U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [33]
we clean young American Rover Boys handy with
tools Deerslayers played hockey Boy Scouts and cut figure eights on the ice Achil es Ajax Agamemnon I couldn't learn to skate and kept fal ing down
-81-THE PLANT WIZARD
Luther Burbank was born in a brick farmhouse in
Lancaster Mass,
he walked round the woods one winter
crunching through the shinycrusted snow
stumbled into a little del where a warm spring
was
and found the grass green and weeds sprouting
and skunk cabbage pushing up a potent thumb,
He went home and sat by the stove and read
Darwin
Struggle for Existence Origin of Species Natural
Selection that wasn't what they taught in church,
so Luther Burbank ceased to believe moved to
Lunenburg,
found a seedbal in a potato plant
sowed the seed and cashed in on Mr. Darwin's
Natural
Selection
on Spencer and Huxley
with the Burbank Potato.
Young man go west;
Luther Burbank went to Santa Rosa
ful of his dream of green grass in winter ever-blooming flowers ever-bearing berries; Luther Burbank could cash in on Natural Selection Luther Burbank
carried his apocalyptic dream of green grass in
winter
and seedless berries and stoneless plums and
thornless roses brambles cactus ---82-winters were bleak in that bleak brick farmhouse in bleak Massachusetts --out to sunny Santa Rosa; and he was a sunny old man where roses bloomed al year
everblooming everbearing
hybrids.
America was hybrid
America should cash in on Natural Selection.
He was an infidel he believed in Darwin and
Natural
Selection and the influence of the mighty dead
and a good firm shipper's fruit
suitable for canning.
He was one of the grand old men until the
churches
and the congregations
got wind that he was an infidel and believed
in Darwin.
Luther Burbank had never a thought of evil,
selecting improved hybrids for America
those sunny years in Santa Rosa.
But he brushed down a wasp's nest that time
he wouldn't give up Darwin and Natural Selection
and they stung him and he died
puzzled.
They buried him under a cedartree.
His favorite photograph
was of a little tot
standing beside a bed of hybrid
everblooming double Shasta daisies
with never a thought of evil
And Mount Shasta
-83-in the background, used to be a volcano
but they don't have volcanos
any more.
NEWSREEL VII
SAYS THIS IS CENTURY WHERE
BILLIONS AND BRAINS ARE
TO RULE
infant born in Minneapolis comes here in incubator
Cheyenne Cheyenne
Hop on my pony
says Jim Hil hits oil trust on 939 counts
BIG FOUR TRAIN BLOWN TO PIECES
woman and children blotted out admits he saw floggings and even mutilations but no frightful outrages
TRUTH ABOUT THE CONGO FREE STATE
Find Bad Fault In Dreadnaught Santos Dumont tel s of rival of bird of prey wives prime aim of Congo natives ex-traordinary letter ordering away U.S. marines WHITES IN
CONGO LOSE MORAL SENSE
WOMAN HELD A CAPTIVE BY
AMBULANCE CHASERS
Thaw Faces Judge in Fateful Fight
LABOR MENACE IN POLITICS
last of Salome seen in New York heroism of mother un-availing There's room here for two, dear,
But after the ceremony
Two, dear, as one, dear, will ride back on my pony From old Cheyenne3
-84-THE CAMERA EYE (8)
you sat on the bed unlacing your shoes Hey
Frenchie yel ed Tylor in the door you've got to fight the Kid doan wanna fight him gotto fight him
hasn't he got to fight him fel ers? Freddie pushed his face through the crack in the door and made a long nose Gotta fight him umpyaya and al the fel ows on the top floor were there if not you 're a girlboy and I had on my pyjamas and they pushed in the Kid and the Kid
hit Frenchie and Frenchie hit the Kid and your mouth tasted bloody and everybody yel ed Go it Kid except Gummer and he yel ed Bust his jaw Jack and Frenchie had the Kid down on the bed and everybody pul ed him off and they al had Frenchie against the door and he was slamming right an' left and he couldn't see who was hitting him and everybody started to yel the Kid licked him and Tylor and Freddy held his arms and told the Kid to come and hit him but the Kid wouldn't and the Kid was crying the bloody sweet puky taste and then the bel rang