The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-19
By FLOYD DELL

with his high ideals, but conflict involving his
old arstocratic emotions for he had been offered,
Tantalushke, the opportunities of public leadership,
only to have them snatched out of his grasp-be-
tween the poet-prophet the Shelleyan "unacknowl-
edged legislator of mankind" and the newer hum
bier role Of the imaginative novelist who Identifies
himself with weak, suffering, stumbling, pitiful
humanity itself. For a moment he had taken the
latter role, and produced masterpiece of prose
fiction But the poet in him demanded another
destiny and in that conflict he became neither poet
nor quite novelist, but neutrality-suspicious.
In the meantime, in 1907, he had published book
entitled "The Industrial Republic" It's dedication,
"To H. G. Wells, che next most hopeful" is an
allusion to inscription written by Wells in a book
presented to him. Fo the most hopeful of socialists
from the next most hopeful" The Wells book was
"a Modern Utopia; and in this book Sinclair goes
him one better. 1t is sub-titled "a Study of the
America of Ten Years Hence" 1t is a socialist
America that is thus described, though not one
brought about by revolutionary socialists. of Mr..
Bryan would only procure and read really author-
tatve treatise upon modern scientific socialism say
Vandervelde's "Cellectivism and Industrial Evolu-
TONI he would understand that his program is so
close to that of the socialists that the difference
would require microscope to discern" And this
Bryanesque governnent-ownership socialism was to
be achieved by the election, in 1872 of a radical
democratic president, probably William Randolph
Hearst. ut may be, of course, that some one else
will get the democratic nomination in 1922 that
matters not at all in my thess-the thing GER
tain is that it will be who stands pledged
to put end to classy government
Following it there will be a campaign of an in
tensity of fury such this country has never be-
fore witnessed in its history" This is a remarkably
accurate, If somewhat exaggerated foreshadowing
of the Wilson RoOsevelt-Taft campaign of 1912,
which was fought fercely on social issues But he
goes on to predict industrial crisis a new
"Coxey's army" marching on Washington, panic
and then the revolutions needless to say a peaceful
one. The captains of industry will have been told
by the president that, "snce they can no longer
run their business, they must allow the govern
ment to take possession and 1.-THE price to be
paid Tor their stock being matter for future ne
gotiabon, and 8 matter of great importance TO
them in any case, because of the income and in
he itance laws just then being rushed through
gress." The revolution, thus defined was TO take
place within one year after the presidential cleo
ton of 1912" 1t youthful guess that one
need not be ashamed of having made, though one
may smile at the rashness of putting it on record
IN print; it was based some quite widespread
social revolutionary expectations of the period and
its immediacy seemed natural enough to a Young
Utopian in great hurry.
But, with a revolution coming so easily in six
years, there might have seemed the less reason for
him to discipline his imagination to the more diff
fcult and humble task of representing human ma
ture. If this young writer was to be henceforth
Of distinguished use to American literature he had
to suffer more hurts and Establishments
(The book the life of Upton Sinclair by F7oHd
Dell from s0hiek the taoO nstaUanents published in
The Neo Magazine taken ,0aI be published
next May