Mencken's Law for an Enlightened Age

I hesitate to get too detailed about H.L. Mencken and his writing career in Baltimore. The Mencken Society and Friends of the H.L. Mencken House are incredibly knowledgeable about this prolific writer and thinker of the early 20th century. Both organizations were really helpful to me when I contacted them to find information regarding Mencken and his writing. Thanks especially to Oleg Panczenko secretary of the Friends of H.L. Mencken House and Garin Hovannisian of The Mencken Society. These guys certainly passed some Mencken love my way.

What I will venture to say about Mencken with my miniscule knowledge of his work is the fact that every scholarly website or person that I have contacted for information regarding social history of Baltimore has asked me weather I have consulted the works of Mencken. Finally...I can say that I am in the process. As suggested by the men mentioned above I picked up some of Mencken's autobiographies. The second in his trilogy is titled, Newspaper Days published in 1940 and chronicles his first years in the newspaper business from 1899 - 1906. I admit to being only on page 62 at this writing but already understand why this guy is such a Baltimore legend and why his influence was felt nationwide. The reason I trust Mencken's view of Baltimore society is summed up on page 38. It directly states:

     "I made up my mind at once that my true and natural allegiance is to the Devil's party, and it has been my firm belief ever since that all persons who vote themselves to forcing virture on their fellow men deserve nothing better than kicks in the pants. Years later I put that belief into a proposition which I ventured to call Mencken's Law, to wit:
               
     Whenever A annoys or injures B on the pretense of saving or improving X, then A is 
            a scoundrel."

It's like one of those postulates from Geometry class that I never understood, but now his law gives me confidence in my abilities of comprehension once more. There is no account this man can give of Baltimore life that I will not trust. One of the greatest dangers of researching The Block and the murky moralities of its life forms is the fact that so many who write and recall it later want to provide a shiny and virtuous account of the past. The past that I am intending to portray has never been nor will never be shiny or virtuous. The more I learn the dirtier The Block and Baltimore history gets. Mencken understood this darkness was essential in reporting the truth.