The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 1, 1904, Page 5

A Lively Recora of Exploration E of fearless and ‘Quixotic who seem bitten, hieve-the fm- rever that quality f is.Hariy da¢ Wir explorer, whose recor ure, “‘From Paris o k by . Land, hes publisiied. Like Nanse Stanley and al: he rest of thai daring ilk, De Windt's - es in proving that » business is with a pur- at purpose be arth twith only wa crossed least important accomplished. trotter, who had d from Peking to loited India ‘down ses and knew Si- of the Czar's little excuse to the most am- hazardous of any of e somewhat “yellow” of a few years ity of a great necting Europe beria, permitted elf to the man- ewspap in London, York as the ploneer who should go over osed and report upon its ny therwise. So upon ‘, tic basis of jour- De Windt left Pa: a feat of keep- ) essay how he sely ir tter of record elucidated i ng work of his, is a question of much more significance ( s it may appear to the reader De d winter for crof Windt's choice of g the bleak st thought steppes of No Siberia was, es has c monstrate in. the course of h.< narrative, the only feas- whole of Siberia ircle is in summer fble measure. The within the frozen t an impassable morass of river overfiow, lowland and swamp, that renders communication even with some of the Siberian outposts on the na absolutely impossible; but ter months, when all t! ble. land about the Arctic is frosen harder than adama sleds carry over these hidden bogs with safe ness. So it was that his companions left- Jong journey the to Trkutsk at te 4000 Eng- on this road, ot recommend y engaging route for a vaca- So .mongtonous .became of the wheels, day in that De Windt's party no reckoning of night or day and on y made their luncheon at breakfast time. 2 4t Irkutsk, “the Paris of Siberia,” the party endured a wearisome delay, made even re depressing by hotel that were “inferior to those c‘ a fifth-rate gargotte,” and then they embarked in Yakute sleighs the great Lena postroad leading Yy up to the north, where lay the outposts of civilization and the of snow beyond. Before began to pinch, and while nconveniences were those squalid posthouses, the De re privileced to enjoy of a Siberian winter. The author breaks his account of versts covered and horses changed some very vivid pictures of the fts stretching league upon mess trimmings given to he network of frost and the open heavens at night. interesting fact that this journ developed was honored Russian wolf, ng packs to the uttér s, despite the ha\e all. seen, a the terminal of the post- r ) t pictures as the most nel habitation of man. “Even Si- berians call this the end of the world. The very of the .place suggests nd mystery, for the news that thrc here at long intervals ilization is generally associated gedy or disaster.” Cut off as from the rest of the worid, in for half the year by the of snow and made a torture spot g the remaining months by dust nsect life, De Windt does not r that the b life therein makes a society in comparisen with which Kipling’s Simla people are saints and cherubim. The zuthor’s sketch of this f dole is grim in its suggestion. ugh he material for - settiement to picket of civ- beyond, affords the the unthinkable serviiude in to his re- ' Verhoyansk, the next be reached and th ilization that lo of the wilderr author a chay ‘terror of Russian such. a place as t to pter upon per Owir ply made some years ago to Mr. George Kennan's - exploitation of the Czar's treatment of itical prisoners, the author had to this point that he must see only the good in the s tem, but the terribie condition of af- digcovered at Verhoyansk en the optimism of De Windt -and he reveals in this chapter upon ths northernmost of Ruussia's penal colo- nies horrors which ist wither the stoniest heart. In this place as in Sredni-Kolymsk, a second prison town, which De Windt visited later, there are .needed no guards nor fetters to keep the convicts under duress; the snow in winter and the swamps in the warm- er weather are guards enough. The unfortunate “politicals” are allowed only enough of the bare nec cssities of life to keep body and soul their quédrters are open to the r‘]mn-nu and fil th long continued usage. What is far worse, though, is that the hap- less wretches have nothing to do, are not allowed to indulge in manual labor considerable left extent prey and are to their own awful monotony or gray sedge. In- omes to thém in less the insane are al- by side v the dlam W than prisoners, normal death. All these and the maniacs one man, who, be he a d"S[mL may make his whims dud ‘\u s felt by each of 't unfortunates. n Arctic In- ferno” De Windt well styles such a place as t From -§ he are under the rule of ni-Kolymsk the party, un- der’ the dance of a treacherous na- tive, struck-out boldly into the no- man’s land along the Arctic Sea. The narrative from this point is one of in- tense interest. Loss of food brought privation; the death of sledge dogs de- layed their progress painfully; the fury of the north storms and the treachery of the threatened them all with sudden death more than once. After great suffering the four Buropeans and