New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-08
r.. ,.. Editor NJ The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir; In one Of your recent issues cor
respondent published a striking letter under
,bo heading "Is the West Unmanly|
Doubtless the mputation implied In that
very question was resented by great many
.Wcsterners" Of the overfed, smugly self
complacent type alluded to by your corre-
spondent. whilst as regards the other true
tyne Of Western pioneer whom the writer mas
met in out-of-the-way places out west espe-
chilly up and down the British Columbia
frontier and among the forests and hills OF
Washington and Oregon, and whom he has
learned to love, why, the chances are that
that rough hammered but essentially brave
and self-rAant type would be the very hrst
to recognize tho SISSY" type gbbeted In that
letter and to dismiss those sham western
crsp with a shrug Of amused contempt.
From fairly prolonged and extensive ae-
ouaintance with the Western country, espe-
cially the Pacific Slope, make bold to answer
YOUR correspondents query in the affirmative
Yes. tho average man out here is conspicu-
ously lacking in those qualities which went
70 make up the hard-bi pioneer OF earlier
deys; and il there be two outstanding char
acteristics whereby you may pick out your
modern average run man born and raised
west of the Mississippi it is a colossal SELF
absorption and an equally colossal ignorance
of and contempt for all men and matters
lying outside his own ken. In that attitude
he is nothing so much as Chinese, with whom
h. al l..
The former Characteristic shows itself In a
myopic but logged determination to get by
which keeps mis- eyes fast glued to his own
immediate concerns and surroundings, and
renders him constitutonally incapable OF
anything like imaginative sympathy. The
second characteristic is shown in bland and
naive know nothngism" which is less anus
ing than irritating to some Of us. Take two
tvpical utterances which have heard dozens,
nay, hundreds, of times during the last year
or two: Belgium? Why yes, she is sure up
against it, But, then, Belgium brought her
troubles on herself" "I'm for the Allies all
right But say, what are they all scrappng
about? And why is England in the war at
all?'
In the face of such stupid or callous selfish
ness and of such bottomless ignorance, is 1t
TO be wondered at that the candidacy Of the
peace-loving Mr.. Wilson was Endorsed out
West with enthusiasm? His supporters here
reasoned this way: If America can get by by
following the line of least resistance, why
should she 20 out of her way to hunt for
trouble?" In other words, if following the
line Of least resistance means chlorotormng
your own moral judgment and bludgeonlng
rc1r - t0bt nd
what matter so long as we keep from getting
hurt? The slogan he kept US out Of war;
was i'm truth chosen with admirable under
standing of the modern Westerncrs psychol-
ogy. That gentleman ard his wife didn't
raise their boy TO be "A soldier" and there
fore Mr. Wilson, who was too proud to fight
leaving those mere Europeans to do it for
HIM, was the man after their own heart.
The writer is an adopted American OF
Anglo-Swss antecedents, and came TO this
country originally full Of the most fervid and
loyal admiration for everything American,
especially for the sturdy, outstanding, heroic
spirit OF rs and the clear-visioned patriotic
devotion Of 81. Contemplating the men and
women Of those days. it seemed a glory in
deed TO be identified with the United States
Of America. Alas! How have the mighty
flllen Ny Minute Men of Bunker Hill and
Valley Forge, my "Yanks" and "Rebs" of Get
tysburg and the Wilderness are mere shadowy
memories; and, except in very few instances,
do not believe that the men ! meet in the
ordinary days run out here in the West are
capable of the faintest throb of real, self
sacrificing patriotism. OF course, spread
eagle patriotism is cheap enough, especially
at social gatherings; but that sort of patriot