The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, May 14, 1970, Image 5
v
THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., May 14, 1970—6-A
eview
Mencken
By Lennart Pearson
Head Librarian
Presbyterian College
MENCKEN. By Carl Bode. 462 pages. With
illustrations. Southefm Illinois University Press.
1969.
H. L. Mencken—aristocrat, libertarian, dis
turber of the peace, sworn enemy of Puritans and
fundamentalists—was something of an Ameri
can institution during the first three decades of
this century. In this new and important biogra
phy, a professor of English at the University of
Maryland, Carl Bode, looks at the relation be
tween Mencken and his times and at the vigorous
challenge to traditional values found in Mencken’s
many (and frequently sulphurous) writings.
Of German ancestry, Mencken was reared in
an atmosphere of Baltimore gentility which
was never quite obscured by his bombast and ir
reverence. Starting out as a news reporter, he
eventually became a columnist and drama critic
for the “Baltimore Herald.” His interest in the
plays of George Bernard Shaw turned into a
book which attracted national attention. In 1908,
Mencken was hired as a book reviewer for “Smart
Set”, a sophisticated New York magazine. Not
surprisingly, he became its editor and used its
pages to introduce to the American public writers
such as Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sher
wood Anderson, James Joyce as well as other lit
erary lions and tigers.
“The American Mercury,” however, was the
magazine of the late twenties. As editor, Mencken
had a remarkable platform from which he “at
tacked individuals and institutions with a freedom
no writer enjoys today.” Bishops, businessmen,
politicians, popular idols—all set the needle swing
ing on Mencken’s highly efficient crap-detector.
His sardonic coverage of the Scopes trial in par
ticular, earned him damnation or praise, depend
ing, of course, on one’s point of view.
There were many sides to Mencken, however.
He loved music (especially Bach) and he was a
brilliant conversationalist. For all his anti-fem
inism, he was a devoted husband. For all his
mockery of academic folderol, he was a capable
and careful scholar, very well-read; his work on
“The American Language” remains a classic. To
young writers he was sympathetic and construc
tive in his suggestions. Frequently, he received
their appreciation in the form of inscribed gift
copies of their newly-published books; such vol
umes now line 200 feet of shelving in the Menck
en Room of the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore.
Belligerently agnostic himself, he recognized
sincere religious expression in others, and re
spected it. He suffered much from anti-German
feeling during World War I, and with the coming
of Roosevelt and the New Deal, he discovered that
he was socially and politically more conservative
than he had realized.
Mencken died in 1966. His epitaph he wrote
himself: “If, after I depart this vale, you ever
remember me and have thought to please my
ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at
some homely girl."
MBS WIDE MAN
Miss Widemcm
Graduates At
Anderson College
Wilma Ann Wideman, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Wide
man of Clinton, was one of 210
Anderson College graduates re
ceiving diplomas and certifi
cates in commencement ex
ercises May 10. Wilma was a-
warded the Associate of Arts
degree.
A graduate of Bishop-England
High School in Charleston, Wil
ma was named Maid of Honor
in the recent May Day activi
ties at Anderson College.
171 Sign Up
For Comp Fire
Girls' Camp
A1 Undari, camping chairman
for the Clinton Council of Camp
Fire Girls, stated he was most
pleased with the 171 girls re
gistered from this area for the
week of camping June 1 - 7.
Camp Fire Councils of Toc-
coa, Ga., and Anderson, S. C.
join the Clinton group for their
camp but Mr. Undari stated re
gistrations from these two
councils were not complete as of
this date. This is a large in
crease over 1960 and will make
for a better camp.
Thousand-Plus Islands
No complete count has
ever been made of the is
lands in the Thousand Is
lands group because some
of them are only small
points of rock above the
water There are at least
1,700 islands in the group
located in the St. Lawrence
River.
Schools And Rules
Dear Sir:
Last week's letter on Student
Dress has earned my gratitude.
I am very grateful for one word
used twice, in the first para
graph. That word is involved.
As a working mother for the
school district I must admit a
certain tendency not to get in
volved. But I am a mother first,
a school employee second.
I would like to commend the
committees selected from the
school staffs for those “ridicu
lous rules set down" for our
children. One person didn’t set
the standards; a competent
group of people, most of whom
are parents themselves, worked
hard and long to achieve guide
lines for our boys and girls.
Our students are not the prob
lem-makers; they want and need
rules.
Student Dress is not the prob
lem we face. You know it and I
know it The parents who buy
their children’s love and re
spect are not getting anything
for their money, so naturally
something or someone must
take the blame--why not the
schools?
A parent just might be en
lightened if he did find out
“what’s going on at school and
why”. He just might lose a few
nights’ sleep when he sees a
child from a “no-rules” home
heartbroken, lonely and defying
all rules just to get attention.
If this parent listens closely,
he just might hear “that old,
mean teacher" pray mg for a
child, for themselves, and for
the parents:
Rules are not made to be bro
ken, rules are made to be kept.
Mrs. John Franklin
Clinton, S. C.
Steel industry employment
averaged 544,000 in 1969, down
from 552,000 employed in 1968.
AIR CONDITIONING
If You Are Going To Air Condition Your Home
or Business, Now Is The Time For A Quality In
stallation of A Central or Window Unit.
OUR PRICES ARE AT THEIR LOWEST
FOR THE SEASON.
WE SERVICE ALL UNITS
Domestic Air Conditioning
Branch Office: Riddle's Grocery, Kinards
Telephone 276-6346
“Serving Clinton • Newberry Area"
U The Country Shop |i
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