The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-05-23


be that some artists are bigger pros.
titutes than others, and much clothes.
line gossip and spicy detail are given
to prove" the theory. There isn't
much use in paying serious attention
to this attempt at catch-penny sensa-
tionalism; were It not for the fact
that it fools many Of my simple
minded comrades.
But just as the bourgeoisie fool
many millions of workers into kissing
their chains by means of the church,
the press, the public school, the plat
form and even the soap-box, so does
1t make potent use Of the various
forms of art expression, such as the
novel, the essay, the drama,-spoken
and silent,-and the art critique to
enslave its subjects.
60 the writer who Is guilty Of the
- piece of bourgeois collaboration
mentioned above has done his masters
a good turn by again drawing the red
herring Of false criticism across the
workers trail of the revolution. Let's
recall our dogs and start over the
path anew.
All art is mammonart save Com
munist art; so there's that. It is
fact that a bourgeois artists first
works are less obsequious than his
later ones, after he has tasted work
ers blood. But aiming at popularity,
which means royalties, even his first
works are subtle attempts at class
collaboration, whether they are in
the forms Of novels, poems, paintings,
statues, sermons, essays, plays or
what-not.
TiHE difference between those bour-
4 geois artists who start by licking
the kings boots, and those who end
In doing so is the difference between
tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. Rud-
yard Kipling likes the dust of his
Edwards No. 12's so well that he
doesn't stop licking them until he has
lickt OF dust, backing and all. Bern
ard Shaw hates the job but he buries
his disgust long enuf to journey to
France during the world war and re-
turn to make HEX splitting plea for
more cannon fodder for king and
country (both with capitals you OBJ
serve). And who forgets that the
very man who now draws such fine
haired distinctions between god and
mammon in bourgeois art price offer
ed hts mighty services to President
Wilson to help make this land safe
for democracy (this too with capitals)
in return for little recognition and
some office of emolument and profit.
T NOTE that this brassy author
L claims to be the third great artist
Of the q. S. A., Mark Twain, the
humorous cuss, and Jack London, the
drunken bum, being No. and g. He
is welcome to such company, so far
as we are concerned. Mark spent his
last days In financial, political, artistic
and philosophical bankruptcy kissing
the toe of his god and savior, H. H. Ro-
gers, the Wall st. pirate. Jack didn't
sink quite so low, but he bought an
estate, stocked it up with horses and
booze and a bourgeois wife and re-
nounced socialism. thru which he had
acquired all his popularity acquired
fat belly, and died sot
THE eminent and profound critic,
i whom we shall call No. 8, begins
TO look bloated and puffy, and tho for
the present he keeps At by daily
exercise. he is on his way to break
down from over-eating and under
writing. He better turn common labor
err, join the union, quit talking about
art, and do a little work for Commun-
ism, If he wants 10 be remembered |
along with the blessed, like John Reed,
Joseph Dietzgen and Daniel De Leon,
whom I should call the big of Amer
lean letters.
7 EFT US examine closely into this
hthing and find out IL we can see |