their native helpers arrived at a Tchuktchis "village on the east side of Bering Straits there awaited the an arrival of the 1 »d States revenue cutter Thetis, which conveyed thém across to ti laskan shore. The re- mainder of the journey, up the Yukon River to Dawgdn and over the White Pass Railroad, thence down the coast to. Seattle'and on to San Francisco and . New Yqrk, was made without accident After.all, the vsfensible object of De Windt's trip was as far from " fulfill- ment at the end as at it§ inception, for what can & journalist ' and explorer judge of railroad problems? ~He -says a raflroad might be laid, but not over the route he traveled. That is neither here nor there, ‘however; an engineer will have to be the judge of that ques- tion. But what De Windt really set out to do he has done: to make a record of exploration that is of fascinating - terest when put into a book. (F. Warne & Co.. New York; trated by photographs; price $3.) Price of Youth Is a Heavy One HERE are few writers who can produce a good novel of the com- monplace, a novel wherein unusual llus- incident or characteristic atmos- phere is not invoked to prop- up the interest of the plot. But Mar- gery Willlams is one who has the power to clothe the everyday with a cloak of vivid interest and body forth from the eimple, even the sordid aspects of * life, a story powerful and compelling. Her last story, “The Price of Youth,” is al- most altdgether lacking in moverfient and absolutely devoid of sensation, yet it has a strength nearly akin to the strength of the naturalists of Zola's school, for it finds significance where anything but significance would be expected. Fan Tasker, the girl about whom the story is wound, could be called “Fantastic” without intentional pun- ning, for hers is a character at sixes and sevens with everything and every- body around her and she plays the veritable bull in a china shop with every one of the narrow conventions of her social community, seemingly THE for the pure fun of the playing. It is the author’s task to analyze the re- markably contradictery character of this high spirited girl, to trace the clash between her sordid and degrad- ing surroundings and- her inherently pure and exalted spirit. It is a study in the power of hereditw and environ- ent upon the molding of character, ry convincing. Fan is far from being a lovable character, Her assumption of the bravado in tge matter of what the gossips are led to believe is sometimes : bit forced, her contrariness has car- ried her into a pseudo cynicism and an ungraceful, irreligious frame of mind, - which is preculiarly grating. Despite all her mental anguish at the inevitable visitation of nemesis upon her the reader gives of his sympathy grudgingly. Mrs. Sales, she of fhe lavender perfume and the w ky punch, is drawn with as fine a lead as Fan. The young newspaper man, who is temiporarily infatuated with Fan, is wrcely more robust of soul than he of body; his is not a- wholesoméa per- ality. All of the characters, in fact, are unlovely and the book is of a dun-colored tone, albeit powerful. This often the price ‘paid to realis: Beauty awnd idealism cannot be pairited into a photographic stuc of life such’as is “The Price vf Youth.” Micmillan . Company, ice §1 50.) . too, :Exhauit};é Work Upon the Trusts C 4)\'TIHBT T]O\' to timelv eco- nomic literature that has, be- sides the merit of authority, a scope almost cyclopedic, is John Moody’s “The Truth About the Trusts.” No such comprehensive view of this all-important factor in latter- day problems of economics has yet been written. In a volume of 500 pages the well-known authority on trade ethics and statistics has told all that there is tellable ahout the great cor- porate interests that have suddenly sprung into complete control of every channel of production open to the com- mon mart. . Not only has he reviewed the history of the trust and monopoly movement and advanced his theories concerning the economic significance of this evolution against ancient systems of free competition, but Moody has given his book the value of standard reference by incorporating therein sta- tistical data concerning the internal economy of 445 active trusts, represent- ed by a total capitalization of $20,379,- 162,551. Seven of the greater industrial trusts he describes in detail, giving at length their histories and a general view of their present position in the world of finance. To more than eighty of the secondary corporate activities-he extends briefer notice. Parts IV and V of his book contain a complete re- sume of the rise of the public utility franchise trusts and the great railway groups. The last section of the volume has to recount the dominating influ- ences of the trusts, their characteris- tics and the legislative remedies that have been applied with more or less success to mitigate the evils beljeved to have their rise in the trust propa- ganda. Before endeavoring 11 give a review— _a monopoly. SAN unfortunately réstricted by - the exi- gencies of space—of Moody’s book in the order of its arrangement, it is not without profit to note first tie attitude cf the author himself toward this new