The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-07-14
THE EDITORS EVENING
Ths Ideal Literature

There is now iu active eruption IN
the United States the most ideal lit
eratureth that was ever produced. Hlth-
erto the literary faculty 10 man has
required some small basis Of fact out
Of which To evolve its products. The
law Of letters as well as the law Of
science has demanded a thing TO be-
gin with. He who would write and
go to the public has been under the
necessity Of having something as a
understanding that is not moth
ing. Now the law is reversed, and
he may both start with nothing and
end with it,
The conditions FOR the evolution Of
a literature on this basis has been
carefully prepared. Tue preparation
has been most careful in those coun-
tries most blessed with puny politics,
pulled ~plutocracy, and puslllanimous
privilege. The three things last
named 60 e~xcelleutly well together.
In the United States they not only
90 well, but they flourish. One Of
the consequences is that the old-fash-
scholarly, fact-founded, truth.
dealing literature has given place to
the new, ideal, factless, slopful, lurld
literature Of the American newspa-
per.
The war with Spain has been as the
June sun in opening the new literary
of perfect and Infinite mem
to the caresses Of public intel
ligence. The public Is now drinking
in the ideal literature by bucketfuls
and hogsheads. Day by day comes
the demand for more. II the Attain
could be converted into one liquid
it could nor satisfy the demand.
morning the people, inhamed
drinking falsehood, rush down
to the shore in order to get another
schoonerful apiece.
Note what the people are reading.
Lies The streets are a-nutter from
dawn to star rise with flying sheets
that are VIGOROUSLY filed with lies.
The subject-matter Of these sheets,
issued sixteen times a day, and Dur-
dated six hours after the time
Of delivery, is known 10 the offices
from which they are spawned to be a
of lies.
Never before was such an opportu-
nifty given for this u~nutterable bust
ness. The world is in Commotion
and transformation. Things, at best,
are seen through a glass darkly.
Therefore why should anyone undergo
the hardship and thankless toll Of
finding and telling the truth? The
American and Spanish fleets are on
the seas. Why undergo the labor Of
finding out where they are and what
they are doing? Why wait until the
squadron arrives before describing the
5ombardment? Truth is 50 tedious .
Where our hotilla's are need not be
Investigated, since it can be defined.
. telescope is not needed, since a lead
pencil will do as well. True, the Dos
Itlon and course Of our fleets are not
and cannot be ascertained.
Still more occult and inaccessible are
the places and courses OF the enemy's
but we can obvlate this matter
a map and a scratch-book. We
viii bring the fleets together here, and
then say, ut is reported That
will do for one day!
As a matter Of fact only the partic-
know what our ships and ar
are doing. What the plans
and purposes Of the naval Command
Prs may be Is Of course carefully con-
otherwise the war would be
lreposterous. a necessary censor.
has been established to prevent
newspapers from giving hourly
Intelligence to the enemy. For the
AXE Of selling an edition they would
my hour give away their country's
'ausc. The SPY who does this Isl
and hanged; therefore he Is
and continent. To be CONT.
lent IN the matter Of informing
lie enemy IS d virtue unknown IN
Le offices Of the journalistic scaven-
.ers whopour their scoopfuls Of false.
lood Into every street car and every
breakfast table IN the land, Oh, it
s news indeed!
The government has been obliged
Q protect itself against the work oil
his vermln The journalistsu are
therefore, driven to fal upon the pro.
uctlon Of an ideal literature, IL is
work exactly suited to their capaci-
les. They have practiced their BUSH