The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1922-10-10

bsos.e4 lttife'ls inspired by n pastor. Or
Drew busting arehhuostor, keen fot
every scrap Of publicity that can add "a
his self-advertisement: shutting his eyes
in willing solf-dceeption to tho character
Of his associates; voIelng the spiritual in
dignation OF business community against
the moral parasites aud leeehes tina;
threaten society in The gulse of progress
gives or radicals Politics as an instnn-
ton Is the usual corrupt alliance between
Orfutt, the boss. and profitlng business
interests. open in this oase--insidiuus In
the stultifylhg uee of the red flag of rad
ieallsm to keep the average citizen within
a sheeplike discipline. Finance and So
ciety (the higher soclcty) as institutions
are arranged in the persons OF hypocrites.
crooks and snobs Religious revivals arc
carlcatured in the person Of Mike Munday,
where vulgarlty is heaped on blasphemy.
Attempts at culture are arraigned In the
person Of one Chum Fink, thinly yelled
caricatufe, who supplies daily column Of
verse printed in prose and goes into
eestacies over the literary brlliance Of GER
tain advertising bunk. Attempts at Bo-
hemianlsrn are arragned, home life, wives,
children, The higher culture, boosters con-
ventons, Interior decoration, outward dis
play, social aspirations--all are thrown to-
gether In mad, whirling, three ringed,
great American circus, without fear or
favor. Whatever else may be said OF Mr..
Lewis. cowardice ana compromise play no
part in his makeup.
This process Of arraignment never ceases
to pile up, overwhelming the story dwarf
ing the character, preempting the atten-
tion. In this onslaught, which Dean swift
himself never exceeded in ferocity, Mr..
Lewis has written descriptions that are a
literary delight, mordant. inspired, felci-
tous and aften illuminated with passages
Of genuine poetry. TO my mind it is
performance exceeding anything he ae-
complished in Main street, The trouble
with this arrangement of. d society is that
It is al separately true and collectively
false. No one can deny that II is true OF
the life he depicts and characteristically
true, That n1stiiy tlet lis cvcn admit the
majoriry) Of It's citizens are sunk i'll the
middle ages Of mental, moral and aesthetic
hypocrisy; that many Of its financiers are
crooks; its religious leaders blatant, nar-
row minded, self seeking. pulpit thumpers:
that, too, many homes are clothed in vul-
garty, rent with chickering's, husband and
wifo yoked together in a hateful alliance.
children estranged and strangers; that in
the conduct OF life many are hypocrites or
self deceived tthe distinction is d nice
one). and that current ideals are sham and
futility. It Is not trlle that III such il city
there is no quiet studious refinement, no
men Of broad cnllehtenment or rugged
integrity, no happy family life, no uncom-
promising attitude toward right and
wrong. and no appreciation OF the values
of life. The weakness of the arraignment
is that It comedies nothing. It would have
been 50 easy 70 concedc 50 much! How
the novel would have benefited il it were
not polemic against the whole city Of
Zenith but only against what is marrow,
Crude and mean. ignoble aud false, Snug