The Washington times., 1932-04-11

corrupting influence" 1t would be better to insist
that beauty corrupt. The word art" has become
budgeon with which ntellecuas beat up the Phistne
1t is of the words perpetualy used without proof
1t has behind it the grandeur of Mchelangelo and is
used as defense for pornographic magazines. Mr..
Sumner in the fulness of his powers, was never af-
feced by the argument that novel or picture was
work of art but he has lost his punch and his fol-
lowers terrified.
One result is that matter what decision is made
the issue remains cloudy it If Diana goes
to Philadelphia it will not prove that nude statue is
harmless; 1t will only prove that this is "a work
OF art 1t she does not go, it will only mean that
jury has questioned the merit of St. Gaudens The real
struggle is between those who think aesthetic pleasure
more important than conventional morals and those who
DO not Just at present the moraiss being defeated
all along the line
Ideas lag behind facts, but when the facts are i'm
presslVe enough ideas try hard to catch up. At the
moment we being debated right and left and per
haps the best thing that could happen to us would be
detlatlon of ideas. noted the other day that Josef
Holman proposed to limit the number of musical
students preparing for great to those who stood
some chance OF achieving careers. Now Prof
George J Cox, of Columbia, suggests that might do
without few professors. sc" believe" he says "that
our colleges should abate little the passion for turn
Ing every STUDENT into paragon of learning, at
least INTO Ph. D. In the attempt we are spelling
thousands OF potentially happy contented and useful
clCzens lurlng them into dyspeptic whe-collar jobs
1t sounds all right but the theory of American sue
cess cess has always implied free flow from the labor
class into the professional class; and used to involve
an equally free flow back from clean cuffs to shirt
sIeeves-the whole process taking three generations
Prof. Cox is saying that great many people would
be better off they were not over-educated which is
undoubtedly true but he is also saying that the white
collar Job which inc udes everything from clerk to
Dank president is not as warmly desirable as we used
to think it. This is depression culture
No More Expansion
The over-learned are of course less of pest than
the sem-educated-the thousands of young men and
women who go to college to be lacquered over with
culture as motor cars painted-with highly pol
lshed surface blown at them from a gum Depression
culture will get them too, and presently just as pros
perty IS beginning again (say whenD will be hear
ing mat college education should be limited to the COM
parat!vely few people who take it seriously and can
In an obscure and out of print book, which I read
many years ago and which should like to see again
II. L. Mencken and I believe, Robert Rives La Monte
argued the case OF Men vs.. The Man-the case of
socialism against individuasm. And one of them,
La Monte, think, pointed out that even our ideas Of
GTeaon correspond roughly to political situation
Inc IDEA that the world created by fiat from out
soe comes naturally to people living under an absolute
monarch; during the of revolutions the idea rose
tnat the earth had been created through series of
GonVulslonS. Democracy gave gradual evolution
OF capitalism will have pure ideas