New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-03
Walt Whitman's Americanism


Just passed to honor the poets ninety
eighth birthday. Whitman's verse has a
special interest at this time because OF Its
stanch Americanism. Probably nowhere
else is the patriotic faith of America set
forth more adequately. Whitman was too
big, too broadly national, too consciously
identified with something almost aborlgl-
nal in the very soil Of "The States" to
permit him to become the property of any
particular cult or faddism. There IS some
thing essentially doctrinaire and separat-
ist, something which does injustice to
"America's most representative poet" IN
the attempt, which is often made, TO set
Walt Whitman up as the patron saint of
social radicals, peace-at-any-prlce men ana
Greenwich Village intellectuals.
Though not fighting man, he, too, did
his bit" as a volunteer army nurse in the
Civil War. There were paciists in the
COS. even as now. But Whitman cannot
be said to have been of their number. His
Drum Taps" war poems, verses in honor
Of Abraham Lincoln and Marches Now
the War Is Over" make up large part of
his writing and are among the most NOV
ing things in the patriotic literature of
the nation.
Whitman saw and understood the living
soul of America in nearly all its aspects.
Never once did he lose his belief in Ameri-
can democracy or his vision Of its future
and its mission to the world. An individ-
ualist, who saw that america is only you
and me-" yet an uncompromising national
ist, daring to salute the world in the name
of the distinctive things for which Amer
lea stands; an internationalist, because a
neighbor to all peoples, and friend of
democrats everywhere, but never denier
of the principle CT nationality in his own
country or any other, it is not hard 70
imagine how Whitman, were he alive now,
would feel about the present struggle OF
democracy against Prussianism.
Some of Whitman's lines seem almost
prophetic of the present contest. One can
easily read the present hope of victory for
world democracy in these words, taken
from the poem "As l Sat Alone, by Blue
Ontario's Shore:
As I mused of these mighty days, and Of
peace returned, and the dead that return
no more,
A Phantom, gigantic, superb, with stern
visage, accosted me;
"Chant me a poem" it said, that comes from
the soul of America-chant me the carol
of victory;
And strike up the marches Of Libertad-
marches more powerful yet;
And sing me before you go the song of the
throes Of Democracy
A breed whose proof is in time and
We are powerful and tremendous in our
We are executive in ourselves-we are sufi-
Gent in the variety of ourselves.
We stand self-poised in the middle, branch
ing thence over the world.
America Isolated sing;
l say that works made here in the spirit Of
other lands are so much poison in The
States.
Piety and conformity to them that likel
Peace, obesity, allegiance to them that like!
10! high toward heaven, this day,
Libertad, from the conqueress field return'd,
/ mark the new aureola around your head;
No more soft astral, but dazzling and fierce,
With wars flames, and the lambert lightnings
playing,
With still inextingushable glance, and the
clenched hand and lifted fist,
And your foot on the neck Of the menacing
one, the scorner utterly crushed beneath
you;
The menacing, arrogant one, that strobe and
advanced with his senseless scorn, bear
ing the murderous knife;
Lo. the wide swelling one, the braggart, that
would yesterday do so much!
To-day a carrion, dead and damned, the de-
spsed of all the earth!
Yet in all this Whitman was no maker
Of hymns of hate, but a poet Of the Great
Idea, never losing sight Of the issue at
stake-freedom and justice for all, even
the enemy. Events in an unexpected way
are realizing the poets dream of a world
victory Of democracy and Of Americas
part in that victory. And it is scarcely
too utopian for US, in the light of present
day affairs, to believe that out of this con-
fiict there will come a great drawing to-
gether Of free peoples in peace and mutual
understanding, in a world made safe for
democracy" for the first time in history.
In fact, something Of this kind has always
been at the basis Of our Amercanism, and
it is nothing less than this ideal that has
finally moved the nation to enter the war
for the vindication Of human rights.
The Singing Soldier
Among the distinctly American things