The Republican journal., 1916-02-10
TRIBUTE TO A MAINE POET.

In his recently published Anthology of
Magazine Verse for 1915, William Stanley
Braithwaite finds an opportunity in his re-
sumo of the best poetry of 1915 to pay q
glowing tribute to Lincoln Colcord, and
his Vision of War. Mr.. Braithwaite
says:
''Here is a poem that ought to have a
million readers These readers ought to
be, beginning with the President Of the
United States and his official family,
every legislator in Congress and through
out the States, great tinanciers, educa-
tors, clergymen of every denomination,
philanthropists and peace advocates, pro-
fessional men, especially lawyers, all
persons in authority over wage-e arners,
and every person who believes in the
Golden Rule and the Brotherhood of Man.
1t is the greatest poem this war or any
war IN modern times has inspired. And
not because it deals with this war con-
cretely, but rather this war reflects the
faults of civilization. Mr.. Colcord
glorifies his vision of war not because
he believes in war as such, but be.
cause he sees that strife is the only
curative for the ills Of the individual.
When those ills have been permanently
cured, there will be no need for further
strife. Peace is fosterer of human
weakness and guilt, of selfishness and
greed, of falsehood and oppression, of
hate and distrust. When peace becomes
as magnanimous as war, war will cease.
When governments will vote billions of
credit to eliminate poverty. to cleanse
city slums, to protect the helpless, to
encourage to spiritual ideals, to provide
labor for the voorhees,. and to create
hundred other reforms that will give
contentment and opportunity to the mas
ses of mankind. as readily, as unhesitat-
ingly as the parliaments of Europe voted
billions of credit to destroy life, en-
croach upon national bo' .ndaries, to sane
ton wholesale murder, to infuriate hatred
between men innocent of any personal
grievance or ill-will against each-then
war will have ceased We have in this
poem a great vision of sick humanity;
the poet diagnoses all the symptoms of
the patient, but instead of being quack
physician he is great surgeon.
Paradoxical as it may seem,
Mr.. Colcord is the greatest peace advo-
cate of the modern world. The signif-
canoe of this poem is exactly the signifi-
canoe of that paradox Christ uttered
when he said l came to bring sword.
And He was the greatest of all peace
advocates.
$50 much for the exalted message of
Mr. Colcord's poem. 1t is equally as
great looked at in another aspect. l
cannot even hint in this summary at it's
marvellous progression of details. Its
thorough dissection of society, it's as
pirations, it's strong denunciations. and
affirmative ideals. But this l can say
without equivocation that those who
believe they have heard the voice of
Wait Whitman since his death in any of
his disciples with the one possible excep-
ton of Edward Carpenter, have but to
hear the voice of Lincoln Colcord to know
they have been thoroughly and shame
fully deceived. For here is the authentic
Whitman in substance and form, in the
passionate idealization of a world demo-
cracy. He fulfils that prophecy of Zaran-
thusa's who, going up into the noun
tains for mediation, warned his disciples
that one shall come after him greater
than he to carry out his message. He
possesses what was the most vital short
coming in the genius of Whitman Eyes, l
grant that noble seer genius because of
his prophetical vision. and that is an
intellectualized Imagination. This not
only makes his vision a flame but a Pen
tecostal tongue of fire. The eXhalatlon
which burns throughout the poem is only
exceeded by one sublime fact-its dedica-
ton, which reads. ITO the Memory of
Man. and | am persuaded that the
man with the most worthy memory to
receive it is Jesus of Nazareth.