The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-12-29
SINCLAIR CHANGED
HIS MIND TOO LATE
Told Poet Kemp to Make
Mrs. Sinclair Happy
Romance Resulting,

POINT PLEASANT, N. j., Dec. 20.
Harry Kemp, the Kansas poet, who
is living with Mrs. Upton Sinclair
mile west of West Point Pleasant In a
bungalow, for which he pays $40 u
month, furnished, has told the story of
his romance with the wife OF the radi.
cal author.
Upton Sinclair is still Harry Kemp's
friend. but emp now has few good
words to say about Sinclair since the
later, AS he says In his suit for d.
vorce which the Judge would not
grant, made me out as conventional
home breaker" Kemp is anything but
conventional.
If want to tell this complete story
OF the romance OF Meta and myself"
he said. 1T will show US in the true
light and disprove the nasty state
ments Upton has been making. hope
this will end the whole affair"
Kemp drew an amusing sketch Of
Upton Sinclair and his soul states"
You must first know something OF
Upton" he said. HE IL a queer mix
ture OF good and bad. He is radical
when it suits his ends to be a radical,
and he 10 a conservative when conser-
vative ideas will justify whatever
course he wants to pursue. He has no
sense OF humor. and he is always raw
lng about genius.
HE magnifies everything and wor-
Fies himself into what he calls Il soul
state. When he was in Jail down In
Aarden he thought it was the worst
thing he ever had been in, and he went
and had q big soul state over it. say
ing it was worse than Siberian pris-
ons and all that.
II went down to Arden last July up.
on UptOn's invitation. l never had any
correspondence with Mrs. Sinclair; we
never had been more thand formally
friendly.
when l got there found the Sin
clair home broken up. Upton had told
Meta he wanted divorce and he had
driven her nearly wild. He would in
sist on her doing everything he did
made her diet and live in tent. He
showed her no affection Whenever
she would want him to carry in q buc-
ket OF coal he would do it, but would
sell that that was fine occupation for
q genius.
Upton, you know. preached free
love. In his Love Pilgrimage he put
forth his ideas.
Meta was unhappy and Upton was
20 excited about his genius all the
time that nobody would have much
to do with him. Meta and l began to
read poetry and take walks together.
Meta and l were having a grand time.
We were congenial.
by and by began to notice that
Upton was becoming sort OF funny
and l went to him and said:
Upton, am l paying to much at
tention to Meta?
"'No,' he said, go ahead, and II
you can. make her happy
well. l thought perhaps l ought to
90. but l remembered the doctrines
that Upton had preached and how he
had treated Meta and-and l loved
her. So I remained.
Then Upton came 10 me ana want
ed me to promise that l would play
square. But he changed his mind toe
date"
Kemp said Mrs. Sinclair later went
TO New York to the home Of her moth
or. He followed her in a few days
,and lived also at her mothers house.
Mrs. Sinclair later borrowed $10(
and with some money he had. they
started out wandering through several
New Jersey towns in search of place
to stay until they found the cottage
lin which they are now living. He sale
lSinclair had come to see him at 9
nearby town. but that he had made
him (Kemp) 80 angry he made him
70 back to New York.
Kemp has a weekly allowance o.
$3.50 from a Chicago man who is in
terested in his work. He is making
% little money from the sale Of poems