The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06

amount OF nctlon publlsneu that 10 not worth
reading. That fact, however, does not alter the
force of what | said n moment ago. namely. that
there are novels the reading of which is dis
tinctly beneficial to the man of affairs. There
is no rest greater than that which results from
the perusal OF a story tho interest OF which is
sufficiently great to drive away nil thoughts OF
ones personal interests. To AN ~ovurworked
man n good novel is a complete vacation"
"And your opinion OF poetry, Mr.. Hanna,
is--?"
II have no opinion of poetry" exclaimed the
Economic Man, viciously blowing smoke into
the air, rs though by this method he could watt
into the void all epics, pastorals, lyrics, s%onnets,
songs, and satires the race OF poets had ever
b%egotten. IL have no opinion OF poetry. |
know little about II and care less"
DR.. Bedlue snid:
Nevertheless, Mr.. Hanna. a campaign con-
ductcd on the lines OF the contest just ended
has lad mn inspiring effect upon verse-nnkers.
] have never known the poets OF this country to
respond to n great national cri Is with more
effect than during the last few months. Both
in prose and verse our writer's have been of SER
vice to our cause"
"They have. indeed" admitted Mr.. Hanna
cordially. but I believe we were discussing
poetry. not patriotism. Were we not? Surely
literature. in the politicians definition Of tho
"oih, 10 VA klthho " L VI u L ItSllchllhl NNll-
paiRn. Its influence during the recent struggle
l would be the last man to deny"
To change the subject. | asked:
You are fond of the drama. Mr.. HANNAH"
Intensely. I'm n great theatregocr. The
plays the thingV I'm blessed with n very broad
sym patty. as far as the drama Is concerned. I
can enjoy only a certain kind OF novel. but it's
q pretty poor play from which | can extract no
amusement. l have attended the theatre with
q good deal OF regularity for years. and | must
admit that | am seldom bored in n playhouse"
But you make a distinction between plays
between A Hole in the Ground and Hamlet
for instance 2"
surely. There was one great playwright.
and his name was Shakespeare. The highest
pleasure l have ever enjoyed at the theatre has
been furnished BY the famous exponents of the
Shakospearean drama. When the choice Is Of
fered to me, | always go to see a play OF Shake
speare's in preference TO any other"
1t was not strange that at that moment I
should have begun to formulate a working
theory regarding the Economic Man, the being
who Is. according TO Brooks Adams. the child Of
the age ana tho successor to the warrior and the
man of Imagination. The Economic Man is
amused by Dickens. impressed by Victor hugo.
inspired by Shakespeare. and bored by all poets.
His sympathy with literature. art. and the
drama is real, but its channels are narrow and
well defined. He looks upon books and plays as
p%oultices to heal the wounds made by a pitiless
world. He takes his read ny and his play going
as, In Il way, a part Of his medicine chest. Thack-
cray may serve the Economic Man as q narcotic
and shakespeare as a counter-irritant. Books,
plays. pictures. are not TO his mind of value in
themselves. but are of service only in so far as
they aid a man OF affairs to continue his contest
with an aI,tagonistic world. Art is to him not
q goddess, but a hand-rnaiden.
The above reflections are not intended as CEN
sure OF Mr.. Hanna's attitude toward letters and
the drama. Wise is the man who conforms to
his environment and who obeys the voice Of the
age In which he lives. Mr.. Hanna's position in
regard to art 10 not reprehensible-it 10 inevi-
table. He is the Economic Man. the incarnation
OF a commercial generation. In so far AS cir
cumstances have allowed him to study books
and plays. his taste is not at fault. No man who
admires Shakespeare. Hugo. and Dickens. and
who scorns the petty prattlers of q generation
that. 30 far az art is concerned. is prolific of
pigmies and barren of giants can. be rashly
dubbed a Philistine. Give such a man leisure
in which to make reading not q drug but a busi-
ness. and he will develop into a critic whose
word will be as potent in literary realms as II
now Is in the field Of politics.
Let II not be forgotten, when examining the
attitude of the Economic Man toward art, that
II was "a nation OF shopkeepers that begat
English literature. Furthermore. 1t should be
borne in mind that 1t is from men of the Mark
Hanna type that the arts ana sciences may re-
ceive their most substantial support With
this idea in mind I said to this maker of Presi-
dents, policies. aud precedents:
81 have heard It rumored. Mr.. Hanna, that
an effort 10 to be made to create a new bureau
at Washington. the head of which would have
a seat In the Cabinet and bear the title Of Sec
rotary of Arts and Sciences
All that Is up- Pick wickisn in the mans ma
ture came to the surface as he said coldly:
Understand me, my friend. / am neither
filling oil offices nor creating new ones"
1t had become necessary to explain my re-
mark TO Mr.. Hanna, who Is constantly beset by
tactless and persistent oflce-seekers.
THE proposition to which | refer. Mr.. Hanna,
has not had It's origin with men who seek per-
sonRl ACKNOWLEDGMENT. The broad claim is
made that war-which in it's essence is barba-
rism-is represented in the Cabinet by two
departments. Arts, sciences. education the
characteristic features OF advanced civiliza-
tion-haye no official standing IN the Presidents
conncil. Scientists. men OF letters, and educa-
tors have begun to realize that the highest
inter ests OF our institutions would be advanced
bv the establishment of a department having
charge of certain details that are not ut present
under governmental supervision"
The Economic Man is suspicious OF new ideas
that do not originate with himself or from
rcources with which he is closely in touch. Mr..
Hanna arose, shook hands with DR.. Bedloe and
myself, and vouchsafed no further comment
upon the suggestion briefly outlined by my
words. As he made his way through the re-
spectful throng that had paid the homage of
polite curiosity to the unconscious incarnation
OF our modern idol, success, | realized that |
had obtained In that feeting half hour a clearer
grasp of the scope and limitations of the Econo-
mic Man than weeks of book study could beget.
Indirectly, Mark Hanna had served AS a con-
vincinK essay on the aRe-end man of might.
DO You recall Emcrson's words at the con-
clusion Of his essay on 'Art'2' asked DR.. Bed
loe cheerfully, as we reseated ourselves. "They
seem pertinent to the occasion. Al | remembe
them, they run as follows: In this country at
this time the arts, the daughters OF enthusiasm,
do not flourish, The genuine offspring OF our
ruling passions we behold. Popular institu.
tions. the school. the reading room. the tele-
graph, tho Post ONCE, the exchange. the insur-