and strange creature of flnance. In his introduction and in the closing chapter Moody hesltates not to declare the trust system to be in the main a great benefit to. trade and a strong spur to greatly increased production in every line of activity. Instead of being a -freak growth wupon the accepted ethics of trade, Moody declares that “the modern trust is the natural cut- come- or evolution of societary condi- tions and ethical standards which are recognized and established among men to-day as being necessary elements in the development of civilization.” Again he gays, “The natural law which engen- ders monopoly is fundamental * * * for man, in seeking 1o accomplish his purposes quickly, simply and cheaply, has ever been alert to the possibilities of economy in method through the seeking of ‘short cuts’ * * * Ry combining together 1 - acquiring, either as a result of this Joint effnr’ or otherwise,- a speciul privilege o ‘monopol men found that they could accomplish the same ends far more cheaply ard satisfactorily than in the ¢ld way, and_do so without the same exposure to what was frequently ex- pensive and costly in the field of com- petition.” . Onve again, Moody has this to say: “Monopoly value is one of the chief essentials to business success un- dér modern social customs, and with- out it industrial goclety of the present day.could not be conducted as it is.” The writer is, then, of Wall street. Believing that ‘the destruction of com- petition by ‘the elevation of the trust system is nothing but the natural “short cut” to increased activity in production,* Moody avers that the hin- dering of the concentration of trade re- sources in the hands of the few makes for an unhealthy socialism in the eco- nomic atmosphere, in that it is the as- sumption by the State of the right to control private initiative. “For when we realize what monopaly is, its depth and width and general importance in modern industrial and commercial life, we can readily see that any kind of legislation aiming to aboligh or mate- rially retrznch monopoly would have te be far-reaching and radical in its ef- fects and would constitute a practical revolution in the bases of modern soci- ety.” This is the laissez faire of the old physiocrats with a vengeance. With such assertions concerning abortive restrictions of monopoly Moody must needs fortify him- selff with a very broad defi- nition of that term. “When men form corporate organizations,” says Moody, “they do not form monopolies. They may take advantage of monopoly in one wav or another, but they do not create it. The monoboly itself is rather a so- cial product, which exists with the con- sent of society, and men in business take advantage f it where found, just as they take.advantage of any other factors for the purpose of achieving their ends. * * * In the absorption ‘of a source of supply is the securing of Soclety recognizes the right of man to this exclusion and this is the only reason why it exists.” The author goes on to develop this state- ment by, defining patents and tariffs as . FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. governmentally conferred or bamnclal monopolies and rights of way of trans- -portation companies, coal and iron sites, etc., as soclally c.eated or natural mo- nopolies. Monopoly is then, according to Moody, an extant condltion utilized, but not calied into being, by the cor- porate organization. His view is not sufliciently elucidated to be convincing. “The author’s chapters the greater industrial trusts, part 1 of the volume, are, from the nature of the subject, free from the injection of his own theories and con- stitute the most valuable dower of the work. With the combinations of corporations that have the common surname—Trust—and are designated by ric denominations “co per,” * “tobacco,” “‘shipping, “Staridard “steel” .and “the smelters’,” the author deals in such minute detall as to put anything but a ver, general remark concerning this part of the book beyond ths province of this review. In the case of each trust there is given, first: tha history of its inception; then a review of its financial growth with complete tables of dividends declared, stocks floated and corporations amalgamated with it; an analysis of its growth, influence and methods of business closes the discussion. In each instance there is appended to the text such complete tables of statistics and charts and dia- grams so carefully prepared that the worth of this review for ready ref- erence is raised to a maximum. The chapter devoted to the steel trust and a subsequent discussion of the ship- building trust, both comprehensive pamphlets in themselves, have an especial timeliness anent the recent scandals involving those two organiza- tions. 