The New York herald., 1921-03-31
Is the Metropolis Provincial?


emergent from the limbo of the un.
born, has discovered New York. 1t Is
not Main Street, he finds, though II
has Its own main street. but IL is .the
least provincial city in the United
States" This conclusion indicates en-
couraging originality in Mr.. SINCLAIR
LEWIS. The good, old, stereotyped
pronouncement has always been tina.
Broadway is dreadfully provincial as
compared with the Main streets scat
tered over the hinterland.
What has generally been meant by
the provincialism of New York is that
it Is so concerned with its own great
ness and so sure of its own instincts
that 1t has little or no care for the
smaller centres or the rural districts
and total Indifference to their views
and standards. There is some truth
as respects the metropolitan attitude
toward other cities and small town
ideals. But it is totally wrong as re.
spects the real country. New York
has an immense and intelligent regard
for the village and the farm, their
people and their ways. their straight
thinking. their rugged virtues, their
human qualities inviting love and rev.
erence. The invariable and enormous
success Of dramatic productions of the
"Old Homestead" type is conclusive
evidence of this mood.
But Mr.. LEWIS, when 1t comes TO
particulars, cites the unconcer" Of
New York as to outside opinion as the
proof not Of its provincialism but Of
its freedom from that handicap AS
counterbalancing the qualities which
make him love Main Street-even
though they be not so predomindntly
portrayed In his book-kindness, sim
plicity and sturdiness, he recognized
that New York has a quality of not
caring much" This, he says, Is vir-
tue. No doubt he is right, but Is 1t
not also the vice for which New York
has been so much blamed by feeble
artists, strabismic writer's and up
lifters whose map Of life Is tinted
with only one shade-blue?
The truth is, Of course, that there
Is only one real set of standards for
anything, artistic, moral, economic, so.
cial. All the difference Is In the
way of application. New York's way
Is large; it is so wide as to make full
allowance for the methods of Main
Street when applied to Main Street !;
it only becomes resistant, as rule
passively resistant, when Main Street
attempts to impose its narrower con-
ception on New York. OF capital
cities New York is the least Iicta-
torial. 1t is quite content to live its
own life, to welcome all comers, to
listen to all theories, to examine all
propositions, old or new, and to leave
other communities from Boston to
Main Street to the promptings Of their
own genius.
Mr.. LEWIS seems to have good un-
derstanding of New York in many
respects. Only one saying of his
greatly surprises us. He said in his
talk on Tuesday last that New York
doesn't read" We wonder, Ii this be
true, what supports the hundreds Of
booksellers, new and second hand,
who ply their trade here? What is
the meaning of the scores of young
men and women to be seen with books,
apparently dcvouring them, in all the
cars anu trains every morning and
evening? What is the reason why at
the many Libraries the only possible
way to get a copy of Mr.. LEwIs's
own novel, or any other novelty In
print, Is to put In reserve call for
1t weeks in advance?