The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-06-14
FOREIGNERS LIKE
AMERICAN HUMOR
! CONTINUED from First Page


was the tremendous part that the
Indian has played in turning the
thoughts of other lands ta our own
land. had always thought that II
was Washington irving and his
Sketch Book that gave American
| literature standing abroad. But
this rs only partly true, Irving intro
duced American literature into Eng
land, but 1t was Cooper and his In
dams that gave American literature
standing and vogue on the conti-
Dent.
Two Types of Indians.
Cooper was not the first IL treat
Indian character. but he was the first
| TO treat il successfully. When he
| wrote, there were two schools OF
| opinion about the Indian. The one
believed him a demon incarnate. in
human in all but bodily shape. The
only good Indian was dead indian.
The other considered him an ideal
| figure, natures nohlemau, the type
| of what all men once were and might
! be again
But II Cooper had never been
born. American literature would still
have interest for foreigners. Let me
remind you that until recently the
only recognized types of literature
! were epic poetry, lyric poetry, dra-
matte poetry the essay the history,
the novel. the biography and the
Grafton. To these must now he added
the short story. and In tho short
story American writer's have scored
their most distinctive triumph.
The older masters OF the Ameri
can short story were Irving. Poe
] tInt nj -,
all widely known In foreign lands
though Poe takes easy precedence
among them Indeed he. is Justly
considerec> the father of the AmerI
can short story as distinctive ar
creation. His contribution to th'
short story did not lie In subject mat
ter. but In form His criterion wa
totally of effect
Appeals 10 Foreigners.
The American short story appeal
to foreigners because they sec Ger
tain typical American qualities in IL
directness nf narrative. in lis econo
my OF details, In the business-like ef
ficiency with which II goes about it
work. There is no formal introduc
: ton II just begins. 1t does not Ian
guish TO a conclusion: II simply stops
Its breVity, too, Is characteristicall,
American. II consumes in the read
, ing about the same length OF time tina
Is spent on game of football o
baseball.
II need hardly say that anothe
cause of foreign interest in Americas
literature il the prevalence in 1t @
American humor, Whether we lik
II or not we are considered funn
folks From Benjamin Franklin 4
Mark Twain, Americans have been tn
chief pnrveyors of wholesome nerri
ment, We have not only fired tn
laugh heard round the world but "
have done more than any other ma
ton to democratize laughter itself.
: The last characteristic Of Ameri
can literature that | shall mention
deserves far more time than can b
given here. IT Is Il characteristic tina
, has been most clearly stated by Ger
man critics. In his History OF Ameri
can Literature Eduard Engei says; -
far from being contaminated by tn
Americans alleged love of gain get
: Ting, SO far from being affected b
: what is proVerbially known as Yam
! keeisn, American literature shows de
cidedly less of these very traits thai
do the literatures Of most other ma
lions. In fact, the fundamental char
acteristic or American literature is 1t
idealism. All great writer's in Amer
icu~~al writers considered great
have been without exception idealists
Two Kinds of Idcalism.
ITO my mind the man who see
in the typical American only or chief
~ the greedy money getter or the ra
bid Office seeker is suffering sorel
from spiritual myopia. There are
II must be remembered. two kinds q
idealism-the fdealism that dream
and the Idealism that does. In tn
former the vision is an end in itself
In the latter ii In only a means 4
an end The former we may cal
subjective idealism, the latter con
structiye idealism. This kind of ideal
ism. the constructive type. has char
acteri2ed the American people fror
the beginning Ii explains why 4
the Hall Of Fame men Of action tax
precedence of men of abstrac
thought. II explains the Difference
OF attitude on the part of American
toward niIlionaires who inherit o
hoard their wealth and those VIII
I expend il eonstractisety.
1T explains our dissatisfaction wit
the present condition of our school
and colleges. of our churches an
charitable organizations, Of our cit
governments, our state. government
and our national government. Thi
dissatisfaction IL not weak or uueru
lous. II IL born of an ingraincd ideal
,ism.--lt- is-- constructive in its-end
and beneticent in its purposes.