1In the matter of profit-sharing instituted in several mills controlled by the steel trust, Moody takes- oc- casion to declare that such an-experi- ment ill-digested and unsound in principle ‘and has acted as an injury instead of a benefit.” The consideration of the great rail- road groups again brings out, the author’s theories of freedom of action. The “communities of interest” or rali- road rings control nearly 95 per cent of the vital railroad mileage in the country—a perfectly normal result of a normal" tendency, according to Moody. “Every attempt, “legal or otherwise, made with a view to cur- tailing or eliminating this element of monopoly in railroads is a sheer waste of effort and of capital and tends to do more harm than good to both the companies themsélves and the public who make use of them.” In the light of this statement Mr. Moody must take exception to the recent ruling of the apon United States Supreme Court in the, matter of the Northern Securities merger. Viewed in its entirety, “The Truth About the Trusts,” even though frankly partisan in the spirit of its deductions, must from its exhaustive compendium of statistics and its outlay of facts be considered nearer the whole truth on that aggravated crux in present day economics than any work yet pro- duced. (Moody Publishing Company, York; price $6.) J. R. Crockett’s New JScots’ Tale OW that Mr. Crockett, the ver- satile, the untiring, has hied him hame to auld Galloway after his many recent journeyings afield for his story settings and given us another of those tales of the heather smell and the, scone smack, all good devotees of the true Scottish bur?ny rejoice, for their idol has com& once more to his own. “Strong Mac,” Crockett’s last novel, is after the man- ner of his earlier and most charming works, It has the same sturdiness of action and surety of handling that characterize all the dther Galloway stories, with, perhaps, more of the delicacy of character drawing and the rare touch on the humorous than the earlier talés possess. Indeed, it may be ventured that if Crockett had used a more slender thread of plot than he does in this “Strong Mac,” the many evenings in the school-room with the unfortunate Dominie Gracie and his daughter and the random glimpses into the home of the stern old Laird o’ Muir would have been full meat for the reader. For, after all, a plot—even such a one as Crockett draws in this book—is not altogether new, but the people whom a writer such as he can New comprising * bring to"life are ever new and de- lightful acquaintances. 2 The author’s story centers about the heads of Roy McCulloch (Strdug Mac), the son of an old poaches of Iron resolve, and- Adora ~ Gracie daughter of the village school-master. From the minute that Stiong = Mae has to come to the rescue of Adora, her father having been shamed before the whole school, and helps her to keep order on the great day of the plowing * match, that althy young hero acts as the champion of the girl and defends both her and her father against the ill-doing of Sandy Ewan. In loving her Strong Mac finds that he is mot the only swain who sighs under that bough of true love is and that the path one the less prickly in Gailoway than. it might be else- where. A charge of shéep stealing brought against Strong Mac by his unsavory rival starts the trouble and an arrest unon the suspicion of mur- ‘der makKes things.look very black for the young laird o' Muir. But it is at this juncture that the brave-hearted Adora shows her mettle and comes to the succor of her champion at the critical moment. Strong Mac then finds the way to make for her and her disgraced father a home where love is. Dominie Gracie, the reed that .is bent by the weight of the black bot- tle. is one of the most pitiable.char- acters that Crockett has evolved. The sad struggle waged within him by the will to do and the very weakness of that will is finely drawn. On the other hand the fiery old patriarch of a poacher, Strong Mac’s father, with a ready tongue for the Bible text and a ready finger to the trigger, though slightly sketched. is one of- the sinews of tha .story. Old Aline of the -ever present tea caddy,-honest old Aline, is sweetness itself. These characters grouped about the hero and heroine— a bit- conventional both—bring much of the charm to a yery exceptional story. - (Dodd,” Mead & 'Co., New York; ll]n:tm(fld price $1 50.) Sweet Bemson of Good St. Anne Y the Good Sainte Anne,” Anna (X3 B Chapin Ray’s latest story, is a charming novel for the sum- mer girl who is ‘intent on whiling away pleasant heurs in a cozy hammock. It begins with enough brightness and sparkle to attract and hold immediate attention and to regard an interruption in the light of an un- warranted intrusion. Petulant Nancy Howard is a vivacious, fun-loving Amerigan girl, who arrived in Sainte Anne de Beaupre j in time to wit- ness a sacred piisrimage, and in the spirit of absolute boredom she promised 50 cents to the good saint if she would perform a miracle, so that a little va- riety might be added to her quiet ex- istence. For Nancy, be it known, had accompanied her father to Canada in search of historical records. Now, it so chanced that Cecil Barth, a young Englishman just-arrived in Canada, saw the pilgrimage advertised,. and more for the reason that time was hanging heavily upen his hands than anything else went the way of the plous worshipers. In the dense crowd he dropped his glasses, and In endeav- oring to recover them lost his balance and rolled down the steps into the street, landing at the feet of the ex- pectant