Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-13
MACHINE TRIUMPH.
DECR|ED BY EDITOR
Sherwood Anderson Tells In
stitute of Dizziness of
Present Age.
By THOMAS r.. HENRY,
star Correspondent of The Star.

By THOMAS II. HENRY,
J Stan Correspondent of The Star.
/ UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, August
13.-sherwood Anderson came down tc
the university from his village print
shop in the Virginia mountains last
night to tell OF the adventurous search
of q puzzled spirit for fundamental
values In an age of shadows, and for
realities In world of unrealitieS.
Two years ago the famous novelist
At the crest of his popularity, suddenly
retired to the little hill village OF
Marion, bought the towns two weekly
newspapers, and settled down to the
supposedly humdrum life of country
editor.
I There was much speculation as to his
motives, but as he explained last night
1t was only going back to the great
ocean OF human nature from which the
philosopher, the novelist and poet must
draw their materials. It was move
In the escape Of soul from the mas
terry of the machine and the ShoddineSs
and vulgarity of the machines products
to the deeper reality of starry skies over
pine clad mountain sides, of village
prayer meetings, and of birth and love
and death among simple people.
40 Years Transition.
The famous novelist's talk before the
Institute of Public Affairs last night
told of the great and confusing tran
sition in American life during the past
20 years from the simplicity of Wines
burg, Ohio" to the maddening, foam
ing and roar of life caught in the
canyons of the cities of the machine
age-a period during which the ma
chine has become more and more and
individuality less and less.
He referred especially to the news
papers. Forty years ago the mechanical
problems OF newspaper were enormous
Today the machinery Is so nearly per-
feet that 1t has swallowed thinking
70 publish the results of which is its
own only valid excuse for being,
Andersons talk abounded with spar.
king patches as he told of his adven-
ture and the motives that lie dto it, such
as the following:
Recently stood with the editor of a
great daily newspaper, in the pressroom
Of his plant. He had been showing me
through. We had got down into the
pressroom. It was in the cellar of a
great cement and stone building. far
down below the street level of the city.
There we stood, in the presence of
the great modern presses, that man,
the editor and myself.
well, the presses were poems in tenn
pered steel. They were magnificent.
They sang. they danced, they whirled.
II you have never seen great modern
presses, for Gods sake go and see them
some day. They are as marvellous as the
ocean, as river in flood, as dancing
mountain.
as rapidly as snowf1akeS fall In snow
storm; they were printing white pages
and red pages. Faster, faster, faster-a
whole great city supplied with news
papers in an hour.
1.-THE presses we're larger than this
hall They ran as smoothly as thor
oughbred horse. The man, the editor Of
that newspaper, and stood beside the
presses. How small we seemed and were.
There might be poetry made here"
said, as we walked a little away from
the steady, sustained song of the great
machines.
ST called attention to the song.
How would 1t be to put your re-
porters down here in the pressroom?"
I asked, make them do their work
down here, eh?"
you will understand what was
driving at. Could the spirit Of man
rise to the machines he has made?
MAN made these machines TO make
newspapers. Can he make contents for
the newspapers and the magazines equal
IN finenesS and power to these ma
chinese
Challenge Of Machines.
"Can man rise to the nobility of his
own machines?"
"It is a challenge surely. My God,
what a challenge it is! What modern
man of sense can think himself worthy
Of the beauty, the grace, the efficiency
of a modern automobile?
at dreamed of reporters coming out
of the hurry burly of the streets, out of
the police court, the political ward
meeting, the divorce court, the murder
trial and into the presence Of these
gmooth-running, singing masses Of steel.
dreamed of the man lifted UP, In
spired, set afire-something singing in
him to match the singing of the ma
chimes.
BUT let me keep little to the news
paper itself. Newspaper writing is writ
ing. Newspaper men are inclined to
deny that. They are only lodging.
Newspaper writing can be as direct. as
noble, as fine as any other kind OF writ
ing. 1t is record, bad or good, OF the
passing pageant of life.
Everything is standardized now, our
cigarettes, our clothes, our houses, our
thoughts. The machine has triumphed.
II is going to triumph more and more
People in general are herd. They
take what they get. Do YOU think the
people in general ever willed our indus
trial age? Why, they never willed any
thing Everything in the world that
has been worth anything has been
willed by a few men.
: with childlike faith we take the fact
Of education as implicit good. Noy we
have every one reading. But how little
thought is given to what they read and
write? Who cares? We are very sharp
sometimes that so-called immortality
shall not get abroad, but vulgarity and
banality may have always a free way
with us:
ideas are all right between friends,
IN private conversation, but they are as
dangerous as dynamite when put forth
in the public prints. The world in gen.
eral cares little enough what you do, II
you will only keep still. Do not dis
t1Irb the dear public. Do not stir any
ones mind. These have become the
American cries. They have become the
slogans of newspaper offices, of maya
zine Offices, of book publishing houses.
The result Is, Of course, infinite dull
ness. Blatant dizziness In the movie
houses, on the radio, in the newspapers.
some Of 1t is bright, sharp little dull
ness. There are some slick men In the
game. There is good money in being
slick.
"But, after all, the world we live in
is only dull to the dull. In spite of the
machines the world OF men and nature
remains. There are the fields and