deed. He was not
but many true Hamlets. Moreover, appreciation
over-tender with his mother, justifying the Ghost's
solicitude for her, and at the end of the scene,
of a Rodin marble does not preclude admiration of
when Gertrude offered to embrace him, he drew
Greek sculpture. The same mind, conceivably, may
back, as Fechter had done before him, and, also
find infinite food for reflection and infinite esthetic
like Fechter
, pointed sternly to the miniature of
satisfaction in meditating upon The Hand of God
and the Laokoon. Small minds may read in dis-
the dead king suspended from his neck. His solemn-
ity throughout this scene was deeply impressive,
paragement of the unfavored, praise for the favored,
but the versatile mind is grateful for manifold and
In the fencing scene, Hamlet, being pricked by
diverging varieties of beauty.
LIDA C. SCHEM.
Hamlet


232
THE DIAL
March 8
11
$$_52i ii 1 ps
#mus :4.6.
Nationalism
THE
HE BREAKING-UP of Austria-Hungary and of Human interests that know no national boundaries
Russia has emphasized the difference between a na have increased. Art, science, and commerce form
tion and a nationality. It has become evident that ties that bind together mankind regardless of na-
unity of racial descent does not bring about na tionality, but nevertheless there persists the con-
tional cohesion, and that distinct racial elements trast between members of different national groups
may combine and form a nation of great solidarity. that makes it right for one nation to promote the
We also recognize that between the members of a well-being of its own citizens regardless of the ef-
nationality language is a firmer bond than race, fect that its actions may have upon the rest of man-
although it does not necessarily coincide with na kind, to set their welfare higher than that of others,
tional boundaries.
and to look with poisonous envy upon the growing
Since at the present time we lay great stress upon
power and successes of members of foreign nations.
the rights of nations, it seems desirable to obtain a Group solidarity has expanded from the small
clear understanding of what we mean by the unity horde or tribe to communities of ever increasing size
.
of a nationality. In order to answer this problem. This development has not been steady, for periods
we must understand the basis of all actions based on in which large and heterogeneous masses formed
social solidarity. In early times mankind was units that acted conjointly against foreign groups
divided into small hordes or tribes that lived in iso were followed by others in which the large struc-
lation and in constant fear of enemies, beast as well as tures disintegrated, the smaller units forming cen-
man. Whoever was not a member of the tribe was ters from which new, larger social units developed.
a potential enemy, a being of a different order that The history of the Alexandrian Empire, of Rome, of
was chased away and slain, if he did not yield. Al the Spanish World Empire illustrates the growth
though this condition in its extreme form has never and decline of large communities. The develop-
been observed among primitive people, it may be
ment of the modern European states from the dis-
inferred with high probability. Its remnants may integrating tendencies of feudal times and from the
be recognized even in language, as when the term rise of independent cities, illustrates another phase
is used only for the members of one's own of expansion of the smaller units into larger ones.
tribe, all foreigners being called, like animals, by
In all cases of group solidarity the unifying force
specific names; or when an Indian tribe designates is the will of the members of the group to maintain
by one grammatical form only the adulte males their society against foreign groups. In its simplest
of that tribe, while the rest of the world belongs form this mode of action of man as a member of
a different category.
The extreme hostility
a social group is strictly analogous to that of a herd
against the stranger, which characterizes the be of animals that maintains the integrity of its habitat
havior of many primitive tribes, and the utter dis-
against other herds. It is the instinctive feeling of
regard of the stranger's life all point to the early the unity of the herd or pack that is manifested by
feeling of specific difference between the member all gregarious animals. In many cases, as among
of the horde and the outsider. In the progress of
modern primitive tribes, the analogous reaction is
times contact between the isolated bands became entirely spontaneous and automatic
.
more frequent and economic life developed in such
observed that the less automatic their reaction, the
a manner that no tribe was entirely independent of
more will people endeavor to
all its neighbors. Thus the feeling of specific dif-
motives; and the more automatic a reaction, the less
ference gradually wore off and, although the at-
will there be felt any need of a reasoned interpreta-
titude towards the stranger retained a background
tion. Among primitive tribes the actions springing
of hostility, a certain amount of mutual toleration from the solidarity of the tribal group are so little
developed. Behavior, however continued to be
conscious that they do not call for explanation and
based on the existence of a contrast between the
tribe and the outsider. A person may struggle
the rights of foreigners are no subject of thought.
It is not difficult to see that the same instinct con-
against other members of his own band and defend tinues to sway us.
his own interests. Against strangers he reacts first
family is a loose unit in which each member goes
of all as a member of the tribe and defends himself
against real or supposed encroachments by defend-
more or less his own way. If, however, a member
of the family comes into conflict with outsiders, the
ing the social unit to which he belongs.
natural reaction is for the members of the family to
We have not progressed far beyond these limits.
stand together. When a gang of youth infests a
man
to
It may be
reason out their
Under normal conditions the


1919
THE DIAL
2 33
restricted. When a knowledge of communities of
the feeling of differentiation between small units
alien descent, of foreign language, or of unfamiliar the islands of the Mediterranean that are politically
city street, it will not allow other gangs in the same those who are the same in race, language, or custom
street. The stronger the feeling of solidarity in the may develop. The limits of modern nationalities
group and of sameness of form and purpose of the are not determined by these elements, for nationali-
conflicting groups, the more violent are also their ties include people who show marked differences in
reactions against one another.
all these respects. The habits of life, speech, and
In more complex social units in which conflicting bodily form of the Sicilian peasant are quite dif-
social instincts make the social affiliations less auto ferent from those of the Venetian peasant, and there
matic and more often determined by choice, the sub is little that he has in common in his conduct of
ordination of the individual under a social group life with the Florentine artist or scientist, or with
becomes the subject of retrospective thought and in the Roman politician. The Galician and the Cata-
terpretation and thus assumes forms and shades of lan peasants and the Spanish scientist, merchant, and
meaning that obscure its instinctive origin. It may laborer;
the peasant of the Provence and of Nor-
be called allegiance to a race, to the personality of mandie, and the educated Parisian; the Swabian peas-
a chief or family, to a god, or to an ideal. The sub ant, the Frisian fisherman and the German com-
stratum on which it arises is always the same in poser and scientist have little in common.
stinctive social reaction.
In the most strongly localized groups, as in the
We shall attempt to characterize those elements
peasantry, modern nationality exceeds the experience
that set off nationality from other similar units. of daily life and can become conscious only by edu-
One of the main difficulties in the way of clear un cational agencies that originate outside of the social
derstanding of the significance of nationality lies in
group. In those groups of men that deal with
the confusion between the aims of a nation and of science, art, and commerce, which are in their na-
a nationality. The nation is the state and national ture essentially international, the idea of nationality
feeling is bound up with the political power of the is more restricted than the universality of interests
state. Nationality and state do not need to coin- which is prominent in their daily life. In neither
cide. The nationalities comprised in a complex group does it spring from everyday experience.
state may have political aspirations and may strive It is fairly obvious that in modern times the na-
to become independent states. The question must tionalistic feeling cannot be separated from the
be answered: what constitutes these nationalities? desire for political power—at least for the power
They are not adequately defined as racial or lin of a group to shape its own mode of life according
guistic units.
to its own wishes, for the right to use its own lan-
It is helpful to observe how the concepts of both guage, follow its own customs and formulate its
nation” and “nationality" are reflected in differ own laws. Therefore nationalistic aspirations are
ent classes of a population. In most modern states
nowhere stronger than in suppressed nationalities.
in which compulsory education prevails both ideas The Poles in Russia and Prussia; the Danes in north-
have permeated the whole body of the people. Not
ern Schleswig; the Irish; the Flemish in Belgium;
so in simpler communities. It is not so very long the Bulgarians in old Servia; the Germans, Slavs, and
ago that the mountaineer of the southern Appalach- Roumanians in Hungary; the Germans in the Bal-
ian region had the vaguest ideas only of the United
tic Provinces of Russia; the Lithuanians; the Ruth-
States as a nation, and that his social interests rather
enians in Galicia—all exemplify this condition in
centered in his family group. There are many re-
which the consciousness of nationality attains its
gions in Mexico in which the very existence of Mexi- strength by the resistance to new forcibly imposed
co is unknown and where the social interests of the
forms of life. In these local phases the nationalistic
people are confined to the village of their fathers. feeling is easily intelligible because it is based on the
The feeling of national political unity requires first
reaction against outside interference on the part
of all a knowledge of the nation and its work. In of a fairly homogeneous group that is held together
al large units
, the existence of which is not mani by common language, customs, and interests
. At the
fested in the narrow cycle of everyday life, this
same time these areas present problems of national
knowledge must necessarily be based on education.
The self-consciousness of nationalities is similarly
antagonism in many cases not capable of solution.
Where national boundaries are fairly sharply
,
prevail along the Franco-German' boundary in
must necessarily prevail. When communities of
Alsace and Lorraine, in Schleswig, in Belgium, in
customs are known, the feeling of relationship of
not affiliated with the countries whose language


234
March 8
THE DIAL
they speak—as in Cyprus, a Greek community gov the mixed territories confines itself to the de-
erned by England; perhaps also in Corsica, an Ital mand of freedom of its own speech, but endeavors
ian country governed by France. All through east at the same time to gain political control and to
ern Europe conditions are quite different, because subject the members of other nationalities to it-
no sharp national boundaries exist. This is an effect self. The chief complaint of the Bohemians is
of the peculiar historic changes that occurred during not that they have not freedom of their own speech,
the Middle Ages. After the period of Teutonic but that they cannot sufficiently effectively shackle
migrations Slavs had occupied what is now east the large German districts of Bohemia and Moravia
Germany as far as the Elbe. With the close of the -as in earlier times the Germans tried to impose
migrations, the growth of stable agricultural com German upon the Bohemians. The violent demand
munities, and the development of individual land of the Poles for the control of Cholm, which is
owning, the period of slow eastward colonization Ruthenian territory partly colonized by Poles, illus-
set in which gradually transformed the Slavic East trates the same point. In Courland and Livonia
into German territory. Somewhat later similar with their German cities, Lithuanian peasantry,
movements began among the western Slavic people, Polish colonies, and recent Russian accessions, the
particularly the Poles who colonized eastward. The struggle is even more complex. In these regions the
effects of these movements which continued through problem will never be solved as long as the struggle
centuries and which are not entirely closed yet, have for domination on the part of one language over the
been a slow infiltration of Slavic territory by Ger others remains. Self-determination of nationalities
mans by which the more western countries were by has no meaning there, because up to the present time
degrees transformed into purely German districts, the only question at issue is which people shall coerce
while eastward there are first found small enclaves the other to adopt a language and customs that they
of Slavish people in German territory, farther east do not want. As long as the modern nationalistic
a somewhat equal representation of both linguistic attitude lasts, there is only one conceivable solution
groups, and still farther east German centers in a of this problem, namely a separation of nationalities,
Slavic population. By the same process Prussia has by which the linguistic groups can be placed in sep-
been Germanized, and Lithuania has been covered arate areas by means of a forced legal exchange of
with German agricultural colonies and cities. The land and residence. Although this exchange would
infusion of Poles into Lithuanian territory and of also entail great hardships, these would seem small
Poles into Russian areas proceeded in the same way. and temporary as compared to the constant struggle
Somewhat analogous are conditions in Hungary that is now disturbing the peace of all areas of this
where also clearly defined national boundaries are character. In another way a reconstruction of this
lacking. In southwestern Russia and the Balkan kind has been made before. Owing to the transfers
Peninsula a similar permeation of different nation made by marriages and other causes, the lands of the
alities exists, but due to other historical causes. peasants in western Germany had come to be located
The settlement of the Germans in the western in many isolated patches that were difficult to work.
Slavic territory and the general influence of West TH condition has been largely modified by a forced
European civilization upon these countries gradual- exchange which, naturally, found much resistance
ly strengthened the self-consciousness and economic but was nevertheless an indispensable condition for
strength of the East-European peoples. At the same the well-being of the peasants.
time the current of eastward colonization began to Psychologically quite different are the sources of
ebb, with the result that the distribution of colonies national feeling in countries that seek national unity,
became more stable and we have what we might call not to free themselves of the yoke of foreign mas-
a fossilization of the process of colonization, result tery but in an attempt to break down barriers be-
ing in a half colonized territory in which the dif tween those who are of the same nationality and
ferent groups live side by side. According to the who are separated by political boundaries that have
political affiliations of the area, the one or the other no nationalistic meaning. These feelings prevailed
of the nationalities tries to force or resist further with particular intensity in Germany and Italy be-
colonization. Thus in German Poland German fore each became a united state. Among the Poles,
colonization was favored and Polish speech sup Greeks, Servians, Roumanians, Lithuanians and Lit-
pressed. In Russian Poland both Polish and Ger. tle Russians they are complicated by the feelings
man were suppressed by the Russians. In Galicia engendered by the intermingling of nationalities to
Ruthenian was suppressed by the Poles; in Lith which we referred before.
uania both German and Lithuanian
In an uneducated person who has no historic per-
pressed by the Russians. None of the nations in spective and no knowledge outside of that which
were
sup-


1919
235
THE DIAL
his daily experience presents to him, the aspiration tion based entirely on philological data, without any
for national unity could not possibly arise, because it national cultural background.
must be based on a unity of feeling that does not In the cases of true nationalities the local differ-
manifest itself in a tangible form in daily needs and ences are overlaid by the consciousness of a com-
wishes. We have already seen that the Sicilian and munity of political history and of cultural achieve-
the Venetian, or the Bavarian and Westphalian ments that are the property of the whole nation. In
peasants, if they should meet and converse solely in the consciousness of the Italian the greatness of
regard to matters of everyday life, would find so Rome, both in the history of antiquity and in the
little in common that the feeling of national unity history of Christianity, is a leading idea that makes
would not arise on this basis. The relation of the him long for national greatness; and Italian litera-
Sicilian to the Friulese or Romansh, of the Bavar ture and art are the common property of the whole
ian to the Dutch, corroborates this view. Administra- people of which they are proud. This is no less true
tive regulations making difficult intercourse between of Germany. Without the memory of Germany's po-
neighbors may have fostered the desire to do away litical history, without the works of the great Ger-
with artificial boundaries, but it does not account mans, there would be no German nationality. The
for the intense desire for national unity. In the works of the past in which men find strength and
cases of Italy and Germany it is particularly clear solace are not the same for every nation, and a feel-
that two sources have molded this feeling: the ing of brotherhood arises in those minds whose fires
memory of times in which the nation had great are kindled by the same sparks of genius.
political power and the desire to bring back these For these reasons nationalism in large states can-
times; and the consciousness that a certain literature not flourish unless it is continually rekindled by edu-
and art is the common property of all those who'cation, and preached in and out of season; and for
constitute the nation. These are the expression and
these reasons it finds its home chiefly among the edu-
at the same time the outflow of a mode of thought cated classes, while the masses merely follow the
which is felt by the nation as its very soul. Ideals impetus that is given to them.
of this kind can arise in the educated class only and It might be thought that common political activ-
we see, therefore, that national feeling is always ity as members of a state, and particularly common
based on the efforts of the educated to impress na dangers encountered in warfare, bind the members
tionalistic ideas upon the mass of the people; of a state together, but it seems that this is the case
school and literature constantly coöperate to keep to a very limited extent only. Political dissension
alive and strengthen these ideals.
is often a dissolving agent rather than a unifying
How thoroughly the concept of national unity de- force, and the rapidity with which fellows in arms
pends upon the educated class is illustrated by Pan fall apart and enemies join hands shows the weak-
Slavism. The knowledge of the relationship be ness of fellowship engendered by war as compared
tween the Slavic languages is a result of philological with the stability of national sentiment.
inquiry. There is no community of interests be Modern nationalism is based on the dogma that
tween the different Slavic groups. To the unedu- political power and national individuality are insep-
cated Russian peasant the South Slavs are non-exist- arable; that a people that is politically weak cannot
ent, or, if he hears about them, they appear as a
develop a strong national individuality; that a peo-
foreign nation. The same is true of the Czechs, ple that is politically strong must also be a strong
while to the Little Russian the Pole is better known nationality. The history of civilization proves this
as an enemy than as a member of the same nation-
belief to be entirely erroneous. Italy's greatness be-
ality. There is no community of historical, literary, longs to the period of political dissension, to a time
or religious interest in these groups. The cultural when numerous small independent states prevented
history of Bohemia and Poland has developed quite Italy from being a great political power
, but when
differently from that of Russia. Whatever may
intellectual life was a unit notwithstanding the
have led to the growth of the Pan-Slavistic idea, it atomization of political organization. The period
can have grown up only among the educated classes. of Germany's greatest achievements in the domain
Its growth is similar to the attempt of Louis Napo of art and literature coincided with the lowest ebb
leon who tried to collect, under the leadership of
of Germany's political power. Turkey, on the
France, the Romance-speaking people of Europe as
other hand, although a political power of great
opposed to the Teutonic and Slavic groups. The magnitude, has never developed into a powerful na-
artificial origin of this idea is clear, because it hastionality, and only with the decadence of its politi-
never been transposed into a strong popular feeling. cal greatness has there been the beginning of a na-
In these two cases the supposed unity is a construc tional life. It is true, however, that under favor,


236
March 8
THE DIAL
able conditions political greatness may strongly exists which is subject to its own special traditions,
stimulate national life. When the forces of a na it will set class interests higher than general human
tion are centralized in one focus and when the great interests which are always, even in simple tribal life,
minds are attracted to the center of the state and present among the mass of the people. The nation
form a nucleus that persists for long periods, the is a segregated class in this sense. The characteris-
soil for cultural progress and for the development tic feature of nationalism is that its social and ethi-
of a strong national individuality may be exception- cal standards are considered as more fundamental
ally favorable. These conditions have given to than those that are general and human, or rather
Paris its position in the life of France and in the that the members of each nation assume that their
history of human civilization. The many local cen ideals are or should be the true ideals of mankind.
ters of Italy of the Renaissance and of Germany On account of the long subjection to these influ-
of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries prove, ences, the thought of those whom we call the edu-
however, that political centralization is not a neces cated classes is controlled essentially by those ideals
sary condition for an active and fruitful cultural which have been transmitted to us by past genera-
life provided the small centers can draw upon the tions. Particularly among the heterogeneous poor
mental resources of a numerous people that have the population of our cities, that is tied to the past only
same cultural background.
by the slightest bonds, a vigorous and persistent
The conditions for the development of economic propaganda is necessary to arouse strong patriotic
life would seem to be more closely connected with emotions.
the political power of nations, because the field of We may, then, decline to accept the teachings
economic activity is almost everywhere restricted of an imperialistic nationalism and still be devoted
by legislative discrimination against the foreigner, to the ideals of a nationality. The problems of
while its full development requires free access to the mankind are manifold and their solution is diffi-
resources of large territories and the opportunity cult. They may be approached in many different
of unrestricted distribution. The more nations are manners and satisfactory solutions may be found by
in fear of having their food supply cut off by hostile different lines of approach. The same solution is
neighbors, the more difficulties they encounter in not satisfactory to all minds, but what is dear to one
free access to foreign countries, the more they are will always remain repugnant to another one. The
bound to proʻect and foster their own resources and character of a person is molded by the social medium
the more strongly develops the sense of the com in which he lives and his ideals and wishes reflect
munity of interests of the nation. If this is super the national temper. Progress results from the
added to the feeling of cultural unity, the character- peaceful struggle of national ideals and endeavors,
istic imperialistic tendencies of modern times de and from the knowledge that what is dear to us is
velop, which are dominated by the desire for for that reason not the best for the rest of mankind,
economic and political power.
that we may cultivate our most valued ideals with-
The cultivation of national cultural ideals has lit out ever harboring the wish to impose them upon
tle in common with these tendencies, and in the others—unless thay adopt them by their own free
purest national fervor there is no tinge of the lust will. This thought has been clearly expressed by
of dominion that characterizes imperialistic nation Eduard, Meyer, who says: Very gradually, in
alism. It is merely the expression of the intense de course of the ascending historical development, and
sire to develop freely the national cultural ideals. It at first half unconsciously, develops the feeling of
seems a curious contradiction that the educated closer relationship, the idea of the unity of a people.
classes who have the widest knowledge of the Its most elevated form, the concept of nationality,
world and who are alone in a position to appreciate is the most refined and complex structure that can
the achievements of foreign nations, should be be created by historical development; it transforms
everywhere the carriers of imperialistic nationalism. the unity that actually exists into the conscious, ac-
This phenomenon is not difficult to understand if tive, and creative will to be and to live as a unit
we remember that the historic facts on which na specifically distinct from all other social groups.”
tionalistic feelings are founded and the emotional In other words, the background of nationality is
setting in which they are presented are impressed social individuality that neither brooks interference
upon the educated classes much more vigorously from other groups nor possesses the wish to deprive
and persistently than upon those whose period of other natior.alities of their individuality.
scholarship is short and irregular and who are not Conceived in this way nationality is one of the
subject to similar influences out of school. It is a most fruitful sources of cultural progress. Its pro-
general observation that when a segregated class ductiveness lies in the strength that the individual


1919
237
THE DIAL
derives from being able to act in a large homo religion was the chief sentiment thus appealed to, a
geneous social group which responds 'readily to his sentiment that transcended all boundaries of na-
thoughts and actions because he shares with it the tionalities and appealed here to Christians, there to
same cultural background. There is no doubt that Mohammedans, without regard to language, race,
the greater the social group, the greater will also or national affiliation. During the present period
be the effectiveness of the response and its cumula it is the national feeling that makes the strongest
tive influence. For this reason the state and na appeal and finds the readiest response, because it is
tionally organized society have seized upon the na cultivated with the most refined means of education
tionalistic idea and make it the dominant tone of and is constantly kept before our minds. Its natural
public education, not only in compulsory, state-sup basis is the common interest of the people in the his-
ported schools, but also in private schools, by im tory of their ancestors,, in the participation of all in
pressing upon the teacher the importance of instill the work, pleasures, and ideals of truth and beauty
ing national ideals into the minds of the children. In that are expressed in the work of the great men of
this lies undoubtedly a danger for cultural progress. the nation and that influence the life of even its
First of all the kind of nationalism that is taught humblest member. From these forces we cannot
is not the nationalism of ideas but the imperialistic escape, even if we wish to do so. There is, how-
nationalism of political and economic power; it is ever, a fundamental difference between the teaching
not the nationalism that endeavors to understand and of intelligent love of our national environment that
appreciate foreign patterns of thought, it is the in must be the basis of fruitful action, and the playing
tolerant nationalism that sets its own kind over and upon the sentiments of the young by teaching de-
above every foreign form of feeling. Only too votion to nebulous symbols of greatness that
often is the dogmatic adulation of national political elicit only passionate reaction and prevent the
and cultural form and ill-concealed contempt of for growth of constructive ideas. Love for our nation
eign forms impressed upon the plastic minds of the does not exclude admiration of foreign modes of
young, whose lifelong behavior is thus determined. life; it should not blind us to an intelligent under-
A further danger lies in the uniformity of pat- standing of the basis of our own life, of its merits,
terns of thought that is the result of this type of and of its defects.
education, and which in modern times, is still fur The one-sided emphasis laid upon the attempts
ther sustained by the daily press and by public ora to secure a purely emotional devotion to our social,
tory. The attempt of the State to set definite ideals political, and geographical environment is liable
for its system of education is a hindrance to cultural to produce an unwholesome uniformity of thought.
advance. In every country it tends to stabilize exist A safer basis might be reached if it were our en-
ing conditions and hinders progress by preventing deavor to give an intelligent basis to our devotion to
the development of independent habits of thought. our country, balanced by an appreciative under-
The more rigidly the system is confined to the standing of the reasons why other nations are
teaching of national ideals and the more intolerant equally devoted to their countries and to their ideals,
it is of foreign ideals, •the more unfavorable must and if the greatest freedom were given to the teach-
be its influence upon the growing generation. It is ing of social and political ideals. It is a sign of
true that the greater the mass of people imbued weakness to dread that critical attitude towards the
with one dominant idea, the stronger will be their basis of national institutions which is the only basis
reaction to its emotional appeal. In former times, of sound progress.
FRANZ Boas.
To One Dead
You are not there where the black pall waits,
You are not there.
Let them crowd and sniffle about the gates,
Let them mope and stare.
I shall walk where the April skies flash blue,
With the scudding clouds and the sun whipped through;
I shall run where the golden poplars swing
Abloom with spring.
Rose HENDERSON.


238
March 8
THE DIAL
The Drama of Self-Deception
It is per-
Among
MONG THE CLASS of brainworkers whom the The description might be applied to some extent
British Labor party has recently declared to be to Zella also, but Cousin James is not the man to
eligible for membership within its ranks there is a apply it. In fact, he cannot endure in a creature
group of young women writers who have distin of his own sex the same qualities for which he can
guished themselves by their precocious achievements. make excuses in one of the opposite sex.
In fact some of them are still too young to vote, un haps for the same reason that Miss Delafield pre-
der an election law, which requires the woman voter
fers to castigate the practice of self-deception among
to have reached the age of thirty. Fortunately the
women rather than among men. At any rate, she
English publishers do not enforce such a high stand is prone to allocate the attribute of sincerity to the
ard of maturity as the election officials. Otherwise husbands and male cousins in her stories.
we should have been deprived of much brilliant and
In The War Workers (Knopf; $1.50), she
able work-notably that of Rebecca West, Clemence satirizes the use of patriotism as a cloak for personal
Dane, and E. M. Delafield.
and emotional aims of an altogether different nature.
The brainwork of Miss Delafield is characterized, The dominating qualities of Miss Vivian, Director
among other things, by a very high rate of speed: of the Midland Supply Depot, and the adoring at-
she has published three novels in less than three titude of her staff of Voluntary Workers form the
years. It is furthermore characterized by a brilliant center of the comedy. Charmian Vivian, thirty
and relentless accuracy in the observation of her years old and unmarried and previously a daughter
special field. Miss Delafield has an extraordinarily in the home, now manages all the war work of her
keen vision for the drama of self-deception in which district, voraciously absorbing each new enterprise
the ego plays the double role of actor and audience. canteen or what-not—which springs up in her
She understands the game of hide-and-seek with neighborhood. She treasures in her mind's eye a
motives—which, as Sincere James says to Zella, picture of herself as the indefatigable and self-sac-
doesn't take in the other people half as often as one
rificing leader, and her one aim in life is not to spoil
thinks. In Zella Sees Herself (Knopf; $1.50), the the picture. Her bedazzled staff is conveniently en-
heroine's passion for posing assumes a rather harm thralled by the same view of her: “Miss Vivian
less form, so far as other people are concerned. It always puts the work before everything," they earn-
is her personal tragedy that even the most stupid estly chorus. "She never spares herself, so why
eventually see through her. She is an arch-pretender should she spare any of us?" Miss Vivian never
who simply cannot help it and who is always catch-. had time to go to lunch and she never got home to
ing herself in the act—the unhappy victim of her
dinner before nine o'clock; she signed every letter
own self-consciousness. She moves from one en-
herself and jealously guarded every detail to the
vironment to the other, always conforming to stand outermost ramifications of her exacting job. Her
ards which in her heart she despises, because with-
exhausted staff was sent out at the end of the long
out conforming one cannot compete, and without day's work for evening service in canteens and troop-
competition one can not excel. At all costs she must train stations and they went unquestioningly. There
out-Herod Herod; she must prove the pathos of
was a Hostel in which “Miss Vivian's own work-
every occasion. At her mother's funeral, in her
ers” lived, sweltering together in an atmosphere of
aunt's family life, during her convent days (Miss adulation, which receives a slightly pathological
Delafield certainly knows the convent from the in accent from the figure of poor little masochistic Miss
side), at home and abroad, Zella revels in her Plumtree with her eager confession: “But even if
artificial emotions and uncurbed phantasies. The one doesn't like her awfully much, she has a sort
climax of her indulgence in the pleasures of unreal of fascination, don't you think? I always feel like
ity is reached when, as the Misunderstood Woman, a—a sort of bird with a sort of snake, you know.”
she encounters the Misunderstood Man, and the two A striking contrast to the voluntary workers is
mutually outpose each other until they hover on the the delightful Miss Collins, the expert stenographer,
brink of marriage. This lover is brutally diagnosed one of the few paid workers in the office. Miss
by Sincere James, whose keen insight is doubtless Collins scorned the uniform and presented herself
stimulated by the impulse of jealousy.
daily in silk stockings, transparent blouses, and
It's all derivative—his whole ego. It's like a mirror sundry jewelry. She received two pounds ten shil-
lying on a table; it can't help reflecting all the things lings a week, never worked overtime, and had every
within range, on its own perfectly hard, Aat surface.
Pick it up and smash it, and there's nothing left of the
Saturday afternoon off. In due course of time,
reflections, and nothing behind.
when all the staff, including the Director, succumbed


1919
239
THE DIAL
to the influenza epidemic, Miss Collins was the only strung girls under the dominion of "Cousin Bertie,”
one who escaped. For her the author reserves a dif the story often rises from satire to tragedy. It is
ferent fate. Of the 400,000 war marriages contracted so when little Frances, submissive by nature, finds
in England, the author hands one to her favorite, her way into the convent and among the nuns, who
Miss Collins; and she even carefully excludes it praise her for “l'habitude de l'obéissance." With
from the 390,000 which have remained childless. a horrible smugness, Cousin Bertie congratulates
Miss Collins receives a place among the upper ten herself that she knows where her ward picked up
thousand. “She's probably going to be of more the habit. Frederick Tregaskis, who is a Live and
use to the nation, let me tell you, than all the rest Let Live husband, now and then asserts himself in
of you put together," blusters the pompous Dr. an attempt to make his home safe for democracy,
Prince.
though nothing ever comes of it. But at least he
Into the Adamless paradise of the Hostel, there bequeathes to Hazel, the daughter of his disposition,
enters the serpent in the form of a new secretary. the spirit to make, at the age of nineteen, a great
Literal and unimaginative, the newcomer takes an discovery. “I used to think if one's parents forbade
objective view of her chief and perpetrates lèse a thing, it became impossible, ipso facto, but it
majesté in numberless small ways. But it is not doesn't. They just can't do anything at all."
Miss Jones who really seeks the downfall of Miss The other Pelicans are Lady Argent and Mrs.
Vivian. The real enemy is Char Vivian's mother, Severing. But Lady Argent is not a pretender like
who stands on a footing of intimate warfare with her the others; she has not enough intellect. She is a
only daughter. Against Char's circle of adorers her kind but feeble-minded woman, who does not know
mother is able to muster some deadly forces of her which weighs more, a ton of lead or a ton of feathers,
own. She has the family doctor on her side, who, and who has been an object of affectionate contempt
because he helped to bring Char into the world, feels to her son from his tenth year onward. Mrs. Sever-
himself privileged to call her a “conceited monkey" ing and “her Morris” are quite a different pair.
in talking with her secretary. She has the irrepress The Severings, mother and son, understand each
ible Lesbia, who drops in at the Director's office and other only too well; they see through each other
tells her candidly, as her "mother's greatest friend,” with a blinding clearness, but there it stops. Neither
that she is "behaving like an absolute little fool.” of them has a ray of self-knowledge. Their dia-
Then she has Sincere Cousin John, who turns up at logues are perverse duels in which each tries vainly
the canteen and tells the errant daughter that her to drag out into the light the secret self of the other.
place is at home with her invalid father. These Yet they cleave to each other as such people. alone
persons are all infected with the implacable dislike can cleave, and on rare and fleeting occasions, they
which Lady Vivian cherishes for her unmanageable enjoy a sense of perfect companionship “when their
daughter and which unmistakeably breaks out in a respective mental tableaux vivants of one another
secret, ardent wish: "Oh, why in Heaven's name happen to coincide."
didn't I whip Char when she was younger!” There The author's attitude toward her play-acting
is only one thing wrong with Miss Delafield's satire characters varies from cool sympathy to warm dis-
in this book: unlike G. B. S. and Thackeray, she like. She handles Zella with some tolerance but
hasn't enough to go round. For the caddish doctor, she finishes off Miss Vivian, Director of the Mid-
the priggish cousin, and the vindictive mother, she land Supply Depot, with a complete and perfect
has none to spare. It is all spent on the patriotic vengeance. As for sentimentalists like Aunt
hypocrisies of Miss Vivian, who, like Carthage, must Marianne and Lesbia Willoughby, with their sheep-
ish and would-be truthful consorts, they deserve no
In The Pelicans (Knopf; $1.50) the author takes mercy from their author and, indeed, they get none.
sides with the younger generation. The Pelicans is Likewise Cousin Bertie and Nina Severing are cor-
a drama of maternalism. Mrs. Tregaskis, who has
dially detested, but they are by far the best of these
brought up three girls, knows how it feels to be a
satirical portraits. By comparison, Miss Vivian
mother. "It's all give, give, give on one side, and
take, take, take on theirs. I feel rather like an un-
degenerates into an effigy. The Pelicans is superior,
fortunate pelican feeding its young, sometimes.” But
too, in the way in which the characters are psycho-
pathos is not, after all, her note.
logically proportioned to each other. Those who
She is practical,
breezy, possessive. Having only one daughter of her
escape the lash convince us that they deserve to do
own, and sighing for more worlds to conquer, she
In short, the newest novel indicates that the
increases her family by the adoption of two orphans.
precocious Miss Delafield is still developing.
In describing the fate of the two sensitive, high-
KATHARINE ANTHONY.
be destroyed.
SO.


240
March 8
THE DIAL
matter.
The Indian as Poet
AMERICA
MERICA is just beginning to discover him. The Mary Austin; the graceful essay by way of epilogue
pioneer's harsh estimate has been modified to a sur is the work of Constance Lindsay Skinner. If Mr.
prising degree; a good Indian, according to his Cronyn is a genuine student of Indian folklore, he
students, is not so much a dead Indian as a singing is to be blamed for not having made the volume
one. Fragmentary reports have come to us and, in more communicative and less cryptič; many of these
the work of Natalie Curtis Burlin and Mary Austin, songs cry aloud for nothing so much as footnotes.
a few rich and careful evaluations. But we have Nor is one assisted materially by the arbitrary
been offered singularly little by the protagonists of arrangement of words and a pretentious typography
the red man that is either thorough or convincing. that is foreign to our native—though it may be
Much of this is due to the tremendous gap between native to Ezra Pound, H. D.," and Richard
the languages. Translation, at the best, is a difficult Adington. For example:
and ungrateful performance for both interlocutor
SONG OF THE TREES
and audience. But the translating of folk songs
The wind
and aboriginal chants is an even more hazardous
only
So much that is idiomatic escapes or is
I am afraid of.
distorted or is, most often, entirely misunderstood.
Or this, redolent of Others and the Kreymborg-
A word out of place, even when it is apprehended,
Johns' naivete:
may need a chapter of explanations; an uncertain
MAPLE SUGAR
phrase may mean nothing to anyone but the singer
Maple sugar
and his tribe who carry its connotations with them.
is the only thing
I recall with fresh appreciation the various versions
That satisfies me.
one small sentence went through before it attained
Or this equally inspired bit:
intelligibility. In an Indian song (Ojibwa, accord-
He Is Gone
ing to Robert Frost, from whom I have the story)
I might grieve
a certain phrase was repeated several times. Its
I am sad
crudeness puzzled the translator who finally ren-
that he has gone
dered it: "I wear bad shoes.” This meant nothing
in the context, so the phrase was changed to: "My There are surprisingly many of such odd-shaped
shoes hurt me." Still dissatisfied, the adapter pieces of sentimentality. The number of them
showed it to an old Indian, who smiled and said proves that, robbed of the imagiste set-up, the harsh
nothing. After a while the venerable Redman aborigine can commit poetry as trite and banal as
explained that the song was an ancient.gambling many an overcivilized paleface. The relationship
tune, that the game was played with moccasins and does not end with the mere elimination of capitals
a stone or small nut-our shell game was possibly a and the indentation of a few lines.
variation of it—and that the queer phrase, literally Miss Austin almost succeeds in disposing of par:
and figuratively, was: “I use wicked shoes ”—the of our objection. In her introduction she writes:
line being a taunting challenge, uttered very much
in the spirit of the side show come-on: Watch the
That there is such a relationship any one at all familiar
little pea. Now you see it; now you don't!”
with current verse of the past three or four years must
immediately conclude on turning over a few pages. He
This incident takes on a particular significance will be struck at once with the extraordinary likeness be-
after one has read the greater part of the latest con-
tween much of this native product and the recent work of
tribution to our indigenous literature, an anthology
the Imagists, vers librists, and other literary fashionables.
He may, indeed, congratulate himself on the confirmation
of songs and chants from the Indians of North of his secret suspicion that Imagism is a very primitive
America (The Path on the Rainbow-Boni & Liv-
form; he
may,
if he happens to be of the Imagist's party,
suffer a check in the discovery that the first free move-
eright; $1.50). One suspects the editor, George ment of poetic originality in America finds us just about
W. Cronyn, of fathering more than a few hybrid
where the last Medicine Man left off.
if not actually dubious offspring. It is hard to say
could he have expected ?
how much of the book should be credited to Mr. It would be unfair of me to give the impression
Cronyn, his share of the task is concealed to the that the book is made up of alternate portions of
point of mystery. The front matter, purporting to preciosity and platitudes. Some of the songs,
be a translation of a song that never existed, is by especially those of the Southwest, are full of vitality
Carl Sandburg; the illuminating introduction is by and several—such as The Child Is Introduced to
my lover,
But what else


1919
241
THE DIAL
the Cosmos at Birth, and the rituals—are impressive
even without the music, the rude chant which gives
them most of their racial color. Of the translators,
Natalie Curtis Burlin seems to retain more of the
sharp flavor than the others; of the interpreters, the
two most successful are Alice Corbin Henderson
and Frank Gordon. With work as good as theirs
to live up to, it is an added disappointment to come
across jingles like Pauline Johnson's The Song My
Paddle Sings, which is neither original nor aborig-
inal, and rhymed sweetmeats as time-dusty as:
It is dark on the Lost Lagoon, .
And gone are the depths of haunting blue,
The grouping gulls, and the old canoe,
The singing firs, and the dusk and—you;
And gone is the golden moon.
As an ethnic document this anthology is of
indubitable value; as a contribution to creative
Americana it may grow to have importance. But
as a collection for the mere man of letters it is a
rather forbidding pile—a crude and top-heavy men-
ument with a few lovely and even lively decorations.
LOUIS UNTERMEYER.
Postprogramism and Reconstruction
W:
HEN CONCERT PROGRAMS distract with Orn carried forward in the face of shallowness and dis-
stein, Schoenberg, Scriabine, Strawinsky, or Ravel, play. To the casual music listener such a realign-
and neglect the restrained and penetrative utterance ment of names and rank will be novel, though
of men like d’Indy and Elgar, it is a consolation hardly surprising if he will reflect that the casual
to read a lucid attack upon the sensationalism of the listeners of their day placed Spohr above Beethoven
postprogramists, as we might term those who have and Meyerbeer above Wagner. In so far as this
carried to an extreme the alliance of music and ex realignment of contemporary composers is based on
traneous matters. Such an attack forms the basis the creed of music for its own sake, it is too sound
of the latest group of essays by Daniel Gregory Ma to be seriously questioned; but in part, one must ad-
son-Contemporary Composers (Macmillan ; $2). mit, it appears to rest on individual taste.
To those who know from deeply emotional experi-
Nothing could be easier than to recognize the
ences that "abstract” music is a far greater thing book as authoritative and to settle back comfortably
than mathematical note-spinning, the book will be into acceptance of its persuasive views. They form
welcome indeed; for seldom has contemporary music
a consistent, individual, well thought out philosophy
been so ably analyzed from the position of the purist.
of music. They are the conclusions of one appar-
With characteristic clarity of expression and
ently sure of himself, one whose opinions tend to
thought, Mr. Mason dissects the tendencies of to crystallize. But can one man's philosophy of music
day's music, and thus, completes his brilliant cycle be accepted by another? Are we dealing altogether
of essays on the history of modern music—Beet with valid, permanent judgments, or is a man's ar-
hoven and his Forerunners. The Romantic Com tistic perception mostly the composite of his experi-
posers, From Grieg to Brahms, and Contemporary ences meeting another's perception, not because of
absolute values but because of inheritances and ex-
Musicians who are on everyone's lips today—the 'periences common to both? Biological and philo-
programists, the impressionists, the sensationalists— sophical questions arise but, being mostly unan-
are criticized as looking away from that inner emo-
swered, they must be passed over with the one com-
tion “to which alone,” as Wagner said, “can music
ment that, if the values to which we would attach
give a voice, and music only.” With the exception
permanence are an illusion, like that of free will, we
of Strauss and Debussy, they receive but passing
face the same necessity of recognizing the mechanical
mention in this volume. These two are regarded as
nature of our reactions and of acting as if we did
showing frequently the same ' decadent elements,
For practical purposes, certain standards may
mixed, however
, with certain merits that make their
be taken to be absolute. Debussy's music, for in-
consideration imperative. The discussion of their
stance, does carefully avoid sweeping melodic line.
characteristics—for instance, the gradually increas-
That is a question of fact. Similarly, one can prac-
ing interest of Strauss in externals at the expense of tically regard as a fact a conclusion of the final essay
inner emotion—will be found to be quite valuable.
—that ragtime does not "express” America. The
Those who receive the author's real deference, how-
plausibility of Mr. Mason's book is enhanced because
ever, are d'Indy and Elgar—despite the latter's fre he is so inevitably right in regard to these questions
quent vulgarity—and it is by men of their character of fact. And it is only a step further for him to
that he expects the best traditions of music to be think, perhaps, that if he can be authoritative here,
Composers.
not.


