Evening Star Newspaper, July 4, 1926, Page 20

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. REVIEWS OF THE NEW BOOKS Again the Story of Marco Polo‘s Travels—Afternoon Love and a Day Without a Tomorrow—The Private Life of Helen of Troy and Sad Young Men. IDA GILBERT MYERS. THE TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO. Revised From Marsden’s Transla- tion and Edited by Manuel Kom. roff. New York: Boni & Liveright. {4 HAT a Marco Polo! say the English lad facing upon some huge yarn in frank unbellef. ““What a whopper!” Jjeers the American boy in similar situation. Both are avoiding the short and ugly word that, pai between men, leads to prompt and vigorous reprisal. Something like 600 years ago Marco Polo, just a boy then, went off into the East on a trading venture with his father, Nicolo Polo, and his uncle, Maffeo. For more than 20 vears the young Polo remained in the Orient. Coming back finally to his native city. Venice, he in no time at all gaine there a most unsavory reputation— nothing less than that of being the son and heir of the Father of Lies himself. Such marvels as he had to relate! Vast lands stretching half a world across, inconceivable to the s bound Venetians. Hordes of warl people ravaging endless plains in con- quest and slaughter! Treasure untold! Courts of sumptuous splendor: Kings of fabulous domain! Strangeé ways and customs! Curlous animals and plants! And the people listened, as we may nowadays, in polite acceptance, of utterly unbelievable inventions. Marco Polo gained a new name at the hands of his fellow citizens, “Marco Polo of the Millions.” And a new figure was added to the frequent Venetian carni- vals—a clown of gross exaggeration in dress and behavior to amuse the popu- lace and tickle them to laughter. This harlequin was ‘“Marco of the Mil- lions.” Then came a war between Venice and Genoa, rival citles. The galleys of the Venetians were overcome. Dragged backward into the port of Genoa, thelr bright banners trailed in the waters of the sea in sign of defeat, their commanders and fighters and crews became prisoners of war. Mar- co Polo among them, for three years eased his prison life by setting down his story, as 300 vears later a great English prisoner wrote his history of the world. In course of time Polo's manuscript out of his own hand be- Game the pursuit of learned men. Progress, under the lure of explora- tion, discovery, trade, revealed the fact that Marco Polo was not the pre- mier liar of the ages. That, rather, he had been in the main a man of truth, giving essential facts concerning a rich and lusty life of the East that the Western world had not even dreamed. And the pursuit of Polo be- came ever more ardent, more thor- ough, better substantiated by the character of events swiftly succeeding those of the great sixteenth century awakening. French savants, Italian scholars, English investigators bent their powers to translating and cor- roborating the main substance of Marco Polo's life in the East. ‘According to Manuel Komroff, Marsden’s English translation of the travels is best suited to the use of English-speaking people. With this translation he has produced a thing to elicit the gratitude of readers and the praise of those sitting in the seat of literary judgments and verdicts. He has saved the great story. The current of main events satlsfles by the straight sweep of its movement. The spirit of the whole is vigorousana thoroughly alive. kappily, Mr. Kom- roff has, in behalf of readers, discard- ed the lumber of notes, annotations and references, with which the pure scholar delights to fortify himself. Clear, clean pages invite us. Again, for the reader's sake, he has trans lated puzzling archaic forms into cur- rent terms. An amazing gain, this. With these advantages and a fne power of co-ordinating elements into an organism, he has produced a no- table work. And out of the finely clear projec- tion steps Marco Polo—not the ad- venturer, not the romantic figure of tradition, not the poet, nor the cru- sader, nor the courtier; instead, a plain man of business, interested greatly in the material situations around him. Curious about the nat- ural features of this strange world, alert to the benefits of kingly favor, but, above all, a sturdy business man, who would make great headway now- adays, as he seemed to do also in those old days. A big story, moving straight and simply through the af- fairs of one man who, 600 years ago, blazed the trail for modern travelers, and who gathered many facts that time has verified and that today are of great use to the world as a whole. A beautitul book to take up and look at, for the publishers have done their part, too, with insight and dignity and excellent artistry. * ok ok % AFTER NOON. By Susan Ertz, au- thor of ‘“Madame Claire.” New York: D. Appleton & Co. 