The New York herald., 1922-06-25

II SA+-1 DCCN WI ASOo dooOo OCeilS
with the same highly contro-
versial subject matter that
caused such storm OF. disapproval
when embodied in his novel of the
army. Here he is less concerned
with the physical irritations OF the
enlisted man than with the emo
tional experiences in which they
were a factor He has written n
series of sketches, connected only
by the presence in them all of the
central figure whose feelings are
displayed. There is at times a DELI
cate lyric quality in his brief pic
lures. d vividness that only the
poetic touch can give. The views
OF the army and of war held b.
this soldier are the same as those
that provoked such severe criticism
of the novel
When Mr.. Dos Passos's .aThrea
Soldiers appeared it was Judged
less as distinctly meritorious pie e
OF descriptive writing than as some
what impalsive and libelous attack
upon the army. The author was
called upon the carpet not as artist.
but as producer of what some
thought very offensive and un-
patriotic tract for the times. The
Issue most generally raised by
critics was not whether the dis
gruntled youths pictured in the
story were conceivable figures.
either from the point of view of
army administration or from the
point of view of war psychology;
what the argument centered about
Chiefly was the question as to the
amount of brutality and calIous
stupidity in the American Elk
peditionary Forces. Judgment was
rendered on the social, not the per-
sonal, phase of the novel.
lt was a topic that peculiarly lent
itself to controversy. For il was
Gne on which no considerable evi-
dcnce was at hand Decision must
in the nature of the case rest more
upon opinion than upon objective
fact: and opinion in turn (as al
waysl was governed largely if not
solely by the emotional predictions
Of its holder. No indisputable
answer could be found. except pos
sibly after examination of the feel
inss OF many thousands of former
soldiers. and even then there might
he ground for doubt. But. while
some 100000 men in the draft
army We're subjected to elaborate
intelligence tests before being sent
abroad. the War Departments
board of psychologists was not on
hand 10 record scientifically their
states of mind when they came
back: had il been we should have
gained ordered data probably as IL
Eliminating as that gathered when
this great army was divided up ac-
cording to the mental age" CT the
individuals composing it,
one has known the never again"
type who have had more than their
fill of war and the army. Tales of
officers shot from behind in the
abandon and moral holiday some
times possible in the trenches are
told Self mutilation as a form of
military sabotage was not unknown.
The enduring grudge against certain
. supcriOrs is a commonplace in the
talk of ex-privates. For some the
war was an experience of one pro-
longed shell shock Their mental
state was. To say the least. abnOr-
nal They We're singIlarly suscep-
tibie to the feeling of injustice. of
persecution. feeling that (as
others would see iD grew in some
10 the proportions of an obsession
not unlike paranoia- That there
were ample causes it would be
futile AZ well as unjust 70 deny.
Many others appear to have come
through the ordeal with no special
hstreds of any sort. no bitter men,
ories of bullying or punishment
deemed undeserved To them the
war vas Utmost lark-a dusty