242
March 8
THE DIAL
zest.
he can also trust his impressions in regard to more servitude, the author suggests that possibly an era of
subtle matters, such as the appeal of a particular cooperation and communism may rescue it from the
passage of music, or the beneficial or evil results of sensational and revivify it. The essay in question
certain musical tendencies.
was written when after-the-war conditions did not
In this connection it is interesting to note that in seem of such immediate importance; but it forms an
presenting his impressions in so positive a manner, interesting departure for reconstruction speculations.
Mr. Mason is following out his creed of individual The attitude that the arts can come along in the
ism. Of the musician he says: "He must love his wake of more material reconstruction is not less
cause so singly that he will cleave to it, and forsake dangerous than the related one that the League of
all else.
He must take sides. He must be, Nations can be patched up after the Peace Confer-
not a philosopher, but a partisan. He must have ence. There would be no great value in making the
good hearty enthusiasms, and good hearty prej world safe for a democracy stripped of the finer fea-
udices. Only so can he be an individual.” Such a tures of the arts. If no concerted action to improve
statement would be disquieting enough if it were not directly the status of music is possible at present, we
for the obvious refutation that philosophers have must at least realize that in forming our opinions
ever been individuals. We need not be provincial as to social changes we should know if possible what
to be ourselves, nor need we reject our deepest these changes may mean to music. If social justice
and most unique feelings to give our neighbor his is to give music a better opportunity, as Mr. Mason
due.
believes, then we can work toward it with added
Occasionally readers of a magazine of literary
criticism need to be reminded of the subjectivity of What is looked for is "first, the gradual refining,
artistic perception. If a reflective person is honest deepening, and vitalizing of the taste of the general
with himself, he will know that only an occasional public under the influence of increasing leisure
,
movement or passage of music of even the greatest health, self-respect, and education; second, the cut-
masters is really of a nature to permit his thorough ting off of extravagance, luxury, and faddism in the
appreciation of it. On different occasions even the wealthier classes by a wholesome pressure of en-
same passage will affect him in an entirely new way. forced economy; third, increasing solidarity of feel-
Moreover, he will catch himself being thrilled by ing in the whole social fabric through such a mutual
a given effect because it has pleasurable associations, rapprochement, giving the indispensable emotional
because in some indefinable way his ear has been basis for vital art.” Such a picture is an additional
prepared to appreciate it, or because it appears incentive to raise our aims toward cooperation and
strikingly original to him. If sufficiently introspec communism as the real expression of the democracy
tive, he may be able to see the mechanism of his ap for which we have waged war. In doing so we must
preciation at work, and from that day he will never face the problem with our eyes open. Unless the
trust his personal opinion sufficiently to declare un-
greatest vigilance is exercised, the world will slip
reservedly that this is a great work or that the other back into the same rut of capitalism and industrial
has no permanent value. And thus I prefer to think servitude, with conditions more intolerable than
of the major portion of musical criticism in this and
ever before. Not only social justice but the future
previous books of Mr. Mason's as being the impres of the arts calls for our efforts.
sions of a broadly interested, clear-thinking, and And pending the slow evolution of such a social
wholesome musical critic, with whom I personally organization as the author hopes will revivify
happen to agree in regard to a vast number of musi- music, the advice to the American composer in the
cal matters. And if another man should find Elgar's last essay is of singular value.
First Symphony dry, or fail to find in it the interpre that while society withholds proper payment for
tation of the same emotions that are described some-
what too fully in the present volume, I should not
his best creative 'work, especially in this country,
be so certain as Mr. Mason that his musical appre-
it freely offers him a livelihood if he will only teach,
ciation is at fault.
perform, or do anything but create new music.
When the author is merely offering “suggestions ciety, has reached its present state only through the
However, he must also realize that music, like so-
and hints” as to the future of music, he can be read
with more confidence. Pointing out at length how
struggles, against immense odds, of its martyrs and
music, having passed gradually from the hands of
its heroes. He must be ready to sacrifice much and
the nobility to those of the people, has suffered
to feel that in the possession of a lifelong enthu-
from the loss of its homogeneous audience and from
siasm he has the best gift that life has to offer.
the fatigue-results of capitalism and industrial
Rollo BRITTEN.
J
He must realize


1919
243
THE DIAL
contents.
A New American Statesman Series
In the two VOLUMES, Thomas Jefferson, by
never think of one for Governor. It has been so
David Saville Muzzey, and Jefferson Davis, by with other leaders. Wilson has never, I believe,
Armistead C. Gordon ($1.50 each), Scribner's have carried a majority of the votes of New Jersey on
announced a series of biographies of American the merits of his democratic program. He could
Statesmen to supplement or replace those already in hardly carry a single American state today if he
existence. There are two conditions of the success of really proposed to make a state democratic. Yet
this enterprise-an editor who understands the he could probably carry the country.
status of historical writing in the United States, and This is writing about a book and not giving its
cooperating scholars who both know what has been
But the spirit of the book is given.
the actual development in this country and have the Muzzey's short volume puts Jefferson in his proper
gifts to apply their knowledge to the subjects. position. It does not mistake his purpose at any
These volumes illustrate the editorial point of time. It was not States Rights that Jefferson ad-
view that has been adopted, a liberal writer for a vocated in the great war with Federalism, but the
liberal subject, a conservative for a conservative cause of democracy which Jefferson thought he
subject. On this principle, the story of Jefferson could forward by using the States. He had no idea
by Professor Muzzey reaches a degree of success of dissolving the Federal Union in his Kentucky
and fairness hitherto unattained. We have had resolutions and none knew this better than contem-
biographies of Jefferson galore, but none that ap poraries; but they chose to attack him on that
proaches Thayer's Life of Cavour—which by the ground rather than on democratic grounds. The
way might be taken as a model—in visualizing the pity of this biography is that it is not longer and
great author of the Declaration of Independence. more elaborate. The greatest of American demo-
Nearly all men who have written of Jefferson make crats before Lincoln deserves it.
out that he received his ideals and philosophy from Mr. Armistead Gordon's Life of Jefferson Davis
the French. Muzzey shows how absurd is this is written on the assumption that the author of the
theory, for it could never have been anything more biography should sympathize with the subject. That
than a theory invented by men who did not know is, Mr. Gordon is supposed by the editor of the series
the facts. Another thing Muzzey makes clearer to sympathize with secession as a rightful measure
than others have done is the great work of Jeffer- of sectional defense or to approve of what are some-
son in literally overturning the whole Virginia times called conservative principles in society. The
civilization during the early years of the Revolu biography is written by one who can, therefore, see
tion“ while the iron was hot.” What he does not the task from the point of view of Davis. With
quite grasp is the fact that Virginia-I mean vot that there can be no quarrel-certainly not if the
ing Virginia—never, after 1781, admired her great author is a master of his art and is a philosopher
est citizen. That Jefferson received the support of who knows history in long periods, rather than in
Virginia for the Presidency does not prove any.
decade instalments.
thing, for it was a case of Jefferson against John The book fulfills the expectations of the editor.
Adams or some other alien—for aliens good Vir It will satisfy those who look upon history through
ginians always regarded New England men.
So Southern spectacles; it will please gentlefolk, North
articulate Virginians took Jefferson in preference
and South, who still feel the dire need of cheap
to a “foreigner.” The test of their loyalty to him household servants. Nor does it fall short of high
came in the constant pressure from Monticello to historical standards. I have detected no important
have a new and more democratic constitution for the error in all its pages. It reads well, moreover, and
great old state. Jefferson was a man of some as-
the footnotes give every evidence of care and honesty
tuteness, but he labored forty years for a democratic in its composition. No previous worker in the field
constitution and to no avail. Virginia would have has been slighted, no matter how widely the diver-
none of it.
gence of viewpoint. That is a good deal. Not
This is not to say that the author of our new Life
many writers of history in this country have been
of Jefferson has not done a good job. He has; only able to rise to similar heights of just dealing.
he missed the common American habit of compro-
Yet, if the reviewer mistake not, the story of
mising state and national affairs in the setting up of Jefferson Davis remains to be written. Davis was
presidential candidates. Virginia would, for ex-
a rather noble nature, a sincere aristocrat, a man
ample, gladly have a Democrat for President but
who never believed in the principles that pe-


244
March 8
THE DIAL
30
This may
men.
not
culiarly mark American history. His philosophy was But the reader can not understand why Lincoln was
that of Nietzsche, but without the brutalism of the not satisfied with it if he confines himself to Gor-
German; it was that of Bismarck without the cold don's pages. One needs to know the meaning of
blooded cynicism of the great Prussian. Davis be law and constitution. Mr. Gordon wonders why
lieved that the minority, the educated, “the rich the North refused to abide by the decision of the
and the good," as Fisher Ames once put it, should court which its leaders had so long praised as the
govern. There are classes in all society, the sim-rightful arbiter in great controversies. It is plain
ple field laborer, the more sophisticated artisan and enough. The body of Northern men, stirred perhaps
small farmer group, and the highly intelligent rul by some designing leaders, had gone past that older
ing and employing class. To this latter belonged view. They were returning to the ideals of the
from his point of view, the responsibility of gov Declaration of Independence, of equality among
erning, not of exploiting, all the rest.
And to such men law and constitution do
seem an exaggeration. Yet I think the President settle things. Davis knew why Lin-
of the Confederacy did not exploit his slaves, cer coln was not satisfied. He knew and feared the
tainly he did not feel that intense desire of ex deep feeling of common men everywhere; it boded
ploitation which marks the conduct of so many ill for any system of government in which gentle-
leaders of industry today. Davis thought a slave folk and trained minds held all the places of power.
should have all he could earn; but he could only Davis also knew what the author does not grasp,
earn a comfortable living for himself and family. why Douglas broke with Buchanan in December
Davis would have made of all America a fine old 1857. The fact that Douglas who had no supreme
feudal state in which every man should have his faith in democracy, as had Lincoln, could not abide
place and be made physically as comfortable as the the decision of the Supreme Court portended dis-
state of things would allow.
aster to Davis. It showed that not only the anti-
In the light of this philosophy Mr. Gordon's slavery men of the North were against the phil-
book falls short of its high promise otherwise. It osophy of Davis but that moderate men, who cared
gives the facts of a romantic and reactionary period little about slavery in any form, could not defend
and personal career; but it does not arrange those it. Ignoring this crucial test of 1857, Mr. Gordon
facts in such a way that the reader understands what loses the best opportunity of his subject to set forth
Davis and his devoted coworkers intended to do. the merits of the quarrel that was about to rend
That we must lament, for the story is such a dra the country into warring sections.
matic one, and the author would have made such But I must not leave the impression that the book
a charming and soul moving narrative if he had is not a good one.
It only falls into that class of
grasped that larger opportunity. All the discus books measured by the standards of the older series
sions of constitutional guarantees and the rights of
of biographies. It is as good as any, perhaps bet-
property, clearly and accurately set forth as they are,
fail to grip the reader unless it is made plain what
ter than any we have of the great Confederate
men wanted to do. There can be no doubt, for ex-
leader. The disappointment consists in the failure
ample, that the Federal Supreme Court had law and
of the author to give us a better story of a supremely
constitution on its side in the Dred Scott dictum.
tragic career.
WILLIAM E. DODD.
London, February 4
IT
T IS DIFFICULT to believe that little more than ing daily on Paris. I shall never forget the im-
eight months have passed since I arrived (involun- pression that was made on me, when I arrived in
tarily) in England. Then we were in the midst of London, by the complete contrast between the as-
the most critical period of the war, the end of which
pects of the two cities. London was crowded, more
seemed very far off. Now the war is practically crowded than I had ever seen it, and seemed gayer
although not formally over. You can hardly in
than in normal times. Theaters and restaurants
America fully understand what that means to one
were thronged, and it was difficult to find a room
who experienced nearly four years of war in France.
in a hotel. The spirits of Londoners seemed not
When I left Paris in May, it was deserted by at
at all affected by the anxious military situation,
least one third of its population; the city was
partly because they were farther off, partly no doubt
wrapped in gloom, material and moral. Both be because they are less liable to sudden changes of
fore and after I left, the German shells were fall-
temper than the Parisians, who alternated between


1919
245
THE DIAL
In re-
the extreme of optimism and the extreme of pessi The general public wants three things: immediate
mism. There had been a bad air raid on London— demobilization, the entire abolition of conscription,
the last of the war-during the very night on which and measures to prevent war in the future.
I crossed the Channel. It left no trace on the spirits gard to demobilization, it hardly takes account of
of the population.
the time that it must necessarily take to demobilize
Certainly one must respect the steadiness of the millions of men. But the country is determined
English character, which is particularly conspicuous that they shall be demobilized as soon as possible
at this moment. There has been much less of the and that, above all, no policy shall be adopted which
intoxication of victory here than in the other Allied might involve the keeping of the soldiers under arms.
countries, and now there is none at all. But in the That is the reason why the suggestion of continued
first months of my arrival London seemed to me military operations in Russia provoked immediate
too indifferent to the tragedy of the war.
To one
indignation. Mr. Lloyd George knows how to feel
coming from a country where indifference was im the pulse of popular opinion. No doubt his own
possible there was something indecent in the evi remarkable intelligence led him to oppose war
dent pleasure-seeking, in the vast masses of people against the Russian Revolution, but he also knew
thoroughly enjoying themselves while just across the that the country would not follow him in any other
Channel was the Great Atrocity. Now all that hap- policy. Never was a decision received with greater
pily belongs to the past and gayety is no longer in and more universal satisfaction in England than the
congruous. I shall never forget the sensation of adoption by the Peace Conference of President Wil-
realizing, when the guns on the morning of No son's proposal in regard to Russia, which embodied
vember 11 announced the Armistice, that for the
the policy proposed at the beginning of this year
first time for more than four years nobody was being by Mr. Lloyd George and then rejected by M.
killed on the devastated plains of Europe. The first Clemenceau and M. Pichon. There is also intense
thought of many people no doubt turned to victory; satisfaction here at the evidently close cooperation
mine was entirely preoccupied by the cessation of of the British and American delegates at the Peace
the slaughter. I quite understand the intense re Conference. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Lloyd George
lief of the people even of defeated Germany. The are standing together for a sincere application of the
English people as a whole, as I have said, has not principles for which all the Allies professed to be
been intoxicated by victory. Of course during the fighting. If any kind of genuine League of Na-
Armistice week London went more or less mad tions comes out of the Conference, it will be this
and there was not a little intoxication in the literal cooperation that we have to thank for it. It has
sense of the term. But there is little sign of any
been only too clear that there are many in France
desire to abuse the victory, of any lust of conquest.
for whom the League of Nations means a new Holy
There is no popular demand for annexations or un Alliance to put down “Bolshevism," as the old Holy
conscionable terms of peace. The peace aims of the
Alliance tried to put down the French Revolution,
English people are the same as their war aims and to make the world safe for capitalism. It may
the suppression of militarism and the abolition of be said with safety that the British working classes
war. They really and sincerely went to war for would never tolerate such a League of Nations as
those objects, and their present attitude shows that
that.
they are a fundamentally pacific people. No doubt As to the state of feeling in France, I have no
part of the press has had a different attitude. Dur direct information. I can only form impressions
ing the general election the two "stunts” of “hang from the French press and the reports of friends. It
the Kaiser" and "make the Germans pay” were
would be a mistake to assume that the great Parisian
worked for all they were worth. They seem to
papers necessarily represent French public opinion ;
have appealed to the newly enfranchised women,
they did not before the war, they have done so still
for whose special benefit they were probably started.
less during the war, and there is no reason to believe
But they are now almost forgotten and interest no that they are more representative now. French sol-
body. As to the latter, sensible people realize that diers are certainly no more disposed to go on fighting
it is materially impossible to make the Germans pay
in Russia than are British soldiers, who have recently
the whole cost of the war and that there are so
made their opinion on that matter very plain. Bur
many other prior claims that this country is unlikely
the press is controlled by the financial interests,
ever to get a penny. The fate of the German colo whose power is greater in France than in any other
nies, in which some of the British Dominions are
European country. No crime, real or imaginary, of
keenly interested, interests hardly anybody in this
the Bolsheviks is so great, in the eyes of the great
country; it is purely a journalistic stunt.
French banks and financiers, as their repudiation


246
March 8
THE DIAL
of the national debt. That is the secret of the de strategic frontiers. Germany insisted on a strategic
mand of the French press for war against the Rus frontier in 1871 and the results are before us. Yet
sian Revolution and of its indignation at the de there are actually influential persons and news-
cision of the Peace Conference, which found its most papers in France that want to repeat the conduct of
extreme expression in the remark of “Pertinax” (M. Germany now. The only hope of the world is in
Giraud) in the Echo de Paris of January 23 that entirely new methods. I think that the great ma-
“Ideology, ignorance and electoral policy are the jority of the English people recognize that fact;
guests of the Quai d'Orsay." "Electoral policy" hence their enthusiasm for President Wilson and
means respect for public opinion.
their satisfaction at Mr. Lloyd George's coopera-
Difficult as it is to ascertain what the mass of the tion with him. Mr. Lloyd George has strengthened
French people—the peasants and the proletariat- his position by his attitude during the Peace Con-
are thinking, there can be no doubt that the wine of gress and the attacks on him of the Echo de Paris
victory has gone to the head of a considerable num and some other French Nationalist papers will
ber in France. Indeed the greater part of the strengthen it still more.
bourgeoisie, at any rate, seems to have lost its head. Nevertheless there is great unrest in England. At
Paris as usual is particularly affected. Radical dep the moment of writing there are general strikes
uties who only a few months ago denounced the at Glasgow and Belfast, strikes on the London
claims to the Left Bank of the Rhine now denounce "Tubes" railways which are entirely stopped, local
those that still object to them. The very men who and sectional strikes in many other places. General
in June 1917 forced M. Ribot to repudiate the strikes of the railway men and the engineers are
agreement of February 1917 with the Government
threatened, as is an electrician's strike in London.
of the Czar, now demand all that that agreement The immediate and ostensible cause of the strikes is
tried to secure to France. It is impossible to deny the demand for a forty-hour week, but they are
it: victory has revived the old militarist and
Chauvinist spirit of France which, it must be re-
symptoms of profound discontent in the working
class and they have in many cases—notably at Glas-
membered, was dominant throughout the nineteenth
century, except during the reign of Louis Philippe, fast strike has brought about an extraordinary situa-
gow-a definitely revolutionary character. The Bel-
and was only reduced to impotence by the victory
of the Dreyfusards at the end of the century. All
tion in Ireland. Labor seems about to bridge the
Frenchmen over forty were brought up under the in-
gulf between North and South. Racial and reli-
Auence of that spirit; many of them emancipated
gious differences are yielding to common economic
themselves from it but, as is now evident, the eman-
interests and Sir Edward Carson's reign in Ulster
is threatened. The Belfast strikers have made over-
cipation was not in all cases complete, and the old
spirit has once more entered into many that had
tures to their fellow workmen in Dublin and an alli-
ance between Sinn Fein and Labor-between the
thrown it off. Clearly the war was in its inception political and industrial rebels—seems probable at the
a purely defensive war so far as France was con-
cerned, but before it had lasted long there was an
moment of writing. The Sinn Feiners have been
influential party which tried to convert it into a war
quiet since the general election because the hope was
of Revanche. "They failed to carry with them the
held out to them that their interned members, thirty
bulk of the French people
, but they are carrying be released. The Government has now decided not
of whom have been returned to Parliament, would
many more with them in trying to make the vic-
tory a victory of Revanche. So far as vocal opinion
to release them and the situation is naturally much
great difference that I see between French
worse than 'it would have been if the hope had
and English opinion is that the former seems to be
never been held out. The Sinn Feiners have now
chiefly concerned with purely national interests and
determined to act and we may see the North and
ambitions, whereas the latter is more concerned
South of Ireland united in a general revolutionary
about the general interest of the world. There is
strike against the English Government. Should
no tenderness for the Germans in England, but a
this come about, it will be a momentous event in
certain good sense tells us that war will never be
Irish history. In any case the old modified Home
Rule is dead and Ireland will now never accept less
got rid of if we allow this victory to be abused as
all victories have been in the past and if the peace
than an autonomy such as is enjoyed by the self-
terms are such as to leave behind them another
governing Dominions of the British Empire. Never
Revanche. A genuine League of Nations will be a
has revolutionary feeling been so strong or so wide-
much more effective protection to France and all
spread in this country since the Chartist movement.
other countries than territorial guarantees and
The Trade Union leaders and officials have lost con-
trol of the rank and file and the Trade Union or-
goes, the


1919
247
THE DIAL
at once.
ganizations are in process of transformation. Their portion of their wages. The war has completely
control seems about to pass formally into the hands. revolutionized the position of women and the rela-
of the shop stewards, who already exercise that con tions of the sexes in every class. That is a large
trol in fact.
subject to which I hope to return in a future letter.
Those who believed that the prolongation of the Meanwhile it is enough to note that the women are
war would lead to revolution everywhere—I was one not at all willing to surrender their places to men
of them-already seem on the way to be justified. Ex and return to domesticity.
isting society has been shaken to its very founda The influence of the Russian Revolution, which
tions and it is doubtful whether it can escape de was at first enormous but was arrested by the with-
struction. The anxious question for the world is drawal of Russia from the war, has revived and
whether there will be forthcoming men capable of been intensified by the revolutions in Central Eu-
constructing a new society to take its place or rope. There is in the working class a profound
whether we are on the verge of a period of mere distrust of Parliament and politicians, and an in-
anarchy. Certainly the present situation justifies creasing tendency to disbelieve in the efficacy of
Lord Lansdowne and the few others who saw the parliamentary methods. The advocates of " direct
only hope of saving existing society in an early peace action ” are increasing in number daily. There
by negotiation. The Socialists that supported Lord have been striking examples of its efficacy in the suc-
Lansdowne did so for other reasons because they cessful resistance of Ulster to Home Rule for Ire-
believed, rightly or wrongly, that nothing justified land, the refusal of Mr. Havelock Wilson to allow
the continued massacre of the youth of Europe. Internationalists to cross the Channel, and such suc-
Had they thought only of the interest of Socialism, cesses as that of the police strike in London and the
they would certainly have advocated war to the
retaliation of the electricians against the manager of
bitter end—to the end that has actually been the Albert Hall when he refused it for a labor meet-
reached, the break-up of the capitalist system over ing—until his light was cut off, when he yielded
the greater part of the continent of Europe. Revo-
The Conservative press, with fatuous
lution began, as was inevitable, with the conquered blindness, applauded Sir Edward Carson and Mr.
peoples. It would be rash indeed to assume that it Havelock Wilson, forgetting that others could play
will stop with them.
at their game.
The present attitude of English workmen for Moreover, the result of the general election
bids any such assumption. Although those that has strengthened the hands of the advocates of
were not at the front have never been so well off as “ direct action." Only half the electors took the
they were during the war-
r—for wages rose in an trouble to vote, and an illogical electoral system has
even greater proportion than prices—it is now evi resulted in a House of Commons which does not
dent that its prolongation exasperated them. Now properly represent the voters. The poll of the
that the tension is removed their real feeling can
Labor Party entitled it to twice as many members
show itself. Moreover the days of fictitious pros-
as it has obtained, the Opposition Liberals are even
perity are numbered. Demobilization is throwing more under-represented, and the Unionist party has
millions of men into the labor market, the cessation a clear majority of the House, whereas the voting
of war manufacture is causing the displacement of
showed that it is in a minority in the country.
industry such as has never before been known, we Were the representation of the various parties in
are left with a huge war debt which means, if it is
the House of Commons even approximately pro-
to be paid in full, a heavy tax on the labor of genera-
portionate to their respective polls, the ministerial
tions to come. The workmen see that, unless there Coalition would have a moderate majority instead
is a drastic change in economic conditions, they can of an overwhelming one and that majority would
not hope to be even as well off as they were before depend on the Liberal members of the Coalition,
the war. The women are even more discontented whereas at the present moment the Unionists alone
than the men. During the war they have for the
have a majority over all the other parties put
first time had economic independence.
Women together.
have poured into business, trade, and industry, and
Parliament is in consequence more discredited
have earned wages such as they had never dreamed
than ever and it has even been proposed that the
of. They are not at all disposed to return to the Labor members should refuse, like the Sinn Feiners,
old conditions. Married women who have been
to take part in its proceedings. The proposal has
earning their own money and spending it as they
not been adopted, but it is significant that it should
pleased will not again be content to be the slaves
even have been made. Nobody supposes that the
of husbands who dole out to them weekly a small
present Parliament can last very long. The soldiers,


248
March 8
THE DIAL
very few of whom were able to vote, will demand
another general election after the demobilization is
completed. Mr. Lloyd George has threatened a
dissolution if he is thwarted in his policy. That he
recognizes the necessity of a thoroughly democratic
policy is certain and there can be no doubt as to his
skill and intelligence. But it is unlikely that he
will be able to regain the confidence of the work-
men as a body, nor has he a sufficiently profound
grasp of the factors in the situation. He is extraor-
dinarily skilful in dealing with the difficulty of the
moment, but he sometimes does so in such a way as
to create further difficulties in the future. Just
before the poll of the general election, he suddenly
made a violent attack on the Labor Party and ac-
cused it of being led by “Bolsheviks.” That will
not be forgotten in a hurry.
The soldiers are quite as discontented as the men
engaged in industry during the war. There were
recently several manifestations of their discontent,
which did not enforce discipline. The causes were
dissatisfaction at the system of demobilization and
unwillingness to take part in any expedition to Rus-
sia or anywhere else. The Government was obliged
to declare officially that no more troops would be
sent to Russia. The announcement that 900,000
men are to be retained under the colors for another
year to form an army of occupation in the territories
of our late enemies will not improve feeling in the
army or the country. It means a prolongation of
conscription. Both the army and the country will
demand peace terms which do not make any army
of occupation necessary and, if they do not get them,
there may be trouble.
I am disposed to think that the present strikes
will not last long; by the time that this article ap-
pears in print it will be known whether I am right.
But their end will not mean the end of the indust-
trial unrest.
Rather is it likely to extend. As de-
mobilization proceeds the economic conditions will
become more and more difficult and the causes of
discontent will increase rather than diminish. We
are entering on a period of strikes and industrial
troubles such as England has not known since the
days of Chartism. What its issue will be no man
knoweth.
Robert Dell.
Expressions Near the End of Winter
If I but had my longing!—not opals sad and rare,
For noble stones are proud things, and best befit your hair-
Not purple-buttoned waistcoasts, or sack to drink me deep-,
But white, smooth sheets to lie in-oh I'd sleep, sleep, sleep!
And the corners of that bedstead should be olive-wood so green,
And the gentle swan’s-down pillows should have comforted a queen;
With a canopy above me, of azure silk outspread,
Four carved Evangels at my feet and Magi at my head !
And no sun should creep there, and but small starlight,
And the whole room be odorous of gardens known at night!
The thick scents of evening, the attar of the rose,
Should take away my weariness both drowsily and close.
You would come on tiptoe, like the whisper of birds' wings,
With a quite small music, and some occupying things,
And draw up close a cushion, and bend a cautious ear,
And say, “Now don't disturb him!—for he's tired, poor dear!”
And then, both handfast, we would dream long days,
Till the dry world shimmered to a sleepy, happy haze.
With no cares to speak of—no silly fools to fret-
Oh my great, proud longing that I'll never, never get!
STEPHEN VINCENT Benèt.


THE DIAL
Robert Morss LOVETT, Editor
GEORGE DONLIN
CLARENCE BRITTEN
HAROLD STEARNS
In Charge of the Reconstruction Program:
JOHN DEWEY
THORSTEIN VEBLEN
HELEN MAROT
HE ROUTINE CAUSE
FOR
were a
THE
DEPORTATION CITED that Government by force—and part of that force
against agitators is that of advocating the overthrow our own soldiers—be deported to Russia if they
of the American government by force. This is continued in the strain of their recent advertise-
notably the case with the 60 odd I. W. W.'s and ments in our daily papers? Another instance, who
others awaiting the pleasure of the immigration au of us cannot today arise in a public meeting and
thorities at Ellis Island. Of course that section of denounce the British Government in Ireland to his
the amendment to the immigration act which makes heart's content and end by advocating its overthrow
advocacy of the overthrow of this government by by force? It would be a violation of the law, but
force grounds for the deportation of an alien is
it would be a violation very unlikely to be brought
justifiable, although we should like to point out that to a Grand Jury's attention-unless, of course, we
the definition of what constitutes advocacy of the
dangerous " labor agitator.
And even
overthrow of this government by force is so vague
then the local District Attorney would be likely to
that the pleaders for that mild degree of sabotage be easy. Why? Well, the Irish have a big vote
which is known as “striking on the job ” are con-
in this country; they dominate many political ma-
sidered to come within the law's provisions. But chines; they have the sympathy of a large and
the amendment to the immigration act goes much powerful section of American organized labor. In
further. It specifically states that advocacy of the
other words, so long as an agitator against a foreign
overthrow by force of any government whatsoever. government is respectable, so long as he has any
shall be considered grounds for the deportation of political backing in this country, so long as he is not
any alien. Now to include this provision within mixed up with any radical wing of the labor move-
the scope of the amendment is manifestly to make ment, he can agitate against a foreign government
the law ridiculous or—as is more plausibly the case as vigorously as he pleases. It is only the weak
—to make it just an instrument of indiscriminate and the unprotected who have to fear deportation.
coercion. Consider some of its absurd implications. If, for example, the Hindus recently scheduled for
“The Friends of Russian Freedom,” who, before deportation had an influence on American political
the war, included some of our most upright and life commensurate with the Irish, who of us would
humanitarian leaders, would be liable to deportation be so naive as to imagine that they would now be
under this act-provided, of course, that they lacked awaiting the pleasure of the immigration authori-
American citizenship papers.
A political refugee ties? We cite these pitiful cases last, for not only
from Siberia who came to this country to preach do they illustrate the manifest hypocrisy of the law
the evils of Czarism and the necessity for a cleansing but also how far we have wandered from our former
revolution in Russia would have been sent back to proud estate of political asylum. We stand, ready
the Czar's hangmen. Before our beneficent war today to deport Hindus who advocate the overthrow
for democracy had robbed us of our most elementary of the British government in India by force-in-
conceptions of political asylum and freedom of deed, we have already actually deported some of
speech such a law could never have passed even a
them, blind or indifferent to the fact that such de-
Senate Judiciary Committee. It would have been portation for a Hindu nationalist usually means
repugnant to those traditions of liberty which used execution by the British authorities. As long as
to be dear to most Americans. We had always any government, however corrupt or tyrannical or
prided ourselves on the fact that our shores bounded vicious, is formally recognized, refugees have not
a safe refuge for the persecuted of other lands. the right in the United States to advocate the over-
Çertainly we cannot do so any longer. Yet it is the throw by force of that government. We do not
demonstrable hypocrisy of the recent law which
of course say, or even mean to imply, that the gov-
makes it a stench in the nostrils of all decent men.
ernment of India, under British rule, is either cor-
Suppose that something like the present Soviet rupt or tyrannical or vicious. But we do say that
Government in Russia should come to be officially
even ten years ago it would never have occurred
recognized. Would the alien agitators from Russia to us to deny a Hindu refugee the right to say
now in this country advocating the overthrow of exactly that, if he thought it was true.


250
March 8
THE DIAL
OF
WE
ARE RECEIVING FREQUENT REMINDERS English Government had reconciled public opinion
the fact that the Russian Revolution is of the classic to war with France, Wordsworth hoped for the
type established by France, not of the romantic or defeat of the Allies of which his country was one.
eccentric school current in the Western hemisphere. Then the Revolution brought forth a dictatorship,
One of the notes of classic revolution is its propul- democracy turned imperialistic, Napoleon became
sion_by energy derived from internal combustion. the War Lord of Europe, and England complacently
In France the States General was burned to heat found herself the defender of the rights of nations,
the fires of the Legislative Assembly, and that in small and large. The tragedy was not that of France
turn was consumed to set in motion the Convention, alone—it was England's. The unearned moral
which again was sacrificed to the Committee of increment which accrued to England from having
Public Safety. Vergniaud fell before Danton, and her worse cause turn out to be the better-by no
Danton before Robespierre, as Lvoff fell before virtue of her own—was one of the fruitful causes
Kerensky, and Kerensky before Lenin. But those of that hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and cant which
who are curious enough to inquire into the physics England's prophets, from Carlyle to Bernard Shaw,
of revolution are aware that this internal energy have denounced. It was to the soul of the nation
which becomes explosive is in the main generated what rent was to its political economy—it was
under pressure from without. How far the French poison. Nor will the present tragedy be Russia's
Revolution overshot its original mark because of the alone—it will be that of the Allies, of America.
history, and the accession of England to the Allies The list of TEACHERS DISMISSED OR SUSPENDED
made certain the Reign of Terror. This is the from the New York public schools in consequence
great tragedy in the annals of revolution—the way of difference of opinion from the majority has re-
in which the good cause is maneuvered by skilful ceived a notable addition in the name of Benjamin
opposition into excess and self-destruction. Mr. F. Glassberg. Mr. Glassberg was furnished a text-
C. Howe has expressed the opinion that the modern book on current history which he was told to teach
world took a fatally wrong turn when England “ with enthusiasm.” This is apparently the book
suppressed her early sympathy with the French Rev which makes such elaborate apology for the long
olution, and, under the spell of Burke's declamation, continued neutrality of the United States that the
joined the ranks of the repressers. In this respect
late Theodore Roosevelt requested that the record
also it is easy to see the parallel between the situa of his own contribution to the making of this par-
tion of France and that of Russia, between the
ticular part of history be deleted. Had Mr. Roose-
Allies of 1794 and those of 1919. The French velt been a teacher under the New York School
Revolution, like the Russian, was acclaimed in Eu Board he would apparently have failed in enthusi-
rope, particularly in England, as a forward step asm at this point and been subject to the tender
in the march of humanity toward freedom. Fox mercies of Dr. Tildsley. It was on the pages de-
had the courage to stand out for the admission of voted to the Russian Revolution that Mr. Glass-
the revolutionary state to the family of European
berg's enthusiasm seems to have flagged. At any
nations. We can imagine him saying, in an old-
rate it was on the day when he confessed certain
fashioned
way, that the treatment accorded to France
doubts as to the extent to which Lenin and Trotsky
by her sister nations was the acid test of their
were German agents and regretted that testimony
good-will, and of their intelligent and unselfish sym-
in regard to the situation in Russia was suppressed,
pathy. But sympathy with France found no effect that twelve of his pupils (including the only ten
in action, while reprobation showed itself in hostility.
Gentiles in the class) were summoned to the prin-
Foreign intervention by intrigue and arms stung the
cipal's office to bear witness against him. There-
Revolution into the Terror, and its leaders became
upon Mr. Glassberg was suspended without pay.
outcast and accursed of mankind. So with the Rus-
Eight weeks have passed and he is still under sus-
sian Revolution. It is one of the ironies of history
pension, with no charges filed against him. At last
that Mr. Lloyd George's proposal to admit Russian
accounts the twelve witnesses were being subjected
delegates to the Peace Conference should be an to continued examination by Principal Raynor, and
Śwered by France in the words of M. Pichon, which,
recently Dr. Tildsley spent a day at the school col-
as given in the New York Times, might have been lecting evidence. We cannot think so ill of the
quoted from Burke on A Regicide Peace:
School Board as to imagine that if Mr. Glassberg is
The criminal regime of the Bolsheviki
ever tried he will be found guilty of anything
; since
it is supported solely by the lowest passions of anarchical
unbecoming a teacher. On his acquittal perhaps
oppression in negation of all the principles of public
he will be offered the terms presented to his prede-
and private right, cannot claim to be recognized as a
regular Government
cessor in martyrdom, Mr. Perlstein. Mr. Perlstein
The French Government
will make no contract with crime.
was suspended without pay in January 1918, pre-
War forced the French Revolution to reprisals, and
sumably for lack of sympathy with the war. After
the Republic became predatory. Even so, sympathy,
serving the U. S. Government for a year in uniform
especially in England, died slowly. Long after the
he is offered reinstatement without pay for the
period of suspension.


1919
THE DIAL
251
SECOND CASE OF INTERFERENCE WITH THE
lished it, as a
bench, makes his sport out of the men and women
cal prisoners is this—that in so many cases the trial
A
judges allowed themselves to bring their own good
freedom of thought and expression is reported from faith and impartiality into question by taking sides
the University of Montana. On February 7 Chan- violently or mockingly against the defendants. The
cellor E. C. Elliot suspended Professor Louis records of these trials are permanent. They remain
Levine from further duty as a member of the fac as evidence in the case of the people versus the
ulty, for insubordination and for unprofessional Government. In order to protect the prestige of
conduct prejudicial to the welfare of the Univer-
government there has been defined the crime known
sity.” Professor Levine's offense consisted in pub-
as contempt of court, for which persons farthest
lishing a monograph on The Taxation of Mines removed from criminal have suffered severe penal-
in Montana, which showed considerable discrepancy ties. It should be recognized that no contempt of
between property owned and share of taxes paid court expressed from without is so dangerous as that
by the Anaconda Copper Company. According
of the court for itself, for its functions, and for the
to Professor Levine this investigation was under claims of justice which it is sworn to serve. Where
taken with the consent of the Chancellor and on
the courts have in so many instances committed the
the understanding that the results should be pub crime of self-contempt, it is in their interest, and
lished by the University. The book was presented that of the Government whose prestige they uphold,
to the Chancellor, who praised it but demurred to that we ask for amnesty for political prisoners.
its publication by the institution. Later the Chan- .
cellor advised, but did not order, that it be in- THE FIRST TEST OF THE SINCERITY OF THE NA-
definitely withheld. Professor Levine after sub-
mitting his work to Professor Seligman of Columbia
tions nominating themselves for the Executive
University and Professor Murray Haig, who
Council of the League of Nations will be the peace
vouched for its impartial, scientific character, pub-
terms offered to Germany and Austria. The terms
"service to all the people of the
of the armistice were severe, and their severity has
state.” The Chancellor accordingly suspended Pro-
been increased with each renewal. There is ground
fessor Levine with the explanation:
for suspicion that President Wilson consented to
them in order to smooth the way for the acceptance
This suspension will remain in force until the board is
called to give its consideration to the case, which involves
of the Covenant. Now, however, the end of such
the all-important questions as to whether the Chancellor's diplomatic logrolling is in sight. The Covenant
policy of insisting that University men shall not mix in itself becomes void, and the League of Nations a
legislative political controversies is a sound one for an
institution created to serve fairly all the people of the
misnomer, unless such terms are granted Germany
and Austria as to make their joint participation pos-
We wonder which conception of public service,
sible. More than this, nothing is more certain than
the teacher's or the Chancellor's, the people of Mon-
that the terms of revenge hitherto put forward by
tana will endorse.
Clemenceau, Orlando, and Lloyd George will result
in the downfall of the present moderately revolu-
N. SECONDARY FIGURE IN ENGLISH HISTORY 15
tionary government of Germany. Already the
better stamped on the imagination of succeeding
Junkers are merely biding their time-a treaty of
generations than that of George Jeffreys, the hang-
ruin signed by Ebert will give them their opportu-
ing judge, who made his progress through the
nity. And behind them stand the Sparticans—the
Western counties after Monmouth's insurrection,
Bolsheviki. The revolution in Bavaria was a dress
putting in force the Espionage Act of those days. It
rehearsal—a flash by a Junker to set into explosion
was not the unfairness of his trials or the ferocity of
the magazine of proletarian wrath. We must not
his sentences alone which accounts for the bad
forget that the Allies are responsible for Bolshevik
eminence which Jeffreys has maintained: it was his
Russia. The stupid intrigues with counter-revolu-
brutal use of his position to bait the accused with
tionaries, coupled with the demand for an immediate
bitter gibe and coarse abuse that has made him
offensive which President Wilson voiced none too
infamous. Nothing contributed more to the deep
happily in the summer of 1917, brought about the
popular indignation which subverted the govern-
downfall of Kerensky. History now threatens to
ment in 1688 than the stories of Jeffreys' trials. If
repeat itself. It inevitably does repeat itself in the
there are any lessons to be learned from history this
hands of such elder statesmen as compose the Paris
one of them—that of the abuses of government,
Conference. We have no doubt whatever that
one that the people find it hardest to forgive is the
President Wilson knows perfectly this peculiarity of
cowardly and bullying judge, who, safe on his
history and understands no less the character of
The
the diplomats with whom he is dealing.
who are entrusted to his conception of justice. In
pregnant sentences near the close of his speech at
the records of trials in the last two years under the
Boston show that he is reading the hand-writing
Espionage Act more than one Jeffreys has been re-
on the wall for their benefit. They also show
vealed among our federal judges. Among the many
that he knows the remedy which the situation de-
arguments in favor of immediate amnesty for politi-
mands. Has he the courage to apply it? He has
the foresight—so had Cassandra.
state.


2 52
March 8
THE DIAL
new order
Communications
word. And while he regrets that "it is not the
object lesson of Welsh and Scotch experience that
NATIONALITIES OR NATIONS
guides the new projects,” he does not express any
regret that the experience, somewhat more tragic,
Sir: The meaning of the world war will doubt of some other nationalities which he mentions
less be a subject of much variety of opinion. The namely, Ireland, Finland, and Armenia—does not
degree in which its meaning is understood will gaide these new projects for sovereign states. Yet
mark the degree in which our reconstruction plans may it not be that it is the historic example of these
will proceed logically and progressively. It is then latter nationalities which has led our diplomatic
of utmost importance that we rightly grasp the nation-makers ” to avoid a repetition of horrors by
meaning and lay a firm foundation for future peace clothing their creations with an organized power to
and happiness. With this in mind we have read look after themselves and to conclude that in a
THE DIAL's suggestions regarding The Modern future where hate and rivalry are at least possibili-
Point of View and the New Order, by Mr. Thor ties, in some quarter or other, a nationality vitalized
stein Veblen, the editor “in charge of the recon into a nation might have as great capacity for use-
struction program.” We have noted that in the fulness as a nationality without such an organization
opinion of at least one thoughtful and analytic for its protection? But to test the
mind, gifted with the power of expressing itself, with the old—which it must be admitted is capable
the object lesson enforced by recent and current of much improvement and may in a "safely demo-
events, in so far as concerns the material fortunes cratic ” world be as different from the world we
of the underlying community at large, as well as knew before 1914 as to be deserving of better names
the keeping of peace,” is that the most benefi than Mr. Veblen suggests—may we not ask our-
cent change that can conceivably overtake any ma selves and him a few questions?
terial establishment would be to let it fall into (1) If the Allies at the Peace Conference set up
innocuous desuetude. Apparently the less [of na-
only nationalities and not nations, what will
tional establishments] the better, with no apparent
speedily become of them, unless the Allies con-
limit short of the vanishing point.”. At first we
tinue to prepare for the defense of the liberties
might suppose that here was a chronic individualist of their new creations ?
holding to that ancient maxim of democracy, that
(2) Is it not fair and just that these new creations
that government is best which governs least.” should prepare to protect and defend them-
But we find that really Mr. Veblen finds no use
selves? Better a nation than a pauper na-
for national government at all, for the new order tionality!
in industry has no use or place for national dis (3) Is it not an undue burden on the peoples of
crimination, or national pretensions of any kind.
the Allied nations that they alone make sacri-
For industry as carried on under the new
fices for the preservation of the newly recog-
order, the overcoming of national discrimination is
nized self-governing nationalities of the world?
part of the ordinary day's work." although for the
(4) After all, why should we all strive so hard for
business community and “the new order of business
a “new order " in which the interests of indus-
enterprise ” resting on intangible assets it is other-
wise,” for “ the business community has urgent need
try and of the “business community
of an efficient national establishment."
fatally antagonistic as they appear to be on Mr.
Veblen's showing? Where will be the gain?
Now two things are, among many here, especially (5) Can we not conceive of a
notable. First, that in the
new order"
all
tional establishment is weighed and found wanting.
which the nation might be organized and exist
Second, that in the “
both to preserve the right and liberties of the
new order” the wants of in-
dustry and business enterprise are as divergent and
nationality, which it embodied, and to aid in
hostile as in the old.
the orderly and fair adjustment of differences
Of course with such conceptions the new world
which exist between industry and business?
which Mr. Veblen foresees is nothing but a series
(6) Would not this second function justify the
of “Balkan-state national establishments,” each na-
creation or continued existence of nations-
even if it is conceivable that nationalities might
an organization for collective offense
and defense in peace and war-essentially based on
exist without such supervisory national organi-
zation ?
hate and fear of other nations." Whereas, had our
diplomatic nation-makers" the clever vision of
(7) But, finally, what choice would the nationality,
their critic, they would see that
let us say of Poland, or Finland, have to exist
nationalities get
along well enough, to all appearances, without
as an independent political entity or social or-
being 'nations' in that militant and obstructive
ganization, without the protection of its own
fashion that is aimed at in those projected creations
members or of friendly foreign nationalities?
of the diplomatic nation-makers.” And Mr. Veblen
Would it not be like the classic example of the
cites the Welsh and Scotch as nationalities—as dis-
snowball in Hades? Or the cat that was born
without claws ?
tinguished from nations in the ordinary sense of the
Washington, D. C.
are so
new order" in
na-
tion being
W. D. S.


