William Dean Howells

by Michael Ceraolo

"For many weeks,
                             for months,
it has not been for one hour out of my waking thoughts;
it is the last thing when I lie down,
                                                   and
the first thing when I rise up
It blackens my life
I feel the horror and the shame of the crime
which the law is about to commit against justice"

                                                                           And
on November 11, 1887,
                                    before
that date was the day to celebrate the Armistice,
                                                                        before
that date was the day to honor veterans,
the crime was committed:
                                          four men
were murdered by the state of Illinois

In addition
to the obligatory petition signings
Howells used his literary talents
in a letter to the governor on their behalf,
                                                             and
in many private letters,
saying the trial record
"proved themselves absolutely guiltless
of the murder charged upon them" ,
                                                     making
no objection when some correspondents
made the contents of the letters public,
                                                          and
still he asked
"Is there anything more to be done?"

                                                            Risking
his munificent salary
($13,000/year from Harper and Brothers),
                                                               risking
his reputation and standing as one
of the country's most popular novelists
would seem to be enough,
                                       but
he didn't trim his position afterward:
"All is over now,
                           except
the judgment that begins at once
for every unjust and evil deed,
and goes on forever
The historical perspective is that
the free Republic has killed five [sic] men
for their opinions"

                              And he went further,
being the proto-Zola in an ars poetica:
"Neither arts,
                    nor letters,
                                     nor science,
                                                       except
as they tend to make the race better,
                                                      or kinder,
are to be regarded as serious interests,
                                                          and
they cannot do this except from and through the truth"

Then as now a minority position