There is not a mine, not a railroad, not a steamship line, not a
life-saving station in America or Europe, not a city in America
or Europe, that has not illustrated in its history the capacity
of human nature promptly to do and dare and die. And these deeds
are done as modestly, as instinctively, as frequently as they
were in the days of the Civil War when thousands on both sides
faced each other in a battle whose issue, whether victory or
defeat, put not a cent into any soldier’s pocket; when victory
stood for no more booty or beauty than defeat. And since this is
so; since our plain American common people are easily capable
of heroic action and chivalric conduct, why do writers like
Howells persist in picturing us a people whose average life and
soul are represented by dudes and dolls, by selfish or silly men
and women; by knaves with a vast retinue of fools and tools?
The everyday heroism of the plain common people of America is
a rebuke to Howells for his low figures, and a justification
of the school of fiction that fills its pages with men and
women that stand for noble aspirations and inspiration. The
story of high endeavor is all that keeps the world’s eye on the
stars.--Portland _Oregonian_.
(1402)
=Heroism, Missionary=--See MISSIONARY CALL.