Evening star., 1926-09-23

Rudyard 'Kipling distressed his
friends in this country and aroused
keen resentment by his verses reflect
ing upon the part played by America
in the World War. The most chart
table view of the poets admirers is
that his outburst should be overlook
ed and blamed upon a lifelong wor-
ship of British imperialism.
People. of course, have right
to their likes and dislikes," observes
the Indianapolis News, but when
man puts his prejudices into a poem
and blazonS them to the world, he
ought to endeavor to give q reason
for them that has some slight basis
in fact" The News quotes the
Kipling words:
As ours who all day long had trod
The winepress of the wrath of God.
There Is an implication in the
Kipling verse" continues the Indian
apolis paper, land one that under
lies most of the unfiattering comment
of which this country has been the
accomplishing victim. and that Is that
we were in some way--just how Is
not explained-bound to come to the
help OF the allied powers, and, there
fore, that we failed in our duty when
we waited until the eleventh hour
OF course, we were under no such
obligation. Even so, we did save those
powers from disastrous defeat"
On the subject of the mythical
person coming in at the eleventh
hour receiving the same wages as
those who have been working all
day." the Wichita Beacon states:
"Kipling is in error as to the wages,
however. France and England re-
lvo ;oI t1e Of
sailles conference a larger number of
square miles than is contained In the
entire United States. The United
States. on the other hand, received
nothing"
The st. Paul Pioneer Press suggests
that it would certainly be worth Mr..
Kipling'S time to read the peace
treaty" while the New York Sun
says Of the treaty, mo versifier could
gracefully explain that Germany re-
nounced to Great Britain ali It's
rights in Egypt and the Suez Canal;
that the British Empire was enrich
ed by the addition of al, German
Southwest Africa, the part Of German
East Africa which Belgium did not
take, the third of Togoland which
of the Kamerun. Not to mention a
few Pacific islands"
I'VE have nothing to be ashamed
of, declares the Kalamazoo Gazette,
''in our eleventh hour entry into the
war; both the time and fact of that
entry were dictated by circumstances
over which we had no control. Yet
has our postwar attitude toward Eu.
rope been oil that 1t should? Have
not many of our prominent citizens
fallen into the habit of lecturing the
nations across the sea in the most
pharisaical fashion,"
mo American, moved at all by the
spirit of noblesse oblige," says the
Boston Transcript, can desire to
make II any harder than need be for
Mr.. Kipling. or any other worthy
British citizen. TO face the new fact
of Americas power. One can only re-
joice. therefore. that there is no
| American Kipling to reply" The
| Richmond Times. Dispatch expresses
the judgment that "Kipling was great
and the KiplinR who was great will
! live; hut the Kipling who still lives
and still writes T. not great. His silly
lttlc Jingle" the Times. Dispatch sug
Eests might be- dismissed with a
laugh n 1t were not for the fact that
/ his towering name n British i'm
perialist will lead MANY Americans Ia
think of his voice as hoiug me voice
ot GREAT Britain
ThuHr who know their kiplinu
aiNa th, hester TimcH mon. "Wlll
| recall that ho uniformly pictures tho
British people az sitting securely st