The sun., 1916-12-02

Lincoln Steffens to do the tasks that not
only created a whole new periodical lit
erature but set In motion a fresh current
OF social and economic thought In the
country.
In the same way a host Of books
with a variety OF so-called purpose
ranging from THE Jungle" to 'Trenxied
Finance" were created. devised and
made possible by the ingenuity. foresight
and good commercial sense OF a maya
editor or n publisher realizing he
relation between reporting actual life
and putting a literary finger upon those
subjects which press down most upon
the minds Of men and women. Here was
bora that nebulous institution known
as timely fiction" or tho book with a
message"
SO, too. with biography. There was a
time when a great mans family had TO
wait n good many ear before any ade-
quate history OF his life was written.
Custom. habit or something else decreed
that n suitable period had to elapse be-
fore the continuous n authorized rec
ord OF his achievements could appear in
print. The world. for example. waited a
long time for the authorized lives Of Mac
aulay and Gladstone. Nowadays. thanks
20 the journalistic sense which animates
all publishing. the official biography be-
begins almost with the funeral.
There is nothing particularly unsenti-
mental about this. We live in n swift
and uncompromising era. Interest in
human beings perlshes swiftly these
strenuous days. The publisher n the
magazine editor realize what a fragile
asset the bauble reputation Is. II must
be capitalized while the interest Is hot.
Fact and Fiction.
So close II the relation between Jour.
nalism and literature these days that
much fiction 10 unconscious fact. and
vice versa. Nearly everybody knows the
story Of the American fact writer who.
on being asked II he ever wrote hction.
replied
Not consciously"
Seriously. any study OF contemporary
fiction must reveal the extra ordinary in
huencc OF straight rsportorial work upon
the making o. books. Richard Harding
Davis was a great reporter, and that was
one OF the main reasons why he became
a very successful writer OF short stories
and novels. Everything he wrote. from
Van Bibber' down to Somewhere In
France was n slice OF life snatched
from the streets or Broadway or the
flaming battle line OF actual war.
Upton Sinclair's book. The Jungle
"'o a 'iiA i'Af fAN'V Va lNItE NillE
The amazing thing about, II was that Il
was secondhand reporting. BY this ]
mean that he did not even get all his
facts nj tirst hand. lie obtained. most
OF IN. Information about conditions In
The packing houses from the Slav worl;-
ers themselves. hut 10 vivid was their
account and so intense their recital that
he made of II almost a literal transcript
from Ike. This. Of course. makes SIN
clair's performance all the more I'M
usual.
Frank Norris is a conspicuous exam
PIE. He was a born reporter with a
Iolaesdue eye for detail that was a
little short OF uncanny, His book. NC
league. was as perfect n piece OF re.
porting OF San Francisco life as could
be found. Gauged by the same standard,
THE Octopus" was as faithful a rehec-
ton OF political conditions In Southern
California as II the publisher OF the book
had sent him out IN an assignment 10
report the great fight between the South
ern Pacific Railroad and the wheat grow
eGs of the san Joaquin Valley.
Then, too. there Is Theodore Dresser
he ~ the book of multifarious word
and incessant amorous desire. To be
sure, he paints with a more or less pas
tomato brush. but the bigger thing is
tina; he doggedly II persistently colors
human weakness as he sees it-and as
Il actually exists.
The fines. example Of the gloriled
reporter IN American fiction. however. Is
presented by the e~ternally lamented
David Graham Phillips. Here was "A
man whose first writing was as a re-
porter, and though he rose TO be the
ablcst novelist Of his day he always