1919
253
THE DIAL
66
6
utile "
Notes on New Books
tion to the English Parnassus. Throughout, the
author's chief criterion is the “self-liberating”
WILD YOUTH AND ANOTHER. By Gilbert quality of poetry: a great poet is essentially one
Parker. Lippincott; $1.50.
who can broaden, deepen, and vivify one's compre-
The WEB. By Frederic Arnold Summer. hension of large life-forces through the conscious
Century; $1.50.
transmission of an emotional experience to another
If the plotless novel were dependent upon such imaginative mind -a doctrine of the
craftsmen as Sir Gilbert and Mr. Kummer to usher which might conceivably bore some of the moderns
it into being, the probabilities are that it would —but at least Mr. Palmer does not compel the
stand forever without the portals. These two moderns to eat at his table.
writers, though they differ in detail, dwell in closest
harmony when it comes to frank and unfeigned ANOTHER SHEAF. By John Galsworthy.
reliance upon story. Give them plenty of incident, Scribner; $1.50.
and they will undertake to carry the reader through
In John Galsworthy's new volume of essays
somehow. They may ride roughshod over the tran-
readers may find a pleasure and satisfaction which
sitions; they may give scant finish to characteriza-
tion; but how they warm to the demands of every
many have restlessly missed in his recent fiction.
Those later serials have shown such a lowering of
twitch of action! Whatever their shortcomings,
his standards, such a lessening of his art, that many
neither Wild Youth nor The Web may be branded
of his admirers have wondered if there would be a
with sluggish circulation. Sir Gilbert rides his ink-
return of the magic of his early novels and his plays.
pot into the rugged Canadian West, and there pulls
Another Sheaf is not in the best Galsworthy man-
his characters in and out of the picture with the
ner, but it is good. The style is less poetic, more
careless authority of a motion-picture director. If
prosaic, than was usual with him, and in places the
a young girl is married to an old man, and the old
diction tends surprisingly toward the trite. Only
man is cruel, and the young girl falls in love with a
in the brief sketch at the beginning, The Road, do
young man, then it follows that the old man must
the words soar; for the rest they trudge, but even so
be put out of the way, and the fanatic fingers of a
Chinaman are requisitioned. And if a young girl
they do arrive.
is too adorable to become the bride of uncouth
The road stretched in a pale, straight streak, narrow-
ing to a mere thread at the limit of vision—the only living
Westerners, then
young nobleman, slightly thing in the wild darkness. All was very still. It had
wounded but otherwise perfect, will be spirited upon
been raining; the wet heather and the pines gave forth
the scene. At times, one feels that Sir Gilbert is
scent, and little gusty shivers shook the dripping birch
scarcely more than one chapter ahead of the reader.
In the pools of sky, between broken clouds, a few
stars shone, and half of a thin moon was seen from time
Mr. Kummer's metier is military intrigue, to time, like the fragment of a silver horn held up there
with the late world securely impaled on his pen, by an invisible hand, waiting to be blown.
while the reader and the enemy submit to simul In subject matter these papers on various topics,
taneous baffling. But does The Web derive any gathered together without much effect of unity, are
added momentum from the disclosure that it is more closely related to Galsworthy's plays than
to his fiction. They deal with social problems
affecting the laboring classes of England, and
FORMATIVE TYPES in English Poetry. The through them the country as a whole. They have
Earl Lectures of 1917. By George Herbert evidently seen publication before, and some of them
Palmer. Houghton Mifflin.
are less timely now than when they were written.
It is a rather formidable title which Mr. Palmer
Their chief value lies in the author's plea for recon-
elects to place at the head of his anything but for-
struction plans, for national policies that shall re-
midable volume. It is the kind of title that sug-
duce the dangers of the demobilization period and
conserve the forces undestroyed by war. Galsworthy
gests the immense erudition of a Saintsbury, a Pan-
urges a sensible and just attitude toward the return-
coast, or a Skeats. But the reader need have no fear, ing cripple—not the maudlin emotion that cries
for the author hastens to deny any but the most
out, Here's a wounded hero; let's take him to the
modest intentions—as is befitting a confessed phil-
movies and give him tea!” but a wisdom that will
osopher and amateur of the arts.
Mr. Palmer in give to the maimed a chance to do full work and
tends merely to sketch, in broad outlines, the chief
live a normal life. He is logical in his argument
poetic influences of English literature; for this pur-
for the necessity of England's growing her own
pose he chooses six
food, and shows the easy possibility of great agri-
" inevitables ” : Chaucer, cultural schemes managed by the government. On
Spenser
, George Herbert, Alexander Pope, Tenny- the whole, his discussion of the problems of recon-
son, and Browning. To each of these men he gives struction is sane and admirable; and his ideas for
a competent essay, in which biography is mingled
part are
a
trees.
founded upon fact?
with an analysis of his subject's particular contribu EnglandPindeed
, he was much to say concerning


254
March 8
THE DIAL
66
(
are,
the relation between the two countries, and says it RELIGION AND THE WAR: A Series of Essays
with breadth of vision and without that certain
on the War and Reconstruction. By Members
condescension ” Britishers too often assume:
of the Faculty of the School of Religion, Yale
Underneath surface differences and irritations we Eng University. Edited by Hasbey Sneath. Yale
lish-speaking peoples are fast bound together. May it not
be in misery and iron! If America walks upright, so shall
University Press; $1.
we; if she goes bowed under the weight of machines, With the exception of Essays III (The Christian
money, and materialism, we, too, shall creep our way. We
run a long race, we nations; a generation is but a day.
Hope in Time of War, by Frank Chamberlain
But in a day a man may leave the track and never again Porter) and IV (Non-Resistance, Christian or
recover it!
Pagan, by Benjamin M. Bacon), this collection is
The LIFE OF David BELASCO. By William
typical of a great multitude of popular sermons and
Winter. Moffat, Yard; $11.
addresses of the last four years. As such it already
belongs to a past era. The third essay is a scholarly
Well-written biographies are frequently more discussion of what is known to theologians as the
entertaining than fiction, for the details of life often
Eschatological Problem.” It adopts the comm
mmonly
possess a romance which the story-writer would not
imagine. The novelist is likely to see only the con-
accepted view of liberal Protestantism, but shows a
spicuous in situation and character, while the true
lack of familiarity with some of the most recent
biographer perceives the slighter, more significant
contributions to the subject. The fourth essay is a
matters as well. The Life of David Belasco, Wil- polemic against the non-resistant pacificism of New
liam Winter's final work, possesses a double interest Wars for Old by John Haynes Holmes, and points
in that it is at once a valuable history of certain out loopholes in the latter's argument. Professor
aspects of the American stage and a record of a life Bacon admits that the teaching of Jesus was pacifis-
full of adventurous and colorful variety. There tic, but denies that it was uniformly non-resistant.
of
course, many pages which only the student
of stage history will linger over. There are sermonic
He does not explicitly answer the question, raised
passages that might have been omitted to advantage,
by his title, whether non-resistance be Christian or
not so much because they are digressions—since
Pagan, though he quotes Buddha :
digressions are often the part of a book most worth
With mercy and forbearance shalt thou disarm every
while—as because they lack the author's usual sanity
foe. For want of fuel the fire expires: mercy and for-
bearance bring violence to naught.
of judgment. But the book is most readable.
But one would hardly classify this as a typically
Belasco never staged a play more romantic than
pagan saying.
his own life. Born in a cellar in San Francisco, the
son of an English harlequin who had come to this
The group of essays does not address itself seri-
country in destitution, he has known the true dra-
ously to specific questions of reconstruction. It
matic reversal of fortune. A Jew, he lived for
modestly contents itself with suggesting remedies of
several years in a monastery, under the training of
a most general nature.
a Catholic priest, whence he ran away to join a
traveling circus as boy clown. Riding on the hook
WAR AND REVOLUTION IN Asiatic RUSSIA.
and ladder wagon as the mascot of the Victoria
By M. Philips Price. Macmillan; $3.
Fire Department, standing on a box to reach the Mr. Price has written an extremely valuable
wash-tubs in order to help his mother with her book, interesting as well as historical.
work, hiding as a stowaway in a Vancouver boat, 1914 the author went to Russia as special corre-
reciting shockers” of his own composition in
spondent for the Manchester Guardian, but after
saloons and dives in San Francisco, he lived a life
the great retreat of the Russians from Lemberg he
calculated to provide him abundant material for the found the difficulties of sending out of the country
sensational plays he later wrote. From the time
true descriptions of the discouraging facts and the
when he was carried on as an infant in arms at
impositions of the censorship so severe that rather
the Victoria Theatre Royal he was always asso-
than stay in Europe, where honest reporting was
ciated with the stage. He danced and played the impossible
, he went to the Caucasus and the Middle
banjo at cheap places, and once appeared as an East. Here he spent the last half of 1915 and all
Indian brave. "I was too small,” he says,
Proctor kept me because I gave such fine war-
of 1916 making journeys into the nearby districts .
of Persia, Greater Armenia, and the Black Sea
whoops.” These adventures of Belasco's boyhood
coast. Part of his book is a diary and careful rec-
and youth are more entertainingly told than are his ord of what he saw on these journeys. He wit-
experiences in writing, adapting, acting, and produc-
nessed the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in
ing; and the average reader will find more pleasure
the Asiatic provinces and the Cossack regions of
in the first volume than in the second. William
Winter does not hesitate to criticize his subject un-
the Caucasus, and on the general theme of the
Revolution and its effect on these unhappy people
favorably on occasion, and his book is marked by a
fine sincerity.
midway between Europe and Asia his book fittingly.
ends. Mr. Price is never sketchy or impressionistic,
Late in
66
but


1919
255
THE DIAL
We think that the readers of The DIAL will consider our list of Spring publications an interesting one.
We would suggest thať orders be sent to the book dealer at least one week before Possible publication
date.” In sending orders to us, please add fifteen cents per copy for mailing expense.
John Reed
Ten Days That Shook the World
Reed's long awaited book on Russia-a moving picture
of those thrilling days in Petrograd. A serious attempt
to tell all of the details about the Bolshevik coup d'etat.
It will be used as an original source by historians of
the great Russian Revolution. 'It contains documents,
speeches, newspaper clippings, correspondence, etc.,
never before published in this country, Profusely il-
lustrated.
Probable publication date Mar. 15 $2.00
Major Walter Guest Kellogg
The Conscientious Objector
Foreword by Socretary of War Newton D. Baker
In this book, the Chairman of the Board of Inquiry for
Conscientious Objectors presents his own observations
of the Objector, derived from an official examination of
a large number of all types in the military camps of the
country, together with a brief history of the subject and
some recommendations as to future action in regard to
this vital factor in our national wellbeing.
Probable publication date Mar. 15 $1.00
Paul U. Kellogg--Author Gleason
British Labor and the War
Reconstructors for A New World
(Note: Originally announced for 1918 publication.)
The publication of this book was postponed because the
authors wished to bring it strictly up to date and have
it cover the entire British Labor movement up to the
time of the Peace Conference. It gives the fullest ac-
count that has yet appeared of the war and reconstruc-
tion aims of British Labor, deals also with the attitude
of the American Federation of Labor toward the British
Labor Movement, and contai valuable appendixes con-
taining material not before published; also a compre-
hensive index.
Probable publication date Mar. 25
$2.00
Ruth Dunbar
The Swallow
Not a war book but a novel based upon the actual ex-
periences of one of the few survivors of the original
members of the famous Lafayette Escadrille. We be-
lieve this delightful novel of adventure, suffering heroism
and love will prove
of the big surprises in
Spring fiction. This inspiring message of faith and
optimism makes it a memorable contribution to recent
literature.
A small part of the book appeared in the
Century Magazine,
Probable publication date Apr. 10 $1.50
Theodore Dreiser
Twelve Men
Not short stories,
not sketches, SOMETHING EN-
TIRELY NEW. Full of drama, color, pathos, humor.
A seething picture of American life.
Everyone will
guess who these twelve men were and are. Dreiser him.
selt moves through the pages of this book and is shown
in lights and shadows that will be intensely interesting
Probable publication date Mar. 15 $1.75
Edward J. O'Brien
The Great Modern English Stories
A companion volume to "The Great Modern French
Stories,
and one of the series of the Great Modern
Stories which will include American, Italian, Scandi-
Probable publication date Apr. 20 $1.75
Upton Sinclair
Jimmie Higgins
A new novel by the author of “The Jungle," of SEN-
SATIONAL interest. It is an absorbing and dramatic
romance of the struggles, temptations and decisions of
an everyday workingman who, at first opposed to Amer-
ica's entry into the war, becomes a patriot, joins the
troops in France, but finally protests against fighting in
Archangel. Sinclair writes: "This is the best thing I
have ever done," and several distinguished critics who
have read the manuscript agree with him.
Probable publication date Apr. 10 $1.60
Edgar Saltus
The Paliser Case
A NEW NOVEL by the author of “Imperial Purple,"
“ Daughters of the Rich," etc. This is a drama of gold,
of pais
of curious crime and the heart of a girl, by one
of America's most brilliant writers. There are some
characters in "The Paliser Case" that will live long in
American fiction. Beware of beautiful Cassy Cara. She
may go to your head.
Probable publication date Mar, 15 $1.60
Henry James
Travelling Companions
This collection of stories, none of which has ever before
appeared in book form, will be a veritable find not only
to James enthusiasts, but to all readers of fine short
fiction. Every story in the book is more entertaining
and of higher literary value than can be found in almost
any collection of short stories now being published.
Probable publication date Apr. 10 $1.75
Eugene O'Neill
The Moon of the Caribbees and Six
Other Plays of the Sea
These plays, “Bound East for Cardiff," "In the Zone,"
“Ile," etc., have been generally acclaimed as the best
that have been written by an American in the last ten
years. John Corbin of the New York Times, Clayton
Hamilton in Vogue, The Nation, The Christian Science
Monitor, Current Oponion, etc., all say that Eugene
O'Neill is one of the few great American playwrights.
Probable publication date Mar. 25 $1.35
Albert Mordell
The Erotic Motive in Literature
What is the real meaning of the dream in Kipling's
"The Brushwood Boy ? " Is the poetry of Wordsworth
and Browning as free from erotic interpretation as most
of their readers believe? This book is a most fascinat-
ing and novel interpretation of the writings of the
world's greatest poets and novelists. An entirely non-
technical and entertaining psycho-analytical study that
will surprise many and shock only a few.
Probable publication date Mar. 25 $1.75
Richard Le Gallienne
The Modern Book of English Verse
An anthology edited with an introduction by Richard
Le Gallienne. In this anthology Mr. Le Gallienne, as
he says in his introduction, followed the more or less
usual lines generally adopted in compiling such anthol-
ogies as “The Oxford Book of English Verse," etc. In
this volume of between 500 and 600 pages, particular
stress is laid upon Modern English poetry. Both the
editor and the publisher feel that this book will take its
place with the very few fine and exhaustive anthologies
of English vernse.
Probable publication date Apr. 20 $2.00
one
to everyone.
navian, etc.
On April 20th the two following titles will be added to THE PENGUIN SERIES-V-THE
CURIOUS REPUBLIC OF GONDOR and other Whimsical Sketches by SAMUEL L. CLEMENS,
author of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, etc.
, and VIĻSKETCHES ANĎ REVIEWS-by WALTER
PATER-($1.25 per volume) and NINE NEW TITLES IN THE MODERN LIBRARY (70c. each-
send for catalogue).
BONI AND LIVERIGHT, publishers, 105 % West 40th Street, New York City


256
March 8
THE DIAL
and his background of facts is extensive. He can "gaucho” about whom has sprung up a literature
select from his mass of material the relevant and all his own—and a fairly full treatment of Peru
salient points which are needed for correct orienta and the Incas. Nothing better can be said of any
tion in so complex a subject. The final result is book than that it fulfills its purpose; one rises from
a clear and perceptive exposition of the peoples and Mr. Cooper's book with a mind much enlightened
political and social forces at work in that section of as to the other half of America.
the world. Yet if Mr. Price is careful to keep
the general tone of his volume intelligently exposi-
The WAR IN THE CRADLE OF THE WORLD.
tory, the force of his few interpretive suggestions
gains rather than loses by this method. Nothing
By Eleanor Franklin Egan. Harper; $2.
is more revelatory than the quiet way, with unes Since there is legitimate doubt as to where the
capable massing of fact on fact, in which Mr. Price infant world was cradled, let it be said at once that
shows that nationalism, beginning at first as a fruit the author with a confidence which is her leading
ful and tolerant cultural variation, has invariably
trait and alter or rather ipsissimus ego identifies the
been exploited by the imperialisms of Russia and
Turkey-always with the intriguing approval
cradle with the ancient land of Mesopotamia. Her
the Great Powers—for the purpose of setting one
book deals with the British end of the war there in
people at another's throat. Nothing is more revela-
its final triumphant stages. By a miracle of favor
tory than the quiet way in which he shows that this bewildering even to herself, not readily given to be-
aggressive nationalism collapsed before the prole- wilderment, she was permitted to penetráte to the
tarian revolution. It must have thrilled the author theater of operations and, politely handed by busy
to see Tartars, Armenians, and Russians amicably officials from post to post across the dusty desert
serving on the same committees—to witness the
rapprochement of so many nationaltities formerly and to the presence of the Army Commander, Sir
spaces, she came at last to Bagdad the Wonderful
hostile. If one wants an accurate picture of the
effects of that great decision on the banks of the
Stanley Maude. In spite of its martial title this is
Neva-how they are spreading eastward through
not a book of military operations but rather of im-
the Caucasus and Turkestan to India and China pressions of things seen, heard, and sensed among
War and Revolution in Asiatic Russia will supply it.
the scorched and pathless wastes of a land of fable;
and since the writer possesses unusual powers of ob-
UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AMERICA. By Clay servation and a deft and very feminine pen, the
ton Sedgwick Cooper. Doran; $2.
result is not that the land ceases to be fable—that
Those who have enjoyed Mr. Cooper's delightful is fortunately impossible—but that the fable is il-
and informative volume on Brazil and the Brazilianslustrated and enriched by mirages and dream-pic-
will know what to expect of his latest book. Nor tures so colorful and seductive that the issue of
will they be disappointed. Mr. Cooper is a broad- reality loses interest.
minded traveler who sees behind appearances; he
But—and now we come to what for the author is
does not visit foreign countries with the preconceived
notion of returning
doubtless the effective purpose of the book—against
show how superior is his own
nation; he journeys rather to learn from what he
the filmy fable of the land, and thrown upon it as
beholds, and to benefit both his own country and
upon a moving screen is a vividly contrasting thing,
the land to which he comes by an exchange of ideas
utterly real and palpable—the British war prepara-
and a broadening of outlook that cannot help but
tions. The reader is made to see, streaming into
promote a fruitful understanding of each other.
Mesopotamia along with the supplies from the great
While the present book has as one of its main pur-
base at Bombay the rows of troop and cargo ships,
poses the instruction of Northern business men in the acres of choked wharves at Basra, the brown
procuring South American trade, it may well be tent-cities running off into the desert haze till they
read to advantage by all who are interested in the are lost from sight, the stacked pyramids of hay and
continent to the south of us. As a nation we are
sadly in need of the counsel here offered; we must
wheat under sloping canvas, the endless supply trains
come to understand that differences in culture and
of donkeys and camels winding in ant-like lines
language and habits are not necessarily signs of in-
toward the horizon-in short, à titanic labor of
feriority or superiority; they are-differences.
countless details and infinite pains constituting a
Particularly interesting in the book, which is
masterpiece of organization. A British masterpiece.
The American author reveals a state of mind as
with humorous anecdotes (very much to the point)
and significant experiences of the author, are the
as we approach the hour when the world is expected
chapters dealing with the Oriental psychology of
to give birth to the new internationalism with which
the South American, the German penetration into
it is even now declared to be in labor. The British
the continent, the South American cowboy—that Empire has overwhelmed our author. She is past
written in an easy colloquial style and is replete interesting to study as it is necessary to reckon wed


1919
257
THE DIAL
“Britton List” Books
“Many
Typewriters
In One"
---New novels just out-for sale by
dealers everywhere. (No war books
in this list.)
Fighting Byng
By A. STONE
A story of the Secret Service-also an exciting
love story.
$1.50 net.
The Evolution of
Peter Moore
Authors-
Booklovers—and
All Who Write
will appreciate the
POWER OF EMPHASIS
obtained by the
Interchangeable-type Feature
By DALE DRUMMOND
(Author of "A Man and a Woman.")—the New
York adventures of a War Bride.
$1.50 net.
of the
The Edge of the
World
MULTIPLEX HAMMOND
By EDITH BLINN
A story of the boundless West, its kindly
people—and Mother Lee, “so motherly"-who
brings up other people's children. $1.50 net.
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258
March 8
THE DIAL
the point of question. Like the efficient officers and ganization. To these most important provisions of
civil servants she encounters, she affirms the Empire an autocratic state he adds the feeble recommenda-
as an article of faith. And her attitude is typical. tion of criticism, publicity, and effective control
For the world at large the British Empire is the
in the hands of the people.” The latter seems to
power we see and feel today because it is set upon
mean, so far as one can read between the lines, a
universal ballot. How treacherous a dependence
this rock, the rock of faith. Does Mr. Wilson com-
a ballot is, in a less centralized government than
mand a rock remotely like it upon which to plant Germany's, we all know. How little a people for
the superstructure of his League of Nations?
their protection can depend upon popular criticism
AMERICAN PROBLEMS OF RECONSTRUCTION.
and publicity, we also know from our own very
Edited by Elisha M. Friedman. Dutton ; $4.
recent experience.
One of the contributors to the symposium, Mr.
This is a national symposium to which American Louis B. Wehle, also welcomes centralized gov-
economists, statesmen, financiers, and business men ernment control. His experience on the Shipping
have made their contributions. The book is a strik Board induces his enthusiastic support of shop com-
ing contrast to the English symposium published mittees made up of workers who will take up con-
earlier, in 1917. The latter reflected an unmistak ditions of employment with the management. The
able concern among the leaders of industrial enter-
author does not specifically recommend that they
prise in regard to England's economic position at constitute a unit of industrial administration, but
the termination of the war, and their belief that the general temper of this chapter suggests that the
England's future is dependent on industry becoming author would be less hostile to influences which
a matter of national concern and national organiza were truly democratic than the other contributors
tion. In our American symposium there is an as to the symposium. Nowhere in the symposium,
surance that America, the land of unlimited re unless in this chapter, is there an intimation that the
Sources, has nothing to fear and no serious amends American economists, financiers, and business men
to make. The measures of economy which are welcome the introduction of any scheme which
advocated in this symposium have no revolutionary might impair a centralized control of production of
import. They have to do with a perfection of wealth.
economy in methods already in use; with a strength-
ening rather than a reorganization of our present
GEORGE MEREDITH: A Study of His Works
institutions. Much of the book is, indeed, concerned
and Personality. By J. H. É. Crees. Long-
with a review of our actual and potential wealth:
mans, Green; $2.
the status of our mineral resources, the possibilities
That the Essay on Comedy presents its author's
of increasing technical research, the accomplished conception of the true aim of the novel; that
mechanics of labor efficiency, and the future possi-
Meredith satirized sentimentalists and delighted in
bilities of scientific management in the hands of ex-
the poetry of youth; that “his verse is lacking in
perts. Emphasis is laid on the advantages of priv-
the finest sense of form "; that his obscurity "pro-
ate ownership of railroads with government regu-
lation, the development of a merchant marine with
ceeds from high-strained intellectual activity, not
from laziness or incompetence"; that novels are
government backing and regulation, the value to written " to show characters in action and develop-
America of a free port, such as the free port of
Hamburg; a moderate shifting of inequalities of
ment"; that
we do not in real life talk like
Meredithian characters,” are among the not un-
wealth through taxation on incomes, consumption,
lands, inheritance, and business. Our agricultural
familiar conclusions reached by Mr. Crees in his
problem, it seems, might be solved if we gave suffi-
two hundred odd pages devoted to George Meredith.
Mr. Crees announces that probably every one who
cient attention to the kind of “containers" used in
shipping, to better cold storage accommodations,
journeys through Meredith will prefer to tell his
some modification of the produce exchanges. There
own story. Granted that this be true, there seems
is appreciation that in the rehabilitation of war-
to be nothing so novel about Mr. Crees' itinerary
that he should tell it out loud.
stricken Europe American investors and financiers
have an unusual opportunity. In short, the volume
Perhaps the most interesting fact about the book is
that Mr. Crees is the author of The Reign of the
seems to stand for a policy which will trust indus-
Emperor Probus and headmaster of a grammar
try and trade to the leadership of America's busi-
ness men and financiers, and which will give them
school. These facts may explain his continual hank-
the
backing and full force of state approval.
ering after the Greeks. Every now and then, while
The last chapter is a singular appreciation of
the critic is talking about Meredith, one has an un-
Prussianism, which if issued by an I.W.W. organi-
easy suspicion that he would much prefer to chat
zation might have been lost in Mr. Burleson's dis-
about Euripides. If Mr. Crees had had the courage
card. The author believes in the centralized execu-
of his instincts he might have given us a pretty study
tive leadership, in what he calls “
of the Hellenic aspects of Meredith ; but he prefers
a well disciplined
line organization,” and a highly specialized staff or-
to talk about enthousiasmos and to write a book
which, if it is nowhere wrong, is not indispensable.


1919
259
THE DIAL
“Of real service at the peace conference.”—Chicago News
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story
By Our Former Ambassador to Turkey
THIS is the startling, authentic account of and events in the Turkish Empire from the
in
end of 1913 to the beginning of 1916. It is
East Germany's intrigue and trickery to filled from cover to cover with vital matter,
win over Turkey, Bulgaria and Austria are is exceptionally free from digressions or irrel-
clearly shown. How the war was hatched evancies, and rivets the attention throughout.
at Potsdam and how the Allies
It ought never to appear on that conft
attack on Constantinople when the Turks had ence, or elsewhere, that America is the
prepared to surrender, are a few of the im friend of Turkey.' That would be a title of
portant facts revealed. Much light on prvs- unspeakable shame and dishonor. If you
ent momentous events is shed.
doubt it read this book.”—New York Times.
"As to the interest and importance of Mr. “A true story, this, and more important in
Morgenthau's book there will be no difference the larger historical account than anything
of opinion. It is a remarkably readable, sig- heretofore printed covering the same topical
nificant and instructive account of conditions ground.”—Philadelphia North American.
Your bookseller has it. Net, $2.00
Published by
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gave up their
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No one book, no one magazine, can give
as comprehensive a view of the problems
and difficulties incident to the formation of
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OF NATIONS.
Into its 350 pages, Miss Phelps has collected 70
of the most important speeches and writings
which appeared in books, magazines and news-
papers and has grouped them under the plan they
advocate or condemn. The third edition (just off
the press) includes the twenty-six articles of the
proposed Constitution and President Wilson's ex-
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The Handbook, A LEAGUE OF NA-
TIONS, is priced at $1.50, so that every
good American can own a copy.
Other Titles in Handbook Series
Edited by
MONTROSE J, MOSES
A Series of Dramas which illustrate the prog-
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the Important features of the History of the
British Theatre.
This Volume contains the complete teat of 21
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representative Irisb Dramas from William Butler
Yates down to Lord Dunsany.
873 pages.
$4.00 net.
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260
March 8
THE DIAL
..
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war.
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66
:
The Village Wife's LAMENT. By Maurice A Social History of the American Family: From
Hewlett. Putnam; $1.25.
Colonial Times to the Present. By Arthur
The obvious charge that can be brought against
W. Calhoun. Vol. III: Since the Civil War.
this poetical venture by the author of Thorgils and Svo, 411.pages. Arthur H. Clark Co. (Cleve-
The Forest Lovers is that no village wife could land). $5.
possibly deliver herself of such a sustained and com Socialism versus the State. By Emile Vandervelde.
paratively philosophic utterance on the horrors of 12mo, 229 pages. Charles H. Kerr Co. $1.
But Mr. Hewlett himself removes the sting Prussian Political Philosophy. By Westel W. Wil-
of this criticism by admitting its validity, in the loughby. 12mo, 203 pages. D. Appleton &
brief Note appended to the poem; wherein also he
Co. $1.50.
utters a few prose lamentations inspired by the war, Foreign Financial Control in China. By T. W.
more rhetorical than profound—as when he affirms' Overlach. 12mo, 295 pages. Macmillan Co.
that German blood-lust will become one of the $2.
standing legends of history." The poem itself is in Mexico Today and Tomorrow. By E. D. Trow-
lovely vein, as befits the rustic setting and the bridge. izmo, 282 pages. Macmillan Co. $2.
Speaker: there is something of the old Dutch genre Yashka: My Life as a Peasant Officer and Exile.
painters in this picture of peasant life-simplicity, By Maria Botchkareva. Illustrated, 12mo,
drudgery, resignation, and a passionate attachment 340 pages. Frederick A. Stokes Co, $2.
to all things of the earth earthy. One witnesses the Pioneers of the Russian Revolution. By Angelo
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yokel, the raw anguish of separation, the fierce Brentano's. $2.25.
dumb hatred of bloodshed-above all, anger at war's The Charmed American”: A Story of the Iron
interference with the even current of obscure and Division of France. By George Lewys. Illus-
contented lives. The sixty odd pages of the Lament trated, 12mo, 328 pages.
John Lane Co.
make rather difficult reading for the sophisticated $1.50.
urban mind, so long fed on controversy, worn out
The Salmagundi Club: A History. By William
by absurd quibblings and subtle distinctions; but to
Henry Shelton. Illustrated, 8vo, 161 pages.
one who can make due allowance for these factors,
Maurice Hewlett's poem will bring enough pleasure The English Village: A Literary Study, 1750-1850.
Houghton Mifflin Co. $5.
to justify very favorable comparison with most of By Julia Patton. 12mo, 236 pages.
Mac-
war-poetry.”
millan Co. $1.50.
THREE Live Ghosts. By Frederic S. Isham.
Six Plays of the Yiddish Theater: Second Series.
Bobbs-Merrill'; $1.50.
By David Pinski, Z. Levin, Perez Hirschbein,
Mr. Isham's novel is depressing. Its qualities
and Leon Kobrin. Translated by Isaac Gold-
are not the result of amateur writing; they are the
berg. 12mo, 197 pages. John W. Luce & Co.
$1.50.
deliberate result of professional belief in patterns
for light fiction. His situation has possibilities:-
Oxford Poetry: 1918. Edited by T. W. E.,
three soldiers, escaping from a German prison, find
E. F. A. G., and D. L. S. 12mo, 55 pages.
themselves, upon their return to London, officially
Longmans, Green & Co. 50 cts.
dead. But the possibilities are at once lost in a
Nono: Love and the Soil. A novel. By Gaston
mesh of devices for provoking laughter, sympathy,
Roupnel. Translated by Barnet J. Beyer.
applause. The characters-Lord, cockney, and rich
12mo, 272 pages. E. P. Dutton & Co. $1.90.
American—are the stock figures of farce, unchanged
Jacquou the Rebel. A novel. By Eugène Le Roy.
by war or uniforms. They move through the book
Translated by Eleanor Stimson Brooks. 12mo,
after the manner of clay pigeons in a shooting gal-
415 pages. E. P. Dutton & Co. $1.90.
lery, pulled along from outside.
Amalia: A Romance of the Argentine in the Time
A dramatic critic recently suggested that in pro-
of Rosas the Dictator. A novel. By José
hibition lay hope for the musical comedy and the
Marmol. Translated by Mary J. Serrano.
farce, since future audiences must be cold and sober.
12mo, 419 pages. E. P. Dutton & Co. $2.
What of book readers ?
Martin Rivas. A novel. By Alberto Blest-Gana.
Translated by Mrs. Charles Whitman. 12mo,
Books of the Fortnight
431 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $1.60.
The following list comprises The DIAL's selec-
The Secret City. A novel. By Hugh Walpole.
tion of books recommended among the publications
12mo, 386 pages.
received during the last two weeks:
$1.60.
The British Revolution and the American Democ-
The Pelicans. A novel. By E. M. Delafield.
racy: An Interpretation of British Labour
12mo, 345 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $1.75.
Programmes. By Norman Angell. 12mo, 319
The Mirror and the Lamp. A novel. By W. B.
Maxwell.
pages. B. W. Huebsch. $1.50.
Co. - $1.75.
our
George H. Doran Co.
12mo, 442 pages. Bobbs-Merrill


1919
THE DIAL
261
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262
March 8
THE DIAL
some
Current News
tions—the John Payne Society (founded in 1905)
and the Blake Society (founded in 1912).
Archibald Marshall's novel, The Clintons and The Music of Spain, by Carl Van Vechten
Others, is soon to be published by Dodd, Mead. (Knopf; $1.50), contains a reprint from the origi-
Houghton Mifflin Co. promise the following nal plates of the essay on Music and Spain in the
volumes of fiction for early spring: Dawn, by author's volume Music and Bad Manners (Knopf,
Eleanor H. Porter; Cornelia, by Lucy Fitch Per 1916; $1.60—reviewed in The Dial for January
kins; The Old Gray Homestead, by Frances P. II, 1917), to which have been added some fifty
Keyes; and A Man Four-Square, by William Mac pages of corrective “notes on the text”; a reprint
Leod Raine.
of his discerning appreciation of The Land of Joy
Two new volumes to be added to the Penguin in The Merry-Go-Round (Knopf, 1918; $2—re-
Series issued by Boni and Liveright are viewed by Randolph Bourne in The Dial of No-
hitherto unpublished sketches and reviews by Wal vember 16, 1918); and a new essay, From George
ter Pater, and a collection of the stories, sketches, Borrow to Mary Garden. This last, which has
and anecdotes of Samuel L. Clemens. The latter the revealing sub-title Histoire sommaire de Car-
volume will carry the title, The Curious Republic men, is one of Mr. Van Vechten's characteristic
of Gondour.
rambles through the irrelevant marginalia of erudi-
The quality of sincerity is unmistakable in James tion. It is less an essay than an overgrown speci-
C. Welsh's Songs of a Miner (Putnam; $1.25),
and there are occasional passages of considerable Philip Hale contributes to the programs of the
men of those "analytical and historical notes ” Mr.
felicity. The poet's themes are drawn chiefly from Boston Symphony Orchestra. The volume as a
nature and from the worker close to nature, and the whole is a welter of undigested, and for the most
slender volume spans many moods. Mr. Welsh's
muse is manifestly a votary of Burns.
part indigestible, material, for which—in a moment
To make its books available for the use of those
of repentance—the author has compounded a peptic
index. Before Mr. Van Vechten began concocting
who cannot withdraw them in person, the St. Louis these Spanish dishes of his, we had—as his publisher
Public Library is operating a parcel-post service does not neglect to inform us—very little knowl-
system. Printed instruction cards with blanks for
the author and title of the book desired, or for indi-
edge of Spanish music, and some of us were hungry
for more; but there is little that is either substan-
cation of the general subjects in which the reader tial or nutritious in this assembled meal. Even the
is interested, are supplied by the library, to be mailed
back to them with the small sum necessary for the
hardened critics, one fancies, will be grateful for
that index.
prepayment of postage.
A rather odd collection is presented by Maud
Chapin in Rushlight Stories (Duffield; $1.35),
Contributors
comprising one or two romantic narratives and a
number of fables. The author must be given credit
Benjamin C. Gruenberg is an educator and
for a diversity of setting, a wide vocabulary, and a scientist who has made special studies in vocational
discursive imagination; but the tales are bookish adjustment and industrial relations. Dr. Gruen-
and garrulous, and disappoint the reader by their berg is a frequent contributor to technical and gen-
failure in emphasis. There is a suggestion of Hans
eral magazines.
Andersen in some of the themes, which makes their At Harvard Rollo Britten was an editor of the
lack of concise development more evident.
Harvard Monthly. After his graduation in 1912
The Cowper Society, which was founded in 1900
he engaged in newspaper work in the Middle West.
on the centenary of the poet's death and which He is now a member of the Public Health Service,
maintains as the Cowper and Newton Museum the. Washington, D. C.
Cowper house in Olney then presented to the town,
Lida C. Schem is the author of three novels,
has announced that the private owner of the adjoin-
Matthew Ferguson, The Voice of the Heart, and
ing garden, in which stands the poet's famous Sum The Greater Heart, published under the pseudonym
mer House, has offered it for sale. The trustees
Margaret Blake, and of many magazine articles and
of the Museum have the refusal of the property at
newspaper features.
£450 and have issued a general appeal for con-
Stephen Vincent Benet is a recent graduate of
tributions, which should be sent to Mr. Thomas Yale who has contributed verse to many magazines.
Wright, Secretary, of the Cowper School, Olney, His first volume of verse, Young Adventure (Yale
Bucks, England. The following works, contain-
University Press; $1.25), was reviewed in The
ing manuscript and material not previously avail Dial for January 25.
able in print, have been published under the So-
Josephine Bell is associated with Mr. Egmont
ciety's auspices: Teedon's Diary, Cowper Memo Arens in the production of The Playboy. Her verse
rials, Cowper in London, Olney Hymns, Cowper has been published in several magazines.
and Blake, and a guide to the Museum. Mr. The other contributors to this number have
Wright is also Secretary of two related organiza- previously written for The Dial.


1919
263
THE DIAL
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264
March {
THE DIAL
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RUSSIA'S AGONY By ROBERT WILTON, Correspondent of the Times at Petrograd
Far the best-informed of recent books on the Russia's national character, the work of the Soviets, and
other topics necessary to an understanding of the Russian crisis. The author had lived in Russia from
boyhood, and moreover was personally acquainted with the leaders of all parties. A work of exceptional
authority. Fully illustrated,
Net, $5.00
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION ASPECTS
By ROBERT CROZIER LONG, Correspondent in Russia (1917) for the Associated Press
Being familiar with the country, and speaking Russian fluently, the author had opportunities for securing
correspondent enjoyed, hence this book as material for the yet-to-be-written history of the Russian revolu-
tion is exceedingly valuable.
OUR ALLIES AND ENEMIES IN THE NEAR EAST
By JEAN VICTOR BATES
With an introduction by the Right Hon. Sir Edward Carson, K.C., M.P.
A long and intricate tangle of cause and effect, stretching back into by-gone centuries and complicated by
the clash of rival religions, competing nationalities and conficting claims, is involved in the Balkan situa-
A better understanding of the peoples of that peninsula such as this book gives is vital and essential.
INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A MINING ENGINEER
By E. T. MCCARTHY, R.S.M., M.I.M.M., M. I. M. E., M. Am. I. M.E.
Experiences, hazards and adventures, strange, interesting and unusual, by a Mining Engineer in the prac:
tice of his profession, in the United States, the Gold Coast, Morocco, Canada, the Rockies, Central America,
Malaysia, China, Australia, New Zealand and Urugu ay.
THE CLASH, A Study in Nationalities
By WILLIAM H. MOORE
A study of the rights of the
minority in any country, with especial application to the conflict between the
province of Quebec and the Canadian government.
the peace negotiations, the book bas a value far beyond the light it throws on Canadian affairs.
Since this problem of nationalities is so prominent in
EN ROUTE, (On the Way)
By JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS
A new American edition of the famous novel by the author of “ La Bas," and “ La Cathedrale," etc.
marvellous portrayal of a soul's evolution from
the most debased state of materialism into a pure and
intense spirituality, as much isolated from the ordinary psychological study as it is from the conventi.3)
CHARLOTTE BRONTË 1816-1916 A Centenary Memorial
Prepared by the Brontë Society, edited by Butler Wood, F.R.S.E., with a Foreword by Mrs. Humphry, Ward
Arthur C. Benson, Bishop Welldon, the late Dr. Richard Garnett, šir sidney Lee and others.
matter wbich make the book indispensable to the Brontë student, are Edmund' Gosse, G. K. Chesterton,
ULSTER FOLK-LORE
By ELIZABETH ANDREWS, F. R. A. I
A collection of Ulster traditions of “wee folk” in which are found traces of a race of dwarfs and of a
warfare in which the capture of children possibly originated a whole group of fairy tales
Ready shortly. Net, $2.50
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By ARTHUR E. BAINES
Mſ. Baines is a consulting electrician, author of “ Electro-Pathology and Therapeutics."
With thirty-one
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illustrating electrical structure of Fruits and Vegetables,
by G. T. BAINES also
STUDIES IN ELECTRO-PATHOLOGY (Illustrated) By A. WHITE ROBERTSON
precedes and determines the pathological changesencilerinin de electricalhe diffusion inaugurates cellulare talie.com
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A
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How to Treat Germany
THE DIAL
A FORTNIGHTLY
VOL. LXVI
NEW YORK
NO. 786
MARCH 22, 1919
Spring Announcement Number
.
How To Treat GERMANY
Norman Angell 279
Good FORM AND ORTHODOXY
George Donlin 282
ENGLISH OPPORTUNISM AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS . Samuel Spring 284
A Second IMAGINARY CONVERSATION : Gosse and Moore, I. George Moore 287
WHY REFORM Is FUTILE
Helen Marot 293
CITIES AND SEA COASTS AND ISLANDS
Stark Young 296
INTERNATIONAL ANGLING
Lewis Mumford 298
THE GREAT HUNGER
Robert Morss Lovett 299
HARBINGERS OF SPRING. Verse
Donald B. Clark
300
THE UNENDING REVOLUTION
Harold Stearns
301
FRANCE AND A WILSONIAN PEACE
Ferdinand Schevill
303
Exiles. Verse
Babette Deutsch 305
THE AMERICAN NOTE
Percy H. Boynton 306
THE INDEPENDENTS
Walter Pach
307
EDITORIALS
309
NOTES ON NEw Books:The Burgomaster of Stilemonde.—The Way of a Man.—Tam
312
u' the Scoots.—Asia Minor.-The Mirror and the Lamp.—The Open-Air Theatre.-
Sivister House.—Memories Grave and Gray.—Letters of Susan Hale.-The Spinners.—1
Edgewater People.—Byways in Southern Tuscany.
SPRING ANNOUNCEMENT LIST
CURRENT News
320
326
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Room Number Three
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Russian Revolution Aspects By ROBERT CROZIER LONG, Correspondent in Russia (1917)
for the Associated Press.
Being familiar with the country, and speaking Russian fluently, the author bad opportunities for securing
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correspondent enjoyed, hence this book as material for the yet-to-be written history of the Russian revolu.
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Our Allies and Enemies in the Near East By JEAN VICTOR BATES.
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A long and intricate tangle of cause and effect, stretching back into by-gone centuries and complicated by
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France Facing Germany By GEORGES CLEMENCEAU, Premier of France.
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Koehler's West Point Manual of Disciplinary Training By Lieut-Col. H. J. KOEH-
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The Rise of Nationality in the Balkans By R. W. SETON-WATSON.
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The Clash, A Study in Nationalties By WILLIAM H. MOORE.
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En Route (On the Way) By JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS.
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marvelous portrayal of a soul's evolution from the most debased state of materialism into a pure and
intense spirituality, as much isolated from the ordinary psychological study as it is from the conventional
novel.
Net, $2.50
Charlotte Brontë 1816-1916 A Centenary Memorial.
Prepared by the Brontë Society, edited by Butler Wood, F. R. S. E., with a Foreword by Mrs. Humpbry
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other matter, which make the book indispensable to the Brontë student, are Edmund Gosse, G. K. Chester;
ton, Arthur C. Benson, Bishop Welldon, the late Dr. Richard Garnett, Sir Sidney Lee and others.
3
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Ulster Folk-Lore By ELIZABETH ANDREWS, F: R. A. I.
A collection of Ulster traditions of “wee folk” in which are found traces of a race of dwarfs and of 8
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Studies in Electro-Physiology (Animal and Vegetable) By ARTHUR E. BAINES.
Mr. Baines is a consulting electrician, author of " Electro-Pathology and Therapeutics.".
With thirty-one
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also other illustrations.
Studies in E
ctro-Pathology (Illustrated) By A. WHITE ROBERTSON.
The author aims to show that in both toxic and deficiency diseases the loss of natural electrical equilib:
rium precedes and determines the pathologican changes and that electrical diffusion inaugurates cellular
A
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IN CHOOSING
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Being Pranks and Passions of the Poet Tricotrin
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These sketches of Montmartre
are more infectiously delightful, because far more delicate, - than Murger's of the Latin
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The Song of the Sirens
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Tensely vivid short stories in which the very life of Greece and Carthage, the peculiar vigor
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The Challenge to Sirius
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In Press By the Same Author In Process of Translation
Blood and Sand
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Mare Nostrum
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THE LIBRARY OF FRENCH FICTION
Jacquou the Rebel By Eugene LeRoy Nono: Love and the Soil
The New York Sun says: “To have lived
By GASTON ROUPNEL
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habits, appearance and ideas are foreign to wine-growers of Burgundy, in which is pic-
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tured a
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March 22
THE DIAL
Anthology of Swedish Lyrics
1750-1915

