Evening Star Newspaper, August 3, 1930, Page 96

18 : THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. AUGUST 3, 1930. REVIEW/ C THE LAST FULL MEASURE. By Honore W. Morrow, author of “Perever Free™ etc. New York: William Morrow & Co. -y HE Civil War in s general outline has provided Mrs. Morrow with in- spiration and background for three conspicuously fine, and useful, novels on the great theme ef Abraham Rincoln. “Forever Free,” “With Malice Toward None,” and now “The Last Pull Measure,” are the acts of a mighty drama, culmintaing with the last one in the great American tragedy. The setting of this story -is Washington in the last few months of Lincoln’s life. Tumult, disorder, the hatreds of defeat, the arrogant cruelties of victory come together at the Capital @mn open clashes of animesity, in secret plot- © tings for revenge. Out from the general con- fusion there emerges a carefully guarded movement, which, pieced together later, out- lines a defini'e plan, first to kidnap the Presi- dent, and, that failing, to murder him. The matter is history now. The assassination of Abraham Lincoin by John Wilkes Booth 65 years ago in the Capital of the Nation, is on its way toward dimness, toward the vagucness of the legend. A story that Americans must remember, not because a self-inflated actor en- visaged himself in a role away beyond his powers, and for which there was no occasion— not for that reason is remembrance due, but rather for the greatness that was so summarily cut off from further service to the great cause for which Lincoln died. For such debt of recollection and homage on the part of Americans Mrs. Morrow has told the story again, the story of Lincoln in the days immediately following the war, of the sinister intrigue that grew around him. Read- ing here, one knows the climax of this matter, knows the story before beginning it. This leaves the reader free to take motice of the complete realism of this tragic recital. Just as in actuality, big events and little happen- ings meet and blend here, meet and fall apart to come together again, until the texture of life itself spreads over the pages of this story. There's a reason for such communicable reality as this. For, look where you will, hardly ever will you come upon so thorough a preparation A this author set herself before the business of writing began. Search and research in every direction for authentic material upon this period and this event. Endless books read and studied. This but the begfnning. For, once possessed of this store, there was then the long weeks of ripening within the author’s mind and heart. That, too, hardly more than the beginning. Upon this foundation only could true re-creation be set. Then only was the artist ready to project this national tragedy in its progression of circumstance, in its star- - tling effect of reality, immediate and overhang- ing. The point is that she did become ready. abundantly ready. The book itself is complete evidence of the gifts that went into its creation. It is, likewise—and here is the importance of it—an invaluable addition to the history of that critical moment in our history. Again, it is an engrossing narrative which one follows with a deep sense of personal partaking in its action, in its moments of acute suspense, ot premonition, of ominous presage. A fine study, rounding up the great Lincoln trilogy for which readers are in debt to Mrs. Morrow. * True artistry here, whose basis is hard work, keen intelligence, an unfalling sense of drama working out in demonstration of our commor debt to the great American. RED WAGON. By Lady Eleanor Smith. In- dianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co. FIRST novel. A story of the road. Read- il ers are rejoicing in it, and no wonder. It " is a change. Time, too, for a change, Here it is. On odyssey of the circus. A song of the . road parade., Inside the first half mile you, going along, fes! the freshness of it, away from the stuffy bcudoirs and bed rooms whose prob- lems bes>t us at every reading turn. To be sure, a circus has its seamy side. This one has. But, to offset that, or too much of it, there is all out-of-doors for action here and a fairly s r'ght line of behavior. And this is a distinet ro'‘ef trom the circuitous convolutions of indoor work of the average novel. Th> story of the Big Top and of Joe, who had the circus in his blood. As a baby, not much more, Joe ate and slept and dreamed of the