The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-08

Theodore DrieSer, except that we haven't got to the stage to calling one another Ted and Charlie. l had nourished a sort of academic dislike of Dreiser for years. His lumerbing sentences made me picture him as an arrogant, egot- istical, sneering sort of person, and l avoided meeting him.
 When I had a long converse tion with Dreiser, alone, l found him a gentle, modest, noffensive, humanity-loving fellow, without animus toward anyone. A bit sad about the state of the world, perhaps, but fairly reconciled. l liked him, and since then I've enjoyed re-reading some of his work.
 There are many persons who are disliked heartily by casual readers who have never seen them. One of the most likable men I know is Neil Vanderbilt (Cornelius Jr), yet I have met more people who disliked him by long distance than would make up telephone directly for Pierre, S. D. I try to find out why these people have such hate against Neil, and 1t always turns out that they don't know why, don't know anything at all about him except that he was born rich, had some Specta- cular experiences in Journalism, and had couple of unfortunate marriages.
 He couldn't help being born rich, and it didn't do him bit of harm. AS a matter of fact, he lost his inheritance before he got 1t, due to his honesty in paying creditors. He could have avoided paying them by simple means, of which thousands of business men take advantage every day.
 Neil, according to my observa- tion, is a hard-working, unpre- tentious, honorable person. He lost most of his health at the front in the World War and lost all of his money trying to keep a losing business going so that faithful employees wouldn't lose their jobs. You can't dislike that kind of a man, when you know him.
 I'm finding 1t better, in the light of experience and observation, not to judge anybody on the basis of martial affairs. The relationship of husmand and wife Is much too personal to be judged, weighed, analysed or understood by anyone except those two persons. We all have close friends who are di- vorced, separated, unhappily mar ried. Seldom do these people pour out their troubles to their friends. There's no sense in misjudging either party to such an unfortun- ate affair. I take the attitude that it's none of my business, and I'm not in the least curious about it. It seems the easier way to live.
 There's a dignity about the Washington Arch, at the lower end of Fifth avenue, that accounts for much of the atmosphere of the avenue itself. Tn our time, millions of visitors have got their chief and best impression of the great avenue from the Arch, when entering Washington Square from the north by bus or afoot.
 The Arch, as 1t stands today, was finished in 1895.
 This is by far the most import ant arch in New York. It was suggested, they say, by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but looks more like the Arch of Titus, from which both the later arches get their inspiration.
 Americans have never gone in heavily for arches. The reason is that the greatest monuments of this kind were built long ago in celebration of conquests by Euro pean generals, emperors, dictators and conquerors.
 When Dewey destroyed the Spaniards in Manila Bay, a great triumphal arch was set up in New York, but when the Admiral got married and deeded his home to his wife, he ceased to be hero, and the Dewey Arch was not made permanent.
 Copyright, 1939, McNaught
 Syndicate)