The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-30
A Timely Editorial
Art in the South
(Savannah Morning News)

(Sayannah Morning News)
 Iii the New York Herald's book section last Sunday Archibald Hen derson told the story of the south of recent years in the arts, not so much in defense against the allegation of southern artistic barrenness which has been going the rounds of per- sons who like to attract attention by making startling statements as to indicate to those whom those state ments may have deceived how fool ish it is to indict a whole section of America on the charge of artis- tic sterility. Irwin Cobb is quoted as having said, "If you divide the United States into four sections, the south, the north, the middle west and the west, you will find that the south has to her credit more writers than any of the other sections" But it is not a matching of writers per 100000 of population, nor ar- lists of any sort that indicates the regard and appreciation, the ability of appreciation, which section has for the arts. The south loves mu- sic, poetry, painting, sculpture, fic- tion, literature of the best sorts; that it has not gone heavily into the book publishing business, which some persons seem to think is the basis for measuring the art-love of any section, is merely the result of the fact that the south is not densc- ly populated, has no very large cities, and has gone for it's publish CTS to established concerns in other sections.
 What makes greatness in art? Certainly not the number of persons who know the name of an artist. Certainly not the publicity of sort which some writers receive. Lists of names mean nothing; "the south ern people spend their time chiefly in putting beauty into the art of living" writes the Heraid's re- viewer. Is it better to live art than to write it or paint it or mold it? As to names, has any man done more for American history in re- cent years than Woodrow Wilson? Has any man written better letters in statecraft than Walter Hines Page? But there is no virture in matching a southern artist against a New England one, or one from Indiana; the whole idea that the arts were dead in the south seems to have grown from somebody's effort to be either smart or mean. The south forgives the offense, car ing little for it. It appreciates the Herald's willingness to give space for a display of the south's artistic wares, by name and title. It is perfectly willing to have posterity, unbiased, bipartisan, hold up that shining New England literary and statecraft luminary, Henry Cabot Lodge, beside MT. Wilson for com- parison-and what other man liv- ing today in America would the New Englanders be willing to risk in that company?
 If all the strange "Dixie" songs, the cotton blossom, levee, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas motifs in popular songs of re- cent years do not betray the taste of the big cities of the north in music, how does it happen that so many of them found publishers and, presumably, popularity and sales? Many of the southern people have regretted that the northern music houses were willing to publish such a raft of stuff under the name of music-but is all this the measure of northern musical art? This matching of section against section, of finding it worth while to say smart and untrue things about an other section, should be discouraged. There are serious artists in all phases of art in every part of the country. No section has 8 mo- nopoly of the artistic impulse nor of it's qualification.