open road, and the night show and the ex- cited crowds and ithe amazing animals that knew sc much more than all the folks round- about put together. It is chiefiy by way of Joe that Lady Eleanor Smith delivers the circus in such an amazing fidelity of detail, in such an in- clusive sweep of its appearances and behaviors, in so thorough a joy over its outdoorness and difference from a settled life. If there is one _ thing about these traveling bands that this author has skipped or skimped, I wonder what it could be. Such wide and deep knowledge upon a subject names its possessor a scientist or some similar exaltation. It is exactly this fullness ot fact, intimate fact, that gives vital- ity, buoyancy, zest to this adventure of the circus. Included here is the story, too, of a “fife—Joe’s life—starting as a lad to be the greatest Romany, the biggest circus man of them all. And because no life ever meets the measure of its ambitions and dreams, this story 1s of tragic implications all along its way, end- ing, inde=d, pitifully, since Joe has enlisted the affections of us going with him. This boy— man, old man—i1s the thread upon which the author strings the network of beads that, fin- ished, spreads tw a bewildering pattern of gypsy life, to the life of the road in England; in America, too. Passionate interest, astound- #ng knowledge of the matter, kesn sense, good art—these will give you an adventure in “Red Wagon” fresh as 4 o'clock of & snappy Au- tumn morning. Y " % 1DA_GILBE NV RIL_MYER/ N Civil War Is Background for Three Splendid Novels—A Story of the Circus—The Problems of Modern Finance. APRIL FOOLS: A Comedy of Bad Manners. By Compton Mackenzie, author of “Carni- val,” etc. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co. T can't be done. A very little bit of bad manners goes a long way. To give over a bock--even a shortish bock—to an exhibition of this kind is too much for any author te under- take, too much for any sizable group of readers to endure. You may be devoted to Compton Mackenzie. Many of us are. Nevertheless, in this respect you will wish that he had listened to himself before setting out. There is not fun enough, not wit enough, to hold out a book length— but, let me tell you. This is the way of it: A man—successful and th:refore with many affectionate family relations—decides, some- what late in life, to get married. Knowing the displeasure that this will create among these loving memb:rs of his tribe, he bequeaths to them, all together, his fine country place in Hampshire. The whole kit-and-caboodle are to move down there forthwith. That is the condition of ownership. They moved. Georgs and James and Frida—each with wife, or hus- band, as the case required. AN with children and dogs and an odd lot of in-laws. To say nothing of this mob, in its physical capacity for taking up room, each was possessed of idiosyncrasies many and vaiied. Even the dogs and cats and birds were of temperamental cast. I leave it to you. Can it be done? That is, can it be done to any one’s sustained interest, even by the inspired fooleries of Compton Mackenzie himself, who here at the last does try, by a turn of sheer force, to produce the illusion of understandings and lessons and things. No use, Mr. Compton Mackenszie. WHEN I WAS A HARVESTER. By Rebert L. Yates. New York: The Macmillan Co. ImNKyou'llukzthhbook. A boy wrote it. No, not that kind of a boy. This one is not an inventor of fiction all about himself. 'Ibbesu';e,flleaccountholw,mtit appears stick around in the neighborhood of things as they actually came along. youngster—Bob, they all called him—set out from Toronto to work in the wheat fields of the Canadian Northwest. Not only set out, but ¢ out the harvest time. And this is his story. The field work itself, the other harvesters, the long days, the lovely nights, playtime, of the land—not a thing left out, can see. And‘in addition to ldv::ture there are hints of the inside - ventures of the lad. The lan now then took hold of him—the blgmhnd. wide m high and deep—stirring him to dreams and a future of doing things. Once in a while under such stress he broke into song from one or another of the poets of the wide West. account is, however, rather singularly free from attitudes and posturing; and gestures. The boy appears to be kept preity busy with real hap- penings—work, a little of play, the food, the g sleeping quarters, the association with Jim and Pete and Bill. There