Arizona republican., 1892-05-31

and delIciously 70 tho fresh fruit, -. rense, OuC Dowaeu, yyno n&d opened the discussion, enjoyed the privilege of re- plying in full to all that was said during the entire evening, Accordingly he girded himself for the conflict. He took notes of the various speeches and was kept busily employed arranging book markers in certain volumes before him on the table His spirited reply con- sisted of CD a brief general review of poetry, (2) sketch of modern democ- racy, (3) series of ad hominem arguments which fairly knocked the bottom" out of attacks based upon detached sen tences and made by men whose critical faculty seemed to have been guided by pruriency rather than principle in their reading of Whitman.
 Dowden stock each important quota tion made by his adversaries, showed it's relation to the context and explained the Delring of the entire passage or poem GIDu Whiuuan's leading ideas of de- mucracy and optimism. With great en- thusiasm he brushed away the cobweb fancies of mere prettine.s and jingle which make up great part of so called poetry to the detriment of wide views and sound sentiment.
 He had much to say of magazine poetry, of what Professor Huxley calls the sensual caterwauling school, and of the long dallying with nastiness in fine phrases and classical allu ms. He then spoke of the mortal ra,s of men" and of the mighty perturbations of society, which seem necessary for the establishment of humanity's claims; of the crusades, the reformation, the French revolution and the civil war in the United States. Reviewing the re- suits of the last great commotion he traced the growth of new desires, new demands, new tendencies and new atti- tudes toward life and death, and all per manent subjects of human thought or in- terest. He regarded Walt Whitman as the most profitable and original inter preter of the new age, and declared that the great western republic will not rest satisfied with the tags and rags of Europe any more in poetry than in politics; that the jinglings of Alexander Pope's moral plattudes are as much out of date under existing conditions in the United States as the successful interfer- ence of Vatican pope with the estab- Eshed principles of American institu- tiOns
 When his remarks upon Whitmans own methods were concluded, Dowden called attention to the critics who had just spoken in something like the follow ing terms;
 Tn estimating the value of criti- cism, particularly upon such important subjects as those with which Walt Whit man deals, it is not unnatural to make some inquiries into the character and capacity of each different critic. Some of the gentlemen who have spoken to- night have been my acquaintances or friends for many years. They are all honorable men, and in their own special callings speak with authority. They understand the technicalities of com mon law, equity, horses, billiards, choice wines, foreign cigars and good society They are capable of discussing with in- telligence the niceties of ancient and modern literature, including French novels and dramas adapted from the same.
 They can sit at the windows of the University or Kildare Street clubs, and with mathematical accuracy point out the merits and defects of woman or a horse. In private life l have no doubt that they are the best of good fellows. They are the fortunates of the earth and have fairly touched the Happy Isles.' But we have not heard that they have ever raised a voice on behalf of any movement which tends to the ameliora- tion of that large portion of the human race which is so profoundly unfortunate and so far away from any happy prospect in this world,
 "Thcy have done nothing to mitigate the misery of the hungry, the houseless, the depraved and abandoned of the world. These gentlemen live. and their predecessors of the same temperament have lived and died, apparently uncon. scious of, or indifferent to, the hard lot of the poor and the oppressed, We do not blame them for this callOus indiffer- ence. They are so constituted and prob- ably would not wish to be otherwise. But we do blame them when they insult great writer and thinker who views life with clearer vision than they possess, and who dares to hold out brighter prospects for the millions.
 "These excellent judges of good wines and fast horses, then, are the gentlemen who tonight accuse Whitman of igno. rance, indecency, obscenity and the rest of it. They denounce him for a plain, healthy statement of facts which, when thoroughly understood, will do much to establish true decency and morality in place of the sham articles which now so frequently prevail. We have seen the men who are against Whitman, now let us see those who are for him." Dowden then read the names of poets, literary