New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-18
OUR FAULTS-AND VIRTUES.
THE WAY THEY STRIKE ONE OF THE
CLEVEREST OF OUR MENTORS.


Pent National election in the capacity OF speciai
CORE, pondent to "The Daily Mail" of London,
but eacity he shows that he does not disdain the
commoncr journalistic title. He came 10 inter-
view us to report us, and he made copy or the
sort that not the most up-to-date CITY tdi'or oi
the time either side of the Atiantc "ouiu
dream of rejecting. The airs so frequent IN
Especial correspondence" are Invisible IN these
Vivacious letters. They make good DOOR, out
that is because they made good news letters 10
read them between covers is convenient ana
since it makes them readable at sitting they are
that much the more impressive; but their sold
merits must have been conspicuous ~heh 'hey
were printed side by side with the most ,
sphemcral fragments of a newspapers daliy
budget 1t is, perhaps. too much to say that
'"rhc Land Of the Dollar is the best foreign
book on American life published in this gener-
alton Some subtleties of the American charac-
ter have eluded Mr.. Stevens. But we are bound
TO admit that what the latter lost he lost be-
cause he had to go home so soon. HAD ne
stayed longer he would inevitably have discoV-
cred as much again as he has set forth lhis
because he is, On the whole. the most hu"ai'
most sympathetic most quick-wltted Stranger
who has come to these shores in many long
day to write about US He is an embodiment OF
commons sense, and we have not detected an
atom of prejudice in his book
1t may be said by some readers that Mr. Stee-
yens is nothing more than skilful sketcher or
the surfaces of things. He does not philoso-
rhize oyer-much and we have grown accus-
Toned to sermonizing the part Of our foreign
critics. But if Matthew Arnold. for example,
seems philosophical and Mr.. Stevens merely
objective you have only to follow up the FORM
er's charge of being a people without IDEAS
with this paragraph by Mr. Stevens:
THE keynote of this (the Americana character
IS its irresistible impulse to impress all It's senti-
ments externally by the crudest and most op-
yious medium The Americans are the most
demonstrative Of all the peoples of the earth.
Everything must be brought to the surface, EN-
bodied in visible, palpabe form For a 1act
TO make any effect on the American nina IL must
be put in a shape where it can be seen, heard'
handled. If you want to impress your 1ellows
you must do 1t, not through their reasoning
powers but through the five senses Of their
bodies l noticed it at first in connection with
their way Of conducting an election. hundred
thousand men are going to vote for Mckinley; |
that is nothing Put your hundred thousand |
men down in Broadway, so that we can see them |
marching hear them shouting; then we Will
begin to appreciate the fact the
demonstrative nature of the race, once discoV-
cred in this respect, soon appeared master
key which would unlock most Of the puzzles in
the American. . Why does he cover his |
person with childish buttons and badges? Be |
cause you can them, and you can't see the
sentiments in his mind. Why does he cling all
his life to the title of some rank or Office he
held twenty years ago? You can hear the title
pronounced, but you can't see the history of his
life 1t is in this sense that the Ameri- |
cans may fairly be called the most materialstic
people in the world. Materialistic in the sense
OF being avarcious, do not think they are; they
~ AXE money as have said because they must
make something and there is nothing else to
make But materialistic, in the sense that they
must have all their ideas put in material form.
they PROFESSIONALLY are.
II is sharp criticism. Of course but is 1t any
SHARPER than the more philosophical disqusiton
In which Matthew Arnold told us that we were
not a people Of ideas? And many excellent
Americans are not above admitting that. in
certain significant sense. Matthew Arnold was
right He never meant to be taken literally.
Neither does Mr. Stevens mean to be so taken.
or course we have ideas But to live by them,
10 deal pre-eminentIy with them in daily life
as the French may be said to do. is certainly
not our distinguishing trait Where Mr.. Stee-
VEINS is even more interesting in telling us so
than was his more eminent countryman is in
hitting upon the concrete things that Illus
trate our temperament. Take this fragment
from his description of a Bryan meethg III 'he
open air at Washington:
"As for the matter Of the speech. why trouble
70 ino,irc about it? 1t leads well in this morn
ings newspaper but thought 1t sinacked OF
platitude and tautology. Certainly it was most
yft draw