The New York herald., 1922-11-12


pies minds like revolution which sue
ceeds in establishing new popular liber-
ties. and it is usually followed by an out
pouring of thought and imagination. The
revolutions in France and in Italy even
stirred the literature of England. But in
America the quarter century after York
town is almost barren of lasting literary
fruit
Two reasons for this have already been
given. Men spent their intellectual energy
in settling great political questions. or
they cracked their voices in trying to force
them. Then, too. many of the most
cultured and educated people. who might
have written good literature. had been
driven off because they were loyalists
Those who have the ability to write with
thoughts and imagination generally cling
to the old and hesitate to venture upon
new and untried paths which may lead
them away from all they like and admire
most.
There may also be another important
reason. Life just after the war was too
unsettled for people to sit down quietly
and write. They could not shut the door
upon the chaotic and turbulent world out
side. Nor could most people purchase the
leisure for this quiet sort Of writing. They
were too busy and perplexed trying to
make both ends meet. The comfortable
living just before the war had been swept
away. The taxes levied 10 pay for the
war were staggering. and the new nation
was trying. as the nations of Europe new
and old, after the great world war. have
been trying, to bring money back to its
normal value. This had been tremendously
deprecated by the necessary issue of paper
money. Not worth a continental" is a
phrase which has come down to us from
the paper currency issued then by Con-
gress. 1T took" said Washington, "a
wagon load of money to buy a wagon load
of provisions" Ten paper dollars were
worth only one cent of real money.
1t is constantly forgotten that literature
and art are like every other activity of
man. They must depend upon physical
and economic conditions Even genius
cannot, as it is SO often wrongly said in
books, make its way in spite of all and
carve out it's own conditions. No state
ment is more misleading than You cannot
-keep a good man down" Conditions may
keep any good man down by not giving
him the chance to get up. Did you know
for instance. that some of the greatest
men in English literature had TO pay for
publishing their own books. because no
publisher thought they would sell? If these
authors had not had the money We should
not have their books to-day. But YOU
may say, they had written them just the
same. and some day some less stupid pub
Usher would have published them. Well
then. suppose these authors couldn't even
have bought the paper 10 write them on?
Or were too busy earning bread and butter
for their families to spend so much vitality
on work that brought them in no money?
Or could write only at night when the
days work was over and had no money to
buy oil to write by? Yet. even if they had
never proved it to the world. they would
have been geniuses just the same. would
they nOt2 You see then, how wrong it is
to claim that genius viii make it's way in
spite Of all This is something you viii
have particular occasion to remember dur
ing the whole course Of the story Of Amer
lean literature.
Although there were no important liter
airy names in This period. an even more
important literary work was being done
than if there had been. II was performed
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