is a hailstorm that I hope you will read. Only a few lines—but they deliver the hail! And there is a dog rescue— .rescue from a trap. Be sure to read that. Then near the end of this story look at the picture of the dog, Ronno—Bob’s dog now. A straight tale with a manly fellow back of it. You'll like it. THE ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF MODERN FINANCE. New York: The Ronald Press Co 'HE publications of th> Ronald Press include many volumes of modern outlook upon various fields—economics, law, psychology ap- plied to business procedure, government, finance, science. The volume in hand is made up of lectures given last year on the William A. Vawter Foundation at the Northwestern University School of Economics. Professors of economics from different universities and leading officials of bank and trust companies from various parts of the country delivered to student bodies the lectures, issued by way of this book. Morals .in business dealings, the ethics of business, is, from one approach or another, the substance of this useful study. Th: subject of morals has hitherto been a preoccupation of religion. To- day it is, happily, a concern of the dealings of men, one with another, in the common material intercourse of life. A most important and useful theme for study and analysis. Here certain ethical standards are cited and analysed in their practical bearing upon business itself. Business ethics is examined as a means of softening the familiar strife that goes on forever between the community on one hand and busi- ness on the other. A very useful study is that which states some of the problems of banking and the modern trust company. Investment banking receives careful consideration. As matter of fact, the entire subject of modern nme::ugmkwthempuhce,mbflw more in ent parts of it. It should be in English instead. More and more the oa::on people, the working man and woman, have a little margin of means to invest. They know nothing of finance, not even of its elements. This is a dangerous situation. One unsuited also te the obligations resting upon these small savers of wages. Little by little should lessons be given to this class—not by way of lectures such as these alone, but by kindergarten lessons daily set out in the press. Under such elementary teaching, lectures like these highly valuable on:s will gradually come to be the instruction also of thousands who sorely stand ‘h&motn. In the meantime this book and serve most usefull, B y those for whom it THE LIFE STORY OF A LITTLE MONKEY: The Diary of the Chimpanzee Ket. By Ferdinand A. Ossendowski, author of “Beasts, Men and Gods,” etc. Translated Porcupine’s Dual Role. "THE porcupine is a sort of animal Jekyl and Hyde, a boon to lost woodsmen and hunters and the enemy of forestry interests. The gen- eral run of p:=ople, however, see him merely as a curiosity, although not infrequently he is an object of fear for those who have heard the baseless stories about his ability to throw his quills, something which he cannot, of course, do. In animal circles the porcupine is the ideal individual so far as peace-loving habits are concerned. Almost powerless as an offensive fighter, he has defensive warfare down te a science. When approached by a hungry animal which is on the prowl for a tasty meal—and the porcupine, incidentally, is about as tasty as wild flesh comes—the porcupine rolls itself into a ball and the hungry hunter finds only an animal chestnut burr waiting. Now and then a real young animal, untrained in forest ways, tries a mouthful or a swat with a furry paw and its education in porcupines is accomplished at once. Or perhaps a tender nose gets in the path of the porcupine’s flailing tail, armored with quills which are barbed on the end much like a fish hook, and stay with the victim just as an imb2dded fish hook will. ‘The reason for the hunter’s liking for the porcupine is its slowness afoot and habit of awaiting attacks. When a man is lost in the woods and out of ammunition the porcupine is the one kind of game which can be found and killed with a club and many a man owes his life to the food he has obtained by this means. But in spite of any value which the porcu- pine has, the damage it does far outweighs that. It ranks second only to fire in destruc- tiveness to forests. In the West, in particular, it has reach°d the point of an agricultural pest of the first magnitude. It will eat almost any kind of vegetation, but