It is a question, you see, which travels quite to the horizon of our
vision and beyond it, and which searches the very heart of our
national purity and power. No wonder that Bismarck considered the
perpetuation of the German home, with its elemental and joyous
productivity, as the source of all imperial puissance on the one hand,
and the purpose and end of all statesmanship on the other hand.
It would be far better for America if our public men were more
interested in these simple, vital, elemental matters than in "great
problems of statesmanship," many of which, on analysis, are found to
be imaginary and supposititious. Yes, and it would be better for the
country if our literary men would describe the healthful life of the
Nation's plain people, than tell unsavory stories of artificial
careers and abnormal affections, and all that sort of thing.
They would sell more books, too. I never yet heard that anybody got
tired of "The Cotter's Saturday Night." I think it quite likely that
the Book of Ruth will outlast all the short stories that will be
written during the present decade. Yes, decidedly, our public men, and
our writers, too, ought to "get down to earth.
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