New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-24
"The Last Mile"

Dear Burton:
l am always seeing things in the
papers and saying, Chats lie Some
body ought to write to the editor
about that But so far 1 have never
yielded to the urge. Last Sunday.
over my coffee, l read Isabel Pater-
sons notice Of "The Last Mile" and
thought it was not only misinformed,
but unjust. To be perfectly fair to
everybody, I cut that review out and
kept it for two days. | read it again
this morning and am convinced that
God means me to write to you about
it.
In the course of her article, Miss
Paterson says, referring to Broad
hurst, the protagonist Of the book.
"He expected seemingly that commut-
ers would cease to be complacently
dull; that advertising would no longer
run to cliches and forced enthusiasm
he had job with an advertising
agency; that majorltles would be ten
derry ,solicitous of the rights of minor
tiles Now Notwithstanding. | am
sure Is pretty faithful portrait of the
ex-service man who despises the Amer
lcan Leglon-eXpected no such thing.
The whole point is that he had plenty
OF time to think while lying in the
mud OF Flanders Field, and that when
ne got back he saw for the first time
no" dull commuters are, he saw the
evangelists Of advertising for the
charlatans they are, he resented intel
llgently the fraud which political witch
doctors practice upon his illiterate
countrymen. He saw these things for
the first time, and it made him want
TO do something about it, | don't see
that that proves he was "rather a
simple soul" as war veterans 20. A
good many thousand young men in the
country went through exactly the same
experience. This resentment, impotent
as 1t is, stu seethes away. The excess
Ses oi inc wicked generation may come
largely from it. That resentment
mat lsiilusionment-that contempt
for household gods, colors our national
me, ana wall continue to do so. Men.
IKE the returned service man in this
novel; men who try to think for them
selves, men who have been badly
burned, men who want to fight about
IL and cannot, are numbered bv the
many thousands in the country TODAY
ms novel tentative and cropping as
IL Is, catches up that fire of embittered
youth and lmprisons it in the person
81 It's nero. don't think that has been
! oone IN any novel before. 1t seems 10
me an important thing to do. 1t seems
TO me that this book is an important
one, Whlch should not be quite so com
placently passed over
W e have had Three Soldiers and
Inc Enormous ROOM which give Tho
beauty and romance Of modern war
lhey are valuable, of course. IF that
sort OF book could be written every
week, Mr.. George Creel might have
20 nave another assistant or two when
.ne next war for civilization and inse-
cure debts comes along. But tbaro l.
another kind of war novel which 80 10
the present at least, can perforn an an
even greater service. That is the nov
/ e. which tries to set forth the morninc
| aIter feeiing, which tries to set fort5
Sruth1ully what we really did pet o,t
OF lt: That unofficial American Legion
| OF Men Who Will-Not- Be-Fooled- Aeain
should be hoard from. Inartjcnlata
as trey are now, they are the great
Nv aorce III the country to-day. If
~; - ~ tncfallsteT mas not expressed them
~ tais novel, then somebody should
cypress them ! think THE Last Mile"
Gees say something tremendously In
te4esting about them; ard + wisb ME-
Paterson had read the book before she
wrote her review for you.
.c, She concludes with these words.
the author might learn from his tai,
ian confrere that, even if nothing else
can De done with this weary world. it
can be laughed at" That * a., ~
tighsened attitude; and it is exactly
the one at which Broadhurst arrives
II Miss Paterson will turn 10 The ' Iast
page Of the book she will find Il ar
pressed there practically An her own
words KENNETH ANDREWS