'HE Indian Summer romance has inherent incapacities for popu- lar-appeal. Love—that love between man and woman—I|s so much a matter of the eyes and the imagination that. 2s a rule, only youth and beauty may hope to serve acceptably in the dra- matization of this illusive besetment. But there are exceptions to this gen- erally inclusive rule. Here is one. “After Noon” is clearly an exception. To be sure, it is only a story. Its counterpart in life might be sought the world over without success. Still. +it 18 pleasant to read a charming and almost convincing romance, even though one be practically certain that there is no such thing in reality as “after noon” love. And by what means has Susan Ertz put this im- posture across so completely? Just by & single act of creation. Here is a writer who has made a man, who has made him out of such simple stuff, who has fashioned him so art- fully well, that one takes him and all that he does in a g'dte childlike confi- dence and trust. Because he is most 'ovable to start witli, because he is cast in the role of both father and mother to the twins left on his hands ‘when his wife ran away for an easier Job, and because he filled this double role with infinite affeation and intul- tion and grace—jus' because of all this it is entirely believable that a woman with any sense at all would love Charles Lester, even at the ven- erable age of 44, or thereabout. Charming at every point and all along the way, this story. To be sure, one grows vexed with the new wife. She 18 somewhat of a fool not to see entirely what she has been lucky enough to secure. So she behaves just like a woman, urging for assur- ance and reassurance, being some- what of a nulsance—if you ask me— to a man shy of matrimony and ap- proaching it with shades of misgiving. However, it is working pretty well under the circumstances. It will be all right, for Charles Lester is so en- tirely all right. More delightful than “Madame Claire” is ‘'After Noon.” And again Susan Ertz has added to the ion of readers by giving them the joy of a beloved story friend by way of a beautifully projected ro- manes. * k% % IFF TODAY HAVE NO TOMORROW. By _Olive Gllbreath. New York: E..P. Dutton and Co. A ROMANCE set In Russia at the time of the revolution in 1017. Its chief character, a blend of Rus- eslan and English blood, represents rielara of the country, those whose relations with the peasantry are of a friendly and paternal cast. Mikhail Mikhailo vitch is an upstanding figure of a man, whe sustains competently the part of benevolent landiord in his na tive Russia and the part of sub- stantial associafe of the social life of London at his points of contact with England. The story advances com- petently and Interestingly by way of the interests and obligations of Mikhail Mikhailovitch. On the one hand is his personal life, engaged with men and women who in intelligence and spirit far outstrip the majority that take refuge in novels. On the other hand, Mikhail is concerned with the political stresses of the period, bent, if possible. upon something less than ruin for the people of his country. These distinct vet interwoven pre- occupations of this young Russian supply depth and variety to the action of the whole, as they also bring out the clear versatile strength of the author projecting them. "The experl- ences of Mikhail both in society and politics becomes at certain points ob- Jectified in the title of this romance, whose essence is of the at, drink and be mer philosophy—a phil osophy which takes effect in a double tragedy of one woman's life, and in that of a country pressing madly to- ward an unknown goal of freedom and untried liberty. The real strength of this well organized and well built romance lles in the author’s recogniz able intimacy with the Russian land and its people, with its outlook and aim, with its customs and its strange contrasts of culture and degredation, of genius and stolid ignorance. Here the writer is at home, and here lies the best of a romance that is other wise far above the average of fiction. A AT TOP OF TOBIN. By Stanley Oim- stead. New York: The Dial Pr A LONG novel of the North Caro- 43 Jina mountains, A marooned set- tlement provides the inspiration from which this writer pictures endless dull days of the men and women of Tobin, where they and their fathers and grandfathers have lived lives wherein each generation has copied its prede- cessor without a shadow of variation. Sounds dull—doesn’t it? It would be for the reader who thrives on action and adventure alone, for the one who must have heights and depths of emo- tion to satisfy his reading hours. Duil, indeed, it would be for these. For those, however, who follow true pic- tures, for those to whom the por traval of character and habit is a joy, for those engrossed in a community that has remained unchanged in a lightning-change world, for those who choose the chronicle in place of the adventure—for all of these the work of Mr. Olmsted is bound to stand as a very remarkable achievement. Nothing much happens here, to be sure. Men and women live and work and die, get married, have babies and burials in a drear monoton: But it all is so palnstakingly true, and true with an understanding and sympa- thetic humor that hurts, like sin, now and then. A suspension at “Top of Tobin™ of reality in one of its muiti- tudinous human phases. Too long? Oh, much too long! Nobody is going to read the whole of it. But many are golng to savor its clear and out- standing excellence as long as he has time to do this. But he hasn’t time for all of it. * ok k% ALL THE SAD YOUNG MEN. By F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of ""The Great Gatsb: New York Charles Scribner’s Sons INE stories that, combined, pre. sent a pictorial argument against the age-old theory that in the human tribe it is the female who is the play- thing of her master. It is the woman who is downtrodden, oppressed, neg- lected, discarded. Much of human philosophy is based upon this assump- tion. All reform movements receive their prime impetus from this preach- ment. Mr. Fitzgerald picks up nine young men, at random it would seem, BOOKS RECEIVED By A. Conan THE LAND OF MIST. ieorge H. Doyle. New York: Doran Co. “MORTOR TRIPS"'-—All of Eastern America, from Quebec to Florida. Hartford: The Guyde Publishing Co. THE MODERN LIBRARY+-DE PRO- FUNDIS. By Oscar Wilde. Edited with a Prefatory Dedication by Robert Ross. Introductory Essay by Frank Harris. New York: The Modern Library. THE MODERN LIBRARY — ZU- LEIKA DOBSON. By Max Beer- bohm. Introduction by Francis Hackett. New York: The Modern Library. NIZE BABY. trated by the autho! George H. Doran Ce IMAGINATION: Mind's Dominant Power. By Benjamin Christopher Leeming. New York: The M. H. Schroeder Co. “RUBY ROBERT": Alias Bob Fitzsim- mons. By Robert H. Davis. Intro- duction by W. O. McGeehan, sports editor of the New York Herald- Tribune. Illustrated. New York: George H. Doran Co. TRAVEL CHARTS AND TRAVEL CHATS. By Frederick 1. Collins (Frederick Lewis). Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co. BIRD DOG DAYS. By Horace Lytle, author of “‘Breaking a Bird Dog,’ etc. New York: D. Appleton & Co. EVOLUTION AND CREATION. Sir Oliver Lodge, F. R. York: George H. Doran Co. THE RISE AND FALL OF JESSE JAMES. By Robertus Love. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. THE HUMANIZING OF KNOWL- EDGE. By James Harvey Robin- son. Revised Version. New York: The George H. Doran Co. THE TARIFF ON WOOL. By Mark A. Smith, with the aid of the coun- cil and staff of the Institute of Fconomics. New York: The Mac- millan Company. DR. GOULD: or, Souls in Despair., and the Story of a Criminal. By Peter L. Bordonaro. Boston: The Christtopher Publishing House. THE ART OF BOXING. By Georges Carpentier. Illustrated from pho- tographs posed by the author. New York: George H. Doran Co. THE ADVANCING SOUTH; Storles of Progress and Reaction. By Ed- win Nims, author of “Life of Sid- ney Lanier.” New York: Double- day, Page & Co. LIFE _AND RELIGION SERIE THE MISSIONARY IDEA IN LIFE AND RELIGION. By J. I McFayden, M. A.. D. D. author of “Jesus and Life,” etc. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. THE NEWS-HUNTERS. By Francis Rolt-Wheeler. Illustrated from photographs. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. JULIET IS TWENTY. By Jane Ab- bott, author of “Barberry Gate,” | etc.’ Philadelphia: J. B. Lippin- . selt Co, By Milt Gross. Illus- New York: By New | with whom he proceeds to make nine perfectly watertight demonstrations that the world’s opinion of woman as the oppressed one is absolutely and altogether erroneous. That, on the contrary, there is no creature so put upon. bamboozled, so tyrannized over, so led about by the nose, 50 afraid to say ms soul is his own or, indeed, that he has a soul, as is man in the hands of any wisp of a female who succeeds temporarily in blinding him by the old, old myth of love. And Mr. Fitzgerald makes the demonstra- tion along very simple lines—along one very stmple line, in fact—that of mere man trying to get along with a woman when in some moment of clear lunacy he took on one of the tribe. Just simple storles, as guiltless as a cooing child, but there stands the big fact out of this innocent ninereel film. Sy THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HELEN OF TROY. By John Erskine. In. dianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co. VW nice people were brought up in the notion that certain women were not to be named-Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and the whole tribe of flet women. ‘I'hese were for warn ing certainly, never for themes of gen- eral converation. Just a year or so ago Louis Bromfield brought Lily Shane into the open. Indeed, he made this clearly errant woman the center- piece of an entire novel. And the pity of the outcome 18 that Lily Shane is one of the beloved and popular heroines of current fiction. Now here is John Erskine dressing up Helen of Troy in a manner to make her incomparably fine and com- mendable. What do these young, up start writers think they are ahout, anyway? First of all, doubtless to provide excuse for himself in case of need, this writer subtly reminds us that times have changed in soctal and family matters, as they have in all other directions, since Helen and other sirens of the past flew in the face of what Is now only commen decency Then, as he gets into the story, he pictures Menelaus, no doubt, just as he was, and certainly in a wav to af- ford Helen something of a justifica tion for some of her subsequent acts. It is, however, upon Helen herself that this author has outdone himself. Not in her elopement, not in her perennial beauty, not 1n her captiva- tion for men young and old, but in her character.” Hunt through stories all you please and you will not find & woman so near the ideal ns is this wicked Helen of Troy. Such a understanding as she has. Such a broad sympathhy to go with it. Such a feeling for the essentials of a mat- ter with no concern whatever for the artificial inventions that surround this Kernel of truth. Such composure in the face of condemnation. Such frankness in the avowal of her acts. Such freedom from extenuation. Such acceptance of consequences. A rebel, certainly, even for her own day. Ten thousand times a rebel for this one but an incomparable woman all the same. How do vou suppose John Ei skine got that way over Helen ¢ Trov? I wish I knew., THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Recent accesslons at the Public Library and lists of recommended reading will appear in this column each Sunday. Social Sciences, Begbie, Harold. The State of England. Hdi-F Bonus Puttir Carr-Saunders, HD.