SCAN
NHDINES
DINAY
IF I WERE A POET
If I were a poet and grey and tired,
And found I had come to be much admired
By cultured cliques for my style so rare,
With my picture in book-shops everywhere;
'Twould give me small joy as I sat apart,
Worn out and faint at heart.
But I know what would bring the blood to my cheek
And stir my marrow, though never so weak, -
If I saw from my window some day in spring
The workingmen pass, and they should sing
In time to their step as they strode along,
And mine should be the song.
-By Albert Ulrik Bååth
in the translation of
Charles Wharton Stork.
The Scandinavian Classics
In ordering use the form below.
1919.
THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION,
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Gentlemen : You may send me the following:
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.$1.50
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Gösta Berling's Saga—two parts... $3.00
Master Olof by Strindberg.
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THE BINGDON PRESS
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one of
ABINGDON PRESS has sponsored no books which it can recommend with
more enthusiasm than those by F. W. Boreham. Straight from Australia they come-
each one a true Interpreter's House, each one reflecting a keenness of spiritual insight,
a wistful tenderness of sympathy that brings to the reader more than entertainment.
ABINGDON books are on sale at the best shops. Write for a catalog.
ideal minister: “When he is dead men will inscribe
on his tombstone not, ‘Here lies a great Divine,'
but ‘Here lies a great Human. If you have a
confirmed taste for human nature and like to look
on it through lenses of humor and sympathy-get
acquainted with Mr. Boreham,
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THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL
AND HOME AGAIN
By F. W. BOREHAM
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THE LUGGAGE OF LIFE
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The Leading Books on Brentano's Spring List
THE VALLEY OF THE SQUINTING SET DOWN IN MALICE
WINDOWS
By Gerald Cumberland
By Brinsley MacNamara
A book revealing glimpses of figures well known in
The story of an Irish family unfolding a grim and
the English world of arts, letters and politics. by an
tragic drama.
ex-journalist and critic of the arts.
A most powerful novel that will stir
12mo. Cloth. Net $2.50
you to your depths.
12mo. Cloth. Net $1.50
HARVARD PLAYS: Second Series
THE YELLOW DOCUMENT, or
Edited by George P. Barker
FANTOMAS OF BERLIN
Plays of the same merit as were gathered together in
By Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
the first books (“ 47 Workshop," "Dramatic Club
Plays.")
12mo. Boards. Net $1.00
A most exciting detective story that can be counted
upon to furnish thrills from the first page to the last. THE STORY WITHOUT A NAME
12mo. Cloth. Net $1.50
By Barbey D'Aurevilly. Translated by Edgar
THE SILENT MILL
Saltus
By Hermann Sudermann
This recognized French masterpiece is a portrayal of
A novel of astounding force revealing the pathos and
egotism at its apogee, consummated and almost deifiles.
deep sincerity with which readers of the other works
Translated and with impression of the author of Edgar
of this master writer are familiar.
Saltus. (New volume in the Lotous Library.) Net $1.25
12mo. Cloth. Net $1.25
THE SOCIAL SECRETARY
TEMPTATIONS
By Elizabeth Myers
In this companion volume to " The Social Letter,'
A Volume of Short Stories
Miss Myers describes in great detail the duties and
By David Pinski
responsibilities of the social secretary and gives minute
directions for the administration of tbe domestic regime.
A collection of powerful and most unique short stories
12mo. Cloth. Net $1.25
into which the author bas projected the same ability
that has made him the dramatist he is. Every story is
AFTER BIG GAME
a gem as brilliant as big plays.
The story of an African Houday.
12mo. Cloth. Net $1.50
POEMS
By R. S. Meikle, F. Z. S., F. S. Scot, and
Mrs. M. E. Meikle.
By Michael Strange
A very readable account of two travellers' experiences
Author of " Miscellaneous Poems."
in East Africa as guest of the Governor. Profusely
A collection of verses of unusual merit by a inost
illustrated and with a map.,
8vo. Cloth. Net $3.00
promising writer.
12mo. Oloth. Net $1.50
THE PASSING GOD
THE MEETING OF THE SPHERES or
Songs for Modern Lovers
LETTERS FROM DR. COULTER
By Harry Kemp
By Charlotte Herbine
Author of “Judas," “ The Cry of Youth.”
The messages written and spoken of Dr. Coulter about
with an Introduction by Richard Le Gallienne.
the continuity of lives are bere presented in a new au-
thorized American edition with a special foreword by
An uncommonly fine collection of lyrics in Mr. Kemp's Charlotte G. Herbine.
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best style. The long narrative poem “ Cresseld" is a
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WILSON
POEMS AND PROSE POEMS OF
New volume in the “ Wisdom Series."
CHARLES BAUDELAIRE
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A de luxe edition of Charles Baudelaire, prepared in
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Woodrow Wilson on all the important subjects of the
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PIONEERS OF THE RUSSIAN
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SOME OF SHAKESPEARE'S
By Dr. Angelo S. Rappoport
ANIMALS
A history of the Revolutionary Movement during the
By J. Sanford Saltus
last fifty years.
This well informed and timely work
Mr. Saltus gives us the result of some painstaking
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desires of the Russian people,
Shakespeare referring to animals.
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CHILDREN'S FRENCH CONVERSATION. By Jules Helein
BEGINNERS FRENCH CONVERSATION. By Jules Helein
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH CONVERSATION By Jules Heein
ADVANCED FRENCH CONVERSATION. By Jules Holein
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Nd $.85
Nd $.85
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Four texts giving a rather simple but thorough course in French bj a well known French teacher who has tested the
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WILD YOUTH
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a
The Omar Khayyam of the Bible
A GENTLE CYNIC
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THE SOUL OF ANN RUTLEDGE
The Story of Abraham Lincoln's Romance
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THE RED SIGNAL
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A real American girl outwits a band of sples and agents for destruction
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It is a breathless and exciting yarn. Perhaps the finest
touch is the beroine's gradual forgetfulness
of self and safety as she realizes
how her country can be served. Frontispiece in color. $1.35 net. Ready in April.
HIDDEN TREASURE
A Story of Modern Farming
By JOHN THOMAS SIMPSON
This is above all an intensely interesting story for boys, but written with
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and also to point out to country boys the great commercial possibilities right
at home. Frontispiece and 16 illustrations. $1.25 net.
TRAINING OF A SALESMAN
By WILLIAM MAXWELL
Vice-President Thomas Edison, Inc.
Author of "If I Were Twenty-One, etc.
This new volume in Lippincott's Training Series glves constructive and
concrete advice on all phases of the important art of salesmanship.
Illus-
trated. $1.50 net.
TRAINING FOR THE ELECTRIC RAILWAY
BUSINESS
By C. B. FAIRCHILD, JR.
Prepared under the Direct Supervision of T. E. MITTEN, of the
Philadelphia Traction Company
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By PAUL L. ANDERSON
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forth the underlying principles of art in so far as they can be applied to
photograpby. 24 illustrations. Frontispiece. $2.50 net.
is a novel of his supreme and mature
genius, thrilling drama of the
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bound."- Philadelphia Pre88.
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274
March 22
THE DIAL
Revolution or Reconstruction?
A Call to Americans
America has reached a turning point in her history. The time has come for all free minds to meet in con-
certed effort to face and shape the crisis.
Despite America's splendid success in a war waged against foreign autocracy, our country is menaced by
the growing power of an autocratic and reactionary minority at home. We stand in danger of losing many
of the liberties and advances won in the course of our national development. There is grave likelihood of our
being left stagnant and backward in a world that ior the most part is vigorously reorganizing its economic and
political life.
Centralization and autocracy are increasing rapidly in the organization of government, in the control of credit
,
and in the determination of public opinion. The very classes whose labors in factory and field are the basis
and substance of our economic power, find no effective political medium through which to express their
economic demand, but by deceptive diversions of our party-system are denied their proper representation in
the law-making bodies of the nation.
,
are suppressed with hardly a pretense of adequate hear.
ing; public assemblies meeting under constitutional guar.
antees are dispersed by official force or by mob violence bred
of official intolerance; our women are subjected to unwarranted
delays in their campaign for the fulfillment of democracy;
agȚicultural and labor organizers and political heretics are not
only suppressed but are in many cases sent to penitentiaries
for terms whose unprecedented severity would surprise even the
fallen despots of Europe.
Meanwhile the cost of armaments, the orgies of profiteering,
the extravagances of administration, the expense of innumer.
able, agencies of suppression combined with the lack of any
intelligent and far-sighted budget system, swell the public debt,
devouring loans and revenues before they can be collected,
and sending prices always beyond the reach of fifteen million
families whose physical and intellectual well being are the final
test of our collective development and survival.
It is the privilege of America, protected by its vestige of
geographical seclusion, to profit by the experiences of Europe.
Europe too has had its reactionary ruling, minorities, its in.
dustrial autocrats, its financial oligarchies,
its massive
armaments, its hated conscription, its corrupt and futile
politics, its suppression of dissent, its judicial frightfulness, its
bursting budgets, its toilers broken in body and bitter of soul.
And Europe has revolution.
Is this what Americans want? We do not think so.
We believe that there is intelligence enough in this country,
if it will but come together, to catch control of the current of
things and co-operate_directively with the inevitable forces of
human growth. To Reaction and Revolution we oppose Re.
construction; not as a catch word and pretense, but as an
organized effort to find some new adjustment of the changing
powers that constitute society.
Many of us believe that these readjustments demand
new political alignment, that the old parties are determined to
withhold that which the American people are determined to
have. Day by day men come to see more clearly that these
organizations have lost that spirit to serve the people which
was embodied once in Jefferson and at another time in Lincoln;
that the shell has hardened and stifled the growth within. With
exceptions lost among the instances, the politicians whom we
have elected have misrepresented our desires and laughed at
our hopes; they have opposed with a cynical accord all that
we have set our hearts on as vital to the renovation of Amer.
ican life. There are times when by the vigor of a personality,
the old mechanisms are driven to some efficacy and result; but
the mechanism soon overcomes the man, pushes him aside, and
undoes his little work. America cannot grow much more in
these old skins.
Rather must reconstruction derive its impetus and direction
from the political organization of the manual and mental work.
ers of the countr The future belongs not to the inheritors
and manipulators of great wealth but to the men and women
who live by their work of hand or brain and know by hard
experience the needs and aspirations of the common life.
It is the purpose of the Committee of Forty-Eight to sum,
mon from all parts of the country the leaders of its liberal
thought and of its forward-looking citizens, to meet in confer-
We hope that out of this assemblage of the hitherto
scattered forces of Americanism will come a flexible statement
of principles and methods that will permit effective co-operation
with organized Labor and Agricultural workers in the tasks
of social reconstruction.
So we send out this call. It is not such an opportunity as
comes with every day, The world is fluent now, and responds
readily to every moulding force; but let it find a form and it
will congeal again into resistance and immobility. All minds
are awake today as seldom before, all hearts are astir with
hopes and open to large purposes; but these minds will shrivel
once more into their grooves, these hopes will lose their glow, if
we miss this chance to organi
the liberal intelligence of Amer;
into coherent voice and form.
opportunity of our generation.
ence.
a
ica
It may be the final
LEADERS OF THE NEW LABOR PARTIES AND OF THE ORGANIZED FARMERS ARE LOOKING
TO US AND EXPECTING OUR COOPERATION. WE NEED YOUR TIME, ENTHUSIASM, ADVICE,
son AND MONEY.
WILL YOU JOIN US?
For the Committee **
ALLEN T. BURNS
GEORGE P. WEST
ROBERT W. BRUERE
LINCOLN COLCORD
JOHN HAYNES HOLMES
OTTO CULLMAN
WILL DURANT
GEORGE NASMYTH
GILBERT E. ROE
CHARLES ZUEBLIN
WILLIAM P. EVERTS
ARTHUR G. WRAY
CARL D. THOMPSON
DUDLEY F. MALONE
MARY H. INGHAM
MARY PATTISON
CHARLOTTE P. GILMAN
MARY K. SIMKHOVITCH
Write today for further information to the
COMMITTEE OF FORTY-EIGHT
15 EAST 40TH STREET
NEW YORK
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1919
275
THE DIAL
This is the book that was awarded, on New Year's Day, the Goncourt
Prize for fiction for 1918. The translation, the publishers believe, is
a real achievement; and the book is offered to the American reading
public as it is, without violently timid editorial adulteration.
CIVILIZATION
By GEORGES DUHAMEL
Author of "The Life of the Martyrs,” etc
"Civilization” is the title of this book in the original French. It is ferociously ironic. It is the
passionate cry of a greatly tender heart.
And what is this book? It is not a novel; it is a book of flaming sketches, short-stories, silhouettes,
the chief figures wounded French soldiers, the author a surgeon for four years on an automobile
ambulance at the front. It is testimony by way of literature as to what the ordinary French man
is; it is a survey of souls stripped naked by the wild hands of war. It is the story of Cousin, with
both legs off, and his boundless confidence. It is the story of a keeper and accountant of corpses
who though he cannot keep the count loves them and all their little individualities as if they were
living people. It is the story of Rabot who, being called a hero, laughs himself into hysterics.
And more like them.
Antoine, one of the greatest critics of France, says this of the book: “If there remains there, beyond
the Rhine, a single German still capable of shedding the tears with which I stained my copy of this
book, nothing is lost, the world is saved."
(12mo, 288 pages. $1.50)
WHY JOAN?
A PEACE CONGRESS OF INTRIGUE
An intimate account of the Congress of Vienna, based
on the memoirs of distinguished participants there.
A
fascinating narrative, told from many angles, of that
brilliant, magnificent, sinister conference of political
intrigue, where small nations were mere pawns in a
gigantic game of incredible and shameless selfishness.
(8vo, 448 pages. $2.50.)
By ELEANOR MERCEIN KELLY
By the author of "Kildares of Storm." A story of mod-
ern Kentucky, without moonshiners, revenue officers
and any of that too familiar group. The novel is set in
picturesque Louisville, but the story is not primarily
of a place but of a human heart, Joan's heart. It is
beautifully done. (Frontispiece. $1.50.)
DIVERGING ROADS
RAEMAEKERS' CARTOON HISTORY OF
THE WAR (VOL. II)
This is the second volume in the series of four which,
when completed, will be a pictorial record of the four
years of war-perhaps the most remarkable pictorial
record of a war the world has ever known. Each volume
contains one hundred full-page cartoons, and facing
each cartoon is a page of supplementary or explanatory
text. (Quarto. $1.75.)
By ROSE WILDER LANE
A home with faithful love and happy children in the
house, with flowers in the front yard, with work and joy
and content and fearlessness—this was Helen's vision
as a school girl. But first came wage-labor, then the
glittering life of San Francisco's joy-riders who love
highballs and hate inhibitions. And then- ($1.50.)
At All Bookstores
Published by
THE CENTURY CO.
353 Fourth Avenue
New York City
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276
March 22
THE DIAL
A Prominent Woman Author Furnishes Her Evidence That
OUT OF THE GREAT BEYOND
has come through her
A CALL TO BROTHERHOOD
This call is revealed in a new book, " The Seven Purposes.” By the hand of a woman,
hitherto a well-known writer of charming stories, is transmitted a message of thrilling inter-
est and consummate importance-challenging the attention of the thoughtful and forward-
looking, and full of comfort and uplift. The author shows what makes her believe that this
call has come from the great spiritual “ Forces of Construction to build the world anew.
The Seven Purposes
By MARGARET CAMERON
Whether or not you believe in a Life After Death--Whether or not you accept this
Message as a Revelation from the “Other Side”_Whatever you may conclude as to
its source-You cannot afford to miss the great Vision, the new Philosophy of Life,
of Right Human Relationships and World Progress set forth in this unique book.
Among the hundreds of letters that have come to Margaret Cameron from thinking
men and women of high standing and high intelligence and culture the country
over is one from a lifelong student of religions, in which he says in part:
“I stand amazed at what has come through you to a waiting world! ... There is
nothing new about truth, but there is something new about this presentation of truth,
and I consider this the greatest contribution to ethics that I have ever seen. Theoretical
religion has been omitted and the most practical religion presented. Both have their
place, but just now, in this rationalistic age, the practical will gain the attention of the
busy man when the theoretical and sentinental would leate him cold and uninterested."
It is indeed a Revelation—whether divine or not you must decide
for yourself—this CALL TO BROTHERHOOD—But read it
at once; it must give you uplift and broader world vision.
The Seven Purposes
$2. All Bookstores
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Established 1817
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1919
277
THE DIAL
LANE LEADERS-SPRING, 1919
Another Dawson Success!
LIVING
BAYONETS
A Record of the Last Push
By LIEUT. CONINGSBY DAWSON
Author of " Carry On," ► Out to Win,"
Glory of the Trenches," etc. Cloth, $1.25 net.
"Lieutenant Dawson's writings have been
among the great consolations and inspirations of
the war, and this latest of them, written at the
climax of the great struggle, is the best of all."
--New York Tribune.
" The
The Epic of the Poilu
THE "CHARMED
AMERICAN”
A Story of the Iron Division of France
By GEORGES LEWYS
Frontispiece. Cloth, $1.50 net.
“ We have seen no more vivid war scenes than
these, and none more instinct with all the mingled
horrors and glories of the truth. It is tremen-
dously dramatic, too, this epic of the trenches."
-New York Tribune.
A Frenchman's View of
PRESIDENT
WILSON
By DANIEL HALÉVY
Translated by Hugh Stokes. Cloth, $1.50 net.
Within the limits of a volume inevitably des-
tined for an immediate interpretation of Mr.
Wilson to the people of France, Mr. Halévy has
produced what is little less, in its way, than a
masterpiece.
America's Miracle in France
S. O. S.
(Service of Supply)
By ISAAC F. MARCOSSON
Author of “The Business of War," The Rebirth
of Russia."
Illustrated. Cloth, $1.50 net.
This book, written under the special authority
of General Pershing, is a piece of permanent his-
tory and discloses for the first time the romance
of the Service of Supply, which fed, equipped and
transported the American Expeditionary Force:
DOMUS
DOLORIS
By W. COMPTON LEITH
Author of " Sirenica," “ Apologia Diffidentis," etc.
Cloth, $1.50 net.
A new volume by the eminent essayist, whose
beauty and style of language the critics have
frequently compared to the golden prose
of
Walter Pater.
THE LETTERS OF
ALGERNON C. SWINBURNE
Edited and with an Introduction by EDMUND
GOSSE, C, B., and T. J. WISE.
Two Volumes. Cloth, $5.00 net.
This is the first and only collection of Swin-
burne's letters to be made, and they cover practi-
cally the whole period of his adult life, from
February, 1858, to January, 1909.
Leacock Solves the Kaiser Problem!
THE HOHENZOLLERNS IN AMERICA
And Other Impossibilities
By STEPHEN LEACOCK
Author of “ Nonsense Novels,” “ Literary Lapses," “ Frenzied Fiction," etc.
Cloth, $1.25 net.
This new book of satires on the vanity of autocratic monarchy and other timely
topics is written in Mr. Leacock's characteristic vein of humor and good spirits.
THE
RED COW
And Her Friends
By PETER MCARTHUR
Author of " In Pastures Green,” etc.
With Decorative Illustrations. Cloth, $1.50 net.
A series of humorous-serious sketches of vari-
ous aspects of farm life. Mr. McArthur has a
light and amusing style and his new look will
appeal to all lovers of farm and country life.
THE
AMETHYST RING
A Sequel to "The Elm Tree on the Mall."
By ANATOLE FRANCE
Cloth, $2.00 net.
The period of this story is that of the American
War with Spain, and M. Bergeret, the kindly old
philosopher who figured prominently in
Elm Tree on the Mall," reappears in its pages.
i The
JOHN LANE COMPANY
Publishers
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278
March 22
THE DIAL
NEW MACMILLAN PUBLICATIONS
ENGLISH LITERATURE DUR-
ING THE LAST HALF CENTURY
WAR AND REVOLUTION IN
RUSSIA 1914-1917
By General Basil Gourko.
Chief of the Russian Imperial Staff.
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a book for
those who seek first-hand information."i ini. $1.50
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NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
AND THE WORLD WAR
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The political institutions, ideals, and practices-na-
tional and international—of the belligerents.
JIM: THE STORY OF A
BACKWOODS POLICE DOG
By Charles G. D. Roberts.
In addition to the story of Jim, there are three
other animal stories, all in Mr. Roberts' best vein :
Stripes, the Unconcerned, The Mule, and The Eagle.
n.
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THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE UNITED STATES
By William Bennett Munro.
A comprehensive survey of both the principles and
the practice of American government, covering state,
local, and federal administration.
$2.75
JOHN MASEFIELD'S
POEMS AND PLAYS
The first collected edition containing everything
Masefield bas published in the field of poetry and
drama. Vol. I, Poems; Vol. II, Plays.
Each, $2.75; the set, $5.00
MEXICO, TODAY AND
TOMORROW
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in Mexico-political, social, financial, and economic.
82.00
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AND OTHER VERSES
By William Butler Yeats.
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personality living among
Masefield.
$1.25
Us
at
present."-John
THE ADVENTURE OF LIFE
By Robert W. MacKenna.
The spiritual reactions of a scientifically trained
man in the presence of war's suffering and death.
$1.23
THE SONG OF THREE FRIENDS
By John G. Neihardt.
A vivid narrative poem of the Upper Missouri River
country in the early twenties by the author of
The Song of Hugh Glass."
$1.25
THE VISION FOR WHICH
WE FOUGHT
By A. M. Simons.
A brilliant study in reconstruction, showing the need
for conscious continuance of processes already in
operation,
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WAR BORROWING
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The part public credit has played in our national
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THE DIAL
A FORTNIGHTLY
How to Treat Germany
WHAT
HAT IS AT THE BOTTOM of the feeling of paraly- bureaucratic organizations of twenty states-organ-
sis and pessimism which, by universal consent, is so izations which can alone prevent reconstruction de-
current in Paris after two months of labor by the veloping into anarchy. We take it as proof of ob-
Conference? One may point to a few. illuminating stinate persistence in sin that officials of the old
factors. Entente policy-particularly French policy order still remain, that old political parties, with
-is at this moment directed towards two mutually slight change of program, still retain much power.
exclusive objects, two divergent ends.
Nevertheless while we refuse to believe in any
Let us take the material aspect first. M. Tardieu change in the German heart because of this failure
declared the other day that Germany must be pre to make root and branch changes, we insist, almost
vented from reestablishing her industries, because in the same breath, that any drift of power to the
economic restoration would ultimately lead to mili extreme left, any capture of the government by
tary restoration, and because, since Germany had Bolshevism, will be proof of the nation's intention
not been devastated, she would be able to restore her to evade its obligations by organized disorder,"
industries very much more rapidly than France and and will be ample justification for our military oc-
so by advantage in competition strangle French trade cupation of the country.
permanently—kill France as an economic rival. Nor is this all. We demand as final proof of
That this is a popular French view will be proved change of heart that all attempts to revive the coun-
by a five minute talk with a French tradesman. try's military power be abandoned: that it turn
Yet sooner or later it will be necessary to com from this preoccupation altogether. Yet meantime
pel French opinion—and Allied opinion generally we make no provision for insuring the German
—to face the fact that if Germany is to pay an
people protection for those rights which we have
indemnity, even to help Belgian and French restora again and again declared she is entitled to, what-
tion in a moderate degree, she must be permitted ever her guilt—the right, for instance, of indis-
to reestablish her industries, particularly her agri- putably German populations to self-determination.
culture and communications. The view expressed In East Prussia, West Prussia, Silesia, Dantzig,
in the press is that Germany's shortness of food, German Bohemia, are populations whose precise na-
lack of locomotives, and loss of agricultural ma-
tionality the Allied Conference admits still remains
chinery is a just punishment. Granting that this to be determined. That must be the work of the
is sound enough morally, to couple it with the de Peace Conference. But meantime Polish or Czecho-
mand for big indemnities as part of the punishment Slovak troops, or the Polish or Czech sections of
is to ask economic miracles. It must by now be the population, take measures to forestall the de-
obvious that without ample food, raw materials, cision of the Conference and present it with a fait
and improved communications, Germany can pay
accompli. What is Germany to do? Acquiesce in
no indemnity worth while.
the subjugation of German populations? Would
But the present French temper insists not alone
not that be asking for a lèse-patriotism which we
on economic but on political and moral miracles.
declare to be a crime in the case of other peoples ?
We are asking that the people whom we declare No nationally minded people in the world will take
to be the least politically minded in Europe, the such a position. To ask it is, again, to ask moral
most wedded to discipline and routine, shall, as an
miracles. Two courses are open: either to make it
earnest of their intention to break with the past,
plain to the German people that we intend to pro-
not only in a few weeks sweep away twenty
tect their nationality against the attacks of even
dynasties and establish a parliamentary republic,
our own Allies, Polish or Czecho-Slovak, and for
but shall, during the widespread chaos of defeat
that purpose will refuse aid and will even restrain
and revolution and demobilization, tear up all their
those Allies when they attempt to anticipate the
political institutions by the roots, including the
decisions of the Peace Conference; or to allow Ger-


280
March 22
THE DIAL
66
many to organize her own defense by the recreation strue stupid or criminal human nature—which we
of some measure of her former military power. We declare German nature to be. The stupider and
do not in any real sense adopt the former policy narrower the German mentality the more likely are
(beyond a Platonic lecture to unnamed parties on Germans to take some feature of our policy as proof
the wickedness of trying to present the Conference that the Allies are capable, when their policy de-
with a fait accompli), and when as an inevitable mands it, of cruelty as great as that of which the
consequence Germany herself adopts the second we Germans were guilty. Since the Armistice we have
point to it as proof of her incurable militarism and given them plenty of excuses for that interpretation
duplicity.
of our acts. And such a conclusion is fatal to that
We go still further. Observing that Germany's sense of moral inferiority which is the beginning of
sufferings have provoked in the people, not a sense a sense of guilt. Indeed it may be asked if it is not
of guilt, but only a sense of self-pity, we demand already too late for German repentance.
some dramatic and visible sign of repentance, For there are certain features of Allied policy
although we admit that the failure to realize any which are particularly impressing German imagina-
sense of guilt is caused partly by the way in which tion at this moment and tending to form the German
the late government managed to hide from the attitude, to shape the German policy. The first is
people the moral facts of the war and partly by the the fact of the blockade maintained after Germany's
way in which a narrow-visioned people tend to con naval disarmament. It raises the whole question of
centrate their emotions upon the sufferings of which
“ navalism
versus “Freedom of the Seas " in its
they are victims and to blame those sufferings to acutest form. The position of Germany is much
their enemy. Obviously our primary task is to worse in this respect after the disappearance of her
show the German people not by our words and our Aleet than it was when she was a great naval power.
propaganda, but by our acts and our policy, that The Baltic at least was open to her trade during the
they have been lied to concerning the character of war. Now it is closed. Not only is it closed to mer-
their enemy and his objects, and that the way of chant shipping: even fishing is stopped. Germany's
repentance is a way which a German with due fishermen are not even allowed to add to the slender
regard to future—and consequently innocent store of food in the home country. Meantime the
German generations can tread.
Armistice demand for the delivery of agricultural
It ought to be clear that there can be no sense
machinery, taken in conjunction with transport dis-
of guilt or of moral inferiority on Germany's part
location and the loss of fertilizers, threatens to make
if her present enemies are guilty to any degree of
the coming harvest the worst that Germany has
the very crimes of which we want the German known.
people to repent. Yet there is a dangerous tendency But the fact which more than anything else per-
in Allied opinion at this moment to refuse con-
haps is molding the feelings and opinions which will
demnation of certain Allied policies because they
determine the direction to be taken by the new Ger-
are venial compared to the monstrousness of the
many is the proposed retention of the prisoners of
German offense. Any criticism, say, of the pro-
war for forced labor in France. The term "pro-
posed annexation of the left bank of the Rhine, or
posed ” does not mean that the proposal has been
of the blockade, or of the retention of German put forward by the French government—and one
prisoners for forced labor, or of Polish, Czecho-
may hope that no such idea has been seriously en-
Slovak, Roumanian, or Italian plans of conquest,
tertained—but that it is currently discussed in the
is met by the citation of much greater offenses on
French press. It is commonly defended as a
the part of Germany. This is mere moral chaos. stern but just measure,
Because one man is a murderer does not excuse
astation which “Germany ” has wrought. Let us
another man for being a thief. The government
examine its justice by reference to the realities of
of peoples against their wish will not be less polit- responsibility.
ically demoralizing on Czechs, Poles, Italians, and Here is an individual German prisoner: a young
French because in the past Czechs, Poles, Italians,
married peasant (among the prisoners, by the way,
and French have themselves been governed against
arc Poles, Danes, Alsatians, Bavarians, Austrians
,
their wish. But more pertinently perhaps, Ger-
and Slavs of various branches). At home he has
mans will not be helped to see the wickedness of
allowing children to be drowned at sea as part of early in the war and has been a prisoner for nearly
a wife and two young children. He was captured
a military policy by seeing their own children
starved to death as part of a peace policy. That
five years. Here is another of different type: a
music teacher, dreamy, artistic, unpractical. At
is not the way human nature works; it is to mis-
construe it altogether, and particularly to miscon physique makes him a poor laborer. He also has
home he supported his mother. Incidentally his
justified by the dev-


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lived nearly five years in a prison camp. In a few tween Poles and Ukrainians, or Czecho-Slovaks and
years, as with many others, his mind will have gone. Roumanians—which we seem unable to prevent
To the five years these men have already suffered since they are now going on—the same methods
it is proposed to add five, ten, or fifteen years more will be justified. Polish landowners will in the
of penal servitude. For what crime that they in-
future use their influence with their governments to
dividually have committed ? It is not even alleged hold Russian or Slovak prisoners of war to forced
that they have taken part in the unnamable atroci labor as part of a just indemnity. The new world
ties that marked the march of their army. Are they of Mr. Wilson's Society of Nations will be singu-
to be punished for being a part of the army—for larly like an older world in which peoples could be
having submitted to conscription in the early part carried into captivity, a world which we thought to
of the war? But we ourselves have laid down the have left behind us some thousand years ago.
law that a conscript cannot refuse to serve merely Now it is most unlikely that there is any intention
because he disapproves of the political purpose for whatsoever of putting such a policy as this into
which a war is fought. These two prisoners, like execution. But in that case would it not be as well
so many others, were very hazy in their political to say so explicitly before the mere rumor has grown
opinions. Suddenly, out of the blue, they had been into an all but indestructable legend in Germany, a
told that their country was at war —that it had been legend it may take years to destroy ?
attacked. They knew nothing of the Serbian ulti The fact is that the success of the League of
matum, of Balkan quarrels. They had no means Nations will now depend less upon the form of
of getting at the facts. They knew as little of them machinery which the Allies may devise than upon
as did hundreds of thousands of Russian conscripts whether the spirit which must animate any success-
who were mobilizing on the other side of the fron ful League is imported into their actual policy
tier. They had been taught—as Russians, Japanese,
towards one another and towards the enemy during
Italians, French, British, and Americans are taught the next few months.
today—that it was their duty to respond to their What are the elements of success in that policy?
country's call without too much questioning of the They might be enumerated as follows:
orders of the constituted authorities, still less with-
out questioning what foreigners said against their (1) Any dependable policy of German disarmament
country. They knew they were perhaps going to must be preceded by an obvious intention on the
their deaths; they knew that for them there would part of the Allies to protect German rights and to
be neither profit nor glory—they obeyed. And now, act impartially; to oppose unjust claims, whether
with no reference whatever to any special guilt even made by Czechs, Italians, French, or Poles.
alleged against them, they will be condemned to (2) If an idealistic policy is proclaimed, it must be
half a lifetime of penal servitude. Their children carried out sincerely. (After inviting the Bolshe-
will grow to manhood and womanhood in Germany, viki to meet Allied representatives and to arrange
knowing that their father—for no proved or even a truce, the newspapers bring us news of (a)
alleged offense—is, by the very nations that have great Allied victories against the Bolsheviki
declared they fought a war for justice and right, troops
in the Northern Territories and (b) a
held in slavery. For Germany a legend will grow
statement by M. Pichon that the Allies had never
out of this war. The children who have never seen
invited the Bolsheviki to meet Allied representa-
their fathers—those fathers thus reduced to slavery tives—though the names of the delegates had
— will be the disseminators of this legend. And been published—but only to talk with other Rus-
finally in ten, twenty, or thirty years, when Ger sian governments!)
many has in some measure regained her strength
(3) We must realize that if Germany is to pay
perhaps, and the whirligig of politics has given her
an indemnity or to help in reconstructing France
new allies in an organized Russia or a Danubian and Belgium we must adopt a policy which will
Confederation, these million men, enflamed with the help instead of hindering her starting her na-
memory of a lifetime of slavery, will return to their tional life after the dislocation of defeat and rev-
country to be part of that public opinion which must
olution. The blockade must be relaxed (M.
be rallied to the support of that new world which Klotz demands its stiffening “in the interest of
we must build, Mr. Lloyd George tells us,
French industry.” !), and such things as the pro-
exact and scrupulous justice, on high ideals of right-
hibition of Baltic fisheries must not be attempted.
eous humanity and generosity.” It is thus that Ger (4) An end should be put to such legends as the
many is to be won from her old evil past of mili-
intention of retaining prisoners of war for long
tarism, suspicion, distrust, and hate.
periods as forced laborers. There should be im-
And meantime of course, in these lesser wars be-
mediate repatriation of the sick and wounded and
on


282
March 22
THE DIAL
some definite arrangements made concerning the
repatriation of the others.
(5) Seizure of German rolling stock, agricultural
machinery, and so on should be guided by the
need for the greatest total world production of
food during the coming year.
(6) In order to help keep certain too clever poli-
ticians up to the standard they proclaim in the
matter of high ideals and the abandonment of
imperialistic aims, and so on, the censorship should
be abolished entirely, and the utmost publicity of
all negotiations from now on demanded. And
since Allied correspondents are now freely ad-
mitted into Germany and Austria, opinion in
those countries would be greatly helped in their
fight against the “old gang
" and their counter-
revolutionary intrigues if they had correspond-
ents in the Allied capitals who could give sym-
pathetic interpretations of news items exploited
by German reactionaries in an anti-Entente
NORMAN ANGELL.
Paris. Passed by Base Censor, A. E. F.
sense.
Good Form and Orthodoxy
SIR
IR ARTHUR QUILLER-Couch offers us in his The material here is, for the most part, so
Studies in Literature (Putnam; $2.50) a series of familiar-Coleridge, Matthew Arnold, Meredith,
very pleasant talks on life and letters, most of Swinburne, Mr. Hardy—that the chief problem
which were originally given before a class of un is (for so expert a craftsman as Sir Arthur) the
dergraduates at Cambridge. There is nothing here always congenial one of handling. Sir Arthur
to match the acerbity of the famous essay on Jargon has a great deal of the French neatness. The essays
(terrifying to journalists) in the earlier volume, On flow smoothly in themselves and low smoothly into
the Art of Writing. And naturally not, since Sir one another with just the right degree of casual-
Arthur is dealing with established excellence and ness fo.efface the last trace of effort. (In essence
not with the slackness of his contemporaries. He is, this is only literary good form.) There is nothing
indeed, hardly at his best in the immediate present. of pedantry and no hint of a worked-up theme.
For a novelist, he has an oddly cloistral spirit Sir Arthur is simply sharing his discoveries in a
and unadventurous nerves; the Auid, shifting field that stimulates his spontaneous interests. I
world seems to elude and irritate him until it has have said that he is rarely idiosyncratic, except in
been immobilized in a masterpiece or turned into a touch here and there of the romantic, as in what
the abstract nobility of a verbal symbol. To these he has to say of Coleridge's premature exhaustion:
he gives his fullest loyalty. It is a way to be quiet. "In other words, let us inquire if, in a man who
It is a way to possess oneself and not to be possessed performed that miracle [The Ancient Mariner],
by change. There is a phrase of Wordsworth's his failure to perform others may
that is often on his lips—that "wise passivity” charitably be set down to a divine exhaustion than
which is the ultimate wisdom for poets. Well
, Sir charged upon his frailties." Like James Dykes
Arthur has something like a gift for passivity, and Campbell (Coleridge's biographer), Sir Arthur
the writers who reflect it have, I suspect, his special indeed honors the poet's memory throughout only
devotion. But he is catholic and a genuine lover a little "on this side idolatry.” Towards those who
of literature, whose enthusiasms are none the less
more nearly his contemporaries—Meredith,
real for being invariably temperate and mellow. Swinburne and Mr. Hardy-Sir Arthur adopts
You feel only that they have been lived with for a
a more reserved tone, and, especially in the bio-
long time and have thus acquired all the self-
graphical sketch of Swinburne, a less conventional
authenticating force of old habits—in this case, in-
note than elsewhere in dealing with established
deed, almost of national habits, for Sir Arthur is
greatness. True, he only follows here Mr. Gosse's
Tarely idiosyncratic. To defend them excitedly example in discreetly agitating but never lifting
would occur to him as little as to urge them on the veil before that "great figure, a spent god and
others with missionary zeal. Accordingly, his man-
asleep under the pines [Putney).” But in resort-
ner is as far as possible from the dogmatic
. He ing even to agitation, Sir Arthur rather exceeds
recommends; he never imposes. And he recom-
his usual practice. The tone is more likely to be
mends with a charming urbanity which is possible
, that in which he writes of George Herbert:
I think, only to the critic who relies wholly on taste
and prefers to remain silent on most of the prob- holy, so fragrant of the Wiltshire water meadows
life-as you read of it in Walton—so delicately
lems about which taste has nothing very profitable along which the biographer himself wandered with
his rod, fishing for trout and 'studying to be quiet,'
not more
are
"A
to say.


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sees
as
that it seemed made to tick on and on like a well- naturally inclines to let his ancestry (or his rank;
oiled clock.” In a word, the impression one gets or his riches, if he have them; or any personal dis-
is that of a prevailing orthodoxy. I don't refer to tinction he has won) go silently for granted; not
Sir Arthur's gingerly attitude to "doctrine," which undervaluing them, but taught to see them in their
is that of a cat with hot milk. After all, some true value as gifts at the best held in trusteeship
allowance must be made, I suppose, for any King from the gods." A countryman of Edward Car-
Edward VII Professor of English Literature in the penter and Havelock Ellis, he can write of Hardy's
University of Cambridge, though it becomes in grim challenge to the stupidities and brutalities of
creasingly hard to visualize the force of that particu- sex, of the pitiful agonizing of Tess: Say what
lar taboo in John Bull's Island and reconcile it you will, this indignation in Hardy is noble, is
with other forces now rather noticeably at work. chivalrous, and, as the world is worked, it has much
Even the stupendous paradox of Mr. Belloc doesn't reason at the back of its furious 'Why? Why?-
help us much.
Why?'”
No. The orthodoxy here is stretched to cover
Instances might be multiplied (especially the
the Englishman's customary world from the Victorian stuffiness of a paragraph in the essay on
periphery of Empire to the center of good form, Arnold that eluded his critical censor), but the
which Sir Arthur never
a possible ex most serious inadequacy shows itself in his treat-
tinguisher of thought, but only as
an ultimate ment of the war and that “sacred emotion, love
achievement in the world-old struggle to produce of one's country.” As for the war itself, there is
the first man made perfect. Now, in this strident something like an implication that it was owing to
world, it is the exceptionally noisy persons who a lack of good form in the German nation--"that
identify themselves with terms and make the terms itch for self-assertion which is the root-bane of
over in their own image, and so Mr. Chesterton good manners.” As for patriotism, it is obvious to
has misled many who are less familiar with ortho him that the English-in common with “great
doxy than were our grandfathers. But he is largely nations of the past” —take it in the definitely right
a sham. Orthodoxy consists in believing what your
way—with a trace of shyness. Sir Arthur is de-
fathers believed and not in finding reasons why you fending the Socrates of the Menexenus against any
need not disbelieve. Sir Arthur really apprehends possible suspicion of a taint of disloyalty. Socrates
the mood, whereas Mr. Chesterton means little
(or Plato for him) is dealing with the patrioteers
more than loyalty to your private idiosyncrasies of his day in quite the disillusioned modern spirit,
camouflaged in the correct institutional wardrobe. and being at home with irony—and, anyway, none
The difference is considerable.
Mr. Chesterton's too respectable—he leaves it to his friendly com-
orthodoxy does not relieve the cerebral strain to mentators to delimit, or denature, his satire and
which he is put every time he indicts an article. If supply the protective gloss. Sir Arthur's seems to
anything, he has more trouble than the heterodox, me inimitable and a good note on which to close:
because he is always thinking of them and trying If a man's mind be accustomed, as Plato's was, to move
to circumvent their subtle wickedness. But they reverently among holy things and so that his appreciation
do not enter into Sir Arthur's mind at all, and
of them has become a second nature, he can afford
orthodoxy means for him precisely what it should
(whether he speak of poetry, or of art, or of religion) to
play with his adored one even as
a tactful lover may
mean—a quiet conscience. He has been ruffled as
tease his mistress, and the pair of them find in it a pretty
little by the war as by the intellectual ferment that
refreshment of love. For he knows exactly where to stop,
as she what to allow. . . . It may seem a long way-
preceded it; he has lived straight on above the
even a longer way than to Tipperary-from the polite
battle-whether of blood and iron or of ideas. To
irony of Menexenus to the cheerful irony of the English
ideas in general, indeed, his attitude is strictly
private soldier, now fighting for us on the Belgian border.
aristocratic and has more than a trace of aristo-
But I suggest to you that his irony too plays with patriot-
ism just because he is at home with that holy spirit; so
cratic insufficiency. This nonchalance constitutes
much at home that he may be called at any hour of the
a peril for Sir Arthur: his commodity is not always,
day or night to die for it. Precisely because he lives in
this intimacy, he is shy of revealing it, and from shy turns
so to speak, Grade 1; a certain staleness emanates
to scornful when the glib uninitiate would vulgarize the
from it. Thus he can write of the Germans: “It
mystery.
has been the curse of Germany that, mistaking the
You see what it is to take life on the wing—or
human end of education and misconceiving what
disinter it from the slime and blood and filth of a
power' means in the saying 'Knowledge is Power,
trench in Flanders—and turn it into the noble im-
she has strained herself to it beyond preparation of
mobility of Art. Pygmalion's feat was nothing
ancestry or manners.” Or of the proprieties: “In
beside it, really
ordinary social life we know that a well-bred man
GEORGE DONLIN.
.


