The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-08-15
DRESSER IS
LEADER IN
NEW FIELD
Atmosphere of Prejudice
Clearing as New Books
Appear
BY The NEA Book Survey

II has taken dozen years or more
to clarity the atmosphere Of pre-
JUDGE and denunciation which sur
rounded Theodore Dresser.
Just now, upon the eve Of the pub
LEGATION Of Dreiser's latest work, "An
there appears little hook in the
Mcbride Modern American An
thors" series which not only reveals
interestingly how the ogre myth
grew, but also tells the uDinitiatc
what Dresser has been driving at all
these years.
Burton RascOe wrote the little
study and it is, quite obviously, an
answer to Stuart r. Sherman's CON
troversial structures.
In these days when the frankest
of sex episodes are to be found in
half the publications, the Dresser
shocker Of some wears back no
longer shock, but gain in art by con
trast. Furthermore, realistic novels
have become more common than
those Of the imaginative school and
barbed thrusts at our own people
and scenes no longer scandalize.
Yet little has been done to retract
the bitter and misleading condemna-
tons and Dresser, like so many
has never been given proper recog- |
milton for presenting the epic story !
Of the American capitalist and Of
business generally. This he did in
1.-THE Titan" and THE Financier.'
His SISTER Carrie" was recog /
nized by Frank Norris, then a pub !
fishers reader. as "A book Of epochal |
Importance" Yet it was suppressed |
by it's own publishers and generally |
denounced by the few critics in to
whose hands it fell.
One wishes that Rascoe had gone !
a little more deeply into the human
and psychological drama that rose
out of these experiences. The story |
goes that the young Dresser. feeling
himself defeated and broken, bitter
ly decreed that never again would he
write. He verged upon nervous and
physical collapse. and finally deter
mined to undertake rough labor. He
was without money and actually
hungry.
his pocket when he went to visit
Chauncey Depew and ask for a job !
on railroad gang. He had the
bread behind window curtain while
he talked with Depew. When he
came out the bread was gone. Either
an office boy had thrown it away or
someone had taken it. He vas liter
ally without food.
He went to work on the section |
gang and there he met the Irish |
wor.er who renewed his courage and |
faith, and Of whom he writes in I
Twelve Men,
An epic story is that Of D-eiser's |
own struggles.
All Of our farmers are not inbred.
neurotic, unhappy and starving. as
great deal Of the realistic "soil
stories" would have one believe. At
least such is the theme Of Ben Ames |
Williams i'm 1.-THE Rational Hind" !
(Dutton) which has to do with New |,
England farming community, which |
long has been degenerating.
Farming can produce character,
strength and originality, if practiced
faithfully and properly, or it can
become a dreary swamp to the un- /
lucky. So there is something to say
for both sides and Williams says it !
for those who have pride Of posses |
sion and that innate love Of the soil |
that may be found in most humans |
if you scratch their skins deep
enough. ,
There is farm country in New
England made up Of slatternly and !
down at the-heel villages and aban-
doned farms and here is staged the
struggle that Williams depicts in his
book. Williams has a good eye for
scrutiniziing the rustic character,
and he has spent much time doing
this. In this Book he does thor
oughly capable job.
The fascinating figure of Napo
leon takes on exceedingly human
and realistic proportions in Victory"
Dutton). the fifth of Leonie Am
inoff's projected twelve-volume Sc
ries OF romanticized biography Of
that superman.
In this volume is covered the per-
iod Of the Egyption expedition and
OF NapoleOn's becoming First Consul.
1t tells also Of Josephine's indiscre-
tions while he was away, and Of his
own blunt affair with Madame
Toures. Josephine is treated with
much less kindness in the parallel
than is her husband.
"VictOry" is an interesting and
probably an accurate account. 1t
goes into details faithfully and at
the same time with Imagination.
One real objection occurs to this re-
viewer-the authors style. OF all
the writing he can recall. this APP
pears the most "catty." Every par
agraph abounds in parenthetical
ir0nies. asides and smartnesses
which irritate the reader and handi-
90 thu uopk |