The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-29
THE METROPOLIS. BY Upton Sinclair.
Moffat. Yard and Co.. of New York


publishers. S1.50.
The reading public of the United
States has still in mind Upton Sin
malpractices OF the Chicago meat mar
rnalpratices of the Chicago meat mar
ket were mercilessly laid bare, and the
attention of the world at large wa:
drayn to the necessary war of refor'
nation to be waged there.
Mr. Sinclair has written THE Me
tropolis" in the same spirit as tina,
which inspired "The Jungle" spirit
OF calm and severe iudicialism that
presents certain phases and facts anc
leaves those to whom they are present.
ed TO draw their own conclusions.
That the truth contained in the book
must have hit hard, is apparent from
the stocm of criticism ii has evoked
This criticism takes the form of be-
littlement, of declaring that tho writer
OF The Metropolis" knew nothing in
reality about the habits and homes OF
the smart New Workers when he was
penning the pages of his book. Never
Jheless, there is an attitude of shrink
ing, of wounded vanity withdrawn into
itself and away from the rays of q
pitiless scarchlight that is apparent In
the tone of many of the outcries against
"rhe Metropolis"
Mr.. Sinclair has written very plain
and Straightforward kind of q story.
If there is exaggeraton and distortion
in 1t, the cleverness of the writer hides
anything of the kind from his readers
consciousness. He takes the case of a
man about thirty years of age. who
has been persuaded by younger
brother to sell his plantation in the
South and come to New York with his
mother and his cousin. to establish a
home there Tor these two and to fix
himself In the practice OF his profess
son--that of law.
When he arrives. he is conducted by
his brother to expensive apartments
in an up-to-date New York hotel
While he is waiting to settle himself.
he is advised by his brother to look
around ard come into an understand
ing of his environment.
He is tailored first and afterward
taken to dinner parties. to weekend
parties. to balls. to camping parties in
the Adirondacks, to the horse show and
the opera and to all OF the many
places where the leisured rich Of
America cheat dull time of care and
provide themselves with amusement.
And of all of these places he simply
pictures the panorama of life as 1t I'M
folds before him. He does not moralizc
or preach sermons. He is inclined to let
facts speak for themselves.
He puts the cost of high living and
fine dressing. and all that these de-
mand in the way Of establishments and
employees, into words. He describes the
burdens of the great rich along with
their pleasures and makes one under
stand what 1t costs to be leader in
such circles. He makes plain the
method by which many of "the little
brothers of the rich" get their liveL-
hood, and at what cost they maintain a
precarious foothold.
Many of the people introduced into
1.-THE Metropolis are so plainly identi-
fled that they cannot fail to be re-
cognized by any one acquainted with
American names famous in the finan-
cial or social world.
When Mr. Sinclair's hero has seen
enough of society and Wall Street to
be thoroughly disallusioned: when he
has been employed as counsel in suit
against an insurance company. and
after putting his whole energy into
the case. finds the suit compromised
and recognizes too late that it was
never intended to come to trial. he SIM
ply pulls himself together, gives up his
hotel suite. which is far too expensive
for him. and says to his brother:
i've had enough and think Alice
has had enough also. Well take our
selves off your hands. am going to
stop sauandering money for things 1
don't want. I'm going to stop accept