284
March 22
THE DIAL
English Opportunism and the League of Nations
THE
HE ROMANCE OF A LEAGUE of nations is gone. mannerisms of government. The elements of the
We now face cold realities—a definite though com Empire seem all to do as they please, to demand
plex scheme of international management, obscure diametrically opposite things; and yet the Empire
with the detail of governmental mechanics, and re stands firm as Gibraltar. As Professor Jenks says,
vealing all the uncertainties that arise when ideas "to many critics such a system appears to be sheer
are put into the confines of print. The age of the political lunacy; but the results challenge a compari-
Declaration of Independence is past; we are in the son which probably causes a good deal of envy to
cra of the Federalist
. The conflict as to the theories mingle with their contempt.” And what is far
of political control is now definite and sharp. The more perplexing, the whole system of the English
great debate has begun. Already we hear com Empire, to the pessimist, may well seem on the point
plaints, first feeble but now harsh, that the scheme of collapsing. What part shall the self-governing
of a league of nations was made in England, and, dominions play in imperial policies? What of India
if adopted, will be a triumph of English govern or Ireland? Can there be an Empire if Hughes
mental theories. The playboy of the Senate—petu of Australia defies the head of the English Empire?
lant Senator Borah—who first heartened us by his The Empire has been postponing the much talked
vigorous Liberalism and now has lapsed into the of Imperial Constitutional Conference until the end
absurdities of abounding egotism, grounds his op-
of the war, and is now confronted by a task second
position to the League chiefly on that complaint. only in difficulty to that of a league of nations. And
And it must be admitted that the League of Na yet the English Empire—the entire Empire includ-
tions in spirit, in theory, and in mechanics is Eng- ing India and Egypt—has undergone the terrific
lish; that it stands as a masterpiece of English op strain of the war, when the very existence of Eng-
portunism and must be considered as the full flow land trembled over the abyss, without even a visible
ering of the principles of the British Empire. The crack. England's Empire, in its enduring strength,
mere fact that General Smuts, or some other Eng-
cannot be scoffed at; rather, indeed, it is to be envied.
lishman, anticipated or suggested much of the What is the underlying principle of this perplex-
mechanics of the League is of little significance; the
ing though admirable structure? Opportunism-
controlling fact is that the spirit and attitude of mind sheer opportunism. Unfortunately the theory of op-
toward the problems of government of the whole
portunism is credited with sinister, insecure attri-
plan is British. Is that a reason for rejecting the
butes that it does not deserve. To be elementary,
plan? On the contrary is it not a reason for scrut-
without desiring to imitate the formalism and
inizing the theory of English governmental oppor-
austere blindness of academic discussions, we can
tunism fairly and frankly?
distinguish two theories for basic attitudes of mind
Unhappily most of us know little about the Eng in government.
The one is French and to a cer-
lish Empire except a few prejudiced generalities.
tain extent American—the insistence upon definite-
The interesting and admirable sketch of the Eng-
It is not so much that our Constitution is
lish Empire by Professor Edward Jenks (The Gov-
written and the English Constitution unwritten, but
ernment of the British Empire-Little, Brown ; $2), rather that the American Constitution is definite
,
comes at an opportune time. Though Professor rigid, and complete, representing
Jenks modestly disclaims any higher purpose for his
must be vigorously adhered to in order to avoid de-
brief book than the furnishing of an introduction to
struction, while the English Constitution has always
the longer and more erudite texts, nevertheless his consisted of indefinite traditions, representing a
work
, both in terseness and lucidity, not to speak minimum of governmental principles and an odd de-
of keenness of analysis, is not outshon
by the
termination neve
to solve an imperial question un-
learned books with which it competes. Indeed,
til the Empire found the knife at its throat. The
it is more illuminating than any recent treatment
makers of our Constitution determined to set down
of the English government except President
a clearly defined code of government, and to pro-
Lowell's enduring masterpiece. On finishing Pro-
vide for every aspect of governmental conflict. They
fessor Jenks' discussion of the English Empire made one or two serious omissions—take, for ex:
one is reminded of Voltaire's familiar epigram ample, the assumed powers of the Supreme Court
about the Holy Roman Empire, that "it was
neither an empire, nor Roman, nor holy.”
to declare legislative acts considered inharmonious
The with the Constitution void—but their purpose was
English Empire appears far indeed from imperial; clear. The whole scope of American Constitutional
it seems a chaos of inconsistencies and intangible history from 1789 until 1860—indeed, even to the
ness.
an ideal which


1919
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THE DIAL
present day—has represented a tendency to break
to gaze at our own picture reflected in the mirror
away from the rigid maximum requirements of the of American tradition. We are being engulfed for
Constitution, offset by a valiant determination not the first time in the mist of European perplexities;
to add to the Constitution but to keep it intact. The we still are strangers in a confused, new world.
American Constitution has been a glorious success, Like the French, we yearn for a complete, definite
and the fact that it has succeeded so gloriously must system of government covering every possible con-
move us all, as it did Gladstone, to admiration. But tingency; thus the English opportunism of the
it is extremely doubtful if the success could be re League will strike some of us as an intellectual af-
peated in so infinite a field as international politics. front. President Butler is reported so to have viewed
Greater flexibility is needed. The English Constitu it. But is it not true that the task confronting the
tion is so Alexible that at times it seems Alabby. When world is so titanic that it can be achieved only by
problems arise the English improvise governmental means of the English theory of doing as little in
conferences or devices to handle them—but never governmental devising as you can and of leaving to
before the problems arise. Somehow one gets the tomorrow the governmental problems thereof?
impression that in government as in the war the A fleeting analysis of the constitution reveals the
English blundered along in a hand-to-mouth way— full sway of this theory of English opportunism.
with brilliant success. They always have sufficient Those who drafted the constitution strove to ar-
governmental mechanics to solve existing problems range for the maintenance of the status quo to be
and to maintain the status quo; they always have established by the treaty of peace, to establish a
been struggling with a mass of dead governmental minimum of international authority to handle likely
institutions which they never discard until these in- difficulties, and to leave for the future all the prob-
stitutions fall completely to pieces—but they leave lems that can possibly be avoided. Thus the philos-
to the statesmen of the next day the problems of ophers who are setting themselves up as international
that day. Thus the English governmental structure, lawyers and sages in governmental theory are dis-
including the English parliamentary system, stag mayed but not speechless.
gering under the burden of many small parties as The constitution of the League of Nations falls
distinct from the old government party and opposi-
into three divisions: first, the sphere of power
tion which erected it, is the world's patchwork granted to the League to prevent war; second, the
masterpiece. It is confused and lacks definite, log sphere of power granted to the League touching
ical arrangement; yet it is flexible, workable, and upon certain international problems which involve
sound. It is universally laughed at but universally war only indirectly, such as labor and colonial ad-
imitated. It bristles with problems, yet it stands ministration; third, the mechanics of government by
firm. It is frank opportunism, but not the oppor which the two previous undertakings are
tunism of indecision or feebleness; rather it is the accomplished.
opportunism of practical statesmanship and of quiet The question of preventing war—the first and
confidence in the capacity of the coming generations. vital division suggested—involves as a preliminary
Your English statesman goes on the theory of never the problem of disarmament; then, first, the prob-
waking sleeping dogs; they may die in their sleep. lem of making certain that no war will be begun un-
Now the League of Nations, when carefully til the masses of the people have had time to ascer-
analyzed, reveals the same attitude of mind as found tain the issues involved and manifest their desires
in the British Empire. It represents a minimum and until the possibilities of arbitration are
structure; it solves only the problems it must solve hausted; then, second, and here is the basic distinc-
in order to exist; it is indefinite, uncertain, and tion, the problem of providing that if a dispute, jus-
leaves to the next generation the problems of the ticiable or not, is determined by the League, or its
future. It may expand—indeed it must to be fully arbitrators
, in favor of the existing status, the status
successful; it may grow more robust and acquire will be maintained by force of arms; and third, the
more definite, wider powers. Surely it cannot grow
problem of providing for the enforcement of the
any weaker and surrender any powers that it has
League's decision where a change in the existing
without collapsing. It is a workable though vague
status is involved in that decision. This distinction
compromise, indistinct and by no means balanced or
between the second and third problems may seem
symmetrical, but above all else it is workable obscure and technical but it reaches the pith of the
easily and at once. In a word, it is an admirable problem involved in the power of the League to pre-
achievement of the philosophy of opportunism. For
vent war. Let us, for purposes of illustration, con-
that reason it will be difficult for us Americans fully
sider a possible dispute between, say, Italy and
to grasp and accept this new constitution. We Amer-
France over the control of Tripoli. First, assum-
icans, after all, are still a little provincial; we love
ing that the question of armament has already been
to be
ex-


286
March 22
THE DIAL
taken care of, the League of Nations will insist upon status quo as easily as you can; then adhere to it;
the dispute being submitted to arbitration though if the status quo can be changed peacefully—that
both nations may not consider it justiciable. Italy is with the consent of all the great nations—all is
controls Tripoli today; France, let us assume, claims well; if it cannot, let that be solved by the genera-
a wider field of influence. If the League determines tions that must confront the problem. By that time
that Italy is in the right, since Italy already has the spirit of the League will be so much stronger
Tripoli, it means that the status quo is maintained. that it can better grapple with the difficulty. The
Thus we have involved our second problem problem of today is to get some sort of recognition
the maintenance of the status quo. If the League
for the idea of a League of Nations—a workable
determines that France is right, the decision then scheme that can be expanded and twisted as the
requires that Italy be limited in her already com needs of the present demand. Thus we have a com-
plete control of Tripoli and that the status quo be „plete adoption of the underlying principle of the
changed. We then have the third problem. English Empire.
The constitution adequately provides for effective There is a similar indefiniteness, a similar effort
arbitration—thus we can dismiss the first problem. to find a workable minimum, in the other divisions
The constitution also provides—articles twelve and of the constitution. So far as the scope of powers
sixteen—that where a member nation complies with in international matters not directly concerning war
the award, war cannot be declared against it. In is concerned, with the exception of the colonial ques-
other words, if the award approves the status quo
tion, scarcely a beginning is made. The right of
the successful nation can obviously comply with it, the League to investigate such matters as the needs
and any nation protesting against this status quo of labor is recognized. What that investigation
cannot, without declaring war against the entire will result in, let the future decide. So too, the
League, disturb the successful nation. In our ex much discussed system of mandatories is an adapta-
ample, if Italy is successful and the League de tion of the ordered confusion of the English Em-
termines that the status quo as to Tripoli is just, pire with its graduated degrees of self-government-
France cannot attack Italy or seize Tripoli with self-governing dominions, India, crown colonies
out waging war against the entire League. Thus divided into three groups with diminishing degrees
the second question, that of maintaining the status
of autonomy, protectorates like Egypt, chartered
quo, is fully taken care of. On the other hand, if
companies, and spheres of influence. In a word, it
the League determines that France should have means the facile establishment of a status quo with
greater power in Tripoli, then, unless the executive a free road for change and improvement.
council is unanimous, France must wage her own
The mechanics of government—the third division
war against Italy unaided. Since it is extremely dif -is likewise indistinct enough to admit of the shap-
ficult to imagine a dangerous dispute where one of
ing influence of experience and conflict. It is in-
the big five powers is not directly concerned, unani- teresting to remember, when we consider the frank
mous consent by the executive council is extremely indefiniteness of this part of the new constitution
,
unlikely. Thus the third problem is left for the
that, as Professor Jenks points out, when it was
future to solve.
decided to introduce “responsible government
What does all this mean? Simply that the powers
the very heart of the English theory of representa-
are anxious to establish a fixed order, to maintain it,
and to leave to tomorrow the problems that may
tive government–into the Australian constitutions
then arise. This desire is enforced by the guaranty
it was found impossible to draw any article ade-
quately covering the situation. A formal provision
of territorial and political integrity found in article
about the appointment of ministers was finally in-
ten. The nations of tomorrow can worry about this
serted and the whole matter left to custom and
third problem of establishing justice by upsetting the practice.
So the indefiniteness of the new constitu-
status quo if they must.
The question of disarmament is handled in the
tion need cause us no alarm. At first glance the
same manner. It is impossible to get the nations to
division of powers between delegates and executive
concede to the League the power to fix armaments.
council is extremely obscure; several powers are
Our Senate will not; England will not surrender
vested in the League without any indication as to
her control of the sea.
whether the general residuary power lies in the dele-
So the twenty-six articles
provide that the executive council first suggests to
gates or the executive council. " But that will all be
the various nations a maximum armament which,
worked out in practice in the most convenient,
when accepted by the various nations, establishes the
feasible way. In government, time is the best con-
status quo, any departure from which will mean war.
stitution maker and experience the wisest drafting
Here again we have practical statecraft. Reach a
committee. A constitution for a League of Nations
might be drawn with all the formal
, verbal stiffness


1919
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THE DIAL
so urgently demanded by that apostle of stiffness in
speech, ideals, and politics, Senator Lodge—but
such a constitution would hold the promise of con-
fusion and conflict rather than clearness and cer-
tainty. How can you have textual certainty and
clearness when our very ideas as to the nature of a
League of Nations are still unsettled? Only time
and experience can clarify both our ideas and our
phraseology.
Such is the doctrine of English opportunism in
government—entrust as much as you can to time
and experience; the future is to be trusted not
dreaded; we are not the dictators of posterity.
Surely when we consider the great chaos before us
and the overwhelming necessity of some sort of in-
ternational unity that will make it possible for
humanity to survive, we can find solace and hope
in the enduring success of English opportunism.
SAMUEL SPRING.
A Second Imaginary Conversation
GOSSE AND MOORE
I.
ing?
Maid. Mr. George Moore.
house; a man of letters does not make discoveries in
Gosse. My dear Moore, how unexpected and house property. You owe a great deal to your wife
how delightful.
and daughters. You will never know how much
MOORE. It is pleasant to hear you say so, for unless you survive them, which—but the conversa-
truth to tell I was not quite sure that I should be tion has taken a turn too gloomy for this wide bal-
welcome on a day not set apart for visitors. But cony overlooking the Park. Did you notice that
since I am so fortunate I will admit that I am breeze, lilac laden? And in a few days it will bring
glad to catch you in your wont, passing your time
the odor of hawthorn. But what book are you read-
on your great balcony, as large as a parlor, reading,
a shawl wrapped about your knees.
Gosse. Lamb's Essays.
Gosse. You know the proverb, “Whether May
MOORE. You knew them always, but Lamb was
come early or late, 'tis sure to make the old cow no more than a name to me until I found his book
quake.”
in my secretary's hand and took it from her, and
Moore. I like these homely proverbs, and as I
could do no writing that morning.
cannot be among our lanes and downs I come to
GOSSE. So you mentioned once before, but despite
Regent's Park, so typical of the London of our gen-
your admiration you did not pursue your new ac-
eration, and to your house, typical of our ideas. All
quaintance into his correspondence, as I begged you
the way up the stairs it breathes the delightful
seventies-
-Rossetti, Madox Brown, and the
MOORE. We must allow many good dishes to
-residue. You were associated with the pre-Raphael pass by if we would taste of a few fully.
Gosse. A frail excuse.
Gosse. Only through Rossetti and Swinburne's MOORE. A second is not lacking. I would not
poems; but my wife was a painter and knew them risk blurring the impression the essays have made;
all, even that remote one who died last
year.
you tell me the correspondence will but increase it.
Moore. And before you met the pre-Raphaelite
But there is no need at present, for did I not say
movement you were a Plymouth Brother, another to myself, and not later than yesterday: No litera-
instinct of the English mind. I would be as English
ture has a Lamb like ours, not even Greek.
as you, Gosse, but to be you, I should have to re-
Not till it became canine.” You do not understand ?
nounce a great deal—the Nouvelle Athènes. It was
You should, for the variant is Swinburne, with an
in one of my adventures from that cafe to London additional turn given to it. What, not yet? Is
that I brought my youthful drama in blank verse, there not a lamb in the New Testament? Ah!
Martin Luther, to a house overlooking a canal, with
Now you've got it, and we can return to Lamb who
a screen of poplar trees between it and the barges.
appears in your history as the author of a pastoral,
But Delamere Terrace is almost forgotten, and I
Rosamond Grey. This work came upon me with
can only think of you here in Regent's Park, though something of a shock, and I am still trying to asso-
my instinct tells me that it was not you, but your
ciate him with Corydon, Amaryllis, Sylvander, and
wife and daughters, who discovered this Georgian Rosalind, trying to see him among the downs, but
to do.
ites.


288
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THE DIAL
66
(6
said one.
in my imagination he remains always in Fountain
Court. You would have done well to have held
your tongue about that pastoral. But his associa-
tion, however brief it may have been, with shep-
herds and sheep, brings us back easily to our own
sheep, or, to be still more exact, my dear Gosse, to
your own yoe” lamb—that English genius ex-
pressed itself so fully in poetry that very little was
left over to sustain and dignify the other arts.
It would have cost Stevenson a sleepless night had
he heard you say so, for though he longed to write
romance, he knew his own powers better than Sid-
ney Colvin, and often let the secret out that they
deserted him on the approach of human passions and
emotions. Our bodies are as curiously constructed
as our minds. Dr. Pollock told me he once had
a patient who could not take laudanum, however
small the dose, and that he instructed his locum
tenens not to give this one any, however great her
suffering. But the locum tenens thought that an
infinitesimal dose could not do as much harm as
another sleepless night, and nearly killed her. He
told me of a still stranger case of a patient whom
mutton affected almost as a poison. It made her so
ill when she was a child that she never ate it again,
not for many years; but finding herself in a house
where there was nothing but mutton for dinner, she
ate a small portion, thinking her stomach's revolt
against the meat must have passed away with measles
and whooping-cough. But it hadn't, and Dr. Pol-
lock said that if she had died the microscope would
have discovered nothing. So we find the physical
world as incomprehensible as the intellectual. I
have pondered on Stevenson's failure to write stories,
and have discovered very little more than the micro-
scope-merely that Stevenson had all the literary
gifts, and that one drop of story poisoned the lump.
GOSSE. I think I can tell you why he failed to
write stories; he had little power to heighten the
interest with anecdotes, and
Moore. A very good point that is of yours,
Gosse, better perhaps than you think, for the real
gift of the tale-teller lies in the power to excite and
illuminate by means of anecdote. Balzac
Gosse. Balzac's invention was always prompt.
But I was going to give another reason for the dry-
ness of Stevenson's stories, the absence of his own en-
chanting presence from them, one that I shall never
forget, else I should have stopped you before, for
if you do not propose to carry this discussion into
our own time I think we had better turn our atten-
tion to Disraeli and Lytton.
MOORE. Lytton's novels were among the first I
read, and The Last of the Barons came to me highly
recommended by my companions in whooping-cough
in a school in Germany. As you may remember,
whooping-cough allows nothing to stay on the
stomach; one is obliged to Ay from the room con-
stantly, and every time I returned I came upon peo-
ple and events in the story that I could not connect
with those I had left a few moments before. But
my companions had said it was a great story, and
I read on day after day, understanding nothing of
what I was reading, dreading questions and expect-
ing them, for it had begun to seem to me that I
was being watched. So you've finished the book ?."
“ Did you enjoy the story?” * Very
much," I replied. “Which part did you like the
best?” another asked. “It was all very good," I
answered; and all that day the laughers did not cease
to tease me (how little the word tease" expresses
the agony those pin-pricks caused, so soft, so tender,
so susceptible to pain are we in childhood) till,
wearied of teasing, maybe, or thinking my skin had
hardened and could be pierced no longer, they be-
came curious to hear how I would take the news
that every time I left the room my marker was ad-
vanced some twenty or thirty pages.
The Last Days of Pompeii was read in more
favorable circumstances, and counted in my life as
an educational influence, for it aroused my imagina-
tion, and I can't help thinking that nothing really
happens until the imagination is captured. In The
Last Days of Pompeii there is one called Glaucus,
who loves a blind girl and behaves towards her
decorously. But it is to Pelham that I owe a cer-
tain whimsicality of mind that the years have never
rubbed away; I believe the tone of the book has in-
fluenced thousands. One incident is potent. Pel-
ham is walking one day with a friend who begs him
suddenly to cross the roadway, saying he cannot
bring himself to speak to or even to recognize as
an acquaintance a man whom he had just caught
sight of coming towards them. On looking up to
see who it is that causes such an aversion, Pelham
sees. a man that everybody in London would like to
be seen talking to.
Why do you not wish to speak
to him?” Pelham asks; and as soon as they are
safely on the other side of the street the friend an-
"The man you see coming towards us dined
with me last week, and on my apologizing to him
for an unaccountable oversight on the part of my
cook, who substituteď ordinary vinegar for chili
with the turbot, replied that he did not know the
difference between one vinegar and another. I feel
that I have missed the end of Lytton's sentence, but
the beginning you can take as being quoted correctly.
But why should blame fall on the cook? Pelham's
friend should have apologized for his butler's mis-
take; turbot is not boiled in vinegar, and the pas-
sage exhibits Lytton as a sciolist rather than as an
adept in the art of living, a man of letters aping 2
.
swers:
.


1919
289
THE DIAL
man of fashion, and doing it fairly well, but only hair from his face he repeated, “si après tout la
fairly. At fifteen one overlooks detail, and Pel chance est venue à moi.” Villiers' unhappy eyes
ham's friend was clearly one to be imitated.
haunt me as none others do, and the memory of them
Gosse. An exemplar that, methinks, has found is very dear to me. You have similar memories,
many noisy adherents in our own time, every one of Gosse. You remember the great men you met in
whom would hurt and sh ked to find himself Denmark and Norway. The poet warns us to
traced to such an humble origin as Lytton.
gather our memories while we may; he should have
MOORE. But are not all origins humble? We added, " for the time will come when memories will
all begin in bad taste, and most men remain in it. seem like hips and haws, hardly worth gathering."
Gosse. Nobody had greater successes with the The feminine trouble is the first to disappear; we
public than Lytton. Every book he wrote was a suc are glad in our folly, and afterwards regret it, for
cess; some, of course, were more successful than we are now altogether without appointments except
others, but all were successes.
those we make with our publishers; a forlorn twain
Moore. Another book of his roused my imagina- surely, having read too much and seen too many
tion, and in much the same way as Pelham—The pictures, and though the world's shows amuse us
Parisians. It was never finished; Lytton's death in still we are weary of them and perhaps a little of
terrupted the story as a party of friends in the ourselves.
beleaguered city were about to dine off a pet dog, Gosse. If you are a little weary of yourself it
Fox, whose master endured hunger as long as he is because you have lost the habit of reading; if you
could, sharing his crusts with Fox, but at last it be read it is to get something from the book, rather
came apparent that if Fox were not eaten at once he than for the book itself; and if I may hazard a very
would not be worth eating later.
personal criticism of your life I should say that you
Gossé. Was Fox killed before the story stopped ? never cared for painting or music or literature, but
MOORE. I've forgotten; but the meal was not used them as a means of self-development.
described, and Lytton's description of it would have Moore. Even though what you say be true, am
been 'worth reading; his talent revealed itself in I different from anybody else? Can we care for
such scenes of comedy rather than in discourses on anything except as we care for food and drink? But
truth and beauty. Another great event of my youth, I agree with you, Gosse, in this much, that I have
and of yours too, Gosse, I'm sure, was Money, at invested too much in art. You have been wiser
the Old Prince of Wales's Theater, when the Ban or more fortunate in the conduct of your life. You
crofts owned it. Do you remember Coghlan and do not stand alone; there are your wife, your daugh-
Miss Foote in the act in which the will is read ?-
ters, your son, and little grandchild. This solid
as good an act of comedy as ever was written if it Georgian house is charged with memories of your
resembles my memory of it. If you have forgotten life and theirs. You have nothing to complain of,
it I never shall, nor a certain short front scene Gosse; a very fortunate man you have been in your
played by George Honey and his wife. The The literature, in your wife and children. The House
ater never interested you; but there was a Lamb in of Lords fell into your lap at the right moment when
me, and if I had been taken round after a per you began to tire of writing articles for necessary
formance of Money and introduced to Lytton I
money. And with the House of Lords came other
should have fallen on my knees.
windfalls. Indeed the only ill luck that I can re-
Gosse. Then it's lucky you weren't, for the member is when the age limit obliged you to leave
memory would have been disagreeable. Have you the Lords. Even that retirement was not an un-
no memory of Disraeli?
mixed bitterness, for it did not come before you
Moore. None. My father asked me to read left behind you a permanent memory. You are still
Vivian Grey, but it left no impression on my mind,
the literary force behind the House. It has begun
perhaps because he asked me to read it; and my
to write, and every lord that writes is your debtor
memory of the unendurable silliness of Henrietta for an article. And so are we, Gosse. We too
Temple prevented me from reading Lothair, though are indebted to the lords for many pages of pure,
there were many in the Nouvelle Athènes who
beautiful English prose; if not music makers them-
wished to hear what I thought of the book. There
selves, the lords are at least the reeds through which
are so many wonderful books to read, I answered music is blown.
Villiers-Villiers de l'Ile Adam.
Are there?” his Gosse. It is indeed a pleasure to me to hear that
eyes seemed to ask, and I added “there is my prose has pleased you. But you do not think
your · Eve.'” “La nouvelle edition est épuisée, on
that I write these articles merely because the books
m'a dit hier de passer à la caisse. Enfin, şi après tout
I review were written by lords?
la chance est venue à moi ;” and sweeping a lock of
MOORE. Good heavens, Gosse, such a thought
troubled


290
March 22
THE DIAL
never crossed my mind. Who could defend the lords
as well as their old librarian? Who should defend
them if he refrained? Who has a right to defend
them better than he ?
Gosse. I never put it to myself in that way be-
fore, but I see now that I must have always felt
that their old librarian still owed them his service.
MOORE. Service does not comprehend the whole
of your sympathy. You look back on the House of
Lords as I do on the Nouvelle Athènes; on stepping
over the two thresholds we seemed to step into our
true selves, at least I did and you can judge if I
am not today as distinctly un-Nouvel Athènian as
I was when I brought you Martin Luther.
Gosse. It is nice of you to speak like this, for
sometimes it has crossed my mind that my attitude
to the Lords might be misunderstood. But you
understand me so well that perhaps others too under-
stand better than I thought for.
Moore. Thank you, Gosse, I do not think that
anyone seriously misunderstands, but it may be that
my almost excessive interest in human conduct has
enabled me to see farther into the lives of others
than the average man.
Gosse. As we are on the subject I may say to
you that my connection with the House of Lords
has been useful in many ways that perhaps you do
not know of. It has opened up libraries to me that
I should never have seen, certainly never have known
in detail if I had not been privileged. It was only
the other day I was staying at Loughton Hall. The
late Earl wrote some charming poetry; you are not
interested in the byways of literature, but I am;
and besides writing a good deal of poetry, which in
my humble opinion is not without value, he was a
great book collector.
His libraries were among the
richest in the United Kingdom; and if we were not
engaged in a search for somebody that has written
prose narrative in England seriously I could tell
you of many interesting discoveries but, alas, in-
stead of telling you of a sonnet ending on the lovely
line “ Princess appoint me shepherd of your smiles,"
I must insist that we return to Lytton and Disraeli.
In my History of English Literature—you have
given so many proofs of your attentive reading of
my book that perhaps you remember that I place
Disraeli higher than Lytton; you, it would seem,
take an opposite view; but we will not waste words
on our differences of opinion regarding the relative
value of a mercenary literature, novels that served
to pay the election expenses of their authors, and
now exemplify your theory that the English novel
was never anything more than a commercial trans-
action between author and publisher. On this point
we are in cordial agreement, and I will add that
Disraeli, knowing his literary talent was no more
than a showy facility in the handling of words, an
essentially Jewish talent, was glad to place the whole
of it at the service of politics, whereas Lytton, be-
lieving himself to be a great man of letters, gave
ear to the tempter and sold, not his whole soul, but
half of it, which is always a bad speculation, for
half a soul is of no use to God or man.
Moore. My faith is plighted to your psychology
that every man writes as well as he can—a mourn-
ful truth indeed, for the rogue is more interesting
that the dupe. This much, however, may be said
in favor of Lytton and Disraeli—that they succeed
in amusing many more than we do, or ever shall.
You have no doubt asked yourself very often if it
were not better to amuse the multitude than to
deserve the respect of the few: for all passes but
Shakespeare and the Bible, and we in our midnight
communings ask ourselves if it be not better to
range with humble livers in content than to seek
the grand style, for whosoever seeks it is driven into
suicide; in Haydon's case it was towards a basin,
with a razor in his hand. There is a potential
Benjamin Haydon in every one of us, minus the
noble soul who found a Calvary in Parnassus
from the evening he went to Park Lane to consult
the Elgin Marbles for information regarding the
drawing of a foot.
Gosse. I know nothing more heartbreaking than
his description of his mother's death—nothing in
Balzac, nothing in Turgenev, and it may be that a
great man of letters was lost in a bad painter.
Moore. If he had laid aside the palette for the
pen he would have sought the grand style in litera-
ture. A noble soul despite his failure. *** But
what am I saying? It was through his failure that
we learned to know him. You overlooked him,
in your History; worse still, you overlooked Borrow.
Gosse. As you say, I overlooked Borrow. Mea
culpa, mea maxima culpa.
MOORE. I'm glad to hear that you repent an
omission which is a grave one, but I must not take
credit for unselfish reading; my discovery was made
while reading for information rather than for plea-
I had forgotten Borrow's birth and death,
and finding you had overlooked him, I had recourse
to my friends and learned from them that Borrow
was a contemporary of Scott. A century, at least,
I said, should divide them, and I fell to thinking of
Borrow writing The Bible in Spain, his eye always
on the object, thinking only how he might discover
every voice and aspect of Spain in English prose.
Borrow is an integral part of my subject, I said, for
now I come to consider it, like Sterne, he saved his
talent by refraining from story-telling.
Gosse. But he did write stories—Lavengro and
The Romany Rye.
sure.


1919
THE DIAL
291
MOORE. These admirable books have always been fully soothed by the brilliant report of a conversa-
looked upon as biographies, into which Borrow in tion with an Archbishop. “You want permission
troduced many imaginary anecdotes; and it seems to sell the Gospels without notes or commentaries?”
worth while to point out that the strange mixture of the Archbishop asks. And Borrow admits that that
· fact and fiction, which has caused so much wonder is the permission he is applying for, but gathering
ment among his admirers, was imposed upon Borrow from the Archbishop's manner that the permission
by the very nature of his talent—too great to per he seeks will not be granted, he observes the bishop's
mit him to write a literature of oiled ringlets and ring, and a delightful little conversation springs up
perfumery, and not great enough to allow him to regarding the purity of the gem. A little later in
create outside of his own observation-in other the book we learn that beautiful souls can exist
words, to evoke human souls out of instinctive even in Catholicism, and though our lives were
knowledge how human life is made.
extended to a thousand years we should still re-
Gosse. We had an interesting talk on that sub member the Alcalde in the wild landscape of Cape
ject not very many days ago, you maintaining that Finistère.
Serge Aksakoff was not the principal character, but
Gosse. Of what are you thinking ?
Serge's father, whereas I looked upon the narrator MOORE. If the admirer of Jeremy Bentham was
as the chief character. But I can see now that I invented by Borrow or by nature.
I beg your
was wrong, for Serge does not attempt to narrate pardon, Gosse, for my absentmindedness; it was
himself, like Rousseau-he is merely the reed only a moment ago that I was contrasting Borrow
through which the music is blown.
with Defoe, and now I am thinking of him in con-
MOORE. We learn little or nothing of Borrow nection with Miss Austen, for whereas in Borrow
from his books, and remember them by the anec sex is altogether absent, in Miss Austen it is omni-
dotes, all of which enfold sketches of men and present.
women that set us thinking of Daumier, many
Gosse. The omission of sex from Borrow's work
caught in eternal lines—the old woman whom he is no doubt very remarkable, and cannot be ac-
found groaning over a straw fire in a ruined castle counted for by an unhappy marriage, for as far as
somewhere near Clonmel, and the man he met
we know Mrs. Borrow did not give him any cause
hunting hare with hound in the bog as he returns
for sorrow.
home. The hare stops in the middle of the road; MOORE. His books are stamped with an indif-
a few moments after the man and his hound ap-
ference to women.
pear, and after some strange dialogue hound and GOSSE. You think that Mrs. Borrow kept a close
hare and huntsman disappear in the dusk.
watch?
No one tells an anecdote like Borrow, and the MOORE. I was not thinking of Mrs. Borrow
anecdotes he tells never fail to enhance the interest or even of Borrow. A casual thought crossed my
and compel the reader to continue reading. We mind that the best portraits of women are written
must take off our hats when we read his telling of
by bachelors—the celibate, I suppose, being more
the fight with the Tinman, and the chaste nights
interested in sex than the married; and now an-
and days that follow in the dingle, Borrow in one
other thought has come to me: that it was Miss
tent and the Tinman's daughter in another. An Austen's spinsterhood that allowed her to discover
idea strikes me, Gosse, that Borrow is Defoe risen the Venusberg in the modern drawing-room.
from the dead, and though God may forgive me,
Gosse. I'm afraid I miss your point.
I can never forgive myself for not having thought MOORE. We do not go into society for the pleas-
of this before. But I see you are not thrilled, yet
ure of conversation, but for the pleasure of sex,
you cannot have forgotten our little talk about direct or indirect. Everything is arranged for this
Robinson Crusoe. I could not remember if Crusoe end--the dresses, the dances, the food, the wine,
taught Friday his Catechism, and you told me he
the music! Of this truth we are all conscious now;
did.
but should we have discovered it without Miss
Gosse. Borrow would probably have learnt Fri Austen's help? It was certainly she who perceived
day's language and translated the Gospels into it. it, and her books are permeated with it, just as
MOORE. I know no book that I would as soon
Wordsworth's poems are with a sense of deity in
read again as The Bible in Spain. An imperishable
nature; and is it not this deep instinctive knowl-
book
, for it is about people and things
. Landscape edge that makes her drawing-rooms seem more real
after landscape; and is there not somewhere in the
than anybody else's? We all remember the arrival
book a dwarf who turns somersaults in front of
of the young man for the dance in Pride and
Borrow's noble horse? Or did I invent it? I was
Prejudice. Nor has any of us forgotten how satur-
grieved when he parted with his horse, and only
ated with sex is the long walk in Mansfield Park,


292
THE DIAL
March 22
and the more profoundly because of the formality especially during Borrow's century. He was born
of social speech observed; the opening and shutting in the eighteenth; I should say he was a contem-
of a gate is the only event; all the rest is sex—the porary of Sir Walter Scott, as your friends told
lady walking with her parasol aslant, the gentle you, and as your thesis, or a great part of it, is
man beside her engaged in carrying on a trite con that literature written for money is worthless from
versation that neither would have endured had it an esthetic point of view, and from every point of
not been a sexual adventure. In Sense and Sensi view in a few years, I think that Borrow is the
bility there is much less restraint-Marianne is sex illustration you require. All his books, with one
stricken as Juliet was not, as Isolde was not; and exception, were failures, commercial failures, with
never in literature did anybody drink as deeply of the exception of The Bible in Spain, and it was
the love philter as Marianne. Our wonder at her not the literary merits of The Bible in Spain that
passion is heightened by the fact that it wears out in caused it to be read; and if you care to emphasize
drawing-rooms among chaperons; and the book falls your paradox that a man's name directs the course
on our knee, and we murmur as we look through of his life, you can say that George Borrow is a
the silence: How simple the means and how amaz.
name that would be approved by his admirers if his
ing the result! A good deal of what I am saying books had come to us anonymously. You will be
here is repetition come over from our last conver safe in saying as much, for the name is plain,
sation, provoked by Borrow, in whose books the straightforward, without subterfuge or evasion, in
drawing-room never appears. The knights ride past perfect agreement with the man's literary style and
the Venusberg without seeing it, without hearing his wont. I can hear you call it an honest English
it, and we find ourselves in a workaday world of name, one that began with the race, to endure for
gipsies and prize-fighters, horse dealers and horse all time, like our homesteads, and so forth. You
thieves, odds and oddments of all sorts and kinds. will be able to fill up the category of qualities that
Borrow is never at a loss for a queer turn of mind, the name evokes better than I.
and the dealer in Chinese porcelain who is inspired MOORE. He wrote a literature that pleased no-
by the writing on the cups and saucers to learn
body when it was written, and he has outlived his
Chinese is never far from my thoughts. Another contemporaries and predecessors, all except Jane
equally interesting anecdote eludes my memory for
Austen, who, like him, wrote to please herself. Bor-
the moment. It will come back presently. In Wild
Wales we are in a real country filled with real peo-
row was a great master of patter (his patter is as
good as Jane Austen's). The next time we meet
ple, and Borrow enchants us with his talks with
in a country house we will read some Borrow to-
wayfarers as he walks through the hills, having con-
gether; you have no doubt a thousand interesting
veniently left his wife and daughter behind. His
things to say to me about The Bible in Spain, and
characters are as numerous as the people that come I am conscious of a desire springing in me to talk
and go through the pages of the Bible.
Gosse. How he enjoys his beer, and how the
for an hour on the extraordinary variety of charac-
ters and conversations in that great book; but we
quality of the beer fixes a certain picturesque site
must hasten from Spain to meet three sisters from
in his memory. Of the truth of this to nature I
can vouch, for, having once wandered into Wales
a parsonage over against a Yorkshire heath whose
literary fortunes draw into the arena of this dis-
on foot for the purpose of verifying the accuracy
of Borrow's itinerary, what happened to Borrow
cussion an interesting question—how far the cir-
cumstances of an artist's life contribute to get recog.
happened to me. I, too, remember a certain town nition for his work.
Literature alone is unavail-
by the excellence of the glass of beer I drank in its
ing; however beautiful it may be it will remain
unread if circumstances do not come to its aid-
MOORE. What was the name of that Welsh
something in the book itself or something in the
town?
Gosse. It is unkind of you to ask me these ques-
author's life. The Bible in Spain was read for the
tions. You know that my unfortunate memory re-
sake of the propaganda; if it had been less well
written it would probably have been still more
tains few names and dates—above all, dates. But
here is something you may not have thought of,
widely read. We read it today for certain esthetic
the almost Dutch seriousness which we notice in
qualities, and Byron, who preceded Borrow by forty
Borrow may have come to him from Holland. He
or more years, was read for his title, his exile, and
most of all for his romantic death in Greece.
was a Norfolk man, and Norfolk more than any-
[To be continued]
where else is impregnated with Dutch influence,
GEORGE MOORE.
inn.


1919
293
THE DIAL
Why Reform Is Futile
I
F WORKMEN PETITION employers or state legisla- posed as these measures were to traditional policies
tures for an eight-hour day, they may be deported of the party, was not to end with election promises
or they may be jailed, but they are not hanged as or the writing of platform planks. The full irony
they were thirty years ago in Chicago. Credit for of the situation appeared when the Democratic ad-
this evidence of progress goes to the labor unions, as ministration representing the party in power was
it should, but some generous recognition is also due compelled during the war period to put into actual
those social reformers who have advocated state pro practice those reform measures and to extend their
tection for wage workers, and government control of application beyond the anticipation of their advo-
financial operations as efficient and ethical principles cates.
of statecraft. These reformers for many years have It was clear beyond dispute that the successful
given unremitting energy, in and out of legislatures, operation of the war industries could not be left to:
to campaigns which they have hoped would eventu employers, and that labor must be placated. This
ally result in the adoption of a national policy of delicate task the government was forced to take over
industrial reform by way of protective enactments. and to take over with the assistance of the reformers
I speak of these reforms now because of the unex who had their policy of state interference fully
pected opportunity we have been given to estimate evolved. So far as I can remember every demand
the power of labor legislation to bring about change which the reformers had made during the preceding
in our industrial habits and national manners.
decade was echoed in the reorganization and the ex-
Good people in the early days of the factory tended activities of the Department of Labor, as well
system were shocked by the long hours of labor and as in the other departments, war councils, and com-
the long absences from home which factory opera mittees which were engaged in the production direct-
tions required. Some time later practical men came ly and indirectly of war materials. I do not say
to the rescue of the idealists as they pointed out that that the ideals of the reformers were realized in any
long hours of labor meant in the end the political case, nor was there time for their full realization.
and industrial inefficiency of the nation. Many years My point is that all the measures which had been
of reform campaign went by before the promoters advocated were given official recognition, that labor
were given a full hearing, because labor in spite of reform administrators were appointed to deal with
the wear and tear of factory life continued its flow to them, that an understanding was gained as to what
the satisfaction of business demands, which are con the measures stood to accomplish. A system of
cerned with the immediate situation and not the federal employment exchanges was promoted, for
future of a people. But suddenly the valiant hopes which the reformers had for a long time contended,
of the reformers achieved an apparent glory of re and the private agencies exterminated. A War La-
alization. The occasion came as a surprise because bor Board was created for the settlement of wage
the cause of it had less to do with the development conditions by means of collective bargaining and
of events within the reform movement than with arbitration. Special councils were organized to look
the misfortunes of the Republican party. It was es-
after the special needs of women and young persons
timated by the zecalcitrants of that party that the as well as the health and safety of all wage earner's
new party which they formed would stand its best in the workshops. Provisions for the extension of
chance of swinging into power if it adopted the sanitation to the homes of the workers were also
labor legislative program of the reformers. Thou made. There was added to the councils charged
sands of men and women with deep conviction as to with the administration of the reform measures an-
the righteousness of their cause pledged the Proges other council which was concerned with the formu-
sive party their active support and gave it their vote. lation of a policy of government regulation and
The popularity of the measures for which this control of labor conditions. This wholesale extension
party stood is not to be judged by the failure of the of protection to labor was inaugurated for the pur-
party to carry the election or to weather a second pose of war.
presidential campaign. The test of the popular sup Three months have elapsed since the signing of
port must be estimated rather by the inability of the the armistice, and while there is still a trace of
Democratic party to win any election if it rejected these reform agencies and some pale evidence of
these measures. Furthermore, its leaders discovered their continued activity, it must have become., clear
later that their endorsement of state interference in to the reformers themselves that their method of
industry and of privilege for the working man, op-
social reorganization will not materially alter the


294
March 22
THE DIAL
operation of the laws of the national economy which open to them, as they are not a part of industry
we have set up and which we support. The sudden and cannot function through it. If society were
collapse of the policy inaugurated at Washington so organized that all the members of it were
was almost as spectacular a performance as was the engaged in some productive occupation or creative
official recognition which was given it in 1912 and work, the sole business of the government under
1917. It is rumored that a revival of this war-time these circumstances would be to open up every op-
government machinery may be undertaken if unem portunity for all the members to function to the limit
ployment and business stagnation lead to serious of their capacity. As the situation is now, the re-
strikes and to business demands for increase of form movement represents a policy of the unlimited
privilege and subsidy.
extension of the government's police function; it rep-
But machinery set up for war will not serve resents a method of negation and indirection.
peace because the driving force of the war machin All economists, hard thinking business men, and
ery, which was war patriotism, represents an actual wage earners know that the roots of the labor legis-
horsepower which business animus, the driving force lative reform movement are too tender to penetrate
of industry in times of peace, fails to induce. As the beyond the surface of our political and industrial
war came to a close and the wartime patriotism lost institutions. To put this familiar matter once more,
its force, so did the mandatory influence of the War quite simply it is this: while natural wealth is with-
Labor Board. New wage boards may be created and
out approximate limit, the sources of wealth by the
special protection given business and labor "for the act of the state become the private possession of men
transition period,” but what reason is there to believe who can show credit for a financial equivalent. This
that these can be developed as a national policy? or
credit is given not to those who can show productive
if they are, that they will change the relative posi- ability but to those who have already received credit
.
tion of capital and labor? The actual accomplish The manipulation of this wealth which represents
ment in legislative regulation of the hours of women control over industrial enterprise is carried on first
workers in the last decade is as follows: in ten
and naturally in the interest of the manipulators,
states women may work seventy hours or more; in
the people who have been given and can give credit.
twenty-one states they may work anywhere from These creditors assume, as they say, “the steward-
fifty-five hours to seventy; and in fifteen states from
ship” of all the national wealth which they receive,
fifty-five to forty-eight. In respect to the minimum
and by the law of the land it is theirs to do with as
wage there are twelve states out of the forty-eight they please. The position of the reformers is anoma-
which have given it their endorsement. But this
lous as they invoke this same law for labor conces-
lack of legislative accomplishment presents a less
complete picture of the uphill character of the re-
sions. It is extremely embarrassing for the state to
form movement than the persistent difficulties with
recognize the invocation, as it places it virtually in
which the movement is beset in the way of enforce-
the position of “ Injun giver.” The reformers are
in position of suppliants who come with claims to
what has already been disposed of. They do not
And were it possible to overcome the difficulties
ask for a return of the common wealth to labor, on
of enactment and enforcement, labor would still
have the bill to pay for the sick insurance it received,
the ground that access to wealth should be free and
for its sanitary privileges, its increase in wages, and
control over production extended to those who can
its decreased hours of work.
prove their ability to carry forward the undertaking.
An award in hours
And why should they? Labor has shown no dispo-
may be paid for in wages or the burden of an award sition to undertake it.
This indisposition of labor
in both hours and wages can be shifted through an
is in part the raison d'etre of the reformer. It is the
increase in rents, food, or clothing, through labor
saving devices which result in the decrease in the
story of the people who do not attend to their own
affairs and of the other people who make an attempt
wage rate or in the annual wage income. There to do it for them. It is the experience of the ages
is often an appearance of economic gain for labor
that such attention meets with indifferent results.
when an award is made by a state legislature or
It may be that the situation in which labor finds
by a union but the net result is usually the avoid itself and which it called upon to reshape, if it is
ance of cost by vested interests without relative gain
in labor's position.
to prove its capacity for self-government; is actually
too difficult an environment for it to affect. This
The reformers in their desire to put the industrial
is the supposition of the reformers who argue that
situation to rights, have undertaken to accomplish
their end by the indirect road of political action.
if labor had more leisure, say sixteen hours absence
They have done this because it was the only road
from work, and a living wage, it would be in a
position to affect its environment. The facts hardly
ment.


1919
295
THE DIAL
bear out this argument. The present social environ-
ment seems entirely safe in the hands of the count-
less thousands of skilled mechanics, clerks, and su-
perintendents, for instance, who live above the re-
gion of the financially submerged worker. These
skilled mechanics, clerks, and superintendents who
enjoy a greater purchasing power show no greater
disposition as a class of people to alter their indus-
trial status than does the class of workers who are
economically the most helpless. Although the eco-
nomic position of individuals is in a constant state
of change, it has not been possible for them to over-
come the conditions of the environment as they are
fixed. The established industrial institution is suc-
cessfully maintained with its definite status for the
workers. And this state of affairs is bound to con-
tinue in spite of the interminable propaganda of re-
formers and the intellectual expositions of the econo-
mists, until the institution through some internal
infirmity of its own gives way.
Santayana has said “the real difficulty in man's
estate, the true danger to his vitality, lies not in
want of work but in so colossal a disproportion be-
tween demand and opportunity that the ideal is
stunned out of existence and perishes for want of
hope. The life of reason is continually beaten back
upon its animal sources, and nations are submerged
in deluge after deluge of barbarism.
The
ideal requires, then, that opportunities should be
offered for realizing it through action, and that
transition should be possible from a given state of
things."
I think history goes to show that progress has
been made, not through any instinct or passion of a
people for the abstraction of justice or democracy,
but through the failure the established institution
to function. The truth of the matter seems to be
that the social environment in which the mass of
men have found themselves from time to time has
been too difficult for them to affect except at those
propitious moments when the conditions which have
inhibited action have broken down of their own
weight. These times in the nature of the case seem
destined to appear for the reason that the social en-
vironment is a condition of interdependence of a
people. As population changes or expands, as new
relations evolve, interdependence and the fixed con-
ditions of the old environment fail to meet the needs
Never has the truth of this been so
clearly demonstrated as now, because never has the
interdependence of people been so widely extended.
Our present industrial infirmity is due to the fail-
ure of the institutional order to secure the coopera-
tion of labor in the enterprise of wealth production.
This failure is a sign that the interdependence of the
productive factors has become a matter of conscious-
ness. This has come about in part through the rest-
lessness of the factors, through their increased move-
ment and the interchange in the personnel of groups,
but it is due primarily to the realization that the
further promotion of industry is now actually de-
pendent on an economy in the use of labor energy.
The old scheme of business management cannot sat-
isfy the need for the economy or omit the necessity
of turning that restlessness into active cooperation.
It cannot be met by the substitution this time of ma-
chines for men. It must be met by the men themselves.
Industry has become too vast a burden, as it is being
extended, for its promoters to carry it forward against
the disinclination of the mass of people involved.
The industrial order is passing through a crisis as it
is faced with new world conditions. Even the finan-
ciers have some appreciation of the fact that the old
habits and processes which have served them call for
revision. Their production managers, expert in the
industrial processes and the estimation of costs, have
demonstrated that new methods of manufacture can
be introduced which will effect a saving as great as
that secured by the steam engine. The point in
this discovery which is pertinent for all who are in-
terested in industrial reorganization is that it pro-
poses not a substitution of some other energy for
human energy but a new distribution of the energy
of labor. This new distribution can show not only
an increase in output and a decrease in cost but
a greater reduction in working hours than either
reformers or trade unionists in their modesty or con-
sideration here thought fit to demand. This discov-
ery involves no capital investment or extra financial
credit. It is entirely possible for labor in its organ-
ized capacity to make it its own. It is possible for
organized labor to agree to deliver the greater out-
put which results from its own saving in workshop
energy, and stipulate that on delivery its own saving
of its own energy shall not be appropriated by others.
The recognition of the need of labor's cooperation
in the new methods of industrial economy introduces
the condition which makes possible the worker's as-
sumption of responsibility for the promotion of
wealth. The recognition indeed creates an environ-
ment which it is possible for labor to affect. Here
we have the conditions of the new industrial psy-
chology brought about by fundamental requirements
in the social economy.
The realization of these
conditions will provide an environment in which in-
dustrial democracy will have opportunity to develop.
While - the reformers' program is without eco-
nomic sanction according to the laws of our indus-
trial institution as that is now run; while it is with-
qut important material results for the workers;
.
of the new.


