New-York tribune., 1919-05-31

eo 1oE Dy tne rdct that there Is more
than q hint of autobiography in the
story of Jimmie Higgins. Although the
outward circumstances have no rela-
tion, Sinclair's mind must have gone
through series of adventures some
what similar to those of Jimmie during
the course of the war. Sinclair was
radical Socialist who came out in sup
port of the war, but later found him
self entirely out of sympathy with
American armed intervention in Russia.
1t is this process of rise and fall which
is traced in the mind of Jimmie Hie-
gins to an eventful tragedy. Jimmie was
"a little runt of a Socialist mac hinist,"
and when the war began he was strictly
neutral. He was against both sides be-
cause to him the war was merely
commercial quarrel between big capital
lists Various things happened to shake
his neutrality, but no sooner was he
disposed to see higher issue in the
struggle than some mean piece of prof
iteerlng here at home would convince
nm that everybody concerned was
equally to blame. He was never quite
able to get over his disappointment at
the failure of the German Socialists to
oppose the war programme Of their
country, but no full realization of Ger
many's part in the world struggle came
to him until the Brest-Litovsk treaty
This convinced Jimmie what German
peace would mean to the world.
He resolved to help "root this in
famous thing from out civilizations"
Even Jimmie Higginsl Yes, even jim
m la h
would work as hard as ever he could.
and produce as many automobile trucks
as he could. But, alas! a man cannot
be bounded and oppressed all his life.
cannot have hatred and rebellion
ground into the deeps of his soul, and
then forget it overnight because of GER
tain intellectual ideas, certain news
items that he reads in his paper. What
happened to Jimmie was that his mind
was literally torn in half; he found
himself, every twenty-four hours of his
Dfe, of two absolutely contradictory
and Numerically opposed points of
view He would vow destruction to the
hated German armies, and then he
would turn about and VOW destruction
to the men at home who were managing
the job of destroying the German
armies!
For these men were Jinmie's life
long enemies, and were no more able
to forget their prejudices overnight
than was Jimmie. For example, the
lying capitalist paper which Jimmie
had to read every morning. When
Jimmie had read a patriotic editorial
in The Ironton Daily Sun it had be-
come utterly impossible for him to
help win the war that day! Or the
politicians, seeking to use the war cry
OF democracy abroad to crush all traces
OF democracy at home; to get the
radicals whom they hated and feared,
and by means of taxes en- necessities
and bonded debt to put the costs of
the war onto the poor! Or the capi-
tallsts, making fervid speeches about
patriotism, but refusing to give up the
whip hand over their wage slavesl"
1t will be observed that Upton Sim
Glars style is singularly explanatory.
he writes without grace, but at the
same time he is able to convey to us
sense of conviction and of excitement.
lie is sort of two-handed writer, hit
ting out at his reader constantly, and
II he misses with one sentence it is as
like as not that the other will land.
However, "Jimm,e Higgins" will
hardly be read for its style, but rather
for It's substance ana so it is we'll to
record that Jimmie finally becomes so
convinced that the progress of the
World depends upon German defeat
that he enlist as a machnist. For
the next few chapters the book is
slightly more conventional. Sinclair
IL ready enough to admit that even
with all its horrors there is the DOS
s'olllty Of certain lofty gesture in
war. He makes his Jimmie hero who
takes an important part, quite by ac
cIdent, IN the battle of Chateau Thierrv. |
Here perhaps the book reaches lis /
least plausible point, but it is done at
fire excited pace which we found dis
armlng. Every now aad then UPTON
Sinclair, the radical Socialist. realizes
that he must bring home some of the
horrors of war, SO he shoots awav q
Jaw or leg, but he is not able to hold /
up the course of his novel from its
romantic gallop. We were rather
surprised to find Sinclair had so much
skill in rapid narrative and still more
t. find him framing one chapter which