The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-06-10

taken their cue from them. ii saves
thinking. And there IS. beyond all ques-
ton. d certain public which VIII net
recognize the existence Of an author
who has, nor been bred IN one Of the
magazines or aunelied ~ one Of the
associate publishing houses 10 be a
pariah IS not a pleasant thing in this
world. particularly If there was a mo-
uleat when voR dwelt with the elect
4 il sife ana pleasant to be consistent.
Is approved Moreover, it Is profitable.
not recklessly s. perhaps, but It IS
agreeable % look forward 70 nice lit
TIE income for a reasonable number Of
years ALI this Begets timiditg. aud
tinidity Is leeeh at the throat Of
originality
Let us examine the canons which
govern the aristocracy Of American
letters Originality, except in the
mildest form. is prescribed What
never has been done never can be
done may be said TO be the motto Of
American literature
The second canon Is firm adherence
to the most curious convention that
4 has ever been insisted upon ia any
country that tliis world Ii not as 1t Is,
but as Ii ought to be- The sole taboo
Is not sex by any means Many anoth-
er tendency Of the human mina. many
another exposition Of life, must be for
ever Ignored and denounced Whether
or not this convention originated with
certain men, powerful In shaping Amc.r
lean literature, who bad seen no. aims
Of the world, or whether there was !
deliberate concerted attemr ~ fhi
part Of the literary pov ysfs "a max,
American literature reAnea arlsto
cratic undetnocf .eic, a rarefied thins
n the third stratum above mortals
II Woaid Ia hard to say. The result
now sger, II may be observed here i
not aristocratic. but distinctly middle
class. ii is the expression Of tha'
4 bourgeoisie which is afraid Of dolng
the wrong thing. not Of the indifferen
! Srsstoerat; BIZ that element which dafe'
If -fa,a .rste. 'acity
rarely ntters 4 bold seRtimei8 aid rs
rarely feels one. It is as correct as
4 Sunday clothes and as innocuous as
sterilizcd milk. but Ii Is not arlsto-
cratic The natural result Of its sue
cess is that American writer's feel no
necessity to see the world Too much
knowledge, indeed. would upset the
prescribed poise. and they spend their
years comfortably describing the little
life about them. adding nothing what
ever to the knowledge Of mankind
Their utmost range Is after dialect
l. d, illiteratc phrases and local color
They mildly interest people who are
used TO them and can get nothing else
A third canon, which Is indeed but
part OF the second, is that fiction
to be literature American literature
must be anaemle Nigor vitality, rich
ness, yividness, audacity 81 thought or
phrase ANY quality in short which is
dlstinctively American must be weed
ed out bleached out, Of the ambitious
author, would he receive recognition
as an American Of letters. Here, again,
Ii they are trying to be aristocratic
they are making curious blunder.
The qualities l have enumerated as
anathema distinguish the aristocracies
of all nations, and. as your true demo
erat Is an aristoerat. therein lies the
close relationship between the high civ
iiization Of the old world and the su
perb AmericanIsm which laughs at an
Client forms ana superstitions, goes its
own gait with apologies 10 no one 0nr
literature fairly represents the bour-
geois spirit Of Europe, but if does not
represent the United States ia any
thing but matter Of sort
A fourth canon, still 20 subdiyltle tile
second Is what might be called the re
itch Of thebody, Magazine editors. their
confederate publishers, their writer's
and readers, defy the body, grovel In
the dust before 1t II never has done
and can do no wrong At ait events Ii
must be protected ut every hazard and
cost. Let the brain rot The brain Is
invisible and Insignificant Let the
MIMI close its doors 10 the best OF