296
March 22
THE DIAL
while it tends to convert the government into a po tion and examination of industrial practice. More
lice organization; while it contributes nothing con than this, while the reform movement represents a
structive to the actual business of wealth production; large expenditure of energy for small returns, waste
it has served a beneficial purpose as it has prevented activity is an inevitable condition of growth. The
upholders of our institutions from sinking into a trial and error experience prevails even where reason
hopeless state of smug satisfaction. It has induced and creative effort have had a chance.
a certain amount of the restlessness, much explana-
HELEN Marot,
Cities and Sea Coasts and Islands
“ M
AY THERE NOT be superior beings amused ing under the dark clouds in Valencia; and we be-
with any graceful, though instinctive, attitude my gin to realize and to share that happy and delighted
mind may fall into, as I am entertained with the apprehension of which he speaks and which is surely
alertness of the stoat or the anxiety of a deer?” his. It is interesting to see such an observer achieve,
Keats asks in the letters. It is with this spirit that through the utmost sophistication of thought and
Mr. Arthur Symons, in Cities and Seacoasts and art and sense, results that are often as elemental as
Islands (Brentano; $3), approaches his places the emotion of the primitive life of which he speaks
Cordova, Toledo, Valencia, Seville, the convent of or of the founders of the ancient, far-off things that
Montserrat, London, Cornwall, and Dover; it is in delight him. He achieves now and again a sort of
this way he takes his men and women in these cities direct elemental contact with light and color and
and islands and sea towns.
In all these papers-
life and naive creations, as the perfect athlete
known already, some of them, in periodicals—he achieves the quality of the savage body. He en-
maintains his point of view. To him there is in the
joys the veracity of the flesh. He has himself that
aspect we human beings present to one another some kind of subtlety which he observes in Spain, and
thing inevitably automatic. In most men we see which he adds to his own artistic and cosmopolitan
little more than a smile, a passing, a gesture; they
range, that kind of secondary spiritual subtlety that
are hardly more real to us than actors on the stage. comes from exquisitely responsive senses, a sort of
They are largely a spectacle to us, conveying a sense
delicacy that forms in itself a profound kind of in-
of beauty, variety, life, change, or necessity. Our telligence. He records at the Montserrat Convent,
pleasure and satisfaction over life and cities and perched on the rocks nearly three thousand feet
men depend largely on the skill with which we above the ruddy soil of the encircling plain beneath,
have trained ourselves to an instinctive and delighted
the sense he had of natural felicity moved to aston-
apprehension. Sometimes, and to a few, we can
ishment, to the absoluteness of delight in being where
draw closer, and they seem more real to us. But
one is, and the sense of being perfectly happy, with
for most we must be content to wonder, to admire,
that element of strangeness in it all without which
to see the use and beauty and curiosity of them,
he cannot conceive happiness. He notes in the women
and so take them, without the wan endeavor of in-
of Seville the mournful pallor, and that long, im-
truding further into their meanings and destinies.
mobile gaze, which seems to touch the flesh like a
The book is made up of the experience of the
slow caress; the cold ardor, which is the utmost re-
senses weaving back and forth into the experience
finement of fire; a white people carrying themselves
of the colder intelligence. In writing of this sort
like idols. And in Toledo, before the paintings of
the record of the senses solely may become shape-
El Greco, he writes of the man's contempt for the
less, emotional, lush. The record of the in-
facile joys and fresh carnations of life, his desire
telligence solely becomes merely informative, unper-
to express another kind of world, to paint the life
ceptive, workaday. But Mr. Symons describes
of continual proud meditation. Here is a man, he
the yellow and white town climbing into the
says, who has intellectualized the warmth of life
pale sky in Cordova; or in Tarragona the gray
into the specter of a thought taking visible form
houses climbing to a yellow point—the Cathedral;
somewhat alarmingly. Gautier had seen in El
he sees the shadows around things no longer gray
Greco mostly a man chevauchant hors du possible.
as in colder lands, but blue="de façon que les om-
bres semblent éclairé d'un coté par le clair de lune
But that weighs little with me; Gautier-heaven
forbid !-wrote of Murillo's Miracle of St. An-
et de l'autre par le soleil,” as Gautier says; or the
thony: “Jamais la magie de la peinture n'a été
river wild and savage, with the brown sand redden poussée plus loin!" But Mr. Symons dwells on El


1919
THE DIAL
297
Greco's austerity, his spiritual realism, and on that istic as Mr. Thomas Burke, of Nights in London
color of his which was the reticence of a passionate and Limehouse Lights, London's latest evangel; he
abnegation.
is not so busy or so eclectic, and—I shall be dis-
I see that the writer of this book feels indeed that puted here—not really more self-conscious, if more
the world is little more real than illusion is. He delicately so. Lamb and Mr. Thomas Burke sec
often supplants one's experience of the illusion of London through eyes that are often like Hogarth's
real things with the reality of illusion. Perhaps or Dickens' or Balzac's-with, in Mr. Burke, a
sometimes there is a little too much the effect of dash of the bold unmentionabilities and a blur of
tasting. Sometimes the effect is merely fantastic. impressionism—where Mr. Symons sees it more as
And in places I miss the stiffening of intellect; I Monet and Verlaine would see it, I fancy.
miss the exaction of sheer mental vigor. Where emo In the English country Mr. Symons' work is in-
tion or sensuous response is strong or subtle or keen terestingly less good. It is as if his mind fell back
enough, it can carry itself; for it is in itself informed less easily on green lawns and cloud and rain in quiet
with the matter of thought, of the intelligence. But key, less easily than on the light and stone, the strong
Mr. Symons has grown limp or soft at times, as his romance and blood of Spain, or the nights in London,
opposite in temperament might grow dry. And or the sails toward Africa set out from Cadiz. And
sometimes, now and then, the whole affair becomes after John Synge no one should try to record the
a business, a sort of delicious hack-writing; almost Arran Islands; John Synge's style is the Arran
the “style coulant cher aux bourgeois.” And even
Islands, and they are his style. Mr. Symons' style
at other times, when the sentences are golden, one
we all know by now. It is a style made up of sub-
pauses now and then to wish, perhaps ever so little, tle shading in phrase and imagery and cadence. It
that so beautiful a mind and eye would settle into can be cloying, and it can be dazzling, palpitant,
something a little more central, a stronger biting heady, and dominating. It seems English and for..
This is the primitive heroic theme of the North- eign at once. There is something in it of D'Annun-
downward toward a center. He pushes me so far zio's Italian-as in the passage “la musica silenziosa
at times that I go wishing for him something more
delle linee immobile era cosi possente che creava la
of that stubborn English quality, that self-devoted fantasma, quasi visibile, di una vita più ricca e più
obstinacy, that spiritual and almost insular individ bella ”—but it is more elusive, and less firm and
ual hold, that 1—and all of us—so often revile. variable. It is copious sometimes like Hofmanns-
It is diverting to see-
-when, in the middle of the thal's German; it has something of Gautier, of
book and for the remainder of it, we settle on Eng- Yeats, and the Pre-Raphaelites; but all in all, at its
land and English coasts and moors and streets—how best it is beautifully his own.
the quality and mood of the work alters. The style And a book like this is valuable, if for nothing
changes; it is no more intimate for the depths of the else because it may serve to increase one's appara-
soul, but it is more personally and almost domestic tus for experience. Its method seems not to arrive
ally intimate. There is in the matter, also, more
merely through the medium of writing. It seems
whimsicality, more individual preference, more min to employ all the arts to its delicate and pro-
uteness in less important preferences. The beauty set
found ends. We get the sense of the ear helping
down in the things seen and in the mood of the ob the eye. We remind the soles of our feet of swift-
server is less spacious, is quieter and, I think, much ness through the play of light, of rhythm, of ecstasy
thinner. He is forced to bring up out of himself and mood. We exchange terms, we unify sensation
more matter to complete and perfect and consummate and response. We seem to compose into one region
the experience attached to external things. It is of all arts the many sister and supporting arts. This
all not necessarily deeper or more profound, but it method of the interplay and interborrowing of the
is less assisted by the sun and the fruits of the sun terms and effects and channels of several arts at
light, animation, and splendor. It is not necessar once gives us the sense almost of a new medium of
ily deeper or more profound, as our own race likes expression. It may not reach any farther ultimately
to believe, but it is life turning on itself inwards, than what we have always had in the arts. But it
serves to enlarge our perception and our means of
About London Mr. Symons is less comfortably perception. It dilates our sense of the infinity and
ripe and town-fed and town-content than Charles singularity and oneness of experience. And the
Lamb was. But he brings up to the record a mind dream of its possibilities has troubled many artists
more subtle-sensed than Lamb's, a richer, more
of our generation, though few can succeed with it
perilous nature, and an organism more exquisite and as Mr. Symons docs.
more nearly exotic. Mr. Symons is not so journal-
STARK YOUNG.
in the Northern way.


298
March 22
THE DIAL
International Angling
DURING
URING THE EARLY PART of the war American purpose than the malevolent subtleties of Machia-
readers were deluged by a storm of pamphlets and velli. The sort of peace that is built upon a fiction
books that purposed to tell the "truth about Ger will itself prove to be a fiction. In other words,
many.” There was a chilly iteration in this litera there can be no lasting comity of nations until we
ture which convinced one that whether or not Ger examine, more candidly than most of us are will-
many was condemned, the impulse to know the ing to do, the material elements that will clog the
truth was vindicated. The association of America bearings of our international peace machinery, no
with the Allies dispatched these explorations of the matter how much oil we may inject into the cham-
national being into other regions, and there now bers by way of removing the sentimental, psycho-
appears somewhat belatedly a further shower of logical causes of conflict.
books whose purpose is to embellish the truth about Both Messrs. Towne and Wile write for the
the more prominent Allies. On the whole, this Man in the Street, whose vague tribal resentful-
fresh outburst does not fall on the same plane of ness against everything foreign-an attitude more
veracity as that which dealt with Germany aspired peculiar at present to the Man in the Senate—they
to; or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say seek to subdue. Mr. Wile's book, prefaced by
that it is exaggerative in the other direction. Admiral Sims, is obviously directed in its colloquial
Whereas Ralph Adams Cram and Gilbert Chester address at the personnel of the naval and military
ton and Gertrude Atherton branded the Prussians
expeditionary forces. It is no more a serious inquiry
perhaps justly as demons, Charles Hanson Towne into the national character of the Britisher than
(Shaking Hands With England-Doran; $1) Mr. Towne's book is the painstaking study of the
talks effusively as though the English were angels.
It is true that Mr. Towne avows himself apolo- slick familiarity, a plausible digging of ribs and
milieu of England at war; and it is written with a
getically no hero-worshipper; but when he goes on
to speak about his ecstasy in breathing the same
patting of shoulders, which is only too manifestly
a newspaper cor
air as that great statesman, Lloyd George, it is
orrespondent's idea of persuasive
international salesmanship.
plain that the reverence he hesitates to pay heroes To turn from these efforts to prepare for new
goes out instinctively to deity. Unfortunately this history by whitewashing the old, and to pick up
is the conventional atmosphere in which our inter-
national friendships are conducted. There seems
Andrew McLaughlin's America and Britain (Dut-
to be no mean level between the miasmas of hatred
ton; $2) is to leave a diet of angel cake for the
substantial bread and butter of reality.
and the angelic rarity of the upper ether, and, as a
result, the poor humanity, which is common to all
Dr. McLaughlin's papers were originally read
of us can find nothing to breathe.
to British audiences, and this gives his treatment
of American and British relations a consistency of
It is easy to grant the amiable intent of Mr.
Tówne's effort to shake hands with the angels, or
purpose which delivers his historical theme from
of Mr. Frederick William Wile's attempt to ex-
abstractness. As an informed scholar (Head of the
plain away the idiosyncrasies of the tight little
History Department at Chicago) Dr. McLaughlin
islanders (Explaining the Britishers—Doran; $1).
selects two parallel courses upon which he seeks
But it is equally easy to see that this literature per-
to move toward an understanding. He is interested
petuates a vicious tradition. While discord between
first of all in tracing the constitutional expression
nations has been promoted by the patriotic lies
of American Federalism to its sources in Britain's
which build up the sacred egoism of the fatherland
eighteenth century Empire, and secondly in show-
by magnifying its predatory exploits in contemptu-
ing that the dissensions which preceded the Revolu-
ous comparison with its rivals', the mischief is not
tionary War arose over the same problems of
to be remedied by raising a clamor of gratulatory
imperial organization which involve British states-
fiction about a nation's allies and friends. If the
men today. In this he has made a pertinent con-
devilishness of Prussia puts that country beyond the .
tribution to the history of the Federal principle.
pale of our friendship, the angelic qualities of our
The other path of exposition leads to a discussion
noble allies surely put them beyond the need of it.
of Anglo-American state relations prior to the
These polite fictions of state appear to have the
Great War. This is in the main a story of the
sanction of Plato; but in fact they work to no saner
exacerbating controversies which began even before
the impressment of American Seamen and which
Dr.
.


1919
299
THE DIAL
continued even after the Newfoundland Fisheries tween the two countries is definitely to be realized,
dispute was adjusted, and it reminds the reader it must be on other terms than those which led
how the narrow patriotism of statesmen may per Canning to urge the “Monroe" Doctrine in the
petuate a traditional animosity long after its origi twenties and Lord Salisbury to reject it in the
nal causes are buried and presumably dead. With nineties. The good will of peoples is abraded by
the substance of these events even the casual student the antagonism of ruling class interests. Unless
is familiar. What is heartening in the present re this good will can be harnessed to concrete prob-
cital is its discriminating fairness and fine candor. lems such as the competition of the American Mer-
In dealing with the Nineteenth Century, for chant Marine, discriminatory colonial trade acts,
example, Dr. McLaughlin accepts equally the Eng and the like, it will dissipate itself ineffectually.
land of Josiah Bounderby and the America of Jef The chief criticism to lay at Dr. McLaughlin's
ferson Brick, and instead of insulting us like Mr. door in these particular papers is that the im-
Wile with the information that the King is a per mediacy of his audience prevented him from bring-
petual President, he confesses that the inequality ing his 'survey up to the present moment so as to
of England's electoral system prior to 1867 was deal with the shipping controversies of the first
one of the reasons for the oligarchic state's distrust two years and a half of the war. That timidity was
of America prior to that time. The outrageously doubtless due to the war itself, during which the
successful career of Canning's Doctrine—perhaps angel theory of friendly states held the field by rea-
better known to American politicians as Monroe's son of Defense of the Realm and Espionage Acts.
may be attributed, on the other hand, to England's Now that the atmosphere is clearing, it would be
commercial interest in letting the new world of raw timely to inquire into the spheres where Anglo-
materials redress the balance of the old. In both American economic interests are dangerously dis-
instances the reader cannot fail to see how deeply
crepant. On the ability to perceive these danger
economic motives colored the state policies. points and on the common willingness to remove
Now Dr. McLaughlin's papers point at once to them, the success of the Anglo-American entente
the parity of English and American interests, and
(with its offspring, the League of Nations) rests.
to the necessity for distrusting any attempt at Dr. McLaughlin has admirably pitched the tone
leadership or selfish appropriation on the part of for this inquiry.
either of them. But if the nascent friendship be-
LEWIS MUMFORD.
The Great Hunger
THE EPIC MOTIVE OF MAN in warfare with nature again, writhing furiously, hissing and spitting and
is the first theme of The Great Hunger, by Johan frothing at the mouth, its red eyes glaring from
Bojer, translated from the Norwegian by W. J. one to another of the terrified captors as if to say
Alexander Worster and C. Archer (Moffat Yard; Come on just a little nearer. Knives and
$1.60). Peer Tröen, the hero, bursts upon us in gaffs were buried in the creature's back, one gaff
a typical adventure. The boys were forbidden to between the eyes while another hung on the flank.
touch the big deep-sea line because “
the thing about Now Peer's knife flashed out and sent a stream of
a deep-sea line is that it may bring to the surface blood from between the shoulders, but the blow
fish so big and so fearsome that the like has never cost him his foothold—and in a moment the two
been seen before." But as all the men of the vil bodies were rolling over and over together in the
lage are off at the Lofoten fishery, Peer and his bottom of the boat. Then as the brute's jaws
friends have carried the line across the fjord and seized Peer's arm, Peter Rönningen dropped his
baited the hooks. Now they are hauling in the catch: oars and sent his knife straight in between the beast's
on the first hook a big cod, on the second a catfish, eyes. The blade pierced through to the brain, and
on the third a great shadow bearing up through the grip of the teeth relaxed. “ C-c-cursed
the water, a gleam of white, a row of great white d-d-devil!” stammered Peter, as he scrambled back
teeth on the undersidea Greenland Shark.
" The
to his oars.
heavy body big as a grown man was heaved in over With this auspicious beginning Peer Tröen,
There it lay raging, the great
bastard, sets out to conquer his world. His path
black beast of prey with its sharp threatening snout
leads him far—to the binding of the cataracts of
and wicked eyes ablaze.
Now and again the Nile by barrage, and the taming of the jungles
it would leap high up in the air, only to fall back of Abyssinia by railroads. And at length this Beo-
the gunwale.


300
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March 22
wulf returns to Norway, marries and has children
about him, lives at ease in his great house at Loreng,
full of the joy of life as he drives his stallions over
the frozen lake, or comes home on ski in “ the pale
winter evenings, with a violet twilight over woods
and fields and lake, over white snow and blue"
-home to rest, and wine, and joy. But the old
restlessness leads him forth to a new adventure,
the harnessing of the waters of the Bresna and its
lakes far up in the mountains, a struggle with rock
and flood and snow, and the weakness of human
wills. His success is his ruin—and once more he
meets nature single-handed, forced back foot by
foot along the path which he had climbed so joy-
ously in the morning of his youth, back from the
heights which he had reached to the valley whence
he had started, weary, broken, but indomitable.
This is the primitive heroic theme of the North-
land, recognizable enough in its modern dress of
steel and power. Mingled with it is another one
of wistful, eager questioning, equally modern and
northern. The meaning of this striving, this in-
cessant urge toward conquest—is it expressed in the
· words of Peer's half brother?
“I began to feel an unspeakable compassion for all men
upon earth, and yet in the last resort I was proud that I
was one of them. And I knew now that what I had
hungered after in my best years was neither knowledge,
nor honour, nor riches; nor to be a priest or a great
creator in steel; no, friend, but to build temples; not
chapels for prayers or churches for wailing penitent
sinners, but a temple for the human spirit in its gran-
deur, where we could lift up our souls in an anthem as
a gift to heaven."
As he finishes planting his last bushel of corn in
the field of his enemy, the slayer of his last darling
child, he sees Merle, his wife, smiling: " As if she
too, the stricken mother, had risen from the ocean
of her suffering that here, in the daybreak, she
might take her share in the creating of God."
The Great Hunger is a book of individual striv-
ing—a type made familiar in northern literature by
Frenssen's Jörn Uhl and Klaus Heinrich Baas. It
will also recall to readers of an older generation
Mrs. Schreiner's Story of an African Farm. In
The Great Hunger the northern scene—the sea on
sunlighted beaches or shadowed in overhanging
fiords, the lakes, pine-encircled under moonlight, the
iron hills, the wind-swept úplands, and the far fields
of snow—is cold and bright in color, clear and hard
in atmosphere; the human figures are attentuated
to epic simplicity, perfectly comprehended and de-
fined, and incontestably real. In The African Farm
it is the veldt which stretches to infinity like the
sea-yellow. under the sun, gray and violet under
the stars: and the human beings who dwell upon
it are held in bondage by their environment, pathetic
in their subjection, vague in outline, as individuals
only half disengaged from the vast blocks of sub-
conscious human stuff. The Great Hunger revives
the epic manner as opposed to the impressionistic
,
psychoanalytic realism of which The Story of an
African Farm contained such startling premonitions.
But in theme the books will call to each other
across the decades and across the world—incarnat-
ing the same energy of conquest, the same passion
of understanding, the same thirst for God.
ROBERT Morss Lovett.
"You! Are you still going about feeling your own
pulse and wanting to live forever? My dear fellow, you
don't exist. There is just one person on
our side-
the world-will. And that includes us all. That's what
I mean by 'we.' And we are working towards the day
when we can make God respect us in good earnest. The
spirit of man will hold a Day of Judgment, and settle
accounts with Olympuswith the riddle, the almighty
power beyond. It will be a great reckoning. And mark
my words—that is the one single religious idea that lives
and works in each and every one of us--the thing that
makes us hold up our heads and walk upright, forgetting
that we are slaves and things that die."
No. It is not in the great wind, or the earth-
ke, or the firepowers with which man can
struggle—but in the still small voice of human
compassion that Peer finds his answer. Mercy,
forgiveness, reconciliation with his fellow men—one
act of divine charity means more in Peer's reading
of the universe than all his triumphs over nature.
Harbingers of Spring
The hurdy-gurdy there has lost its bass;
It tinkle-tinkles in the upper regions
As if an inexperienced banjo-pick were thrumming
Too near the tail-piece, having missed the place.
Undaunted in its woodenness, the thing
Runs calmly on, complacent, idiotic,
Without a change in that infernal chopping,
Without a waver in its glassy ring.
The trees are fresh with leaves; the wind swirls in
The yellow clusters with a swerving cadence:
But through the living day that brainless tinkle
Sneers at me, like a corpse that wears a grin.
DONALD B. CLARK.


1919
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THE DIAL
The Unending Revolution
more
and economy.”
SHALL
HALL WE HAVE TO SAY that the most impartial Now to turn from these impartial ” books and
histories are those written by prejudiced persons? investigators to an author who prefaces his volume
If the type of books dealing with the present Rus with the frank statement that in “ the struggle
sian Revolution are a standard, all our criteria of my sympathies were not neutral, and who does
historical accuracy must be revised. The most class not hesitate to reveal his belief in the justness of
blind and stupid and unimaginative books describ one side as opposed to another, is to discover that
ing the events in Russia of October and November, the paradoxical question which began this article
1917, when occurred one of the great crises in his has more than paradoxical value. For a prejudice
tory, are precisely those books written by men of admitted in advance is prejudice robbed of nine-
integrity and personal rectitude—the avowed non tenths of its power for "evil. Ten Days. That
partisans. Two examples of the latter kind of book Shook The World by John Reed (Boni & Live-
are before me: Russia's Agony by Robert Wilton right; $2) is a far more objective and impartial
(Dutton; $5) and Russian Revolution Aspects by description of events than are any of the hundreds
Robert Crozier Long (Dutton ; $2.50). Mr. Wil of volumes of Mr. Wilton's or Mr. Long's kind.
ton says in his preface, “Men, events, and condi Mr. Reed knew what he wanted to happen; the
tions have, I believe, been dealt with in a spirit of reader knows what the author wanted; the cards
fairness; ” and although Mr. Long more modestly are on the table. It is not the things which are
claims to be merely a journalist describing events,
said in a historical volume that do harm; it
he yet can dogmatically make the astounding asser is the things which are left unsaid—and it is
tion that there was never any substantial founda-
a curious fact that Mr. Reed quotes
tion for the belief of the masses in the danger of
anti-Bolshevik statements and gives more gener-
a counter-revolution, that “ the whole of Russian ously the anti-Bolshevik point of view than do most
society was, and is, radical in its view of policy of those industrious apologists so anxious to prove
It is difficult to give full justice
Bolshevism a menace to all civilization and decent
to obtuseness or unconscious snobbery on the one
living. Furthermore, Mr. Reed had the advantage
hand (“ Having partaken of caviare and other deli of being on the side that won: he began with the
cacies, " intones Mr. Wilton in his account of a
conviction that eventually it was going to win,
reception at court,
we sat down to a modest repast and if to be a good prophet is to be a bad historian,
served on silver "), or, on the other hand, to mere
Mr. Reed will have to put up with his critics. For
sketchy and impressionistic journalism. These vol- when your interpretation of anything is justified
umes may be intrinsically interesting; that is not
later by the course of events, you can afford to be
important. What is important is that they cannot
generous with your opponents. It is those who
give anything like an illuminating interpretation are on the losing side that have difficulty in see-
of that great mass uprising which we call the pro ing straight; hence the never-ending predictions of
letarian revolution. The authors are astigmatic the careful” historians that the Bolsheviki would
with the definiteness of all those who assume their
last a week, then a week more, then a month, then
vision to be normal; biased by those clusters of un-
a month more, then finally that their time was
conscious beliefs which are called impartiality be- short, and ultimately of course that they held power
cause the surface of the mind remains unruffled. only by the tyranny of a small number of unscrupu-
Books of this type cannot possibly give us any
lous fanatics. The rather simple explanation that
real understanding of an entirely new social the majority of the 180 millions of people in Rus-
phenomenon; they can only flatter our
sia might have had something to do with it could
priori notions of what that phenomenon should hardly have been expected to enter into their cal-
be, familiarize us with the strange by absorb-
culations. That would have been to give their case
ing it into those conventional categories with
away in advance.
which we are already acquainted. They present Mr. Reed, then, has the initial advantages of
an analogy to the testimony of Ambassador Francis straight-forwardness and of guessing right. But he
before the Senate Committee-testimony which was discloses other virtues in the book itself. Those
the expression of a desire rather than a description who remember Mr. Reed for his fine impression-
of fact, and all the more pernicious because the de-
istic descriptions of the revolution in Mexico will
şire (in this case to discredit the Soviet Government perhaps be taken aback at the almost severe quality
in Russia) was unrecognized.
of this present narrative. With opportunity after
own
a


302
March 22
THE DIAL
own.
opportunity for “purple patches " Mr. Reed shows despair, coupled with hope, but that the morale of
a restraint which practically vacuum-cleans the book proletarian revolution after it has seized power is
of any mere rhetorical passages. He is content to the morale of defense, of fighting for what is its
let the narrative flow on naturally and quietly,
That is what, for all its enemies at home
welded together by the hammer of relevant fact and abroad, has made the Soviet Government so
after relevant fact, in short paragraphs which fre far invincible. It is what, if anything, will make
quently end in a tiny row of dots, a happy incor it invincible in the future.
poration of the technique of Wellsian suggestive It is this curious blend of conviction and proph-
ness. Often he includes proclamations of the vari ecy and belief in the fundamental justness of the
ous parties and statements and speeches of the party claims of the masses for a richer life which gives
leaders in the text itself, although the more impor Mr. Reed's book its emotional reach. It is, so
tant of the documentary material is included in an to speak, the unconscious ideology to which his
appendix which historians of the future will find feelings are attached. But it would be a mistake
as invaluable as the living observers of today. The to put his services to us in this book on what,
story does not lack emotional thrill because of this after all, is the rather tenuous and intangible basis
deliberately chosen method of unemphatic presenta- of emotional satisfaction. What he has really given
tion. If anything, it gains. Mr. Reed has taken us is not only the record of a great event, but a
only ten days of the Bolshevik Revolution—the vital kind of handbook of reference for the future. The
ten days—with short glimpses before them and few Russian proletarian revolution is not likely to be
after. Consequently there is some inevitable repeti-
the last; as past centuries saw political revolutions
tion. But the effect is cumulative. A picture of spreading imitatively from one country to another,
the state of mind which made the Bolsheviki up-
so our century will in all likelihood see that new
rising inevitable emerges gradually, with the out social order—the economic revolution--also spread-
lines of the picture becoming sharper and sharper,
ing imitatively from one country to another. Mr.
until finally it stands forth etched with unforget- Reed has pictured the conflict of classes with such
able definiteness. The author, for instance, seldom
precision and finality that his account of Petro-
tells you what he thinks the proletariat, the toiling grad during those ten days furnishes a sort of
masses, the soldiers, the workers and peasants, are microcosm of what happened all over Russia shortly
saying. He lets them speak for themselves at just afterwards, and what we have already seen hap-
the correct dramatic moment. He selects their
pen in parts of Germany. It takes no great gift
spokesmen not only with the unerring precision of
of prophecy to see that it is also a microcosm of
the partisan but also with the wisdom of the jour- what, in varying forms, is certain to take place in
nalist in choosing those who are truly representa-
many other countries, perhaps even here in safe
tive. It is this sense of the inevitability. of the
America where nobody yet believes in a Soviet
course of events which gives the book its finest revolution except the Overman Committee, army
quality—the slow rising flood of hatred for the
officers, and government officials, who are being
war among the soldiers, the slow rising flood of driven by their fear to just those actions most nicely
suspicion on the part of the peasants that Kerensky's
calculated to encourage such a revolution. We can
Government might promise them the land but had
no intention of helping them to get it, the slow
see their prototypes in the vacillating officers of the
Provisional Government in Petrograd. We can
rising anger of the workers who wanted to take over
also see how Allied diplomacy failed utterly to un-
the industries for themselves and who found them-
derstand the Revolution and its economic basis, and
selves blocked at every turn. Against this mass
how, by that failure, it helped to drive the Revolu-
anger and hatred and suspicion the futile temporiz-
tion more and more toward the Left-just as today
ing of the Provisional Government was bound to
be ultimately powerless. It had to go-swept away
Allied diplomacy, by failing to understand the Ger-
in the full tide of proletarian revolt. Nothing is
man Revolution is driving it as inexorably toward
the Left. We can see how Kerensky was by the
more illuminating in Mr. Reed's book than his de logic of events driven more and more to rely upon
scription of the simplicity of the issues as they pre-
the counter-revolutionists and the reactionary prop-
sented themselves to the minds of the masses of
the Russian people; their struggle to understand,
ertied classes, thus losing the confidence of the
and, once understanding, their unshakable deter-
people—just as today Ebert, by the logic of events,
mination to do battle for their faith. And the lesson
is being driven to rely upon the same class inter-
we can learn from it is plainly this (although Mr.
ests in Germany.
Reed does not say so) that the morale of proletarian
For when before in the history of the world have
revolution before it is successful is the morale of
we had, in such a short space of time, two revolu-
tions of this magnitude succeeding each other and


1919
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THE DIAL
following so sharply the same general outlines? the proletarian revolution in Russia, that the first
I recommend Mr. Reed's book to Marshal Foch democracy of the West played false to the greatest
and to the Allied delegates who are drawing up the economic experiment and social adventure in the
terms of peace for Germany at Versailles. If they history of the world. For if one thing is now
are really perturbed by the growth of Bolshevism clear to all people of intelligence it is this: that the
in Germany, it might be as well for them to for Bolsheviki were the most implacable enemies of
get for a time the myths which they have so indus German imperialism in Russia and that if we had
triously spread for the consumption of the Allied cared more about defeating Germany quickly than
publics and give attention to the few simple and we did about crushing a revolution, we should
obvious facts of the class struggle as it actually have hastened to cooperate with Soviet Russia in its
developed in Russia. They will find these simple unequal fight against Kaiserism. But with fine
and obvious facts in this book. Yet it is doubtful words on our lips we deserted them. Shall we com-
if they could draw any sensible conclusions from mit the ultimate perfidy—sign a treaty of peace
them: the Allied diplomats in Petrograd could not which is a mockery of our democratic pretensions?
see what was actually taking place day by day Perhaps. Then if we do, we at least can have no
around them within physical sight and hearing. excuse for not knowing what will happen. It will
No blindness is so great as the blindness of class—
be what happened in Petrograd and Moscow all
Mr. Reed's book reveals that with incisive vividness.
over again, what Mr. Reed has described in this
It also reveals one more thing, which Americans
book. And the ten days which, as the author justly
cannot admit without shame—that from the day the
Bolsheviki came into power we were so supine and
says, shook the world will inevitably develop into
cowardly that we allowed ourselves to believe what
the coming ten years which will transform it.
press and government thought fit to tell us about
HAROLD STEARNS.
France and a Wilsonian Peace
NOW THAT THE LEAGUE of Nations has, amidst
settlement with all the spoils in sight tucked away in
the applause of the Peace Conference, been reduced the pockets of the victors—the familiar statesmen's
to writing, a forward movement of humanity be peace of history. And of all the Allied ruling classes
yond anything known to history becomes possible, the distinction of putting up the most stubborn as
on the single condition that the world will apply well as the most subtle resistance to the new idea
itself with good will and energy to the task of carry seems to fall to the French group. It is worth
ing the League from its present paper stage into the while to puzzle out the reasons, especially as the
realm of social and historical reality. Essentially French position is certain to prove typical; and since
this is a labor of the spirit, which to be effective André Chéradame is a great name in the political
must win the support of the leading spokesmen and literary circles of his country we may reason-
of the great nations of the world. The League, ably hope to squeeze enlightenment out of his most
when completed, should be a sensitive and elastic in recent book – The Essentials of an Enduring Vic-
stitution drawing its vital fluid and steadily renew-
tory (Scribner, $1.50).
ing it from the creative energy of mankind. Already Chéradame, as one of the matadors of the French
the call to the leaders has gone forth—with what
propaganda, has dwelt among us for some time and
result? Among ourselves—in many high-placed in this book, thrown together apparently from news-
circles, in the Senate, among outstanding represen-
paper articles and as little unified as a book can
tatives of business and the press—it has met with well be and remain a book, he makes a distraught
skepticism verging on derision and everywhere in
but passionate appeal to American opinion in be-
Europe among corresponding groups the same in-
half of the policy which we may safely assume to
stinctive aversion is alarmingly apparent. These
be more or less that of the government he repre-
watchdogs and beneficiaries of the existing system,
Let not the reader imagine a set argument
these beati possidentes, want no hazy ventures aim-
against the League of Nations or any related item
ing at the distribution of their advantages among
of the Wilsonian program. Apart from the fact
the common run of men and unsettling the status that such an attack upon his war-time host would
quo; they want to get back as soon as possible to the
be in extremely bad form, the excited author has
business as usual," neither taste nor leisure for the deliberate discussion
and to this end they need nothing so much as a swift of anything pertaining to peace, a Wilsonian peace,
sents.
old basis, to the old game, to
<<


304
March 22
THE DIAL
and spends his fury on one subject and only one as much German soil as they think they can digest,
on victory. And what is victory, enduring victory, without regard for the principle of nationality. That
that cure of every ill? For, let it be observed, this principle is excellent, but of course has no validity
particular victor, like his long line of forbears in for an outlaw nation like Germany.
the conquering business, wants what the gods have It is, as I have said, the mind behind these terms
always vainly been implored to give, a victory with which interests the world at the present juncture
,
a guarantee of permanence attached. Let us analyze because it discloses not the attitude of an individual,
this victory of Chéradame's desire and at once admit but rather that of the leaders of the French
that in many essential features it is fully consonant Intelligentsia and Government. Judging by
with the commitments resting on America by virtue Chéradame's book we may conclude that these men,
of President Wilson's various messages. Mittel- generally speaking, do not have their eye on peace,
Europa or Pangermany, as M. Chéradame prefers a healing peace, at all. They aim at victory, a vic-
to call it, must be destroyed, France must have tory moreover prompted by the spirit of revenge.
back Alsace-Lorraine, and ample financial and eco And under the spur of this' sentiment there has
nomic reparation must be made for the damage and lodged itself within the French mind a concept and
destruction wrought in the regions occupied and har a picture of the German enemy so revolting, so
ried by the German forces. So far, so good: Amer- inhuman, that the severest attitude toward him and
ica's whole influence at the peace Conference will the extreme measure against him become at once
be behind these demands to which American public morally justified. The German, the minds en-
opinion has steadily and passionately adhered. meshed in this reasoning assure themselves, is differ-
But now comes the arresting thing (and there ent, he is not like other Europeans, he simply has
with Chéradame passes beyond the American ken no place among civilized men. Chéradame at least
into the murky atmosphere in which the French rul entertains no doubts whatever on this head. He pic-
ing classes seem to delight to fix their abode): no tures the German as moved exclusively by “a passion
where does he claim the above terms by reason of
the President's words, in fact he practically never
for spoils,” till finally he arrives at the historically
immutable barbarian "whose mentality, whose pas-
refers to the President at all. And as for the Four-
sion for wars of gain and for pillage, has remained
teen Points, to which France no less than her Allies
has solemnly committed herself, they do not once re-
the same ever since it was described by Tacitus."
Throughout the length of the book there is no other
ceive even a modest Mention Honorable in a book explanation of the war so much as hinted at except
dedicated to the idea of a world settlement! By the
this unvarying one of the German savagery. That
very simple procedure of ignoring their existence,
we live in an industrial world controlled by com-
the Fourteen Points are effectively reduced to four- petitive capital, that we have clashing colonial and
teen scraps of paper. The omission by itself tells imperialist policies, that the European world, with
volumes as to Chéradame's mentality. He acted
the French regularly in the thick of the fray, has
logically enough since he does not seek peace but vic-
for many centuries revolved around these issues, pro-
tory, a victory dictated by France and a narrow na-
ducing a sheer endless string, of wars—all this is as
tionalist conception of her interests, dictated more
completely sponged from the record as if it had not
precisely by the fierce spirit of revenge which by
been. One's head whirls at a procedure content to
virtue of forty years' seasoning in the dark cellars
of the human mind has become like a strong and
imitate the terrier, who sits with his eye singly and
fanatically fixed on a hole in the ground, completely
heady wine. Under the circumstances Chéradame's
terms can hardly be expected to carry any promising
oblivious of the stirring happenings on the earth
about him and in the air above. If the French ter-
suggestions of world pacification. Broadly they are:
rier can but catch the German rat and rend it, peace
All Germany to be occupied by the Allies and tri will follow automatically throughout the world, a
umphal entrance made into Berlin; her economic life
to be put under Allied direction and the whole popu-
permanent peace, bringing in its joyous train all the
lation to be obliged to work for foreign account;
lost blessings of Eden. It is a reading of history so
the profits of this arrangement, valued at ten billion
simple one could almost wish that it were true; but
marks per annum, to be distributed among the Allies,
since it is not true, since it is in fact a delusion fan-
and this stranglehold to be maintained for fifty years.
tastic to a point almost beyond belief, it becomes our
On the territorial side there is a little vagueness,
duty to resist it and the proposed victory arrange-
due to a host's polite desire not to appear to be set-
ments based thereon. The new world edifice cannot
ting limits to the appetite of the guests whom he
be raised on the foundations of an evil dream.
has summoned to the feast. In general he invites
This then is the mind with which President Wil-
them-French, Poles, Czechs, and Danes—to claim
son has been lately dealing in Paris and with which
the world will have to reckon for many years to-


1919
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THE DIAL
come.
For those forward-looking groups, every-
cordant voice to which we have been listening were
where as yet a minority, who wish to sink the roots the only one heard in France in this crisis. France
of the League of Nations deep in the human spirit has other spokesmen than the official patriots mo-
it is a serious situation. Well may they anxiously mentarily in the saddle; she has a great body of
take counsel, but if they are wise they will be calm workingmen whose generous traditions will not per-
and patient and pin their faith to reason and to mod- mit them to seal their lips at command of their rulers.
eration, assuming as a matter of course the final vic On December 14, at Paris, there was read to
tory of the moral forces by which alone a democratic President Wilson an address which our daily press
world can live. From every fair and reasonable failed to print for reasons only too patent. Speak-
angle France has a right to ask for certain things ing on behalf of the Socialist party and the General
and no right whatever to go beyond that limit. With Confederation of Labor, Pierre Renaudel squarely
full and even generous measure she must be given planted himself behind the Wilsonian program, em-
what a nation which has gone through her harrow- phasizing “the deep harmony of thought which ex-
ing experiences longs for as the great desideratum: ists between the French workers and the President
peace with security. Over and over again she must of the United States regarding the conception of
be told and have explained to her that her best se war and peace.” And then in ringing words aimed
curity, her only real security, does not lie in fresh doubtless straight at French officialdom, he protested
German annexations, such as the valley of the Saar against the attempt “to transform this war of de-
and the Rhineland, but in a League of Nations which fense into a war of conquests which would prepare
alone can put an overwhelming force behind the new conflicts, create new grievances, and subject
present settlement. And she must be asked to con the peoples more than ever to the double yoke of
sider carefully a Germany wounded past healing by
armaments and war."
wanton excisions from her flesh. Will not such a Once more, the supporters of a new world as rep-
Germany in her turn nurse the revenge which as
resented by the Wilsonian program need not despair,
France knows but too well, poisons the spiritual life though the difficulties ahead may often seem almost
at the source and gives assurance of a new war with-
insurmountable. Time and a certain decency in the
in a generation? Shall the tide of war ebb and average inan may be trusted gradually to clear the
flow over France and Germany in the future as in road for the League of Nations. Even M. Chéra-
the past, onward to the close of time? Incalculable dame may be converted to it, though admittedly only
is the injury which humanity has already suffered by a special act of grace. But should he and his
from this prolonged national feud, nor is it extrav-
bourgeois kind prove hopelessly stiffnecked, there at
agant to forecast that unless it be composed the
any rate are the working people, in France as every-
whole world will in the end be wrecked by it.
where else the real servants of the spirit, to remind
Fortunately in favor of its composition the soundest
their rulers, not suppliantly either, we may be sure,
elements of all the civilized nations are raising their
that a new dawn is breaking in the east.
voices, and it would be strange indeed if the dis-
FERDINAND SCHEVILL.
Exiles
By what wind-loved grasses,
By what gray sea
Do they dwell,
The restless ones, forever returning
To the places their lovers remember?
They are a moment seen
Tossing their golden balls,
Or running far, far
Beyond the sands where the skies vanish.
They come again
In the dawn twilight,
In the bird-broken silences.
But they are gone
Ungathered—
Cliff-flowers,
The grace of foam
Lost in the bitter green waters.
BABETTE DEUTSCH.