-C: Floyd, William. H-F66s. Hexter, M. B. Social Consequences of Business Cycles. HD-H33s. Judd, C. H. The Psychology of Social Institutions. H-J883p. J. A. Practical Social Science. Marshall, L. C., ed. Story of Human Progress. M35r. Moore, N H-M783s. Odum, H. W. Sociology and Social Problems. Ref. H-Ods6s. Rivers, W. H. R. Soclal Organization. 1924. H-R527s. Stote, Amos. Why We Live. H-St78w. Political Economy. Brooks, Sidney. America and Ger- many, 1918-1925. HC47-BT9. Burke, E. J. Political Economy. HC- BI14p. Bye, R. T. Questions and Exerclses on_the Principles of Economics, HC-B993q. Cameron, 0. C, Economics for Successful Invest. ing. HC-C143n. Carver, T. N. The Present Economic volution In the U."S." HCS3- 58p. Cassel: Gustav. The Theory of Social Economy. 1924, HC-C2T1.E. Crum, W. L., and Patton, A. C. An Introduction to the Methods of Tconomic Statistics. FC-C888i. Dunn, W. E. Peru. HC998-D92. Franklin, B. A. The Industrial Execu- tive. HC-F8541. Jennings, W. W. "A History of Teo- nomic Progress in the U. §. HCS3- T e U. 8. HC83 ugwell, R. G., and others. Teonomic Life. HCETALE oo Whitbeck, R. H. Economlc Geogra- phy of South America. HC98.W58, The Negro. Locke, oA, L., ed. HIN.-L79n. Miller, Kelly. o~ h!.”lfli. HIN-M616e Vhaley, M. §. The Old s Pass. . H{:N-“’ESZU. 7ee Eae ‘oodson, C. G. Free Ne, He of Families in the Umtegrgmte:?: 1830. HIN-WS866f. ‘Woodson, C. G., ed. Free Negro Owners in the United States in 1830. 1924. HIN-WS866fn. Labor. American * Academy of Political and Social Science, Phila. Industrial Safety. HFK-Am37. Feldman, Herman. The Regulariza- tion of Employment. HFW-F33r. Goodrich, C. L. The Miner's Freedom. HF83-G627Tm. 3 Mason, A. T. Organized Labor and the Law. HFIL-M38o. McMahon, Mrs. T. 8. Social and Economic Standards of Living. HFS-M226s. National (onsumers’ Supreme Court and Minimum Wage Legislation. HFS-N2165. National Industrial Conference Board. The Employment of Young Per- sons in the United States. HFM- N216e. United States. Bureau Statisties. Labor Laws of the United States. Ref. HFL-Un3a. United States. Congress. House. Committee on the District of Co- lumbfa. Hearings and Report on Workmen's Compensation in_ the District of Columbia. +HFK- Un33. Williams, Men. dward, and 1t Over. A Carrier, HAP-B64. M. Population. i S Social Progress. HAC Savage Survivals. 1918, The New Negro. The Everlasting Stain. League. The Whiting. HF83-W676m. a fine | Readings in the | Necessary Business | of Labor | Mainsprings of | BY NANNIE F YOU want a funny little minute, £0 to see the penguins at the Zoo. And be there by 3 o'clock, when their keeper feeds them. Pa and Ma Penguin live in a nice little yard, with a bit of pond in the middle and railings all around. As they are fed but once a day, they naturally get & bit excited when dinner time comes, though they express themselves with reater dignity, of course, than those flapping, dancing storks \and cranes and wide-yawning pelicans that go on perfectly silly when the hour comes around, though there sn’t wrist watch them. a solem- clerical outfits of so smoothly packed as to seem less like plumage than cloth woven in New Jersey, the two stand as rigidly straight as chaplains on parade, but at sight of the keeper they approach the gate with short jumps that account for the name of Rock-Hoppers, given them at the New Zealand Zoo, where they lived before they came here. In the matter of dining, old man penguin tolerates no such chivalrous nonsense as “ladies first.” He wants all that is coming to him and he wants it quick. Both birds crane necks to the straining point, but the male, leing a trifle larger, is able to butt ais lady aside to gobble an undue mouthful. Wise to this trait that is human in its selfishness, the keep- |er dispenses fish—small and carefully | cleaned—share and share alike. When | he has slipped, with incredible swift- ness, enough food to stuff each from web-feet to red bill, the penguifs be- &£in to gulp and wiggle to make room | for more, but he tells them they {have had enough, and they follow him to the gate with stilted little jumps that show how gorged they re. So long as the man is In sight, the penguins follow his figure with ger, intent g and when the foliage hides him, they exchange com ments about the folks outside the rails. You can tell by their shrugs and nods and the gesturings of their funny little wing-hands. Then, tired of the subject, and doubtless too stuffed to be longer entertained, they stand close together, stff and upright, and go fast asleep—two such human oddities that vou can quite under- | stund why the good old missionary [ felt it his duty to baptize the inha |itants of “Penguin Isle,” fn the story Anatole France tells about. Tuesday being a mixed day of sil very downpours and sunshine, few | visitors were on hand—so few as to | give a sense of the solitude of some { junglelike forest. where many birds jand animals flashed in and out of the green. It is a joy that crowds can not confer. " You will really | though. As one plained to her ¢ nity implied by black and whit I ike the penguins, little woman e mpanion, they are not so whimsicafly human as at th | Zoo in Regents Park | guins, at times, are dre |tle men and women to | children of London; nor so thrilling as s movies we saw that time, that the Scott exploring party at Pole, where countles: penguins held a mass to consider the strange creatures who had come among them, their gestures and expressions showing every human elemental trait except that of fear, being unac- quainted, as yet, with man and his ability to Kill. * d like lit please the i HE Providence that takes care of children fools, per adage, | must also keep an eye on old ladies ith worried