Evening star., 1926-03-16
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Christ In Chicago" a story b!
+. s. Stribling, In the number OF Ad
| venture Magazine dated April 8, WI
well repay any reader the time pu
upon its 40 pages.
Here we. have q story which. II Il
had appeared in Harper's or Serb
ner's or any Of the so-called "hlgh
brow" publications, would have beer
given wide recognition, but which
since 1t was printed in a magazine o
a different type, will be forgotten eX
cept for some such notice as this.
There are those who affect to sneel
at Adventure Magazine, now in IL
fifty-eighth volume. because Of 1T
type OF story, more or less reduced
to u science through the efforts o.
its editor, Arthur Sullivant Hoffman
The fact that Adventure, however
printed stories by Rafael Sabatlni
author Of Captain Blood" 'The Ses
Hawk" etc. long before this nov
popular author was ever heard OF by
the general public gives the magazine
a standing with those who know.
Mr.. Hoffman has ideas Of his owl
about how q story ought to be told
chief among which Is that nothing
absolutely nothing-should be intro
duced in the story to take away from
the narrative flow.
In other words. to give q single in
stahce, there should not be any
strange word used. for If a reader
stops to ponder the word the story
effect is lost instantly. Hoffman mus
be Il man Of considerable force, for ht
has imposed this and many other re
!strictions upon a long list Of writers
and has set them forth in severa
books OF his own.
The one drawback this method ha:
Is to make all the writer's write alike
or at least tend in that direction.
4. i: u u
Mir. Stribling. however, with his
Christ In Chicago (probably sug
gested by DR.. Stead's "If Christ Game
to Chicago'p, has written story with
out paying much attention to Hoff
mans restrictions.
In doing SO he has given us one OF
the most unusual narratives printed
in an American magazine for many
months. 1t Is one of the few stories
which we have found ourselves using
a pencil in reading. to underline sen
tences which struck US as meritine
retention.
Thus it is seen at once that Mr.
Stribling has violated Mr.. Hoffman's
big principle. He has done so in an
other respect. to0-he has introduced
a genuine Jove element, something
never found in an Adventure story be
fore.
In the past the "he-men" Of Adven
ture have scorned the ladies with 1
large and healthy scorn. Such womeI
as have appeared in its stories have
been only incidents. Never has one
of them done SO much as kiss a char
acter. To kiss u character would bt
too much!
so has thought Mr.. Hoffman. and
the large bulk OF readers for whom
he edited the magazine has backed
him up. So it Will be readily realized
that Christ in Chicago" is doubly
amazing.
The story deals with Chicago oi
100000 inhabitants, q tidy little
metropolis, wherein huge apartment,
and tenement buildings of so or more
stories are commonplace.
The Board OF Health Is in complete
charge Of the city. Crepe rubber side
walks keep down the noise. now uni
versally admitted one of the curses o!
city life, and raucous laughter Is not
permitted.
The present tendencies of American
life, at which magazines such as the
American Mercury poke such per
sistent fun, have progressed to such
an extent that material things are IL
control Of the republic.