Nancy. The saint, in a propi- tious mood, had answered her prayer in a most unexpected manner. Barth spoke but Paris French and Nancy none at all, so the two might as well have been on a desert island so far as making the crowd understand was con- cerned. Finally, in sheer desperation, she had Barth, sprained ankle and all, carried to her father, who was a doctor of note, and then followed a series of compli- cations. An epidemic in Quebec made it impossible to secure the services of a nurse, and warm-hearted Nancy vol- unteered to take the place of one and help her father out of an emergency. One amusing incident followed quickly upon the heels of another, driving first the nurse and then the patient to the verge of distraction. Meeting again in Quebec in a social way, Barth failed to recognize Miss Howard, much to her indignation, for she did not realize that he was too near-sighted to see beyond his own nose without his precious glasses. However, two months of per- sistent I-will-have-you-whether-or-no decided Ne#ncy that the best way to get rid of Barth would be to annex him, and when he asked her if she could find it in her heart to care for him answered him with his own char- acteristic reply, “Oh, rather!™ . (Little, Brown & Co., Boston; price $1 56.) AL | Frrnr D CrockEZT bithor o~ Jff\"QV 7 LT, 2 Halting Aftempt to Malign Russia 66 pN\USSIA ¢ he Amer- an People,” by Dr. Isidore Singer, has recently been is- sued by a prominent New York publishing house as a memo- rial of the r rcre of the Jews at Kishinef, Easter week, 19 It cor ins an outlined de- scription of the massacre 1 a large collection of opinions of minent Russian writers and speakers on dif- ferent phases of the Jewish question The object of the book is to enlist sympathy and charitable assistance for the VS, Although this work contains a large number of interesting facts regarding many questions per- taining to the ssian and interna- tion: questions of the day, the w able to make out only a for the Ru an Jew. pro-Jewish bias is 1 in his preface, and it at once arou suspicion as to the ac- curacy of his statements. This sus- piclon increases considerably while noticing his strong ' laboring after dramatic effects in the first chapter, wherein he describes the massac How systematically and willtully the Russian Government and people are maligned is ciearly learned by perus- ing the extracts in Chapter V from the splendid speeches and writings of prominent Russlans, when on various occasions they have been called unon to refer to iristances of Jew-baiting in the districts of Kherson and Odessa. The speeches of the priests, Jelenewski, Podgorski and Demetrius, in particular, plainly show . that the educated classes in Russia are as hu- mane and tolsrant as Americans, and that no one more sincerely deplored the riotous excesses of the drunken rabble who attained notoriety by their Jew-baiting tragedies. Singer's book shows how easily the misdeeds of a small band of frenzled criminals can, under suitable circumstances,. tar- nish a great nation’s fair name, (Funk ‘& Wagnalls Company, New York; price $1 50.) Books Received. THE GRAFTERS—Francis Lynde; The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indian- apolis; illustrated; price $1 50. MOSES BROWN, CAPTAIN, U. §. —Edgar Stanton Maclay; the Bakar & Taylor Company, New York; illus- trated: price $1 25. THE CURSE OF CASTE—N. J. Le Cato; J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Com- pany, New York: price 50 cents (pa- per). WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS AND THE IRISH LITERARY REVIVAL— Horatio She Kraus; McClure, Phil- lips & Co., New York. BIRD CENTER CARTOONS-—John T. McCutcheon; A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago. JAPAN, THE PLACH AND THE PEOPLE—G. Waldo Browne: Dana, Estes & Co., Boston; {llustrated; price 2 50. GOD’'S LIVING MIRACLES-—Arthur T. Pierson; the Baker & Taylor Com- pany, New York; price $1 GOLF FOR WOMEN—Genevieva Hecker; the Baker & Taylor Company, New York; illustrated; price $2. SOCIAL DISEASE AND MAR- RIAGE—Prince A. Morrow, M. D.; Lea Brothers & Co., New York. SELF-CURE OF CONSUMPTION— Charles H. Stanley Davis; E. B, Treat & Co., New York; price T5c. NOYES GENEALOGY — Henry E Noyes and Henrietta E. Noyes; pub- lished privately; price $3. BIBLIOTECA FILIPINA —T. H. Pardo de Tavera; published under di- rection of the Library of Congress, ‘Washington, D. C. REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS for fiscal year ending June 30, 1903; Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. NEW CENTURY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES—Edward Eggleston; the American Book Company, New York; ilustrated; price $L SPELLING BY GRADES, words from Baldwin's Reader; the American Book Company, New York: price 20 cents. CARPENTER'S GEOGRAPHICAL READER—AUSTRALIA, Frank G. Carpenter; the American Book Com- pany, New York: illustrated; price 60 cents. STEPS IN ENGLISH, by John Mor- row, A. C. McLean and T. C. Blaisdell; the American Book Company, New York; price—Book I 40 cents, Book II 64 cents. FOOTBALL-POKER, published by Rellly & Britton Company, Chicago; price 50 cents. S