minds. | One especial old lady: was so pre | occupied with the inward anxiety that furrowed her forehead into trench lines that she snailed across the Avenue as if for the express purpose of getting herself run down. An automobile that looked capable of performing the o nt out an ad- vance toot. The heeded not— same as that Gypsy malden in the song, only for a different reason, of course. The horn &norted a longer and more lamorously insistent warning. The lady dawdied, as if the | that place vou call a flowery mead. After a third sounding the chauffeur { who had already slowed up, cur around the tortoised lady and whj | on—and that was all there was to it, except: Two men on the curb took in the incident, and when it was over the one with the pipe sald to the one with the clgarette: “Most drivers are as careful as that one, but it is the occasional idiot of a joyrider who gets into the papers and hurts the standing of the others. You never see anything about the careful ones in print.” . “Idiots have their uses"—the cigar- | étte smoker, being younger, naturally where the pen. | Avenue were | C. AROUND THE CITY LANCASTER. knew more than his neighbor. “Idiots are the dramatic exceptions to the mo- notonously safe and sane rule. Good people seldom make interesting copy. You must look to the exceptions for headlines.” And while they talked the worry- minded lady touched the bricks just as a blue-black machine slowed up to keep from mowing her down. ¥ % NVENTIONAL man is a riddle seldom solved this side of the wedding ring. But man is not con- ventional in the small hot He is primeval, and shows up good or bad to the unprotected woman he comes across in the black silence of that mystery we know as night There is a woman whose former work made her keep hours that gave viewpoints not granted to her shel- tered sisters. And ‘her experiences would make a story with headlines. To tell about them would require a platform, but even an instance or two will fllustrate her claim that when the chaff of street caddiness is sifted from the grain of average human nature, man, after midnight, is as good and wholesome a fellow as his blond brother,-the man of high noon. Her first experience came after she had encouraged herself to expect none. I And in telling about it, she reeled her little incidents off about like this: I was sprinting along in the middle of the street—policeman told me al ways toavoid pavements on account of alleys and the extra black shadows made by areas and tree boxes—and had come to the E street side of the old Post Office Bullding—2 o'clock in the morning, with the place as silent as a country churchyard—except for three men. They were colored. One had a guitar and sang 1o its accom paniment with the others joining in When they saw they stopped, as tonished, I at_sight of a woman plodding alone in the night And the one with the guitar left th others and came to me, very politely touching his hat “+Anybody sick, lady have always ha colored people, and at reas had no speclal fear because of man's race, but all the same 1 was %0 ecared 1 could hear my tecth strik ing against each other, as 1 told him {that T w: going home from work 1 thought you might be going for a doctor und maybe we might help vou. Kinder late for ladies to be out by theirselves.’ “I told him 1 would soon he home and that if they would go on singing it would keep me from feeling nervous. 4 “And those three voung men didn'l do u thing but follow after me. sing fne, until T got to my door them and they said I was welcome And that was all there was to it, ex- cept, when T read about troubadours and Spanish cavaliers, 1 wish 1 was a Kipling, so that 1 could do a poem about three truly gentlemen and r troubadours who made it their mis sfon to guard an unprotected weman in the nizht t of my way lay al the always lighted market where I felt none of the shivery fear at heset me after I had left Seventh street and turned into the black lone. that swallowed me along deserted squares that led to my ipartment at E street and the park "here, was a harvest moon, and the wves of the trees made dancin dows on the silvery asphalt. Y may remember the time we had invasion of what people called elec- tric bugs: big fellows that ran over the pavement like tiny automobiles, knocking each other down. One chap had been pushed on his back, and his efforts to turn over appealed so to my sympathy—you know how you feel about helpless creatures—that 1 took my hat pin, stooped down to get a proper lever on the job, and had turned him over, when an old night watchman of one of the stores came out of the shadows and began to preach | ‘Daughter, what are you doing out {a 1 o'clock at night, when all honest | women are in bed? Watting for some | man, I suppose, criminal, perhaps, | who may at this minute he trying 1 | rob some store. It is mot too lat | daughter. Go, 1 beg you, und return to vour old parents who nmay he griev ing for their wayward child. It is never too late to repent.’ “I wish you could have heard him —1 was doing a good bit of theater work at that time, and the dramatic figure of him was something fine so 1 told him just who I was, | when he found out about the squaves I had ahead of me, he | bless Wis old bones pect have a policeman friend whn' comes by abomt this time and he can tak you home before he goes on his heat. “And this is the only real thrill 1 got out of my adventurings; for the policeman did come along, and he did take me home, with a promise to post the regular officer on my route, and he was as kind and as chivalrous as a man could be—but not so very long after that, counting by trials, he was hanged for murdering a woman—in a park.” Which shows what havoc that thing you call infatuation can make of a kindly, honest man. How the strange rhythms of Indlan music played a most important part in old Indian ceremonies and in treat- ment of the sick by medicine men is explained by Miss Frances Densmore, collaborator of the Bureau of Ameri- can Ethnology. In a paper presented to the Twen. tieth Tnternational C'ongress of Amer- feantsts, which has just heen received in this country, she points out the importance of rhythm in Indian mu- sic. The Indians learned many of their songs in dreams. The Indian put himself in a mental and' physical state somewhat akin to self-hynotism. He believed that this *“‘dream” state would bring him supernatural ex- periences, and that songs were given in such dreams by supernatural en- titles commonly chlled “‘spirits.” “In the dream this supernatural entity promised the Indian aid in time of need,” says Miss Densmore. “And this assistance was to be obtained by singing the song and performing cer- tain acts. Thus, in the opinion of the Tndlan, a spirit communicated with him in a manner "which was rhythmic, and he had the power to re-establish the communication and draw upon a source of supernatural power by repeating this rhy hn} in the form of his ‘personal song.’ ' If the song was one for healing a disease. the Indian could use it to treat the sick. If a patlent did not recover, it was supposed either that the diagnosis of the case was incor- rect, or else the patient was suffering from more than one disease. In the latter event the second disease must be determined, and then a singer must be summoned who knew . the proper songs for its cure. In all of this musical therapy the songs, with their strongly rhythmic quality, were regarded as vital in working the cure. “The Indian did not consciously at- | tribute the power to rhythm,” says | Miss Densmore. “He did not reason | things out to that extent. He was, however, confident that the sugges- tion did the work, and from our study and general knowledge it appears probable that the rhythm was the principal power., The Indlan singer S Y Strange Rhythms of Indian Music Play Major Part in Cures by Medicine Men knew it by a sort of primitive intui- tion, but could not explain it. “The {mportance of rhythm fs shown by the fact that an Indlan singer remembers the rhythm of a song more accurately than the mel- ody, often repeating the rhythm with exactness, when changing the melodic progression: e After transeription and analysis of more than 1,850 Indlan songs,.repre- senting music of 13 tribes, this ex- pert on Indian music concludes that peculiarity of rhythm is the chief racial characteristic of Indian gusie, and in the mind of the Indlan it is closely assoclated with supernatural or_mysterious power. This intellectual use of rhythm by the Indian medicine men is quite dif- ferent from the emotional use of rhythm by negroes, she points out, the negro rhythms being used for self-expression. Wholesale Executions Resorted to in China Hsuchowfu, a town in Kiangsu province, has openly declared war on armed robbers. To show that it means what it says 10 bandits were executed in one week One of the condemned, a woman, was given a death sentence because she had harbored robbers in her house. Her own gon and daughter-in-law had informed the officials of her conduct. The incident is not an uncommon one, nor is it uncommon for a mother to have her own children brought to trial and to demand that they be sen- tenced. Occupying much space in the local newspapers was a recent case in which a mother sued her son for sev- eral thousand dollars, claiming that he had forged her name to bank with- drawal slips. The son fled to San Francisco, where he was jailed. He was later returned here, faced trial, and was jailed again. His mother was the complainant and 414 not rest sat- sfied until he was behind the bars. 1 thanked | | their own lives ‘I can't leave my foh here, but 1| JULY 4, 1926—PART 2. CLUBWOMEN OF THE NATION National Woman's Party Hears Reports From Paris Convention. Mrs. Sherwin, Head of Woman Voters, Discusses Direct Primary—Federation Leaders Honored. BY CORINNE FRAZIER. HE most important of elubwomen in Washington during the past week was t held in the historic headquarters of the National Woman's Party on Capitol 1ill Wed nesday night, when members of the delegation to the Par) the International Woman Alliznce were tendered which they gave a de their activities in Paris and outlined a new plan of action for the wlvo- cates of equal rights for women, ri ing out of the decision of the congress not to admit the Woman's Party to membership in the alliance. Both Miss Mabel Vernon of Dela- ware, member of the national council, and Miss Je Dell, civil commission: of the evenin an which Suffrage would meet together at fr quent intervals for concrete action to ward obtaininz, not merely the vote, but equal rights for men and women both socially and politically. Bach speaker declared that the verse tion of the Paris cong proved to be a boom rather thin i drawback to those urging equal rig as it browght the issue before eyes of the world in the Gr h th sy, it was de than eould have heen aroused through ordinary liance throv elared in years mediums womer become one of the economie quest toulay Or of 1lts of the lifing_ of thi eyes of the world for th by s, fon of equal rights for declared Miss Dell reat feminist and » the world andir the the o8- tional equal rights for tion of such & body wi the executive committee Woman's Ppr he cau ued Miss Lt it equal 1 “is seen tion which presses ne Following the excl tional Woman's ternational S consequent Rhonda’s English = H country i | position met” te | the formation of | nist_comr | women of | many soc | equally | rou securing for of men an discussed all womer ind equ of the world Party v betore | the kovernme: The Woma A alone 1s it did riiaments qual i ompany with other mations, of women “The impetus equal hy Parls ca t world but far toward its the world now stand rev close co-operation will carr fight for human liberty ahead.” e PEAKIN: through close internations he clared that at | ternationally at infrequent ntery of only onec in three f women and {they n {daily action and moving today.’ ional governmen women were {mand their share § {today. when the internat 2 f the world is hefore our eves, we have the to make th demand that wor siven equal control with men in v There stael ihead sary for { quickly.” Other delegates t ting. telli { e I'aris o we, Hilles, chairman of the Dela ware branch and member of the 1 tlonal council, predicted that, with the new interest and sympathy cvoked in the Woman's Party, the organiza tion in the near future will find jtself internationally where it now stands fonally. Mrs. Isaac H. Dixon of Baitimore, a new life member of the party, anc Miss Margaret Hallett, duughter of Prof. Hallett of the University of Pennsy lering.” M {the younger women |equal rights campaign Mrs. Donald R. Hooker of Balti more, chairman of the national coun cil of the Woman's Party, introduced the speakers and acted as chairman of the reception committee. Mr Hooker and the members of the Na- tional Council were assisted by the District branch in receiving the guests. Among_those in the receiving line were Mrs. C. . Calhoun. Mrs, Dwight Clark, Mrs. Howard Nyman, Mcs. Harvey Wiley, Mrs. Anabel Ruth of Reading, I Mrs. Morris J. Pierce, Mrs. C. F. Rhodes, Miss Maude Younger of California, Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, Mrs. M. D). Dixon of Houston, Tex., and Miss Fanny Wolf- son. given the ' the disc | is new of the necessity { I contact wction "ou; she afrs us to act l Mrs to join in the AL “DO ot be stampeded demnation of the mary for faults which herent in the primary itself.” Mi Belle Sherwin, president of the tional League of Women Voters, ad- vised woman voters on her return to ‘Washington this week from Paris. “The astounding disclosures in con- nection with the primary election in Pennsylvania are made the pretext for a renewed attack upon this meth- od of nominating candidates by those who never have become reconciled to the abandonment of the old conven- tion system,” Miss Sherwin said. “No political device is perfect. _All are operated by human beings, and however excellent any system may be theoretically it cannot be expected to work perfectly while man remains fallible. “The League of Women YVoiers stands for the direct primary, not be- cause it regards it as an ideal instru- ment. but as a definite advance on the nrepresentative convention meth- she continued. “The Pennsy vania revelations are not an indict- ment of the primary, but they bring to light the urgent need of improve- ments to maks the primary more effective. In particular, they focus attention on the importance of strict regulation and limitation of cam- paign expenditures.” Members were reminded by Miss Sherwin of the league’s sloga: “The direct primary is not perfect, but let's use it, and improve it.” While in Paris, attending the ses- slons of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, Miss Sherwin had several conferences with Mlss Laufey into direct pri- are not in con hering | i arden at convention of | alk | | vania. also addressed the gath- | Hallett made a plea for | sdottir. of Reykjavik, lone representative from northern country to the suf hering. Miss Viadimarsdot- articularly interested in ob- Sherwin first-hand the leagte's po- work in so expressed spe {inform hout, litical - cducational and hamlets,” and a jal interest’ in the wor heppard-Towner maternity and in iwt. One of Miss Sherw cts on her return was to send arge number of publications relating to the le !land delegate. * ok x ok HI leaders General Federation of W Clubs we signally honore past week when they hei among the 10 | Indiana women in | by the Indiunape len themselv | contest. T lists of the 10 women the most prominent, togeth their reasons for each selection | winning st Miss Sue ‘tuart, contained of Mrs Edward F Inc polis, first 1t of the | eration: Mr MeWhirter {also of Tndfins n of fed | tension i former Mrs. in o wom the sent in ered with ters of the anklin Wh vice pres e Albion Fel hild 1f federation In summi ments of thes the accomplish vomen which entitled them to be rated Indiana’s most rep. | resentativ v Miss Stuart sai | the thr tion women included | ‘ranklin ' Wh one of 1 test heeaw: | uses her tren Ice- | a Nation-wide cont {ed to he towns | the country., 1of 160 titles picked from a ings of the ! s |ered the repre gue's program to the Ice- | in the work of the men’s The | 4 ral | tion, H within the fed 15 been present dquarters and will be adde: v at the N street estai th ¢+ of members contest created consic swomen all ove stants sen’ in list group « 0 titles, The 100 titl voted upor the most contestants were consi rtative list. and who submitted : coinciding with that ned by the popular vote was award ed the prize. Mrs. George Unneweh of Berkeley, Calif., recelved the $ ven by the P. Dutt