The Washington herald., 1922-05-18
By the Author of " IT,"

w and businessmen of silken pajamas scented
cigarettes and sweet wines.
We live likewise in a time of vire blunt prose
not of delicate musical verse The poet has dis
appeared a figure of any consequence in the
world. We longer look upon the man who can
express pretty sentiments in rhyme a national
figure On the other hand we are inclined to
despse him incapable of living the rough
life OF his fellows. The is that writer's
have failed to give expression to the spirit of the
day They still live in the pcrfumed atmosphere
OF Tennyson and Rossetti, whereas the of man.
kind has advanced half century
number OF men, it is true, have embodied
red-blooded sentiments in verse during the past
ten years. But the themselves with
out merit. The shallow efforts of such men as
Robert w. Service hold public attention only
a short time. They have everything that singers
like Morris Longfellow had not and none of
the real excellences that keep alive the work OF the
Victorians
There is. however. one notable exception-the
only poet living who commands readers for
verses which will form permanent contribution to
English literature Rudyard Kipng alone can
express the spirit Of the hurried combatve progrcs-
sve twentieth century and the same time preserve
the magic of the old masters He himself is an
iconoclast, hater OF old forms, who despises the
poetry of cherry petals.
event in history likely to be remembered longer
than anything else which happens in the week.
His work has become more valuable in recent
years because of its rarity. Verse from his pen
is less frequent than from the mouth Of
Woodrow Wilson-and the world waits eagerly
for both. The world does not care what Mr. Kip
ling has to say about it. But better than any
other now living he put to music the sub
conscious inspiration of humanity.
--. One large American newspaper devoted great
part of its front page one day this week to the
reproduction of Kiplings latest poem-a lyric in
spred by the ater-war condition OF Europe 1t
is considered world news when this man speaks,
just the days developments of the Genoa con-
ference world news.
Alone of living poets Mr. Kpling knows the
real souls of soldiers prize fighters street aborers
newspaper reporters business men and second-story
workers His contemporaries limit their puny vision
to the souls if souls they have, of ove-sick boys
and tea-sipping parlor Bolshevists. He could in
terpret the character of Lenin, Won Hndenburg,
Pope Plus the Eleventh, or Marshal Foch. The
others can nauseate with all the sickly sent-
mentality of Greenwich Village He knows the
magnetic poetry of treeess mountain rocks or
thousands of miles of railroad tracks. They ap-
preciate only the artistry of posy gardens or
park sunsets.
We do not think that anyone who is not poet
painter, musician novelist himself will dispute
Mr.. Kiptng's claim to be the greatest writer now
livng-or that his is destined to a high place
among the immortals. He is easy to initiate and
has had hundreds of mitators. This is merely ad-
ditional proof of his greatness. Only by
initiating his style has anyone, for the past fifteen
years, gained any worthwhile hearing through
Md what splendid figure this two-hsted,