The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 3, 1920, Page 7

- our flour, for instance, we exclude BOOK REVIEWS In reviewing these and other books neither the Leader nor the Nonpartisan league assumes responsibility for the personal views of the authors. It is the author’s right to express his opinions as he pleases; in some cases he may be right, in others wrong. The Leader believes the books listed in this column will help to inform the public and will prove interesting. On this basis they are recom- ‘mended but their opinions and conclusions are not indorsed. Deep Furrows, by Hopkins Moorhouse; published by the Bobbs-Merrill Co., In- dianapolis; for sale by the Educational Department, National Nonpartisan League, Box 2072, Minneapolis, Minn.; 292 pages; cloth bound; $1.50 postpaid. HISTORY of the co-op- erative movement among the grain growers of western Canada, written in the style of our good story tellers, describes this book. The author gives us just enough strong points to show us why the Canadian farmers got mad and why they started organizing. When we have fully grasped the reasons for this great farmers’ move- ment, we are taken swiftly through each of the major misfortunes and fortunes of the growing organization, until we see it as the great movement which it is today. While strong impressions are the strength of the work they are also its weakness. Moorhouse is inclined to the great man theory of history and thus makes his story turn too much on heroic characteristics of a few men. At least one of his chief heroes proved to have more regard for old party politics than for the farm- ers’ cause. The plain fact, of course, is that such a movement is not made by a few men but by the reaction of the masses to their conditions. The “heroes” would have agitated in vain if the Canadian railroads and grain dealers had provided the farmers with a fair marketing system. N Some of us would prefer less of the picturesque phrases and more facts—a table or two of statistics, for instance, showing the growth and |- scope of the grain grower co-opera- tion. And we would suspect the au- thor to be a little weak on co-oper- ative principles and general economics, but we can forgive these possible faults because of the otherwise splen- did story Moorhouse has given us. Starving America, by Alfred W. Mec- Cann ; published by the George H. Doran company, New York City; 270 pages; cloth bound; $1.50. Any one who has grown suspicious of the multitude of prepared foods, adulterated foods and denatured foods now on the market will not only be surprised but frightened upon read- ing this book. Comparatively few peopie realize the extent to' which profit-making, combined with false food standards, have carried us away from natural, pure, body-supporting foods. “Starving,” as used by this author, does not mean failure to get sufficient quantity to satisfy hunger, but fail- ure to get all the elements needed to| build up the body and keep it going properly. He believes that most of the children who die before they reach the age of 10 are the victims of this kind of starvation. The well-known beri-beri of the far East, as well as similar diseases here such as neuras- thenia, anemia and rheumatism, he lays to the same cause—malnutrition —and cites scientific experiments to support his point. The soil, says McCann, ‘contains certain chemical substances. Our bod- ies, when analyzed, are found to con- tain about the same. Wheat, when, analyzed, is found to:contain ai)o'ut‘ : the same. Yet in the preparation of most of these elements in the refining process and wunless - the body has some other lucky source of supply it would soon starve to death. We have substitutes “as good as the real thing” for almost every nat- ural food. We use coal tar dyes to give the attractive color. We pre- serve meats and fruits, that other- wise might spoil, with benzoic acid, the same substance, according to Me- Cann, that the ancient Egyptians used to preserve the bodies which are still with us as mummies, and it also pre- The thing that. every tire buyer— for big car or small —is trying to buy, ismileage economy. And the one way to produce it is scientific manu- facturing. PAGE serves food from digestioh by the hu- man stomach. The Brass Check, by Upton Sinclair; for sale by the Educational Department, Nonpartisan League, Box 2072, Minne- apolis, Minn,; 444 pages; paper bhound; single copies, 50 cents each.: No one who has reached the age of discretion doubts that the news is doc- tored and that journalism is a private enterprise with an alleged public pur- pose. A few of us can make use of this knowledge to promote our own private ends; the rest of us try to sort out a little wheat every day?;om the mountain of chaff and misinformation and to avoid being misled. In a sense, therefore, “The Brass Check,” -which reveals the present-day « perversion of the news, tells us noth- ing important which we do not know. But the most seasoned doubter of our big journalism Wwill find in it points which will show him that he has much to learn about the tricks of publicity, the monopoly of news gathering, and of the ways by which the nation’s life ADVERTISEMENTS Most miles per dollar is a Firvestone pledge, to the big cay owner as well as to the owners of light cars. See the new Standard Oversize Firestone Cord. and business are dominated through the controlled press. Sinclair, author of “The Jungle,” which first called public attention to the foul methods used by the packers in preparing their products for human consumption; is at his best in *“The Brass Check.,” It is not a novel such as “The Jungle” was, but it is written in a gripping narrative style. Mr. Sinclair’s statements of fact seem to be supported by adequate proof, otherwise he doubtless, before this, would have run afoul of the libel laws. The author’s reputation of be- ing a “radical” and his views as to the solution of our economic problems have no bearing on the facts that he cites. His views as to how the controlled press problem can be met, which he gives under the heading, “A Practical Program,” seem to us to lack practi- cality, but do not detract from the great merit of the book as an expose of corrupted news. That means quan- tity buying, quan- tity production and quantity sell- ing — always the Firestone way to better tire values at low cost. Buy Firestones! SEVEN . Mention the Leader When Writing Advertisers SRS TR SRS A S -