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Designer of the famed New York Times
“history test” of 1943, given to 6,000
college Freshmen, the results of which
shocked the nation and won a Pulitzer
Prize for the Times. Author of ““Democ-
racy in the Making,” hailed by Time
Magazine as one of the four outstand-
ing books published in that year. News-
paper columnist whose columns have
appeared in the Los Angeles Times,
Memphis Press-Scimitar, Charlotte Ob-
server and many smaller papers. A
world travel enthusiast, with the back-
ground of a historian and the keen
eye of a journalist. Author of a recent
series —‘“‘How Sweden Conquered Pov-
erty”
a
811 Oakdale Road, N.E., Atlanta
CHARLES A. BEARD says:
“This is a new chapter in American
history —and one written with verve.”
CLAUDE G. BOWERS says:
"I found Democracy in the Making so
fascinating that I read it from beginning
to end without stopping. It is a robust
and dramatic, rapidly moving story of
epochal battles for the preservation of
democracy against the attacks ofan em-
bryo plutocracy, written with gusto and
color. It covers a new field in carrying
forward the story from Jackson to John
Tyler to whom tardy justice is done.
From these pages emerges the real fight-
ing Tyler, able, consistent, incorruptible,
courageous, impervious to the wiles of
demagogues and the temptings of ambi-
tion—one of the fine, fighting Presidents.
In scraping off the barnacles of prejudice
and hate and revealing the real figure of
Tyler, the author has rendered a real
service to history.”
MARQUIS JAMES says:
“A good piece of work adding con-
siderably to our published knowledge of
the Jackson Period.”
WILLIAM E. DODD says:
“This is an interesting picture of things
for the Jackson-Van Buren-Tyler years,
especially good in giving personal atti-
tudes as well as efforts to defeat democ-
racy. It will serve a useful purpose, now
that democracies are really in danger.”
WILLIAM E. WOODWARD says:
“Here is a book of vital interest and
enduring significance, one which will
eventually cause a revision of an impor-
tant section of American history.”
As I See It
By HUGH RUSSELL FRASER
MARION, WA. Sherwood Ander-
son made this town famous. He lived
here. Here he wrote “Dark Laughter”
and many another novel.
There was always something about
Sherwood Anderson that intrigued
me. His style was dark and mysteri-
ous; his words
came out of the
twilight, neither of
night or of day.
Sometimes, when
all was still and
the moon was
down, you could
hear him laugh-
INE 6.s..<
His books were
not novels, not
plots... they were
more than that; actually, they were
conversations — low pitched, and
Huen Russell Fraser
mysterious — conversations at mid-
night,
He spoke of beauty, sparsely,
charingly ... for it was all he knew.
He did not bother with fear. Why
should he? He had discovered some-
thing more important ... the silence
and magic of the woods at night, and
human voices .. . talking bluntly,
hesitantly, of the mystery of life and
love.
And so I came to Marion. And what
I found — well, it was so uproari-
ously funny, I could not help but
laugh.
Naturally, or perhaps I should say
logically, he had a supreme contempt
for the yokels ... their thought proc-
esses, their solemn opinions, their in-
ane prejudices. And so he bought a
paper ... the Smith County News,
and then — of all things! — the rival
paper, the Marion Democrat. Both
weeklies, mind you. One Democratic
and one Republican . .. Well, this
was back in the depression when only
Sherwood Anderson had money,
money for what he said he heard in
the whispering corn under the dark
of the moon... and so he laughed,
owning these two papers. A man
named Hoover was running for presi-
dent then against a man named
Roosevelt .. . and I don’t think he
liked either Mr. Hoover or Mr. Roose-
velt .. . Anyway, he had a unique
way of expressing it. A perfect way.
In one paper, the Republican pa-
per (The Smith County News) he de-
nounced Mr. Roosevelt and lauded
Mr. Hoover. And Sherwood Anderson
could do a magic job of that.
In the other paper, he denounced
Mr. Hoover and lauded Mr. Roosevelt,
and Mr. Anderson was a master at
that.
Kut it was not only on politics that
Sherwood Anderson differed with
himself ... sometimes it was a mat-
ter of the Smith County News de-
aouncing the Marion Democrat, and
vice-versa; and Sherwood Anderson
wrote both editorials! ...and beth of
them equally eloquent.
What a wonderful way to live out
one’s life!
They say here in Marion that Sher-
wood Anderson is dead, but I am not
so sure... one night I walked out to
the high hill where they buried him
and I swear I heard him talking in a
low voice as the moon came over the
nountain.
There was nobody around... there
wfas never anybody around when
Sherwood spoke... but the low voice
cmtinued, half jestingly, half earn-
estly ...and then I knew there was
nuthing serious but the dark ground
ani the slowly-rising moon... and,
as if to lighten it all, the sound of
clayk laughter.