Evening journal., 1899-03-22
LETTERS FROM THE P OPLE
RUDYAlRD KrIrNG.
To the Editor of the Evening Joarn


yard KTpMng has served as an oeca-
sllon fer much newspaper comnent
ami am exhyb.llon cf mere or lsss pub
lie ireerest. Empercrs have cabl>i
their inquiries, arld psrsonages OF LESS
er note have We'd with each either Cn
the effcrt ito indulge in fu,some and
aduiatory estimates OF this dlewsr Am
glo-Indian. Indeed, ONE enthusiastic
Kip,ingmaniac, by mamie Joquin Miller,
lis quoted as Having expressed himself
20 THE effect that "Rrdyard KIpl.ng is
a possible Shakespeare. We don't
know, we don't care, whether or mot
JoqiGln Miller wals undlslr THE influence
CT Lquor when HE maids so wild so
reck1ekti am ASSERTION Possibly ihe
was. But we do know THAT Shakes
peares do not grow ON apple trees
AMID we also know thar Judging MIR.
Kipling by his wor'k-and no other
standard exists-there is about as
much chance Of Rudyard Kipling de
velopinIg into a Shakespeare ais dhere
is of THE moon tuhm6ng into circular
MASS OF green cheese. Satirical com
nu5mt-,thie said satire hehng in MO
wise comparable with THAT OF Charles
Diclzens-an the "canchy" yeIsifying
OF few national cr Vital ev1~ts would
eoem TO be the appreciable e@.--. Up
to date of Mr.. Kiplingls work en- eauth.
But we are very sure THAT Of such
comparatively mddlocre STUFF Shakes
Iaaras are nl-k made Most decidedly
Lot Amid all the fuss and featheris'
cl Mr. Kipl1ng's OF course regredtab0s
ILLNESS, aGd amid all dhe somewhat
sJrainlsd sympathy exhibited by the
public in his behalf, it would perhaps,
ba sntereating to recan the trenohant
wunds Of am able EnIglash writer who
Cnce upon a time tclOk Mr.. Kipllng to
task for publishing a series of ARTICLES
CtAmeulcan Nioues''l ON America. For
the beneflt of thcise who may not have
read-ior having uead, f-rgOaten1-ths
trenchant words neferwed to, we re-
produce them. We quote from MEM
o.y. lbut we quote correctly.
''Nlr RudyanA KipIng," said THE
wnE5sr, "is diFtpleased with America. He
doss nclb like lis ways He disappuoves
III it's hIotel clenlns. He lis offended by
ats accent, especially by THE accent of
ITS wcmen. He is dssquleted by it's
inaerv1ewers: amid on that point we
cain emily say THAT we are mot surprised.
Butt 40 lis only fair to say THAT there ans
inJervieiwers lin other lands as we'll ai5
I'M thh Amerlcan States. Amenica may
ihaue had the odious distinction III in
velnt1ng tha Interviewer. butt othlar
countries have had the still more cdi-
GUS resp -nsahility OF adopting and ma
tjonalizlng and multiplying him. Amer
lea may Chave sinned by inventIng him
out kf pure lightness OF heart but
surely THE countrles THAT, forewarned,
and dherefore Hcrearmed, dnIcOur-
aged him dcl grow and blossom
and spread among them are mere cul-
paIb1e stIl than even his Iheladless i'm
ventors. However, we are n-t going to
find fault with Mr.. Eliplng because he
does mot like interviewers. He says
they Ghave mo such newspaper tribe in
india: but THEM, can it be that MIR. Kip
ling newer reads any OF Dhls INDIAN
newspapers? Or can it be that i'm this
Indian newspapers the editors invent
rhe INTERVIEWS withlomt talking tht
trouble ito send mound THE interviewer
\ 10 waylay his victim? If we can trusi
The evldsnoe of cur eyes, intervIewers
. do ucw and then appear in Indian
newspapers: but perhaps Aln Kip
lang's pcllnlt is that dt would he mors
ccnvurild-lt to have the interviews pub
lished without having dhe interviewed
put to the troubie Of a call from ths
Interviewer. There certainty is slime
ing in that.
This american, MIR. Kipllag says, lhaI
MO Language. ''He is dialect, slang
proNlncia9ism, accent, and so forth.
New dhalt Mr.. Kfpling has heard a mer
lean voices, an the beauty of Bre
Harte lis rulned fon him. He find
himself catching through dhe roll o
Bret Harue's rlhydhmical prose THE ca
dcrice III Pret Haute's peculiar tfauher
lalrd It lis rather a pity that trav
elar should be so clriOusiy sensitive
III Is rather pity, too, THAT travele
should tla so general or so monotoni-Nl
tn hills impressions. We do not l1no'
hclw much cf America Mr.. Klpl.nlg Ma
seen rr heard, but HE ceutainly write
about accents ais If HE was unldar th
impressions thlalt New York and Vel
mont give tongue and tone to 'Amel
Sea. Get an Amiei]can lady" says M
F0ipllng, "bo read 10 you 4TIow SAINT
Claus Came to Simpsons Bar, an
how much ds, under her tongue, left 4
the beauty Of the original" AN AIMEE
N lean lady2 We are Inclined to Thin
t,hat erldh a readinlg, say by Miss AID