306
March 22
THE DIAL
The American Note
accurate.
66
THE OPENING CHAPTER of his The American ing to crowd his knees under a schoolroom desk
Spirit in Literature (Yale University Press; $3.50), when he has been invited to a Phi Beta Kappa
Professor Perry has defined his plan:
oration.
We are primarily concerned with a procession of men Moreover, though there is a surfeit of negligible
each of whom is interesting as an individual and as a information in the book, it is far from scrupulously
writer. But we cannot watch the individuals long with-
out perceiving the general direction of their march, the
When Mr. Perry says of the Roger
ideas that animate them, the common hopes and loyalties Williams-John Cotton controversy “ Back and forth
that make up the life of their spirit. To become aware
of these general tendencies is to understand the
the books fly," he hardly suggests the ponderously
Ameri-
can” note in our national writing.
labored exchanges at intervals of three to five years.
It is a hard plan to follow in a book of less than In his quotation against Bronson Alcott of Emer-
seventy thousand words, though it is far from an
son's “ tedious archangel," he forgets the prevailing
impossible one. It demands the ripeness of judg-
tone of admiration in a dozen more important pass-
ment with which we credit Mr. Perry, and also an ages.
When he alludes to Francis Scott Key as
utter singleness of purpose and a ruthless omission of an earlier generation " than John Howard
of every fact not indispensable to the broad scheme. Payne, he evidently does not know that the two
The book is composed of ten chapters, four on the were closer contemporaries than Emerson and
colonial centuries, ending with The Revolution, five
Lowell. And his allusion to Payne as
a single
on the half century culminating with Union and
poem man points to his utter and utterly con-
Liberty, and one, The New Nation, for all the im-
ventional neglect of the drama as a factor in Amer-
plications of the American spirit in literature since
ican literary history.
1865. The rapid surveys on The Pioneers and The This leads to the most unsatisfying feature of the
First Colonial Literature are well balanced and
book—that it takes no particular stock in the
thoroughly familiar. The generalizations are sound
creators of the American spirit, the dreamers and
as far as they go, and they are well supported by
the iconoclasts. A tone of complacent pragmatism
readable detail. They are marked, too, by the usual
pervades the estimates from first to last. Whitman
omission of several of the most felicitous early
is discussed with cautious deference; Longfellow,
writers who bear witness to the early reactions
Whittier, Lowell, and Holmes are all commended
against Puritanism—Thomas Morton, who flayed
for having too much art, poetic instinct, and humor
them joyously in 1637.; Nathaniel Ward, whose
to fall into the search for the unattainable. Mark
Simple Cobbler is an unrecognized classic; and Sarah
Twain is given less space than Bret Harte. Mr.
Kemble Knight, whose Journal reveals the hidden
Howells is dismissed, in less than two pages, without
reefs of unorthodoxy on which the Mathers were
a mention of his social convictions or of novel
wrecked. The chapter on the Civil War issues is
of his later career; and Henry James, who had no
the best fused of all, perfectly unified, and well
social convictions, is given twice the space. Natur-
condensed, a complete fulfillment of the plan laid
ally a book of such safe and sane conservatism would
down at the outset. In a different way the nine
limit itself to judgments on the remoter past. And
pages on Thoreau are admirable. They repeat little
this book does.
of the usual material; but, without any notable
Just one tenth is devoted to the period since the
disagreement from the ordinary judgments, they are
Civil War, and a bare fifth of that tenth to the
fresh, fair, and sympathetic, and withal are written
really vital things written since 1890. And yet in
with a friendly suavity of style which befits the
this last century, and especially in this last genera-
treatment—as of one who appreciates the man,
but tion, the changes in the American spirit have been as
does not take him quite as seriously as he took
great as—let us say—the literary differences between
himself.
James Russell Lowell and his distinguished niece.
Yet as a whole Mr. Perry has not lived up to
In one of Mr. Perry's early pages is a promising
his program, and, for one reason, because it was too
allusion to
productions which caught the fancy
big a one for so small a book. There is no room in
of a whole generation.” But in his last chapter he
such a survey for the same biographical facts which
no textbook could omit
. Circumstantial details of with the statements that it is too soon to speak of
evades discussion of contemporary drama and poetry
a purely informative sort are intrusively de trop in
a series of broad interpretations. One resents hav-
one and impossible to forecast the other.
The student of American literary historv owes
any


1919
307
THE DIAL
much of his acquaintance with the past spirit of
America to the old critics' comments on their con-
temporaries. A reader of a hundred years hence
would gather from Mr. Perry's book the wholly
false impressions that American literature went into
retirement at the end of the nineteenth century; that
since then there had been no redefining of wealth,
citizenship, or patriotism; and that the American
spirit in contemporary literature was either retro-
spective or timidly self-distrustful.
RCY H. BOYNTON.
The Independents
The New YORK PAPERS have printed an item
he may show what he likes, either, as in the ma-
to the effect that the third annual exhibition of jority of cases, the wares he hopes to sell or, as
the Society of Independent Artists will open at in the case of a goodly minority, the expression of
the Waldorf Astoria on March 28, and the an ideas he thinks important, of the sensations through
nouncement sounds as prim and businesslike as which he finds beauty. An Independent show offers
any other. A first exhibition smacks of novelty and the great adventure of the world of contemporary
romance, but the words "third annual ” carry art: amidst its mass of mediocrity one can find the
· with them the banality and stuffiness of routine living ideas of the time. It is only at such a place
officialdom. And then the implication of gilded that one can find them, for an open door is needed
success in the place where the show will be held before they will ask for admission. It is senseless
what concern have thinking men with art societies to rail against the hostility toward new forms which
which parade the heavy dignity of their regular one finds in official or commercial institutions-
habits and their big membership in the halls of the the galleries of the academies or of the dealers.
wealthy? The challenge is a fair one, the only one Men who have reached a certain age, with venera-
that we of the Independents have reason to fear. tion for their art, and the mental inelasticity which
For in the present era it is not failure in the esti is bound to come in time (save in splendidly ex-
mation of the public that dismays the artist—he ceptional cases) can see only vandalism where the
must tremble and search his face for fat and sod young men see development. It is not fair to ask
denness when he is visited by popular success. that these older men give their sanction to things
Come to the show, then, you thinking men for
which seem the denial and destruction of every-
whom it is given, and see what is behind the thing they have worked for, to ask that they vote
antiche maschere ” of your Pagliacci. Here you to have the innovators in their exhibitions, on a
see them all, everyone who cares to exhibit, and so chance that amongst the ineptitudes of which every
you have your hand on the pulse of American art. generation has a majority, they may be getting a
If the paintings and sculptures are good, then the genius. They cannot distinguish between the two
success is the success of this country, for the works classes—and I do not speak only of the weaklings
come from every part of the country—and the among the old men, but of the greatest of them.
Society's foundation principle of No Jury means Renoir, on being asked about an artist of the
that every tendency in our art may have its voice younger generation around whom the battle of
here; if the exhibition is bad, then the failure is, opinion was raging, answered: “I cannot very
temporarily at least, the failure of American art. well speak of him; I cannot see everything that is
The question of the permanence and the financial going on; and then, too, one is of one's time in
status of the society is really aside from the point, spite of oneself. Ask me about Manet, Monet,
for as long as it keeps to the law it made for itself Degas, and Cézanne, and I can give you clearly
at the outset, it will not grow old—even as the formed opinions, for I lived, worked, and struggled
French society of the same name, after more than with them. But with the young men the question
ten times the existence of ours, still maintains its is different, I cannot speak so freely.”
youth, its freedom, its undisputed position as the The essential phase of the question is not that
battleground of new ideas.
the young men need the chance to express them-
Where should they appear if not at such exhibi selves. What is a thousand times more important
tions? All that is asked of the artist in the French is that it is the ideas of the young men that the
society and in its American descendant is that he world needs. The giants of art are giants in their
subscribe to the system of “No Jury, No Prizes, twenties. They may go on, in later life, to more
and pay his small membership dues. After that, of depth and mellowness, but their ideas are to be


308
March 22
THE DIAL
its purpose.
found in their early works. And these ideas are to admiration. The work which probably attracted
the burning-point of the thought of all men in their most attention at last year's Independents was the
time. It is less clearly formed in the mass of men, sculpture of Mrs. Victor Soskice, a young Russian
less intense, diluted and muddy with the lees of artist who had come to America but a few months
earlier thought; but when the years have had their previously. One always wonders what will be
clarifying influence we find, and without exception, sent from the West—that region which includes
that the character of the period was expressed by everything beyond the Hudson, and of which New
the men who were young at the time. Why should York knows little. Even the so plentiful bad
the world wait till they are old or dead, to have things of the show seem to take on some nuance
the use of their vision? It is too late then; thought of amiability, as if caught up in the spirit of equal
has moved on, the old men's work goes to the mu opportunity. At least they are relieved of the
seum, and the world repeats its tragic blunder offensiveness that attaches to them when they are
of ignoring the voices which for that day utter put forward as the choice of a jury or when an
attempt is made to dissimulate the scent of their
Place aux jeunes!” cried Puvis de Chavannes; staleness with the incense of a prize.
there is no need that the farce be repeated forever,
Is the Independents' denial of both the jury's
though the impulse toward it will always be part
of our nature. When this impulse gains complete
authority and the mob's the final step in unbridled
individualism? I think not; it is rather a step
control, when the new ideas are not only pushed toward that solidarity which we hope to see as a
aside at birth but actually cut off from germina-
mark of the era on which we are entering. An
tion, we have the condition called decadence. Was
there ever a more degenerate perversion of the term
interesting means of approach to this solidarity,
than that which tried to fasten it to the fecundity which most artists would not at present be willing
a means which has been discussed several times but
we witnessed in the last half-century? Fortu-
to adopt, consists in the omission from the catalogue
nately the period was strong enough to fight off the
senility that so continually tried to make of art
of the names of the producers of the works, thus
the sterile wanton which amuses the leisure of old
making art anonymous, as it was in the Gothic
and corrupt societies. It is proof of the cleanness
and certain other periods. Every movement in the
and health of our age that the great work in it
world's thought is prefigured by its expression in
was done not alone by the young men, but also
the quickly responding medium of art, and the
by those who carried into later life the force to go
vitality of the Independent principle, which has
on producing.
had to fight hard for existence, in Europe and
It cannot be said too often that the Independent
America, is due to the fact that it corresponds with
exhibition is open to anyone who chooses to show
some deep current of evolution. The problem is
in it. And it is worth while to recall here that a
to give to the most important elements of society an
very large proportion of the works hung during tion, while reserving for the weaker members at
opportunity to get their place and their recogni-
its first two years of existence were of conservative,
even reactionary, tendencies. What a mixture one
least the right to live. The fact that many of our
finds there: the best and worst of our older artists,
most distinguished men have been willing to forego
the best and worst of the younger men, those whom
all privilege and let their works stand on their
no exhibition —no museum, almost-would refuse,
merits in the exhibition, and the fact, proved beyond
those whom no other exhibition would admit. As
argument at the Independent shows, that merit
I speak from a purely personal standpoint here, I
will secure recognition whether its possessor is fa-
may use names and recall that twice the member-
mous or unknown, are more than chance incidents ;
ship has included Mr. Prendergast, and twice his
they have a significance beyond the field of art, in
splendid and complete art has figured in the ex-
the broader movement toward a collective effort
hibition. Among the younger men I will mention
in society.
Morton L. Schamberg, one of the founders of the
But one really does not want to worry too much
Society, whose untimely death last fall deprived
about social philosophies when seeing pictures.
this country of an artist who had already done im-
The artists themselves certainly do not; what they
portant work and from whom even more was to be
contribute to such matters comes purely as an un-
expected. What interests us, above all, at the ex-
conscious by-product of the single interest of their
hibition is the chance of finding unknown talent.
lives—which is to do their work.
In a number of cases the hope has been fulfilled
WALTER PACH.


THE DIAL
ROBERT MORSS LOVETT, Editor
CLARENCE BRITTEN
GEORGE DONLIN
HAROLD STEARNS
In Charge of the Reconstruction Program:
JOHN DEWEY
THORSTEIN VEBLEN
HELEN MAROT
THE CHIEF IMMEDIATE VALUE OF THE COVENANT
fered to Germany in connection with the Covenant
of the League of Nations is to serve as a basis of are the last opportunity to reestablish the world on
reconciliation upon which terms of peace may be its old foundations. Already the treatment of Ger-
based. That this is the view of the Covenant as many by the Allies has seriously compromised the
it applies to the smaller nations is clear. It is ex situation. It may be said with truth that the bit-
pected that in its light the Poles and the Ruthenians, terness, the legacy of hate, of the last four months
the Italians and the Jugo-Slavs, the Roumanians is greater than that of the four years of war. On
and the Hungarians will be able to lay aside their the one hand the political and financial exigencies
traditional feuds and accept the law of peace. It is of the Allied statesmen have led to an intensifica-
surprising to find great reluctance to accept this view tion of the verbal campaign against Germany,
as respects the larger antagonists and the funda with a consequent accretion of wrath among their
mental quarrel of the world war. Indeed, it is peoples; and on the other, the severity of the Armis-
clear that many defenders of the Covenant regard tice and the blockade has extended and increased
it as a means of perpetuating this quarrel, and un the hardships of war conditions among the civil
derwriting revenge. That this should be the view population of Germany until it appears that one
of such as ex-Senator Burton is perhaps to be ex-
reason why Lloyd George urges the granting of food
pected, and not particularly to be regretted, but is that his army of occupation will not endure longer
when we find it put forth in an article in support
the sight of women and children dying of starvation.
of the League appearing in the Outlook, and ad-
It should be remembered that the long years of hate
dressed to the semi-religious middle-class public and distrust between North and South that followed
whom that magazine serves, it is a cause of appre-
our own Civil War were the product of the so-called
hension. Germany is not yet beaten but just
Reconstruction rather than of the war itself. It
placed in a position where she can be beaten and will be so in this case unless full advantage is taken
she must be kept there by an army of occupation un-
of the means of reconciliation afforded by the Treaty
til her ultimate defeat is assured." And again:
of Peace based on the Covenant. We quote the
Germany is still the enemy of the free nations of words of Norman Angell in his article in this issue
the world.” All this shows that the Outlook is
of The DIAL:
defending the Covenant under a complete miscon The success of the League of Nations will depend less
ception of its spirit and purpose. The League of now upon the form of machinery which the Allies may
Nations without Germany is no association in the
devise than whether the spirit which must animate any
sense in which President Wilson used the term in
successful League is imported into their actual policy to-
the last of his famous fourteen articles. It is on
wards the enemy during the next months.
the contrary a perpetuation of an alliance which
will be faced at first by a single nation, as Europe One of the CHIEF OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF
by Prussia in 1806, then by a rival alliance, one a genuine and enduring peace with Germany—a
which in view of its exclusion from the world of peace of the spirit as well as of the flesh—is the un-
international finance will be what our press calls satisfactory attitude of that country in the matter
Bolshevik, and which will in consequence attract of repentance. Our press reminds us daily that at
the admiration of labor everywhere and be in a heart the Germans are as world-defying as ever.
position to carry the class war into every country They are glum in the presence of our soldiers and
of the world. No—a League of Nations without exhibit unbecoming joy at the return of their own,
Germany is the surest way of defeating the object to whom they apply the term heroes as undis-
of such a league. The great problem is indeed the criminatingly as we do to ours. What signs of re-
making of a peace with Germany by virtue of which morse our experts in national conscience demand is
she will recognize the Covenant as the child of
President Wilson's idealism, and be eager to adopt
difficult to discover. It has been suggested that the
ninety-three professors publicly recant and with-
and defend the faith. It should be said at once draw their pronouncement—that the Ebert govern-
and with all solemnity that the terms of peace of-
ment publish a White Book confessing Germany's


310
March 22
THE DIAL
MARKED
THE
Er
1
responsibility for beginning the war—that the clergy The
The OVERMAN Committee
lead their flocks in penance. None of these things climax of its deliberations with the appearance of
will happen. If we are waiting for them as pre Colonel Raymond Robins. The investigation di-
liminary to peace with Germany, we shall not have rected by the State Department as a smoke screen
that peace. In fact it may be questioned whether for its blunders in the Russian situation was care-
modern history records a genuine case of national fully planned to include only the testimony of those
repentance. It is true that in times when the na-
violently opposed to the present regime in Russia,
tion was a unit not far removed from a patriarchal with a final explosion from the Reds to damn it
society, it could doubtless feel as a single family in with loud praise. It was expected that in this way
the presence of national sin and misfortune: there the Soviet Government would be discredited from
is no reason to doubt the psychological truth of both sides, and the natural reaction of the country
the Old Testament accounts of the repentance of would be a disgust so deep that the record of the
the Hebrew people under the scourge of their State Department would be drowned in it. The
prophets. Again, in the city states, Athens and failure of the plan was due largely to the modera-
Florence, it was possible for similar unity of feel tion and good sense with which Messrs. John Reed
ing to take effect in great movements of civic and Albert Rhys Williams and Miss Louise Bryant
emotion. But in a modern state, as in a modern conducted themselves before the Committee. A sen-
corporation, the sense of responsibility is so diffused, atorial investigation is nowadays much like the
the means of information so indirect and uncertain, Indian custom of running the gauntlet. The war-
that it is impossible to focus national feeling on any riors line up on either side, spitting on their hands
thing so unpleasant as a conviction of sin. We and waving their clubs with ferocious gestures,
know this from our own history. It is well estab grimaces, and cries, each eager to plant a blow that
lished that the Spanish War was diplomatically will echo down the ages in the Congressional Rec-
avoidable—that President McKinley yielded to the ord. In the case of favored prisoners who are
popular blood thirst excited by Roosevelt and destined to adoption into the tribe, the warriors are
Hearst. It may be thought that no subject of re directed to strike just before or after the flying
pentance is more compelling than a needless war; figure. In the case of Breshkovskaya, who was sup-
yet has the United States or its body of citizens posed to be persona grata, some over-eager young
felt anything approaching regret for the bloodshed ? braves, excited doubtless by the term revolution-
It is equally well established that in setting up
the republic of Panama we made a scrap of paper
ist,” struck to wound, but were called off. In the
of a treaty with Columbia explicitly covering the
cases of the sympathizers with the Soviets, however,
subject of our aggression, and that if Columbia had
no quarter was given, and Miss Bryant in particular
resisted we should have invaded her territory. Yet
was subjected to the peculiar type of courtesy which
Senators retain for use towards their masters—the
nothing is farther from our national conscience than
a sense of wrongdoing. If we confess, as Roose-
people. In spite of this, the testimony of the avowed
velt did, it is with pride. The efforts of a few
sympathizers with the Soviets was such as to con-
well-meaning idealists to make us pay damage are
vict the Committee and the State Department of
the cause in our Senate of renewed hardness of
the panic cry of “Wolf! Wolf!" It was not ap-
heart or ribald contempt of the law of nations—
parently the intention to call Colonel Robins; but
and the people care for none of these things. But
his own expressed desire to make his long awaited
it may be said that Germany's offense was accom-
statement before this official body, and the demand
panied by circumstances of outrage and atrocity
of the Truth about Russia Society, forced the hand
that should bring an instinctive recoil. Did simi-
of the State Department, which professed to be man-
lar atrocities when perpetrated by our soldiers in
aging the investigation, and resulted in the exten-
the Philippines cause any noticeable mental or moral
sion of its hearings. Colonel Robins effectively
anguish in this country? Yes—to Mr. Moorfield
disposed of any value the investigation might have
Story and a few other belated Puritans.
as camouflage for the mistakes of the Administration
The
trouble was that they could not bring to the coun-
in dealing with Russia. Blunders that became atroc-
try any lively conception of its responsibility for the
ities were noted and catalogued in his testimony, to
behavior of its servants toward an inferior race. And
become a part of the final indictment. The sending
probably the German people today are in the same
of the most notorious representative of the Dark
condition of mingled ignorance, disbelief, and indif-
Forces of America to greet Revolutionary Russia,
ference in regard to Belgium. We need not look
the selfish sacrifice of the Kerensky Government,
for any great act of national repentance from Ger-
the cowardly refusal to give an answer to Lenin's
many, for none is possible. In view of Germany's
offer to break off negotiations at Brest-Litovsk in re-
defeat such an act would be in any case discounted.
turn for aid-all these stand forth in Colonel Rob-
So it behooves us to remake our world as best we
ins' testimony as monuments to the arrogant stupid-
can, without the edifying and gratifying spectacle of
ity that has characterized our State Department,
Germany on her knees in public penance.
to whose best traditions the present locum tenens is
not unfaithful. Colonel Robins refused comment


1919
311
THE DIAL
on the Sisson documents, which, he said,according The GOVERNMENT CONTINUES ITS BLUNDERING
66
to the report in the New York Tribune-"would policy in regard to the victims of war psychology.
inevitably reflect on Mr. Sisson, who is abroad." Ex-Attorney General Gregory continues to main-
He expressed disbelief in many of the stories of tain that persons convicted under the Espionage
violence and terror circulated in the campaign of Act are not political prisoners, and that in every case
propaganda against the Soviet Government, espe it was proved that whatever they said or did was
cially the picturesque tale of the violation of the done with a specific unlawful intent, even when
Woman's Battalion. In reply to questions as to the prosecution arose from statements made in pri-
the danger of Bolshevism in America Colonel vate conversation. His own recommendation of
Robins declared that there were two remedies—full commutation of sentences recognizes that in some
publicity as to Russia and full protection of the cases the evidence of unlawful intent was unsatis-
American workman, so that he will say that the factory, and further that “injustice resulted to cer-
land that is worth living in is a land worth living tain defendants because of the all-prevalent condi-
for.".
tion of intense patriotism and aroused emotions on
the part of the jurors." It is pertinent to ask Mr.
OPPOSED
Gregory whether this condition did not result in
PPOSED TO COLONEL ROBINS IN THE TREAT-
injustice not in some cases but in all, and whether
ment of social unrest stand forth certain champions
he and his subordinates did not make every effort
of strong-arm methods. There is Governor Sproul
to inflame the patriotic passions of courts and juries
of Pennsylvania, addressing the Scotch-Irish So-
against defendants and thus become themselves the
ciety of that state:
cause of the injustice which Mr. Gregory now
I don't believe we are in any danger. don't believe tardily condemns. The cases recently reported for
that any doctrine which controverts our religion or the clemency illustrate and emphasize the inequality with
God we believe in will get any status in America. Any-
which the law was enforced. Convicts who at-
one who wants to start trouble in Pennsylvania will get
it. The state has an organization to beat any attempt
tracted much public sympathy even when convicted
to disturb the present order of things.
of publicly urging resistance to conscription are to
be released. Others like Robert Goldstein, con-
There is Mayor Ole Hanson of Seattle, and his
Chief of Police:
victed for promoting a moving picture showing mas-
sacres by British soldiers in the American Revolu-
“We closed up every wobbly' hall in town," said tion, are held to three years. The statement that
the Mayor. "We didn't have any law to do it with, so he is “ alleged to have been financed by pro-German
we used nails. When there was serious opposition we interests is an interesting comment on what the
trotted out the Department of Health and had the build-
ings condemned. We didn't need any more law than
Department of Justice holds to be material evidence
we did to stop the red flag. We just stopped it.”
in such cases.
a in
the cooperative market run by union labor, Closed THE SAME SHUFFLING AND EVASIVE POLICY is
and padlocked the headquarters of the Socialist continued toward the Conscientious Objectors. Late
Party, and stopped work at a cooperative shop where in January the Secretary of War released 113 Ob-
I. W. W. literature had been printed, the Chief jectors from Fort Leavenworth-me
-men who had
of Police said:
been courtmartialled without having been granted,
I had no warrant ordering the place closed. I was
or in some cases offered, the farm furloughs offi-
tired of reading the revolutionary circulars that were
cially promised. Freedom seems to have been ex-
printed there, and decided that I had already let them tended only to the men who declared that they
go too far, so I just locked them up. They started with would have accepted such alternative service had it
very mild articles, but have now passed the limit. I
expect no trouble in enforcing the closing order.
been offered. Absolutists whose consciences revolted
at every direct or indirect form of submission to
In Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the textile conscription for war are left, presumably, to serve
workers are striking for the eight-hour day, the po out their sentences. In other words, the War De-
lice have refused the strikers the exercise of their partment offers the temptation to these men to deny
right of peaceful assembly, have arrested a strike their consciences and impeach their own sincerity.
leader on the false charge of evading the draft
, By so doing it cuts from under its own feet the
have ridden down and beaten up peaceful strikers
only ground on which its practice can be defended.
and their sympathizers on the public streets and side For it is obvious that the only ground on which
walks. In the case of the Lawrence strike the forces conscientious objectors are entitled to escape facing
of repression are drawing on the hatred generated the firing squad is that of conscience. All compro-
and stored up for
war purposes. They are mak- mise, evasion, and paltering with this issue are ab-
ing lavish use of the shibboleths of patriotism and
surd and must ultimately be abandoned. If the Sec-
religion, utterly reckless as to the effect of discredit retary of War felt that such courses were useful in
ing forever among hungry and desperate men the
time of war he can have no excuse for maintaining
faiths for which the catchwords stand.
them in peace.


312
THE DIAL
March 22
Notes on New Books
plead that he is teaching a moral lesson, but the
plea would not stand: he writes with too obvious
relish in his pornographic material; his pen revels
The BURGOMASTER OF STILEMONDE. Ву in an eroticism that offends doubly because of its
Maurice Maeterlinck. Translated by Alexan crudity. Mr. Dixon is a sensation-monger, know-
der Teixeira de Mattos. Dodd, Mead; $1.75. ing only the vulgarly violent emotions, striving
The Burgomaster of Stilemonde is written by always to lash the reader into some state of passion.
the Maeterlinck who wrote Monna Vanna and
Having exhausted the possibilities of race prejudice
Mary Magdalene, a Maeterlinck who approaches
in the South, he now gives over his efforts to stir
moral problems with some objectivity. He has lost
up mob violence against the Negroes for conditions
his coloring and poetry, but perhaps that is a fitting
that existed—if ever-more than fifty years ago,
loss in a play of the recent war.
Instead however
and spatters the North with his highly colored ink.
of a grim, stark, bleeding piece of artistry, he has
The South is to be congratulated on his removal.
given us merely a workmanlike play in which
In this book he undertakes to furnish an expose of
plausible beings repeat declarations familiar for
free love in lower Manhattan. His style is no less
the past four years. One might say the conflict in
absurd than his plot, and both show the influence of
the play is between the two Mythologies—of Power
nis experience in scenario writing. Violent and
and of Sacrifice: in Nietzschean terms, between the
luscious adjectives pursue each other across the page,
proud, relentless, strong, " well-constituted," and
where mechanical emotions rumble along through a
the self-sacrificing and loving
ill-constituted.” pasteboard world to their stereotyped conclusions.
John Cowper Powys in his novel Wood and Stone
took this antagonism, handled it with an ironic
Tam Ó' THE Scoots. By Edgar Wallace.
searching grasp, and posed in a hundred ways the
Small, Maynard ; $1.35.
question as to which after all were really the Mr. Wallace, in Tam o'-the Scoots, reflects les
stronger, the power-seeking ones or the loving ones. chansons de gloire that colored the life of Ayers in
Maeterlinck has treated the theme almost as Pinero the late war.
More, he reflects the bright spirit
might do it.
of chivalry that marked the aerial lists. Tam shot
The play ends in the execution of the Burgo-
down a great rival, and the next day attended his
master, who gives his life to save his head gardener
and his town from German violence. By many
funeral at some altitude, dropping a noble epitaph
in verse.
Later, Tam shot down another one of
wordy speeches Maeterlinck shows us the incom-
the enemy in flames, but the man escaped death;
prehensibility, to the invading military leaders, of and, while being feasted before going into formal
such actions and of Belgian resistance. Major von
Rochow stands for absolute Prussian militarism,
captivity, he praised the poetry of the little epitaph.
Tam Alushed up.
Thank ye, sir-r," he blurted.
while the young Lieutenant Hilmer is intended to “Ye couldna' 'a' made me more pleased—even if
a very pleasant, good-hearted fellow, very
kind, clever
, too," who is warped into a different episodes of the high tourney always were funny
A' killit ye." An excellent touch, that; for the
man by taking his place as a small cog in a vast army
machine. The tragic note is intensified by Hilmer's
to the flyers, much in the mood of an Icarian bur-
relation to the Burgomaster as his son-in-law and by
lesque. And if any were killed, the play became,
the distraction of his wife Isabelle, who forbids Hil-
for the moment, serious. Also, it should be noted,
mer to touch her after the Burgomaster has been
Mr. Wallace reflects this happy spirit of the air-
shot, This is incomprehensible," says Major von
men by the employment of a lively and entertaining
Rochow, “but they're all more or less mad in this
narrative of adventure. Many things happen in a
country."
page, and very quickly too.
Maeterlinck's restraint is evident throughout. In
apotheosis of the blood-and-thunder hero, and some-
his desire to avoid too bitter rancor, too great pas-
thing besides. If the reader asks more, it will be
sion, the play has lost something life-giving. Future
an echo of that unphrased deep pathos that just
touched the faces of these modern knights when,
readers in studying the collected works will pass
the day done, they sat down to mess, marked an-
quickly over the Burgomaster of Stilemonde.
other vacant chair, and raised their glasses in a
silent toast.
The WAY OF A MAN. By Thomas Dixon.
But the flyers themselves, in reading this book,
Appleton; $1.50.
will find not a few technical errors of the sort
Could any person not of essentially unclean mind
that a writer would make. It is a sorry thing to
have written Thomas Dixon's latest atrocity, The
point them out in such good narrative. And yet,
Way of a Man? If the book possessed m:erit as
because the same errors may be published again,
literature it would be barred from libraries, but it
it is just as well to set a clarifying finger on the
The gun
is so worthless as to be safe from attack. The
confused illustration facing page 52.
once-Reverend Thomas Dixon would doubtless
in the illustration could never be used in the air.
and a
It has a cooling device which is unnecessary,
show us
6
Tam is the gentle


1919
313
THE DIAL
belt feed which would knock out the pilot's eyes, of his previous novels—man's craving for religion,
at least. It has no sights. The trigger squeeze
the contrast between wealth and poverty, and the
is so antiquated for a pilot's gun that it would be effects upon character of unlawful love. He han-
useless in combat. The pilot's goggles are raised, dles these essentially difficult subjects with sincerity
and-climactic error—both hands are removed from and admirable delicacy. His description of char-
the controls. The plane to which the gun is at acter is excellent in the case of the minor persons,
tached was evidently invented by the illustrator. but the major persons do not convince. Edward
It would never fly.
Churchill, the central figure, never succeeds in gain-
ing the reader's belief in him nor sympathy with him.
Asia MINOR. By Walter A. Hawley. John He alone of the family group in his childhood home
Lane; $3.50.
is unconvincing. The mother is extremely real,
It is hard to condemn a man because he lacks
detestably so, and the brothers are alive. Even the
imagination. But in the last analysis any criticism
old servant, Maria, and the various boys at school
of Mr. Hawley's Asia Minor must come down to
are actual-particularly the tragic Jarvis, he of the
that. If careful observation were all, if a meticulous
graveyard cough with which he entertains his fel-
transcribing of things seen sufficed to give a true
lows, until the day when he has to go to work in
picture of the unexplored, the volume would pass
a shop and becomes the victim of the boys' cruel
the censor. Unfortunately, much of the significance
caste snobbery. And Walsden, the missionary, is
of the East, as indeed of all places where we are
one of the most authentic persons in recent fiction.
minded to look for it, consists in the things that are
But Churchill is a prig in his boyhood and a weak-
not visible. And Mr. Hawley is neither prophet ling in manhood. His religion never seems vital,
nor seer, but simply a traveler with a zest for dis-
as Walsden's is, and his vacillations about the min-
tant lands, a deep-felt appreciation for antiquities istry lack sufficient motivation. He puts belief off
and landscapes, and some very considerable knowl-
and on too easily. He shows inherent weakness in
edge of the ancient races that have successively letting himself be so dominated by his piously crafty
inhabited his bit of the East, from the square-toed
mother, as well as in the entanglement of his later
Hittites up. He can be counted on not to make mis-
life. The author obviously expects the reader's
statements or blunders. But such a writer as H. G. approval, or at least sympathy, in Churchill's elope-
Dwight will give more of the East in the turn of a
ment with a married woman and his subsequent life
phrase than can be found in all the present volume
with her, but the whole affair appears unreal.
together. To the description of a country richer in
(Why is Mr. Maxwell always writing about the
association, in mystery, and dawning power than
woman who transgresses the moral law?) Lillian
almost
any other spot of the globe, he brings obser is a poor thing, not worth the sacrifice Churchill
vation, but little perception of the fundamental and
made for her.
living questions at stake. Hence he offers worn The story is huddled together at the last, so that
banalities, comfortless assurances, or positive mis-
the closing events appear dreamlike. And the final
conceptions—such as his assertion that despite chapters are a sop to the happy-ender.
abuses perpetrated by the Government, the Turks
have many excellent qualities, some of which have THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE. By Sheldon
been manifest during the last two decades in the Cheney. Kennerley; $3.
serious efforts of the Progressive Party to accom-
plish necessary reforms.'
The virtues of open air do not require proof;
unacquainted with history since the inauguration of they are axiomatic. And we are not certain but
the Young Turk Administration? He has given us
that over-insistence upon them has a tendency to
weaken rather
an interesting Baedeker of Asia Minor, but he has
than strengthen their position.
certainly missed a priceless opportunity.
There is always a temptation for the compiler to turn
special pleader, and that appears to be the trap
The.MIRROR AND THE LAMP. W. B. Max-
into which the author of this handbook has fallen
well. Bobbs-Merrill; $1.75.
on more than one occasion. He is led into a dog-
matic assertiveness which warps the fabric of his
Mr. Maxwell, novelist, has given place for four
theme. By claiming too much for the al fresco
years to Captain Maxwell of the British Army, drama he imparts the impression that there is some
fighting with the Fusiliers in France. The war special baneful influence residing in mere roof. We
however has no part in his new novel, in which find him requisitioning italics to remark: “If
the struggles are all mental and spiritual. He says there is one quality that, more than any other,
distinguishes the drama of the open from the indoor
The lamp is one's inmost self-what we call the soul—the drama, it is genuineness.” “The story of the birth
mirror is the mind. The lamp is constant in its power to
of dramatic art, and of that art's growth through
light the mirror, and show what is fair and what is foul.
its greatest eras, is exclusively the story of the open-
In this book, which is in some respects the best air theater," he says elsewhere. And when we find
thing he has done, Mr. Maxwell repeats the themes Mr. Cheney claiming for the Cranbrook theater,
of his title:


314
March 22
THE DIAL
near Detroit, that "the whole effect has a loveliness fingers at one's neck. The style is manipulated
without parallel in the existing theatres of ancient toward this same end: Pierre Smith, the narrator,
or modern times,” we have a lurking conviction talks in commonplace colloquialisms, except at the
that the author is taking in a little too much terri high moments of the story; there the colloquialisms
tory.
give place to clear, distinct, sometimes powerful
For the most part, however, the compiler con phrasing.
tents himself with a lucid textual description of the
open-air theater of this country and Europe, giving MEMORIES GRAVE AND Gay. By Florence
an adequate idea of their styles and the kind of. Howe Hall. Harper; $3.50.
production to which they are adapted. The book
is comprehensive, and contains more than half a
LETTERS OF SUSAN HALE. Edited by Caro-
hundred excellent illustrations. There is an ap-
line P. Atkinson. Marshall Jones; $3.50.
pendix devoted more particularly to problems of The strongest reaction aroused by Memories
planning and construction.
Grave and Gay is acute sympathy for Mrs. Julia
Ward Howe and her worthy husband, Dr. Samuel
SINISTER House. By Leland Hall. Hough-
Gridley Howe. In their day and generation they
ton Mimin; $1.50.
must have been a vigorous, enterprising pair. The
Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Asylum for
Of course we don't believe in ghosts. Reason, the Blind are first-class products. Fighting for the
science, even simple decorum of everyday life—all right of women to work outside their own fainilies
combine against such belief. Yet there exists in and for Greek independence meant a thoroughgoing
hardheaded as well as in imaginative folk a sub passion for reform seventy or eighty years ago. It
stratum of credulity needing only to be tapped.
Some skill is necessary to drop through the layers
was to the Howes that Florence Nightingale looked
for moral support in the unheard-of adventure of
of sophisticated resistance into that substratum.
We demand competent witnesses, people who are
hospital nursing in the eighteen-fifties, and it was
in the Howes' Dorchester home, Green Peace, that
not Aighty-ordinary, good, sensible people. We
like the evidence of animals, dogs especially, for we
many a European revolutionist and exile found
welcome. But that was very long ago, and this
do not suspect them of conniving to fool us. We
need motivation for the ghosts: why are they
famous couple have been unfortunate in their de-
haunting the cattle? We find it easier, on the whole,
scendants. Instead of going forward to blaze new
trails in the manner of their father and mother,
to accept malevolent spirits than gentle, well-mean-
ing ones.
the Howes of today seem to prefer to stay at home
Perhaps never since the Turn of the Screw have
and indulge in the worship of their ancestors. The
ghosts been evoked so successfully as in Sinister
library catalogues show lives of each parent sera-
House. The narrator of the story is a commuter
rately, another of both parents together, besides
with a Ford, living in a new concrete house. His
endless special chapters and magazine articles; and
wife, Annette, is plump, pretty, and skeptical
now comes this new record of family history---a
enough to
last, careful, patient gleaning in a field whence
remove any suspicion of connivance.
Giles Farrow, Annette's artist cousin, supplies the
many solid volumes had already been harvested.
element of intellectual doubt. Eric and Julia Grier,
Wonderful it is under such circumstances that Mrs.
who live in the dark house high over the river,
Florence Howe Hall has found anything new or
from the first comment intriguing characters, Julia
interesting to relate. She has—but the difficulty
with her fine courage and her intense love for Eric,
is that the new parts are not interesting, and the
Eric, with his restless, over-protective passion for his
interesing parts are not new. We have heard before
wife. The story is like an enlarging spiral of mystery
of the education of Laura Bridgeman, and we do
and terror, with scenes of steadily heightening dra-
not care to hear how young Harry Hall first learned
to ride a bicycle.
matic quality until the final terrifying night of the
disclosure. Giles, firm in his belief that ghosts
Still, quite apart from the value of the material,
breed only in the living, works toward the disclosure
the book has a charm and distinction of its own.
of some tangible cause in Eric's past for the terror
An atmosphere of the “ divine right of kings” per-
of his present life. And terror it is, malevolent
vades it. A serene confidence surrounds it like a
and horrid, driving Eric into isolation by repelling
halo. Without humor, without hurry, without
his friends, making him frightful to children, be-
selection, without the faintest shadow of a suspi-
setting Julia to the point of death.
cion of the devout interest of her public, every least
Mr. Hall understands the artistic value of con-
detail of the doings of the Howe family is set down,
trasts in building up his atmosphere.
to the third and fourth generation. The chronicle
Days of
bright autumn sun and family picnics precede nights
is childlike, almost pathetic in its simple-hearted-
that are black with great winds blowing. Com-
ness. We could go on forever in admiration of
fortable fires and pleasant food-and then ghostly
this perfect specimen of ancestor worship, if ve were
not brought up short again by our sharp sympathy
are


1919
315
THE DIAL
LABOR
The crux of the reconstruction problem is the relation between capital and
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served and the things that every intelligent psychologist has observed and has
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what impulses determine their efficiency, we recommend 'Instincts in Industry.'
Practical manufacturers can spend a very profitable couple of hours with this
author, who has gathered his material at first hand, dealing with labor problems
as an industrial counsel.”—Babson Statistical Organization Bulletin. $1.40 net
INDUSTRY AND HUMANITY By Hon. W. L. MacKenzie King
This volume, the result of years of study and experience as Canadian Labor
minister, investigator, etc., shows how the struggle between capital and labor can,
and must, be settled by peaceful methods.
The great problem of reconstruction which America is facing is the creating
of more efficient relations between employer and employe. This is one of the
new books on this subject and will be of interest to both employers and labor
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"The underlying causes of industrial unrest, the evolution of industrial
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Of immense value. The most practical of books concerning the
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$3.00 net
Moral Reconstruction =
RIGHT AND WRONG AFTER THE WAR By Rev. Bernard Iddings Bell
Fresh, bold, and suggestive thinking.”—Boston Transcript.
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" Its analysis of modern social and ethical conditions is refreshingly coura-
geous and clear-sighted.”—Christian Register.
$1.25 net
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY, Boston and New York


316
March 22
THE DIAL
Let us
for Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. In life she was a Board; the can-minders, coiling away the sliver,
clever woman, more than ordinarily vivid and stood for Lachesis; while in the spinners, who cut
human: it is hard that she has not been allowed, the thread when the bobbin was full, Estelle found
naturally and gently, to fade into obscurity. It is Atropos, the goddess of the shears." The tragedy
hard not to be allowed to die a natural death. of the story is due to the world-old situation of a
The refreshing thing about The Letters of Susan wronged girl whose love has turned to hate. Her
Hale is that she does not take herself seriously, bitterness and her lover's faithlessness find their
neither herself nor her family. She paints in Paris nemesis in the unbalanced nature of their son, who
studios; she sketches on the Nile; she acts charades is the victim and the instrument of Fate. A theme
in half the back parlors of Boston; she teaches so threadbare as this needs to be given a very
school; she jobs at literary hack work for her special treatment or to be presented from a very
brother; she is responsible for a respectable row unusual angle in order to hold the interest of the
of volumes herself; she dissects the flora of Matu reader, and one does not find that treatment or
nuck, Rhode Island; she lectures at Wonian's that angle in this book. True, a modern note is
Clubs, east and west and everywhere. But none struck in the consideration of such subjects as
of these occupations takes the center of the stage, the demands of labor, and the position of women
or diverts her from her true profession of having in industry, but that does not compensate for the
a perfectly beautiful time in the world.
very obvious lack of originality. The most pleas-
frankly call her what she was, an amateur and un ing point in the book is the recognition of the ro-
ashamed. Letter writing however, as we find to our
mance that is to be found in machinery and the
good fortune in the present volume, she did take seri actual esthetic pleasure that is to be derived from
ously. A nephew once said of her, “Why, I could it. As a dispassionate study of cause and effect,
write good letters, too, if I sat down to it right which are shown with much psychological con-
after breakfast and kept it up the whole morning.” scientiousness, this story has a certain value; it is
Being a friend to all sorts of conditions and ages of true to life also in the fact that, although the char-
men amounted with Miss Hale to a career in itself.
In her letters of travel her greater enthusiasms were
acterization is firm and convincing, none of the
characters stand out very vividly from the group
for the people, not the places. Europe becomes
almost a "suburb of Boston," where she is con-
to which they belong. The book is lightened by
tinually running into somebody's sister, or cousin,
touches of delicious, almost Dickensian, humor,
but it does not equal either in its comedy or in its
or aunt. In Paris her chief adventure was break-
tragedy some of Eden Phillpotts' earlier work, and
fasting with James Russell Lowel!.
there are some who might almost consider it dull-
But already, and very swiftly, these letters of
Miss Susan Hale's are taking on the aroma and
as depressingly dull as English country life itself
can be at certain seasons of the year.
fragrance of the old-fashioned. Her travels abroad
belong to the long ago, ante-bellum period when
Europe was to most of us—blessedly—a huge, de-
EDGEWATER PEOPLE. By Mary E. Wilkins
Freeman. Harper: $1.35.
lightful, colored picture-book of romance. The
porcelain stoves of Germany, the Pyramids of
Edgewater People portrays the New England
Egypt were only parts of an amusing, enchanting
temperament continuing to dominate the life of four
Foreign Whole. Thise were the days before we
villages, offshoots of the parent town. The tempera-
had seen It come alive and turn twice as real as
ment, in its inarticulate intensities, is shown in
Boston Common or the State House. In these
various forms of pride, cherished loves and hates,
days of doubt and difficulty, then, all lovers of let-
the yearning of lonely souls for affection, self-seek-
ters will find it doubly refreshing to turn over these
ing, the passion for nature, the fighting spirit, and
records of irresponsible good times in the old world.
brooding remorse. The cumulative effect, in spite
of the conventional happy ending and a buoyant
The SPINNERS. By Eden Phillpotts.
morality, is rather grim, and is emphasized by the
Macmillan; $1.60.
simplicity of the types, the author's own frankness,
In The Spinners Eden Phillpotts shows the
and an uncompromising directness, almost abrupt.
working of the old eternal forces in a modern
ness of style. Humor is absent also from several of
community. The scene is an idyllic landscape of
the sketches
, though the best are pervaded by an
chalk downs, winding rivers, and cottage gardens
irony inherent in the situation, as in the predicament
overflowing with flowers, such as are to be found
of the youth returned from a traveling show to find
only in the West Country of England. The
himself, because of his mother's deception, posing as -
a hero of the trenches.
mill which is owned by Raymond Tronsyde. Among ciliation, the yearning of the spinster, the child's
After themes of domestic estrangement and recon-
them, all three Fates were to be seen at their
ancient business. Clotho attended to the Spread gentlewomen, the reader welcomes the fresher
66


1919
317
THE DIAL
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
А м E R I CAN
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By T. J. LAWRENCE, LL.D. Formerly Professor
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By J. A. R. MARRIOTT. Second edition revised,
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A systematic account of the origin and development
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treaties, makes this an almost ideal source book and
piece of desk apparatus for the historian, student and
journalist. The series of maps add to the value.”-
The Literary Digest.
The European Commonwealth
By J. A. R. 'MARRIOTT, author of The Eastern
Question. 8vo (944 <5%), pp. xii + 370. Not $7.50
A new book dealing with the rise of modern diplom.
acy, the Hohenzollern traditions, the problems of
Poland, the
Near East and the Adriatic, and the Holy
Alliance and the Concert of Europe.
England and the War
Addresses delivered during the War, and now first
collected by WALTER RALEIGH. The titles of
the addresses are: Might Is Right; The War of Ideas ;
The Faith of England; Some Gains of the War; Thé
War and the Press ; Shakespeare and England. With
a Preface. Crown Svo (743 x 5), pp. 144. .....$2.00
Labor and Industry in Australia
from the first settlement in 1788 to the establish-
ment of the Commonwealth in 1901, by T. A. COGH-
LAN. Four volumes. 8vo (844 x 57). Vol. I, pp.
viii + 588; Vol II, pp. vi + 589-1185 ; Vol. III, pp.
1186-1790 ; Vol. IV, pp. 1791-2450..
. $33.00
A history of the Labour movements in Australia
from the first beginning of the colony to the founda-
tion of the Commonwealth in 1901. It is divided
chronologically into seven books, each book dealing
exhaustively with questions of' immigration, land
legislation, prices and political action of its period.
The author was for years Agent General for New
South Wales.
The Pronunciation of Standard
English in America
By GEORGE PHILIP KRAPP, Professor of Eng.
lisb in Columbia University. Crown 8vo, (7142 x 5),
pp. xy + 235.
.$1.50
“ It is the purpose of this book to provide a ra-
tional method of examining pronunciation, the most
important of the practical aspects of speech in order
that those who have a conscience in the matter may
exercise it with justice both to themselves and to
others."-From the Preface.
The Oxford Book of
Australasian Verse
Chosen by W. MURDOCK. Uniform with the
Oxford Book of English Verse. Fcap, 8vo (6% X
442), pp. viii + 294, cloth..
Net $3.00
The Turks of Central Asia
In History and at the Present Day. By M. A.
CZAPLICKA. 8vo (944 x 5%), pp. 242, with a map,
appendixes, and much biblographical material. $6.75
An ethnological inquiry into the Pan. Turanian
problem, and bibliographical material relating to the
early Turks and the present Turks of Central Asia.
The Congress of Vienna,
1814-1815
By C. K. WEBSTER, 8vo (894 x 544), pp. 174,
with a map, chronological table and eight appendixes;
paper
$2.00
The first standard history of this notable gather-
ing. of great present-day interest because of the
task now before the peoples of the world.
AT ALL BOOKSELLERS OR FROM THE PUBLISHERS. POSTAGE EXTRA


