Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-10
Horace Traubel

WE WAIT with particular interest to
w hear what Philadelphia will have TO say
about the passing Of Horace Traubcl.
Traubel was the official echo of the Great
Voice of Camden, and in his obituary one
may discern the vivacity of the Whitman
tradition. This is a matter of no. small
concern to the curators of the Whitman
cult. The soul of Philadelphia cannot be
kept alive by conventions and statistics
alone Such men as Traubel have helped.
There are two kinds of rebels. BY their
neckties you may know them. Walt Whit
man was Of the kind that wears no necktie
at all. Then there is the lesser sort of
which Traubel was one - the rebel VINO
wears a flowing black bow tie with long
trailers. Elbprt Hubbard wore one of these.
1t is a mild rebellion of which this is symbol.
1t often goes with shell spectac"S.
WE NEVER knew Horace Traubel, though
w he was the man we most wanted to
meet when we came to Philadelphia. We
have heard men of all conditions speak of
him with affection and respect. He was
dedicated from boyhood to the Whitman
cause. From Walt himself he caught the
habit OF talking about Walt. and he car
ried it on with as much gusto and happiness
as Walt did. Only recently he said in his
little magazine The Conservator
When I was quite small used to want
10 he a great man. But in my observa-
tions of the old mans better than great
wav of meeting the gifts well as the
reverses of fate didn't want to be great
man. I only wanted TO stay unanneXed
to any institution as he was No college
ever decorated him. For the best of rca-
sons. No college coulu ne Coulu uecoldle
them.
So Traube remained unanncxed. He was
fred from q bank because he happened to
take issue in public with one of the banks
chief depositors He floated about happily,
surrounded by young Whitman disciples,
carving on his guerrilla warfare for what
his Leader called the peerless, passionate,
good cause" of human democracy. His
little magazine led precariOus life, sup
ported by good friends. His protest against
iniouities was an honest. good humOred
protest.
JTORACE TRAUBEL will be remem-
IL bered. as he wished to be remembered
as the biographer of Whitman Whitman
also. we may add, wished Traubel to be so
remembered In his careful record of the
| Camden sage'sg utterances and pulse beats
| he approached (as nearly as any one) the
devoted dignity of Boswell. We were about
to say the self effacing devotion of Boswell {;
| but the beauty of biography is that the biog-
rapher cannot wholly delete himself from
the book One is always curious about the
recording instrument. When We see a par
ticularly fine photograph our first question
is always. What kind of camera was it
| taken WITH
| TT SEEMS to us-speaking only by intui-
| i ton. for we never knew him-that Trau
bel was q happy man. He was untouched
| by many of the harassing ambitions that
make the lives of prosperous men miserable
He was touched in boyhood by one simple
and oyermastering mOtive-to carry on the
Whitman message and spread it out for the
Younger world Much of the dunnage of life
he cast overheard. He was too good q
Whitman disciple to estimate success in the
customary terms. Wheh he left his job in
the bank he opened an account in the Walt
Whitman philosophy - and he kept q
healthy balance there to the end.
We are a little worried about youns
Warren Pershing. We hope that the gen
eraI is sending him to bed early enough
! Remarks by Our Friends
The words that give us most depresh
Are these: "How you have PIT on flesh ;
| After carefully reading the New Yorl
% Hal t.I