The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-11-10

| is somewhat similar to that of the
British government in India. The in
habitants of that great country are
chatting under the British yoke and
are actually laboring under the de-
fusion that they could survive if the
British withdrew their troops and
left the natives to the mercy of the
tigers. The British, being philanthro-
pic souls, hesitate to take the Hindoos
at their word, so they have appointed
commission to look into the situa-
ton. By the time this commission
gets thru making it's report a new
situation will have developed and a
new commission will have to be APP
pointed. This tomfoolery will con-
tinue until the natives dump a COM
mission into the Red Sea and thumb
polite Oriental nose at Great
Britain. Ditto in the case of the trac-
ton situation in New York.
| NO doubt you have noticed that Upton
~ Sinclair, one of the best known
OF our novelists, is running a series of
articles on this page. 1t is the best
stuff he ever wrote in my opinion,
and | must confess that the tribute is
dragged out of me, because am
somewhat prejudiced against Sinclair.
| Tho born to the confessional | can
never completely forgive an adult who
fell for Woodrow Wilson's fourteen
points, but it must be admitted that
Sinclair did his best to atone for the
days he spent sowing his patriotic
wild oats. However, this is not what
l picked rod for use on Sinclair's
literary anatomy just now for.
in his chapter entitled "The Charm
Poacher," Sinclair takes occasion
to hurl a brick at James Branch Ca
bell, one of our most advanced
novelists. Cabell's crime, in Sinclair's
eyes is that the author of Jurgen con-
tributed to the delinquency of our
youth in that he excited them sexually
by his Jurgenistic writings, with the
result that his readers might be
found standing in line at dispensaries,
sorry testimonials to the efficacy of
Cabell's propaganda.
THIS is to laugh at Sinclair. An
uncharitable person, on reading
Sinclair's expedition into the wilds
| of Freudianism would be justified in
assuming that Upton was suffering
from serious polygamist repressions
and was obliged to resort to extreme
measures in order to survive the in
ternal disorder. Indeed no less a
celebrity than Frank Harris once said
that Sinclair might write the great
American novel if he only had a
decent love affair. Which, means in
the Harris sense, violent love affair.
Now, Sinclair is not that kind of
a person, yet thanks to our revolutions
airy god for him. Because he is the
greatest of our pamphleteers and has
noble intentions. Furthermore he
must have some weaknesses, other
wise he would be greater nuisance
than he is now. And since every man
must have weak spot it is well that
Sinclair errs on the moral side. What
calamity it would be if such a
prolific writer as Sinclair had Cabel-
listic tendencies? There would be
no youth left to carry on the work
after three or four years of serious
writing.
AS matter of fact, ninety-nine out
"A of every hundred persons inter-
viewed on the subject will testify that
the great majority of those suffering
from the diseases so properly abhorred
by Sinclair, never read book in their
lives-not even the King James ver-
sion of the bible. Male adults with
enough intelligence to appreciate
either Cabell or Sinclair are pre-
sumably intelligent enough to- keen
out of harms way. Indeed, the bath
ing beach episode in Sincair's "Oil"
has contributed more to his royalty
chest than the excellent scenic de-
scriptions that take up SO much space
in the first part of the book And it
is not surprising that this part of
the novel will constitute the core of
the play based on coil" which will
be produced on Broadway by William
A. Brady.
BECAUSE the famous memoirs Of
Charles Greville told of an illicit
love affair between the mother Of
Queen Victoria and her secretary, Sir
John Conroy, they were issued in ex-
purgated form until last week. A
hardy publisher turned the whole bust
ness loose on the public and red anger
is raging in Buckingham Palace. The
British monarchy is by no means tbs
shakiest of the few that are left but
if the people are to respect it, they
must be given the impression that
royalty cannot be normal.
IT OFF AHERTY