New-York tribune., 1922-10-01

New York Medical Journal" and
-N< Seward Collins, of "Vanity
FAIR ! had been reading Jean
Carrerc's Degeneration in the Great
what DR.. StragneIi, as psyche analyst
thought Of the book. 1t is a French
counterpart of Irving Rabbits "Rous.
seau and Romanticism," which seeks to
identify lie Contrat Social" with Orig.
inal Sin.
Rousseau, who inspired the French
revolution, the American Declaration
OF Independence and the Constitution
of the United States, is to Mr. Bah.
hitt and NJ. Carrare, paradoxieallv
enough, the prophet of individualism
and hence, as they see it, the champion
OF the romantic spirit, which they hold
criminally responsible for Byron, Shell
ley, Nietzsche, Ibsen, Stendhal, Balzac
Baudelaire, Zola, Flaubert, Verlaine
Shaw, Hauptmann, D'Annunzio and
we'll, all the great writers since Cha
tcaubriand.
NJ. Carrere confines himself To
French authors and leans heavily upon
Max Nordau's Degeneration" but he
less prejudiced than either Mr.. Babbitt
or NJ. Nordau; and he admits frankly
that the writer's he discusses are the
greatest figures in modern French lit
erature. But he has made up his mind
that, precisely because they are great
artists they are the more corrupting.
In other words, that's his story and he
is going to stick to it. From what we
know Of modern psychological and be-
havioristic research, ID is probably
nearer the truth to say that they are
great artists because OF corrupting in :
fuenoes. DR.. Stragnell put it this way !:
"Let us concede at first: no art with
out neurosis. Every individual, in a
way. suffers from the group neurosis,
particularly the artist. France is a
sick nation. It's power has been dwin-
fear of impotence by false stimulsnts
and exaggerated displays Of power.
This is reflected not only in its politics
and economies, but in its morals and
its art. France Is more and more let
ting down the bars of reticence and is
frankly encouraging indulgence. 1t
emphasizes the pleasure principle
rather than the generative principle.
And since the artist reflects the psychic
one reads the great literary artists Of
France during the last century he
: could get better idea of its racial
development than out Of the history
he ks. Psycho-analysis Is just being
init odsced in France. 1t may never
make any headway there. France has
10 great psychiatrist to take 1t up.
8ad che French have been remarkably
free from inhibitions and suppress
aiolss; theg hape had much freer and
frangcr attitude toward sex than Eng
ianS. America and Germany. .
Mosf OF the small towns Of America
ara gicE and the peppie In them are
sick. An o49gafsgn is sick when 1t has
ceased 10 grow Puritan suppresssonss,
a declining vigor In the, old stock, ad-
verge economic conditions all result IN
loss Of the creative impulse in the
inhabitants OF the snnall town and In
the small town as q unity"
This seems to me further. support
rarS. Babbitt, Paul Elmer More and
Stuart p. Sherman Tin his less per-
spicacious moments) are barking up
the wrong tree. II they do not like
the sort OF literature they are getting
they would employ their talents to
mors purpose by attacking the con-
ditions that produce that literature.
1t would be very large order, l
admit, and none Of these men has
shown vision or intelligence enough
to tackle 1t. II one of them had that
succeeded in revolutionizing conditions,
he would thereby automatically dis
prove his original, basic contention,
which is that the individuaiist is a
menace to the decent and stable organ
ization Of society. AS it Is, Mr.. Bah
bits Rousseau and Romantieism'
and M. Nc rdau's Degeneration" have
not altered, nor dare say M. Carrere' IS
book will alter the aspect either of
art or morals one jot or little.
In vague sort of way /, too, feel
that something ought to be done about
the present situation; but don't know
same predicamcnt as H G. Wells was
when he resigned from the Fabian So
ciety. Frank Pease relates the story in
his delectable History Of the Fabian
Society,"" 1t seems that Wells was al
ways coming to the meetings much
aflutter with some big, new. bright idea
which he promptly forgot as soon as he
had got it off his chest. One day he
read an impassioned paper declaring
something about motherhood in Eng
land. They all agreed with Mr.. Wells,
including Bernard Shaw, who asked Mr..
Wells, "Just what?" Wells got sore at
the question and resigned.
John Macy dropped in this afternoon
to tell me he had been appointed lit
erary editor of "The Nation" to succeed
Carl Van Doren, who goes to "The Cen
tury." Macy's new book, "The
Critical Came is just out, 1t contains
some excellent, informal, did-you-ever-
notice-that--essays on Dante, Tolstoi,
Conrad, Nietzsche, Gourmont and 9TH
ers, Read James Elroy Flicker S
posShumous extravanganza, "Hassan,"
this afternoon, and, for some reason
or other, string Of asinine, assonantal
and alliterative tee-ess-eliot sort Of
lines kept crowding into my head on
the subway, like: "Caustic Codicils to
Covenants" and "Hermes Hacks the
Hippogrifo and Hardened Harpies
Hem and Haw." Kenneth An
drews took me to "The Passing Show
tonight. Year by year the Shubert
shows are getting nakeder and nakeder
in every way. -. Before going to
: bed read Charles w. Gould's Amer
&iea: A Family Affair" which summa-
fizes the rise and fall of Babylon, Nine
Yveh, Athens and Rome for no particu-
lar reason that / could discover, and
concludes with the exclamation ere
peal our naturalization lawsi"
FRIDAY. SEPT. %
LleweIlyn Jones, literary editor of
"The Chicago Evening Post" came to
lunch to-day and we were Joined later
By Carl Van Nechten. Jones is the fore
NEST American authority on metrics
and Lascelles Abercrombie. Van
Vechten wanted to know if had read
sThe IIndpr4akerss Car1apdn h,, Jobn