318
March 22
THE DIAL
motive of the sea captain's pride of proprietorship in at the north, lest so great and famous a place take
the sea. Ingenuity of situation and incident is il one out of the Byways which it is the book's purpose
lustrated in the Odyssean variation on the prodigal to describe.
son, who, unrecognized by any of his family except Having journeyed to Massa Marittima, however,
his mother, rehabilitates his father's country store, it may be that one missed a page on the great altar-
and satisfies poetic justice by feeding the pig. In piece there by Lorenzetti, or even a reproduction
one instance, at least, the idiosyncrasy of plot strains of it. Pazienza! there is enough in this corner of
credulity, when the morbid wife proves her daughter- the inexhaustible Italy to make good the loss many
in-law by the same fantastic and fiery trial of love times over, with marshes and mountains, brigands
to which she herself succumbed. Mingled with and blessed bells, saints and signoroni and sunshine.
the types who embody more or less humanly the rage
of the devouring temperament are dispositions hap-
Books of the Fortnight
pily lower-pitched, as that of the self-forgetful, clear-
The following list comprises The Dial's selec-
eyed, and resourceful Lizzie Jordan, whose homely
tion of books recommended among the publications
common sense is the best philosophy: “Well, I
received during the last two weeks:
know what I have to put up with livin' with Sophia
Ludd, but I was kind of in the dark about Adela
Ten Days That Shook the World. By John Reed.
Dyce."
Illustrated, 12mo, 372 pages. Boni & Live-
On the whole the reader is fain to reflect that even
right. $2.
old age and celibacy in an New England village are
Our Allies and Enemies in the Near East. By Jean
conscious at their most expansive of a lighter and
Victor Bates. 8vo, 226 pages. E. P. Dutton
more superficial vein, and that the New England
& Co. $5.
temperament may presently be constrained to sur The Society of Nations. By T. J. Lawrence. 12mo,
render its last stronghold to the insidious invasion 194 pages. Oxford University Press. $1.50.
of cosmopolitanism.
The Government of the United States: National,
State, and Local. By William Bennett Munro.
BYWAYS IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY. By Kath-
8vo, 648 pages. Macmillan Co. $2.75.
arine Hooker. Scribner; $3.50.
Bismarck. By C. Grant Robertson. Makers of
If ever a country could be likened to the pitcher
the Nineteenth Century Series. Edited by
of Philemon and Baucis, that country is Italy. The
Basil Williams. 8vo, 539 pages. Henry Holt
centuries pass in vain—the flow of books on the
& Co. $2.25.
beloved land continues steadily. This latest one
Clemenceau: The Man and His Time. By H. M.
by Katharine Hooker is not from so mighty à pen
Hyndman.
12mo, 338 pages. Frederick A.
as some which have written of Italian journeys, but
Stokes Co. $2.
it is a good and likable work which gives us sketches English Literature During the Last Half Century:
of many a little town that one would scarcely know By John W. Cunliffe. 12mo, 315 pages.
where to read about otherwise unless one had access
Macmillan Co. $2.
to a good library of Italian. Even then one would Cultural Reality. By Florian Znaniecki. 8vo, 359
miss the particular sort of delight that a country
pages. University of Chicago Press. $2.50.
affords to a foreigner-quite a different matter from
Psychological Principles. By James Ward. 8vo,
the associations and the pride awakened in a native.
478 pages. G. P. Putnam's Sons. $6.50.
The author's appreciation of the Latin grace and Beverages and Their Adulteration: Origin, Com-
sweetness of the simple people she meets in the
position, Manufacture, Natural, Artificial
,
country and the little cities makes up to the reader
Fermented, Distilled, Alkaloidal and Fruit
for the regret he will feel at having cleanliness or
the lack of it noted so diligently at almost every place
Juices. By Harvey W. Wiley. Illustrated, 8vo,
421 pages. P. Blakiston's Sons & Co. $3.50.
to which he is conducted. Such entrancing places-
The Burgomaster of Stilemonde. A play. By
really out of the way, and not to be seen by those
Maurice Maeterlinck. Translated by Alex-
who confine their travel to railway carriages! Fine
ander Teixeira de Mattos. 12mo, 128 pages.
old legends cluster about even finer old ruins; pas-
Dodd, Mead & Co. $1.75.
sages from Dante come to lips, or perhaps fall from
lips, that speak them with the purity of the Sienese
The Heart of Peace. Verse. By Laurence Hous-
territory, which today has something in its speech
12mo, 150 pages. Small, Maynard &
Co. $1.25.
akin to that of the poet.
The Dead Command. A novel.
The travels of the party (which included a pho-
Blasco Ibáñez. Translated by Frances Doug-
tographer with an eye for lovely scenes—witness the
illustrations) extend westward from Siena, along
las. 12m0, 351 pages. Duffield & Co. $1.75.
The Ghallenge to Sirius. A novel.
the Maremma, as far as the Campagna and Umbria
to the south and east, and stop short of Arezzo again
Kaye-Smith. 12mo, 442 pages.
& Co. $1.90.
man.
By Vicente
By Sheila
E. P. Dutton


1919
319
THE DIAL
A PERSONAL LETTER FROM A CONVICT
On February 20 I was sentenced by Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis of
Chicago to twenty years in Fort Leavenworth for the crime of publishing the official liter-
ature of the Socialist Party and making speeches defining its position. Four other officials
of the Socialist Party were similarly sentenced. Pending action on that sentence by the
higher courts, I am trying to issue in book form the lectures which I have been delivering
during the past ten years, both to get them before the public before the gates of the peni-
tentiary close upon me, and also to provide support for my family during the period of
the sentence. Not knowing how much time I have, I take this means of enlisting your
attention.
Below is a list of these works, historical and poetic, which are being issued as fast as
the presses can turn them out. If you are at all interested, please send for one to test
their quality. The book stores do not handle them—yet. Buy by mail.
The whole set will be sent, bound in cloth, for $6.00; bound in paper, for $3.00
Irwin St. John Tucker
HISTORICAL
INTERNATIONALISM: The Problem of the
Hour. Five Lectures; The German Idea; Deutsch-
land Ueber Alles.—The British Idea; Britannia
Rules the Waves.—The American Idea; Phrases
vs. Facts.—The Russian Idea; The Proletarian
Revolt.-The Labor Idea; The Commonwealth
of the World.
THE MARTYR PEOPLES. Six Lectures on
the Little Nationalities, Israel, Serbia, Ireland,
Belgium, Poland and Armenia.
IMPERIALISM. In two volumes. i. Found-
ers of Imperialism. Egypt, the United States
of the Nile; Chaldaea, the Strife of the Cities;
Persia, Spirit of the Mountains; Greece, Empire
of the Mind; Rome, Mistress of the World. ii.
Modern Imperialism. France, Daughter of the
Empire; Islam, Shadow of the Deserts; Spain,
Shadow of the Moor; Great Britain, Empire of
Finance; Austria, a League of Nations.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GODS, A
Study of the Religions of Patriotism.
Each 50 cents Paper, $1.00 Cloth. 5 cents postage
POETIC
THE CHOSEN NATION. A Dramatic Poem,
completed during the trial and presented to the
Judge at the time of Sentence. Of this, Dean R. M.
Lovett of the University of Chicago said: “Shelley
might have written it.
THE SANGREAL. A distinctly new version
of the Holy Grail legend proving that Galahad
was a Bolshevik.
POEMS OF A SOCIALIST PRIEST." Of
these the Living Church said: “The ring of epic
passion is in many of them."
SONGS OF THE ALAMO and THE CITY
OF DREAMS. A contribution to the national
literature of the Southwest.
JEAN LAFITTE: A romantic drama of the
War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans.
The Philosophy of the Commonplace. In
Five Lectures: Philosophy of the Kitchen Chair,
Philosophy of the Hobo, Philosophy of Smoke,
Philosophy of Paper, Philosophy of Buttons.
Each 25 cents Paper, 50 cents Cloth. 5 cents
postage
The whole set will be sent for $6.00 bound in cloth, or for $3.00 bound in paper
Address IRWIN ST. JOHN TUCKER
1541 Unity Building
P.S.-Be Quick
CHICAGO, ILL.
When writing to advertisers please mention THE DIAL.


320
March 22
THE DIAL
Spring Announcement List
The following is The Dial's selected list of the
most notable spring issues and announcements in the
fields indicated, exclusive of reprints, new editions,
new translations, technical books, and works of ref-
erence. A list of books on the theory and practice of
education, and in philosophy, religion, and science,
will
appear in the Spring Educational Number,
April 19. These lists are compiled from data sub-
mitted by the publishers.
Fiction
While Paris Laughed, by Leonard Merrick, $1.75.-Uni-
form Edition of Leonard Merrick: Conrad in Quest of
His Youth, The Position of Peggy Harper, The Man
Who Understood Women, The Worldlings, The Actor-
Manager, $2 each.—The Shadow of the Cathedral, by
V. Blasco Ibáñez, $1.90.–Mare Nostrum, by V. Blasco
Ibáñez, $1.60.-Jacquo, the Rebel, by Eugene LeRoy,
$1.90.—Nono: Love and the Soil, by Gaston Roupee,
$1.60.-Two Banks of the Seine, by Fernand Van-
deren, $1.60.-Amalia: A Romance of the Argentine in
the Time of Rosas the Dictator, by Jose Marmol, $1.60.
-The Challenge to Sirius, by Sheila Kaye-Smith,
$1.90. (E. P. Dutton & Co.)
The Jervaise Comedy, by J. D. Beresford, $1.50.–Storm
in a Teacup, by Eden Phillpotts, $1.50.-Our House,
by Henry S. Canby, $1.50.—The Rising Tide: The
Story of Sabinsport, by Ida M. Tarbell, $1.50.-An
Honest Thief, and A Friend of the Family, by Dos-
toevsky, $1.50 each.—The Bishop and Other Stories,
and The Chorus Girl and Other Stories, by Anton
Chekhov, $1.50 each. (Macmillan Co.)
The Secret City, by Hugh Walpole, $1.60.-Shops and
Houses, by Frank Swinnerton, $1.50.—The Roll-Call, by
Arnold Bennett, $1.50.—Mummery, by Gilbert Cannan,
$1.50. (George H. Doran Co.)
Travelling Companions, by Henry James, $1.75.—The
Curious Republic of Gondour, by Mark Twain, Pen-
guin Series, $1.25.—Twelve Men, by Theodore Dreiser,
$1.75.—The Paliser Case, by Edgar Saltus, $1.60. (Boni
& Liveright.)
Caesar or Nothing, by Pio Baroja, $1.75.--Martin Rivas,
by Alberto Blest-Gana, $1.60.—The Pale Horse, by
Ropshin (Boris Savinkov), $1.25.- Java Head, by
Joseph Hergesheimer, $1.75.—The Tunnel (Pilgrim-
age, IV.), by Dorothy Richardson, $1.50.—The Pelicans,
by E. M. Delafield, $1.75. (Alfred A. Knopf.)
The Arrow of Gold, by Joseph Conrad, $1.50.- The
Builders, by Ellen Glasgow, $1.50.—Birds of a Feather,
by Marcel Nadaud, $1.35. (Doubleday, Page & Co.)
The Old Madhouse, by William De Morgan, $1.75.-
The Day of Glory, by Dorothy Canfield. $1. (Henry
Holt & Co.)
The Dead Command, by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, $1.75.-
The Lucky Mill, by Ioan Slavici, $1.50. (Duffield &
Co.)
The Ameythst Ring, by Anatole France, $2.—The Call of
the Soil, by Adrian Bertrand, $1.50. (John Lane Co.)
The Silent Mills, by Hermann Sudermann, $1.25.-Temp-
tations: A Volume of Short Stories, by David Pinski,
$1.50. (Brentano.)
Saint's Progress, by John Galsworthy, $1.60. (Charles
Scribner's Sons.)
The Clintons, and Others, by Archibald Marshall, $1.75.
(Dodd, Mead & Co.)
Sinister House, by Leland Hall, illus., $1.35. (Houghton
Mifflin Co.)
The Marne, by Edith Wharton, $1.25.— The Sagebrusher,
by Emerson Hough, $1.50. (D. Appleton & Co.)
The City of Comrades, by Basil King, illus., $1.75.
(Harper & Bros.)
Civilization, by Georges Duhamel, $1.50. (Century Co.)
The Avalanche, by Gertrude Atherton, $1.35. (Frederick
A. Stokes Co.)
Wild Youth and Another, by Gilbert Parker, illus, $1.50.
(J. B. Lippincott Co.)
Gösta Berling's Saga, by Selma Lagerlöf, 2 vols., $3.
(American Scandinavian Foundation.)
Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson. (B. W.
Huebsch.)
The Great Hunger, by Johan Bojer, $1.60. (Moffat, Yard
& Co.)
Blind Alley, by W. L. George, $1.75. (Little, Brown &
Co.)
The Mirror and the Lamp, by W. B. Maxwell, $1.75.
(Bobbs-Merrill Co.)
Books of Verse
The Wild Swans of Coole, and Other Verses, by William
Butler Yeats.—The Tree of Life, by John Gould
Fletcher.—Leaves: A Book of Poems, by Hermann
Hagedorn.—The New Day, by Scudder Middelton, $1.
(Macmillan Co.)
Counter Attack, and Other Poems, by Siegfried Sassoon,
$1.25.–Lanterns in Gethsemane, by Willard Wattles,
$1.50.—Modern Russian Poetry, edited by P. Selver,
$1.25.-A Lute of Jade: Selections from the Chinese
Classical Poets, translated by L. Cranmer-Byng, $1.
(E. P. Dutton & Co.)
Songs to the Beloved Stranger, by Witter Bynner, $1.25.
-One Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems: An An-
thology, translated by Arthur Waley, $2. (Alfred A.
Knopf.)
Look! We Have Come Through, by D. H. Lawrence,
$1.50.—The Solitary, by James Oppenheim, $1.25. (B.
W. Huebsch.)
Japanese Prints, by John Gould Fletcher, $1.75.— The
Charnel Rose, and Other Tales in Verse, by Conrad
Aiken, $1.25. (Four Seas Co.)
The Kiltartan Poetry Book, by Lady Gregory, $1.50. (G.
P, Putnam's Sons.)
The Modern Book of English Verse, by Richard Le Gal-
lienne, $2. (Boni & Liveright.)
Poems About God, by John 'Crowe Ransom, $1.25.
(Henry Holt & Co.)
The Years Between, by Rudyard Kipling, $1.50. (Dou-
bleday, Page & Co.)
The New Morning, by Alfred Noyes, $1.35. (Frederick
A. Stokes Co.)
The Passing Gód: Songs for Modern Lovers, by Harry
Kemp, $1.25. (Brentano.)
Three War Poems, by Paul Claudel. (Yale University
Press.)
Drama and the Stage
The Burgomaster of Stilemonde, by Maurice Maeterlinck,
$1.75. (Dodd, Mead & Co.)
The Living Corpse (Redemption), by Leo N. Tolstoi.
(Nicholas L. Brown.)
The Gentile Wife, by Rita Wellman, $1. (Moffat, Yard
& Co.)
Molière, by Philip Moeller, $1.50. (Alfred A. Knopf.)
The Moon of the Caribbees, and six Other Plays of the
Sea, by Eugene O'Neill, $1.35. (Boni & Liveright.).
Father Noah, by Geoffrey Whitworth, $1. (Robert M.
McBride & Co.)


1919
32 1
THE DIAL
Some Important Volumes From Putnam's Spring List
A Short History of Rome
From the Foundation of the City to the Fall
of the Empire of the West
By Guglielmo Ferrero
Assisted by Corrado Barbagallo
Voltaire in His Letters
Being a selection from his correspondence.
Translated with a preface and notes.
By S. G. Tallentyre
Author of “The Life of Voltaire," etc.
8°, 8 Portraits. $3.50.
Voltaire, as his letters reveal him, portray-
ing not only his extraordinary mind, but
showing him in love and in prison, recover-
ing from smallpox, lamenting a mistress,
visiting a king, righting human' wrongs, at-
tacking inhuman laws, belittling Shakespeare
and belauding Chesterfield.
Two vols. 8°. Each $1.90.
Part II of this important history, embracing
the Empire, 44 B. C.-476 A. D., is now
ready.
Part I, published last year, comprises the
period 754 B. C.-44 B. C.
New Books of Verse
In Flanders Fields
And Other Poems
By Lieut.-Col. John McCrae
12º. $1.50.
This volume contains all of Dr. McCrae's
lovely poems and an essay in character by
his friend, Sir Andrew Macphail.
The Kiltartan Poetry Book
Prose Translations from the Irish
By Lady Gregory
8º. $1.50.
The brave old legends and poems of Ireland,
collected by this famous student and friend
of the Irish peasants.
New Volumes in “Heroes of the Nations" Series
Alfred the Great,
The Truth Teller
Maker of England 848899
By Beatrice A. Lees
12°. 50 illustrations. $1.90.
The story of the great military leader, law-
giver, scholar and saint.
Isabel of Castile
And the Making of the Spanish Nation,
1451—1504
By lerne Plunket
12º. 45 illustrations and maps. $1.90.
The story of a great woman ruler and the
history of a nation in the making.
"One of the outstanding biographical works in English Literature"—Chicago Tribune.
EMINENT VICTORIANS-By Lytton Strachey
8º. Six Portraits. $3.50 net.
An extraordinarily brilliant study, historical and biographical, of the lives of Florence
Nightingale, Cardinal Manning, Dr. Arnold and General Gordon.
For Sale at all Booksellers
New York
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
London


3 2 2
March 22
THE DIAL
Everybody's Husband, by Gilbert Cannan, 75 cts. (B.
W. Huebsch.)
Plays by Jacinto Benavente: Second Series, translated by
John Garrett Underhill, $1.75. (Charles Scribner's
Sons.)
Six Plays of the Yiddish Theater: Second Series, by
David Pinski, Z. Levin, Perez Hirshbein, and Leon
Kobrin, $1.50. (John W. Luce & Co.)
Uneasy Street, by Alfred Kreymborg; La Cigale, by Ly-
man Bryson; The Prodigal Son, by Harry Kemp; The
Rope, by Eugene O'Neill, Flying Stag Series, 35 cts.
each. (Washington Square Book Shop.)
Dramatic Technique, by George Pierce Baker, $3.75.
(Houghton Mifflin Co.)
Peking Dust, by Ellen N. La Motte, illus., $1.50. (Cen-
tury Co.)
Modern Japan, by Amos S. and Susanne W. Hershey,
$1.50. (Bobbs-Merrill Co.)
After Big Game: The Story of an African Holiday, by
R. S. Meikle, F. S. Scot, and Mrs. M. E. Meikle, illus.,
$3. (Brentano.)
Essays and General Literature
English Literature During the Last Half Century, by
John W. Cunliffe. $2.—The English Poets, by Thomas
Humphrey Ward, vol. VI, $1.50.—New Voices: An In-
troduction to Contemporary Poetry, by Marguerite Wil-
kinson, $1.50.—The Candle of Vision, by “A. E."-
The English Village: A Literary Study, by Julia Pat-
ton, $1.50. (Macmillan Co.)
The Cambridge History of American Literature, edited by
William Peterfield Trent, John Erskine, Stuart Pratt
Sherman, and Carl Van Doren, vol. II, $3.50.–Studies
in Literature, by Arthur Quiller-Couch, $2.50.-- The
Dawn of the French Renaissance, by Arthur Tilley,
illus., $8.25. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.)
The New Era in American Poetry, by Louis Untermeyer,
$2.50.-An Outline of Spanish Literature, by I. D. M.
Ford, $2.-A Guide to Rassian Literature, by Moissaye
J. Olgin, $1.50.-Out and About London, by Thomas
Burke, $1.35. (Henry Holt & Co.)
Another Sheaf, by John Galsworthy, $1.50.—“ The Day's
Burden ”: Studies, Literary and Political, and Miscel-
laneous Essays, by Thomas M. Kettle, $2. (Charles
Scribner's Sons.)
Rousseau and Romanticism, by Irving Babbitt, $3.50.-
Convention and Revolt in Poetry, by John Livingston
Lowes, $1.75.-Field and Study, by John Burroughs,
$1.50. (Houghton Mifflin Co.)
Currents and Eddies in the English Romantic Generation,
by Frederick E. Pierce, $3.-Dante, by Henry Dwight
Sedgwick, illus., $1.50. (Yale University Press.)
St. Beuve, by Arthur Tilley, $2. (Cambridge University
Press.)
Sketches and Reviews, by Walter Pater, Penguin Series,
$1.25. (Boni & Liveright.)
Charlotte Bronte: A Centenary Memorial, edited by But-
ler Wood, $5. (E. P. Dutton & Co.)
A Gentle Cynic: Being the Book of Ecclesiastes, by Mor-
ris Jastrow, $2. (J. B. Lippincott Co.)
Domus Doloris, by W. Compton Leith, $1.50. (John Lane
Co.)
Beyond Life, by James Branch Cabell, $1.50. (Robert M.
McBride & Co.)
The American Language, by H. L. Mencken, $4. (Alfred
A. Knopf.)
Dickens: How to Know Him, by Richard Burton, $1.50.
(Bobbs-Merrill Co.)
Walled Towns, by Ralph 'Adams Cram, $1. (Marshall
Jones Co.)
Biography and Reminiscence
The Arguments and Speeches of William Maxwell
Evarts, edited by Sherman Evarts, 3 vols., $15.—Mus-
ings and Memories of a Musician, by George Henschel.
— The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield,
by George E. Buckle, vols. V and VI, $3.25 each.
(Macmillan Co.)
The Letters of Algernon Charles Swinburne, edited by
Edmund Gosse and T. J. Wise, 2 vols., $5.- The Life
and Letters of William Thomson, Archbishop of York,
by Mrs. Wilfrid Thomson, illus., $3.50. (John Lane
Co.)
Prime Ministers and Some ers, by George W. E.
Russell, $4.–Robert E. Lee, by Douglas Southall Free-
man, $1.50.-Stephen A. Douglas, by Louis Howland.
(Charles Scribner's Sons.)
The Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle, edited by Reg.
inald C. McGrane, illus., $6.-J. William White, M.D.,
A Biography, by Agnes Repplier, illus., $2. (Hough-
ton Mifflin Co.)
Richard Cobden: The International Man, by J. A. Hob-
son, illus., $5.-Bismarck, by C. Grant Robertson, $2.25.
LÚncensored Celebrities, by E. T. Raymond, illus.,
$2.50. (Henry Holt & Co.)
A Writer's Recollections, by Mrs. Humphry Ward, $6.--
Memories Grave and Gay, by Florence Howe Hall,
$3.50. (Harper & Bros.)
The History of Henry Fielding, by Wilbur L. Cross, il-
lus., 3 vols., $15. (Yale University Press.)
Voltaire in His Letters, translated by S. G. Tallentyre,
illus., $3.50. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.)
Joyce Kilmer: Poems, Essays and Letters, 2 vols., $5.
(George H. Doran Co.)
The Life of Sir Joseph Hooker, by Leonard Huxley,
illus., $12. (D. Appleton & Co.)
History
The Chronicles of America, edited by Allen Johnson, 50
vols., $3.50 each, $175 thé set.—The Quit-Rent System
in the American Colonies, by Beverley W. Bond, Jr., $3.
(Yale University Press.)
Russia: From the Varangians to the Bolsheviks, by Ray-
mond Beazley, Nevill Forbes, and C. A. Bickett, $4.25.
-The Emperor Lucius Septimus Severus, by Maurice
Platnauer, $5.40. (Oxford University Press.)
Political Leaders of Provincial Pennsylvania, by Isaac
Sharpless, $2.50.—Social and Industrial Conditions in
the North During the Civil War, by Emerson David
Fite, $2. (Macmillan Co.)
A Short History of Rome, by Guglielmo Ferrero, 2 vols.,
$1.90 each. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.)
Fifty Years of Europe (1868-1918), by Charles Downer
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1919
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JUST PUBLISHED
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March 22
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1919
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326
March 22
THE DIAL
Current News
Volume I, number i of Kismet: A magazine of
the Arts, Particularly Poetry, announces itself in a
Duffield and Co. have just issued another of burst of editorial candor:
Vicente Blasco Ibánez' novels, The Dead Command.
The translation is by Frances Douglas.
For three years and a half . I have been writing
Poetry—and Verse of varied merit. To date compara-
The Nation Press, 20 Vesey Street, New York, tively few people are aware of my existence(I think)
has reprinted from The Nation of February 8 Gen-
to their—and my—misfortune. It is high time we (the
eral Smuts' article The League of Nations: A Prac-
reading public and myself) became acquainted. Yes,
tical Suggestion. The price of the pamphlet is fif-
better than that! develop a fondness for each other. And
so I am founding “Kismet," a Magazine of Verse.
teen cents.
While more particularly I started this magazine for
Emile Vandervelde's Le Socialisme contre l'Etat,
the advancement of my own writings, and am quite likely
which Robert Dell reviewed in The Dial for May
to continue to monopolize its pages, this, and future is.
9, 1918, has now been translated into English and
sues, will contain the estimable work of such well
known and deservedly popular poets as,
published in this country by Charles H. Kerr, of
Chicago. The price is $1.
in this issue, Mary Carolyn Davies, Daphne Carr,
The official ban on Men in War, by the Hun-
and Thea Yorke, who make readable 2 of the 64
garian officer Andreas Latzko oni and Liveright;
pages. The “editor and publisher ” is Harry James
$1.50), has now been lifted and the volume is again · Stutzlen; the address, 99 South Eighth Street,
being sold. This frank study of modern warfare
Newark, N. J.; the price, 25 cents a month.
and its effect on the artistic temperament is one of
the war's authentic contributions to literature. It
Contributors
was reviewed by Randolph Bourne in THE DIAL The second Imaginary Conversation between
for May 23, 1918—just before its suppression.
George Moore and Edmund Gosse begins in this is-
The humors of Irvin S. Cobb's Eating in Two or
sue of The Dial. The first conversation appeared
Three Languages (Doran: 60 cents) have been left in the issues for October 1, October 19, and Novem-
behind by the march of events. To read about the ber 2, 1918.
difficulties of war-time diet in London and Paris at
Samuel Spring is a graduate of Harvard College
this date is to force oneself to a reminiscent relish-
(1910) and of the Harvard Law School. His
a mood which is not facilely attained, and which
professional experience has been chiefly in the field
Mr. Cobb does too little to foster. The Cobb
of public utilities in California, and he has con-
myth of Jovian wit is in danger from an excess of
tributed numerous articles to the legal reviews.
ego, without a proportionate sparkle.
During the war he was employed by the government
The Macmillans have now imported the first
as a branch officer of the Emergency Fleet Corpora-
of the new Blue Guides, which Muirhead Guide-
Books, Limited (London) hope will prove as
tion, at San Francisco, and later in the Coast
Artillery. Mr. Spring is now practicing law in
indispensable to English-speaking tourists as the
Boston, Mass.
inevitable Baedekers were before the war. The
Percy H. Boynton was graduated from Amherst
present volume-London and Its Environs ($4.50)
in 1897. He is associate professor of English and
-is by Findlay Muirhead, some time an editor in
the house of Baedeker. It is most completely got
dean in the Colleges of Arts, Literature and Science
up and includes a convenient detachable appendix
in the University of Chicago. Professor Boynton
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of street maps and data about transportation. Best author of several volumes on English and American
of all, the preface is happily free from wartime literature.
rancor. The French edition of the Blue Guides is
Lewis Mumford, a resident of New York City,
in the hands of Hachette et Cie.
has contributed numerous articles to technical and
Nothing in the range of popular fiction is more
fixed than the functioning of secret service opera-
general magazines. He has been an investigator in
tives. We may always count upon them for fecun-
the dress and waist industry, a laboratory worker
dity in clues, fastening guilt on the wrong person,
in the Bureau of Standards, and a radio operator
in the United States Navy.
and then a lightning flash on the threshold of the
final chapter, which is always devoted to tying the
Ferdinand Schevill (Yale, 1889) has been pro-
loose ends of the story into a lover's knot. This
fessor of modern history in the University of Chi-
method is completely exemplified in The Apartment
cago since 1909. Mr. Schevill is the author of The
Next Door (Little Brown; $1.50), in which
Making of Modern Germany, and Siena.
William Johnson joins the Great American Ger-
Donald B. Clark, who was born and brought
man-Spy Chase. The complications arise 'chiefly out
up in Rome, Italy, is teaching philosophy
of having so many kinds of secret agents in this
ard. He was one of the founders, and until re-
country—“ each lot trying to make a record for it-
cently one of the editors, of Youth:
self and not taking the others into its confidence.”
Today.
Mr. Johnson abets this secretiveness to his utmost.
The other contributors to this issue have previ-
ously written for THE DIAL.
at Harv-
Poetry of
.
.


1919
THE DIAL
327
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Sabotage, by Thorstein Veblen
THE DIAL
A FORTNIGHTLY
VOL. LXVI
NEW YORK
NO. 787
APRIL 5, 1919
The MORAL DEVASTATION OF WAR
Frank Tannenbaum
333
FROM A HILL IN FRANCE. Verse
Cuthbert Wright 336
The Lapse To Laissez-FAIRE
Walton H. Hamilton 337
SYNGE'S PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD. Verse . Emanuel Carnevali 340
Variation
ON THE NATURE AND USES OF SABOTAGE
Thorstein Veblen
341
A SECOND IMAGINARY CONVERSATION
George Moore 347
Gosse and Moore, II
ROADS TO FREEDOM
Will Durant 354
Vox-ET PRAETEREA ?
Conrad Aiken 356
DUBLIN, March 6
Ernest A. Boyd 358
VISITANTS. Verse
Leslie Nelson Jennings 360
EDITORIALS
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HOW DIPLOMATS MAKE WAR
By FRANCIS NEILSON, Member of Parliament 1910-1915
DIPLOMATS are now making peace. How many persons
are familiar with the complexities and involutions of the
questions with which they are dealing ?
ONLY by reading the incredible story of the moves on
the chessboard of statecraft that led to the catastrophe
can you interpret what the newspapers print-and don't
print-about the Paris conference.
BERNARD SHAW's disclosures, now exciting so much at-
tention, contain little that has not been said in Mr.
Neilson’s noteworthy contribution to history.
HOW DIPLOMATS MAKE WAR
By FRANCIS NEILSON
What
says the London Times about
diplomacy as the root of war ?
3d
“ Who, then, makes war? The answer is to be found in the
Chancelleries of Europe, among the men who have too long played
3d
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printing
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ceased to be conscious of the poignant realities with which they
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1


THE DIAL
A FORTNIGHTLY
The camp
The Moral Devastation of War
THE SOLDIER HAS BECOME a child.
in this spirit of irresponsibility-and he is a very
is the place where this new child lives, and military poor soldier indeed, if that prove the case, even if he
discipline is the force which created him. This is continue in the military service and wear his uni-
the most striking thing about camp
life. The form. I have seen serious men, troubled and wor-
soldiers have become children. They show the ried with heavy responsibilities and interests either
same playfulness, indifference, carelessness of conse personal or social, succumb to this influence, and in a
quence, and craving for change; the same desire for little while lose themselves and become indifferent
excitement, for being on the go, for playing games to the whole world-excepting the very immediate
of chance, that are characteristic of children. Like problem of escaping from boredom. For boredom
children they take no thought of the consequence of
is the curse of the camp.
their acts or interest in the serious and important Monotony, constant repetition of the same fact,
things of life. Amongst them are no politicians, and unending similarity and likeness in experience and
having a good time is their ambition in full. labor and environment become the chief factors in
Like children, too, they make friends very easily, are the soldier's life as soon as the novelty of the situa-
extremely social and confidential, having practically tion wears off. This makes the one great aim, the
no secrets from each other, and readily exchange one great ambition of the soldier in camp, to escape
the most intimate experiences with the friends of a the weight of an uncontrollable self-subordination
day. This close friendship is not only in things of that destroys all difference and all individuality.
the spirit. The soldier's sociability takes the form There is an equality about camp life that is ideal.
of great readiness to share the material things he It knows no variation. It is perfect. It reduces all
has. On getting a box of “goodies ” from home, things to one level. It dresses all bodies in one cloth,
one divides them with his “buddies (friends) - and contracts all souls into one mood—irresponsi-
and his friends include all the soldiers in sight bility. For the soldier's life is so arranged that the
and with the sharing of the “goodies
only thing to do is to be irresponsible. His food,
ally shares his news, and his letters are often read shelter, and clothing are provided for him. He has
aloud—especially if they happen to be from some no voice in matters of the most intimate and per-
admiring and naive ladylove who opens her lone sonal activity. He can do nothing of his own voli-
some heart in terms of endearment to her soldier tion. The buttons on his coat are regulated by a
boy. They love to shout, to sing, to gamble, to rule which he did not make and which he cannot
fight
, to get into escapades
, to indulge in pleasantries
, change. The shape of his shoes, the color of his hat
and take the world, so to speak, as a playhouse and cord, the size of his necktie, and the place of his bed
life as a game where the rules are still to be made are regulated and determined for him. He lives a
and where responsibility and laws have no existence. life where the will has no meaning, and where
This attitude is very strong.
It prevails with thought and initiative are not only not demanded
practically all soldiers. It forces itself upon all of but suppressed. He is a nearer approach to an ani-
the men who remain in the army as privates. I am
mate tool acting under response to external stimuli
not speaking of the officer. I know
very
little than any other human contrivance.
about him, and there are influences which must have This reduction of the individual variant is not
a counteracting and restraining effect. But for the only in things material but in things spiritual as
private soldier this tendency to forget the world one
well. Not only do soldiers look alike, but to an
came from, to lose interest in the serious and
extraordinary degree they think and feel alike and
weighty things that filled one's life before, and about the same things. In civil life each individual
succumb to the irresponsibility in thought and act
is constantly called upon to exercise initiative in the
that is bred in army life, is almost universal. Only solution of problems peculiar to himself—which
he who fails to become a soldier fails to participate involve personal responsibility. But in the army the
one natur-


334
April 5
THE DIAL
problem and the situation are very much alike for constitutes the essentials of moral activity under
each man.
It is the problem of finding some these conditions is pathetic. They therefore failed
medium of creative individual expression inside a to render the one vital and essential service to both
system that strives to mold all character and all the soldier and the nation that was at this time so
thought into a single formula and into a single type much needed, and that would have given these or-
-a type capable of acting without hesitation to ganizations a real part in making the American war
certain given and purely external stimuli having effort mean something to the world in a spiritual
little or no correlation within the experiences of the way. This failure to make provision for the intel-
men themselves.
lectual and spiritual needs of the men left them to
But man cannot live on obedience and submis their own resources to find an escape from their
sion alone. The soldier demands something else. monotonous world—and find it in some measure
He craves some form of activity involving personal they did.
responsibility and individual effort. And to satisfy The paths to self-expression in camp are ex-
this need for self-expression that finds some outlet tremely limited. And some form of self-expression
in civil life compatible with the ordinary interests is essential if men are to retain any semblance of
of the individual, no matter how cramped and nar self in an environment so consistently organized to
row those interests may be, is in the army possible destroy individual personality. Some soldiers came
only in extra-military things—things having no re-
to the army as lovers of books, and in that way
lation with the activities which the army imposes
found a means of keeping alive their spiritual world.
upon the men, They cannot contribute to the Others had the good fortune to play some musical
serious things that are expected of them, and so instrument and gave vent to their pent-up feelings
they seek and find satisfaction in extra-military by playing. But most men are neither lovers of
things generally frowned upon in civil life which, books, nor musicians, and even those who are, as a
in the army, become a natural and normal rule, find their environment unconducive to a main-
variant to the regular and non-varying form of tenance of that interest. For men in camp are ex-
existence imposed from above. It would seem, of
tremely restless, unable to concentrate, anxious for
course, that this situation would provide an excel novelty and change, and not satisfied with the forms
lent opportunity for good and wholesome external
of expression that proved satisfactory under normal
influence along moral and educational lines. For
conditions. There is, therefore, for the soldier only
the soldier needs some outlet, and his external life
a limited field capable of providing sufficient excite-
makes him very easily subject to influence. Un-
ment and interest and opportunity for self-forget-
fortunately, however, no such provision at all ade fulness, and that field is chiefly represented by two
quate has been provided. I do not at present want
things-gambling and women,
to go into a discussion of the activities of the various
It is no exaggeration to say that practically every
welfare organizations and of their value to the
soldier gambles. There is no other activity that is
soldier, excepting to say that their activities have, as
so popular or that seems so satisfactory. Gambling
a whole, failed to reach the core of the problem-
has many forms, but the shooting of dice (" craps ")
the provision of an opportunity for initiative and
is the most popular. Of all games it is the greatest
self-expression—and that at the very best they have
game of chance and luck, and is therefore the most
reached but a small portion of the men. While they universal.
* Crap shooting " for money is pro-
have had a very definite value in providing little hibited in the army, and in my camp there has juste
things, they have failed in the larger and deeper been issued an order increasing the penalty. But
e-failed both as educational and as moral
that is the one rule that no one obeys. It is played
centers providing an imaginative and convincing in- everywhere and on all occasions. I have seen min
terpretation of the world forces which brought
on the drill field given a few minutes rest take the
the men into the army. In fact, the truth is that
dice from their pockets and start a game. At night
not only did they fail to give to the soldier something
when the lights are out they will crouch around a
of the meaning of the things involved in a spiritual candle shielded from observation, and stretched on
way in America's entrance into the war, or the
full significance of the slogans that were abroad as
the floor, or straight on their stomachs, with bated
indications of those values, but that they seem never,
breath and flushed faces, either as participants or
to have realized that there was an opportunity to
observers, spend hours in the game. After payday
fulfill a very definite need. The welfare organiza- broke before morning dawns again, to spend the rede
it is usual to stay up all night; and many a man is
tions as a whole seem to have been perfectly helpless of the month in borrowing
“smokes.
in the light of this need. Their lack of imagination
and their helpless and antiquated attitude as to what
“crap.” playing is the most general of all
chance, it is not the only one.
Cards in varying
sense-
games
of


1919
335
THE DIAL
ferms, with poker holding its own as the chief, is to be in some large cities, is due not so much to
certainly next in line of favor. After payday many greater voluntary abstinence, to higher morality, or
will stay-up nights and play for high stakes, until even to the lack of opportunity for its spreading,
practically all of the money is held by a very few but rather to the fact that military efficiency is not
of the card experts in the company. To this must consistent with prudery, and that the army has faced
be added the capacity to turn every situation into a the problem and made provision for its discovery and
game of chance. Men will gamble as to who will treatment on a scale more adequate for the situa-
buy a drink when in the canteen, or as to whether tion than in civil life—but most of all to the fact
there will be chicken for dinner. Every dogmatic that educational preventive measures are a part of
statement is met by a challenge-from the spelling the army scheme and method in dealing with this
of a word to the day of mustering out, or as to problem. In fact the army has done a remarkable
whether it will rain or snow in the morning. Prob- piece of educational work in sex hygiene. An inter-
ably the most interesting game of chance I witnessed esting illustration of the method of approach is the
took place one night when I was teaching spelling. fact that a man is court-martialed for not reporting
I had a class in elementary English and some boys exposure to contagion rather than for exposure as
were in the test as observers, others as students. The such. But the interesting thing in the present con-
spelling lesson developed into a spelling match, the nection is the soldier's attitude towards woman as
men betting against each other as to whether they that attitude is affected by his life in camp and the
could or could not spell the next word. I agreed to narrow outlets which it forces upon him. This atti-
give the words in order as they appeared in the tude is unexpected. It is the attitude of the scientist.
spelling book, and words with the same number of It is an attitude shorn of modesty, morals, sentiment,
syllables. In a little while the observers began to and subjectivity. It is immodest, unmoral, objec-
bet
, each choosing his particular favorite to bet on. tive, evaluating, and experimental. Men will sit
The tent soon filled to overflowing and the game
till late at night in a darkened tent, or lie on their
was in full swing. Up to eleven, when taps was cots, their faces covered with the pale glow of a
sounded, we had an exciting time of it. I have tent stove that burns red on cold nights, and talk
never witnessed so much will and enthusiasm in the about women-but this talk is of the physical rather
learning of spelling—as for the pupils, they learned than the emotional, of the types, the reactions, the
more spelling that night than in any other. It was a temperaments, the differences and the peculiarities of
very successful evening, also, for the schoolmaster, moral concepts, the degrees of perversity, the physical
in spite of the fact that the rest of the schedule was reactions, the methods of approach—in fact, as if it
crowded by this sudden love for spelling. It made were a problem in physics rather than morals.
the school. It gave it social standing and the teacher The lack of personal interest, the freedom from
an unwonted popularity.
care, the absence of the restraint of family and asso-
The soldier is very much concerned about woman. ciation, the close intimacy with men to the exclusion
Just as gambling is one of the serious occupations of women, accentuates the interest of and the crav-
of the soldier, so is the search after woman one of ing for woman. This craving for the escape from
the great games he plays. It is the game of a hunts an unnatural and dissatisfying condition lacks how-
man, and like a good hunter he displays persistence, ever most of those sentimental and affectional as-
energy, avidity, and resourcefulness in the chase. pects which we consider a normal consequence to the
And generally speaking, this activity in the pursuit intimacy between man and woman. It is an exprès-
of woman is not in vain, for by and large practi sion of physical hunger desiring physical satiation.
cally every soldier who participates in this activ It is very much akin to the craving for food by a
ity—and a very large majority do—finds his efforts hungry man, and is talked about and discussed in
rewarded. And in this process he reduces all social terms applicable to food hunger, food acquisition,
institutions within his reach, from the church to the and food satisfying qualities.
gambling house, to an instrument for his end, and This predominating unemotional attitude is so
does so deliberately.
characteristic that it pervades the atmosphere. Let
The talk in some quarters to the effect that mili me illustrate. In the town near my camp the public
tary discipline has made a moral saint of the Amer-
woman has been driven from the street. Some hun-
ican soldier emanates from sources that would place
dred of them are now in jail. But prostitution has
a wish above a fact. And the fact is that the soldier prevailed.
The soliciting previously carried on
is very much more unmoral than when he entered openly by the women is now in the hands of young
The truth that infectious diseases are less common
army-a fact that has few, if any, exceptions. boys—boys from twelve to sixteen years of age.
After being accosted a number of times one evening
in the army than they were, or than they are known
by some of these youngsters I made some remark
the


336
April 5
THE DIAL
offensive to one young huckster, and in reply he
avowed, “ Look a' here, Soldier, I tell you it is clean,
fresh, and good.” These were the very adjectives,
and others like them, which are on the lips of the
men in camp when discussing the problem of sex-an
attitude applicable not only to the public woman, but
to all women in general. That there are some ex-
ceptions to this rule is probably true, but it is also
true that these exceptions are rare.
The deteriorating influences of camp life involve
other aspects than those indicated, but the widely
heralded virtues bred by military discipline-and be-
yond a certain readiness of give and take and greater
sociability I do not know what they are—are
achieved at a very heavy cost in terms of human
personality. Aside from the political aspects, of
military institutions, when viewed purely as an in-
fluence upon human personality, army life proves
to be unhappy in its consequence. For not only does
gambling become the chief of the moral occupations,
and the physical attitude towards sex a reversion to
a type that is not generally considered desirable,
but in addition to those things it definitely deterior-
ates the sense of individuality, of self-respect, of
interest, and of that something that gives to a nor-
mal being his fiber and his grip upon the world
about him. It is a very great destroyer of values
values cherished in civil life. Probably the meaning
is best illustrated by a remark made by a Sergeant-
Major who, upon being discharged, and while saying
good-by, turned to me and said: “I am very glad
to go home."
“And why this great gladness? ” I
asked. “Well, it darn near makes a criminal of
you if you stay in it long enough," was the reply.
And this remark tells a tale that includes most of
the things I am trying to say.
It seems a matter of great doubt whether this
deteriorating influence could be modified or elimi-
nated by giving something to the army life that it
has not at present—something that is described as
education. The evidence seems to point to the fact
that as long as young men are herded together on a
large scale and deprived of the opportunities to con-
tribute democratically to the determination
their
own destinies, their own government, and their
own labors, no amount of external palliatives will
destroy the more serious evils involved in army life.
And to democratize an army—truly democratize it
-is to undermine the present function of all the
military ideology and technique as it relates to the
soldier, making him an obedient unthinking instru-
ment of another's will. There seems, in fact, no
alternative. One must either accept the present
scheme of army life with whatever palliatives and
reforms are offered, and accept with it the general
evils that come from such a life, or set one's face
like Aint against the whole scheme of military pur-
pose and military ends.
The soldier's efforts at escape from a dull en-
vironment and his efforts to find an outlet for his
personal activities are rarely successful. Neither
gambling nor women make such provision, and the
desire to
escape the immediate is always the
strongest and most obvious thought and purpose
that he exhibits. He is never happier than when he
is on the go. Long before the war ended there was
some rumor to the effect that my Division would
be held on this side for a winter's training. Not only
were we chagrined at being denied the privilege of
going across, but we were made extremely unhappy
at the thought of having to spend a winter in camp,
—and one soldier put it tersely and with the c