Compan, for the winning list. which aesics by . ricar French and Ge 1 to € eration this Spring, | to the iiby lishment 1 This st able in anons o « % single comp most nearly forem: ort Histor Fedor Dos shment,” just he According to & repor Federation division of the departme: son Poole, the ne y for the fede Sunday for Euror mtfl Septe recordin ind w be Mrs. who w r Cunningharn charge of the course nducte Ids | sesquice rter " home. Bacon the rep seat of literature Bacor pitge: tion in wration in pendence ar centennial will be pos July 6. Thos or the Tuesday ce J. Far n from WHEAT ONCE WAS IMPORTANT CROP OF PHILIPPINE ISLAND America’s “Empire,” However, Is Now Dependent on United States Crop for Its Bread Flour RY WALTER ROBB. Philippine Islands ed in the outlook f nited ne of are grea ites, sin ey American unds du d unimportant Once Grew Own Wheat, it seems indeed that the Philippines o grew their own wheat and produced their own flour Yet such is the fa The change set of economic circumstance: | woven with religious | trade fealousy. inter prejudices and antla storm help his had ne [on the | lossiy in a Arifted upon of Japan, tory entiy w 1 respect to flour in the pines, as well as many other vitally involving the East even today. Mexico ver of modern Hast and lous of the Phi thi in the history between the extremely ade. which in all sorts of oriental wares— spices, silks fine cambric and precious stones and p Is. Cargoes were landed at Acapuleo, ported cross to Vera Cruz and therice taken Aacross the Atlantic to Seville. Mexico had no material part in this com. merce. However, she was pouring sllver and gold into the ro the Philippines under her administration, and so her brotest wi effective. The trade of Manila was reduced to a single gal leon cargo a year, valued at not mor (h!l‘n a million dollars, t was at the outset of sev entecnth century, 800 vears agy ©" Goods Were Undervalued. A practice developed of infringing upon the royal regulations. Goods were undervalued, and even the cannons for the arming of the gal- leons against English and Dutch v in the hold of the ships for ballast, their removal from deck affording more pace for goods. In this helpless con- dition a heavily laden galleon left Cavite 1 round northern Luzon, get into the region of the rains and make its way to Acapulco. It encountered typhoons and lost its rudder, drifting upon the coast of a_fishing villag: of southern Japan. There the local officials beached it and "caused its cargo to he unloaded and stowed away. G The passengers were taken ashore. Among them were a number of friars. Japan already knew Christianity from the mission work of the Jesuits under Francis Xavier, welcomed and en- couraged by the Emperor, Taiko-sama. But_the robed friars proved to he a disturbing element. They could not conceal their envy of the Jesuits, so Japan learned that among the Christians there were warring sects, of which the East already knew the grave consequences. % Drunk Official Bragged. The Japanese in unloading the gal- leon discovered the ship's papers, among them a map showing the vast or the wheat | { was brought about by an interesting | highla d have been written differ- | U7 % | Calle | tory | 1 | coffers | were | | Supplies. npressed into se handling the cargo, e gotten dr n vsaki ne's don franknes methods w first to m then ry co his nquest armies This wo! nd was ip the countr W no me i Moluccas, or “Spice ls. pain had one post, Terna‘e. w the friars had introduced the gro of wheat. Seed was borrowed ind wheat planted in the Philippines certain parts of the islands, th of Batangas and Cavite. it ed very well if new seed were regularly impoNed. Almost until fthe Americans came in 18 wheat w s an important product in the localities mentioned, But in later vears oped and British thri Aust trade fa hecama that, although flour mill on quaint old induay, it was supplied with wheat from India and Australia. E joying free trade as American terri- the islands no longer are com- pelled to grow a crop that does best in a temperate climate. (Copyricht, 1026.) - Cleanliness of Naples Due to “Black Shirts™ v there w Travelers arriving by sea fn Naples invariably fmpressed with the cleanliness and order of the port few s ago the fnvar able tmpression was of dirt and cor fusion. This is one of the fruits of the work of the Fascist blacksh! “post guard.” The area is kept scru sly None is authorized losure save those who wve business there Beggars n pproach no nearer than a quarter of a mile from the dock. At the same time a rigld cor trol is exercised to prevent contraband emigrants from approaching the steamers on the pretext of meeting friends. This control sometimes em- barrasses Americans desirous of meet- ing their friends. But the very courte- ous black-shirt officers usually break the rules where foreigners are con- cerned The baggage of American tourists is passed through the customs without being opened. And in the city itselr, the general improvement from the tourist’s point of view is notable. The long street leading from the rallway station to the castle, formerly the worst paved highway in Furope, has just been put in excellent condition. re whereas a yes can prove they Church Uses Amplifiers. A Lutheran pastor in Emden, Ger- many, tired of preaching in a church whose accoustics were so bad that not more than a third of his flock could hear his inspired words, has had am- plifiers installed. As a result churcl golng has again become popular in tha town, and the attendance is two or three times greater than ever before,