Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-19

| it, provided that he can tell story in
the first place.
Interest is what we demand of him.
II he can interest us, he wins. The
point is, as we see 1t, that he cannot
| interest us if his work is vile, If 1t de-
presses us. II 1t contains persons and
| pictures which We may know about but
do not choose 10 read about.
Thus it all gets back to the personal
reaction. The reader Is the judge. Upon
him depends, not that bad books shall
not be printed, but that he shall read
! only the good, the decent ones. These
/ decent, good books are fine, straightfor-
ward books. Among them are the
worlds best.
| the other type. They always have been
written, and no doubt they always will.
Publishers will be found to publish
them, readers to read them. In New
York there are two or three publishers
who specialize on books which verge on
| indecency.
The "bootlegging' Of lewd books goes
| on in every great city. Yet this form of
traffic never bothers the person who
| takes books seriously and Is determined
to read the best things.
! He finds that the greatest writer's,
with few exceptions, have been mindful
of their obligations to the race. They
have recognized the civilization of
which they find themselves part, have
understood the mighty fight which man.
kind has made over the centuries to
make itself as decent and clean as it
can; they have willingly bowed them
J yves before the high endeavor of their
| coAamon humanity.
That not every one of them has been
| able to see life in exactly the same light
| is not to be wondered at, of course. One
writer has moral fervor," and his books
go big in his generation. The next
! finds tkem somewhat namby- PANTY.
But tbs 4 Seeming realize his high pur-
pose anC are willing to overlook what
they do not like for what they may
praise and admire.
The methods of Sinclair Lewis and
Ernest Hemingway differ widely from
those of Victor Hugo. Charles Dickens,
William Thackeray, Walter Scott
Yet they are no less sincere. These
moderns-and they are representative
of one group-picture life as they see
it. If they do not see it as you, the
reader, sees it, they offer you the priv
| lege of letting them alone.
1t will be found that their work Is
not without its moral value too,
| through sheer contrast-that Is, if they
| picture certain type OF clergyman,
for instance. he not only stands out
himself. but he makes the great
majority of Woodworking, earnest.
fine men engaged in the work of the
Master stand out. too.
Contrast Is what does 1t. Thus, some
| times what is not in a book becomes
of more importance than what is. We
would like to be able to conduct a
school Of appreciation for many read
ers who manage to get the wrong slant
on Seading and who demand Of their
authors. especially novelists, that they
write with a purpose"
! Interest is the main thing but 1t
must be kept in mind that no author
can interest a decent reader with in
decent work. Here every reader must
be his own judge and jury. This is
why we necessarily speak up for the
| integrity of the reader and ask that he
choose his own booss to suit himself.
No persons opinion is worth a whoop
except that of the reader, and his opin-
ion, Of course, may be worth nothing
except to himself. But as long as he
is honest. and tries to be fair, and
uses common sense and his divine sense
of humor, he may feel assured that a
story even of vice triumphant may en-
noble him by making him lean more
fervently toward virtue, Just as one may
shrink from things harmful and resolve
not to be caught that WaV again