its particular liking seems to be for young trees. It likes the tender bark and will completely ring a tree, bringing about its death. Garden truck and fields of alfalfa, when it can fiud them, also pay tribute to its hungry maw. Most of all, however, it likes salt and will eat its way into a building to get at it. Its sharp rodent teeth can cut their way through thick floor and siding timber and it does con- siderable damage in this way. It is its liking for salt which gives the best way for controlling it, and when salt is mixed with strychnine the porcupine can be elimi- nated, for it will make for the salt whenever the poisoned baits are set. SCON from the Polish by Francis B. m:fi:nm. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese, New Y : B, P. Dutton & Co. 1 A PROFOUND student, a writer of distiaction on many matters of importance this Polish writer here takes up, in its own pérson, the life story of a little monkey. Sets himself down, within the body and personality of Jittle Ket. so to speak, there to make daily n of the thoughts and feelings of this small animal of the monkey tribe. His mother and safety, food and drink, a bit of playtime among; the branches of the trees, a snuggling toward the mother warmth against the little nip of night or the faint scent of danger—what else could coneern this lirtle animal? Much like the re.i of us, this Ket It is in such a feeling with Ket, in such an understanding of Ket’s mind, that this author jots down so simply the mornings of tkis baby monkey’s life and its noons and its nightfalls. A great story, wherein a poet comes close to his brother in life. A simple story of matters not simple at all. Laughing, in spots, pathetic and foreboding, in spots, the 1'fc-run of Ket is not so different from ours—and it is this sense of oneness that makes it com: into us and bide there. A dif« ferent realm, a far-away place, another ordr of life—but ve'y like, nevertheless. Not for children alone. No great book is for children alone. And this is one of that sort—great. Boo?s Recetved CRIME AND CURES: A Review of this Law- less Age and of the Mistrial of Christ. By E. T. Welliord. Boston: The Stratford Co. DRAMA OF LIFE: An Interpretatiogn. By P. W. Lewis. Boston: The Stratford Co. THE WHITE DOME: A Novel. By Laura Morrison, author of “Little Lee’s Wife.,” etc. Boston: The Christopher Publishing House. THE MYSTERIOUS FIVE: Ghost Stories. By Marie Taylor, author of “Just Boys and Girls of Dear Old Chicago.” Boston: The Christopher Publishing House. THE DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD: Novel of Colonial Days. By Herbert Bouldin Hawes. Boston: The Four Seas Co. IF I WERE GOD. By Dr. William J. Robin- son. Introduction by Harry Elmer Barnes, Ph. D. New York: The Freethought Press Association. BURBANK, 1 HE INFIDEL. By Joseph Lewis. New York: The Freethought Press Associa- tion. BULBS FOR AMERICAN GARDENS. Com- plete, detailed, reliable review of bulbs suit- able for culture in various parts of the country. Illustrated. By John C. Wister, secreterv of Pennsylvania Horticultural So- ciety. Bosten: The Stratford Co. JUDGE'S SECOND CROSS-WORD PUZZLE BOOK. Edited by the staff of Judge. New York: Th: John Day Co. RACING YATHTS: Done in Cork Models. By Peter Adams, author of “Cork Ships and How to Mak:z Them,” etc. Pen drawings by Madeleins Kroll. New York: E. P. Dut- ton & C: PUPPET I~ iVS FPOR CHILDREN. By Flor- ence McCiurg Everson. Plays for marion- ettes, puvpets and shadows; how to give them. Drov.ngs and photographs for the scenes. Ci "zgo: Beckley-Cardy Co. BROKEN MI"7DY: A Drama for the Talk- ing Scroen. An experiment in a new lit- erary forr. as well as in the new moving picture medium of sound. By M. J. Spivack. New York: The Talking Picture Publish- ing Co. PETER MAKES GOOD: And Other Stories. By Gertrude Thomas. Illustrated by Dor- othy Saunders. Chicago: The Beckley- Cardy Co. Poetry. JACKMAN'S POEMS. Edward F. Jackman Boston: The Stratford Co. THIS MY NEW ENGLAND. By George Scott Gleason. New York: Henry Harrison. . THE GOLDEN STAIRWAY. By Florence M. Huber, author of “Silver Petals,” etc. Lon- don: Arthur H. Stockwell, Ltd. HOOSIER RHYMES AND READINGS. By Virgil Ray Mullins. Drawings by M--ian Hethering on Marsh. Fowler, Ind.: The Benton Review Shop. . The first novel in three years ByHAROLD BELL IGHT W This is an Appleton Book D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 35 West 32ad Sereet Neow York