A Remembrance of Joseph Dana Miller
Frank Chodorov
[Reprinted from Land and Freedom, May-June
1939]
A truth becomes no truer because of the garb in which it is
presented; but the readiness with which it is perceived, and perhaps
accepted, is enhanced thereby. I recall vividly that the literary
qualities of Progress and Poverty impelled my reading of that
book before I had any idea of its economic or philosophical content.
Because of the remarkable style of Henry George one would be inclined
to expect men of marked literary abilities to be attracted to his
philosophy, and to use their gifts in the propagation of his theories.
And there were a number who wielded the pen well in the cause of
Georgeism. There were Louis F. Post, John S. Crosby, Ernest Howard
Crosby, Herbert Quick, Henry George, Jr., Luke North and others whose
various literary talents enriched our literature. Those who emphasized
the fiscal reform were legion, and while this phase of the subject
does not lend itself to literary heights, much of an informative
character, good for argumentative purposes, has been left by these men
; the field for such informative work is still unscratched, and much
valuable research work must be done.
George Raymond Geiger, Graham Peace, Harry Gunnison Brown, among
others still with us, have done some good writing. And Albert Jay
Nock, one of the foremost living essayists, has just completed a
remarkable word portrait of Henry George, which will be issued in
August.
But, in the quarter century I have been connected with the movement,
my impression has been that the orator rather than the writer has been
developed. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the movement was
nurtured in the political arena, and in a period when verbal
pyrotechnics from the tail of a wagon was the accredited means of
political propaganda.
However, there was one writer who for nearly forty years did yeoman
service for the movement, of whom the movement may well be proud. He
was a mid-Victorian, in the best literary sense. Always he knew the
phrase that would best express the thought, the correct word, the
proper sentence structure. But though he was a consummate craftsman,
he was much more than that. He never submerged or minimized the
thought, or the message, in his art. His talented pen was always the
obedient slave of his ideas.
For over twenty years I have looked forward to the bi-monthly "Comment
and Reflection" of Joe Miller. Always this well-turned commentary
on current problems or moot doctrinal questions or matters of method
made me feel that this bright beacon light was an assurance that Henry
George would not die. I travelled much during these years, and my
heart was frequently heavy with the realization that the philosophy of
freedom was little known in these United States. Sometimes the density
of this darkness seemed impenetrable, and courage to keep on teaching
ebbed. Then came a new "Comment and Reflection," and, taking
my cue from this seemingly inextinguishable light, I carried on.
But, at long last the light is extinguished. We who knew Joe loved
him. In the privacy of our hearts only will that loss find expression.
But the movement as a whole will be poorer because the literary genius
of his "Comment and Reflection" is gone forever.
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