Evening star. [volume], March 21, 1936, Page B-2, Image 18

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
AN ODD AUTOBIOGRAPHY LEADS WEEK’S BOOK LIST
MISS STERN GROWS CASUAL
And Because She Does, Her Self-Portrait Is a Merrily Mad Book
Which Transcends Her Novels—Japan's Westernization
Made Into Appealing Novel—‘Tost” Youth Studied.
By Mary-Carter Roberts.
MONOGRAM. By G. B. Stem. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
ISS STERN writes here what
she says Is not a ‘‘proper
autobiography.” Without in
quiring at all into what her
idea of such a proper work is, one
can applaud her rejection of it. The
book which she has written, proper
or otherwise, is first-rate. One would
not have her change it for anything.
To be sure, one may have been
prejudiced in its favor before reading
it. One admits that. Not that one
has always shared the popular en
thusiasm for Miss Stern’s work as a
novelist; her novels, indeed, have
never seemed better than good run
of-the-mill novels ought to be. But
that, on the forepage of the present
work, there is to be found quoted one
of the finest gems of wisdom which
centuries of human» history have
brought forth—the following dialogue:
" ’It's my opinion that the missing
picture is hidden in the house next
door.’
•' ‘But there isn’t a house next door.’
"’Then we’ll build one!'
"(Dialogue from a Marx Bros.’
film.)”
To the reader capable of appreciating
the magnificert mental processes In
volved in Groucho’s conclusion (if it
was Groucho) there must be a tri
umph in finding the quotation as a
point of take-off for any book of so
grave a purpose as an autobiography—
even an improper autobiography. And
the discovery takes Miss Stern im
mediately out of the class of good
run-of-the-mill novelists and makes
her a grand person. For, obviously,
it will take a grand person to think
of writing a book in so merrily mad
a key.
It would have been a catastrophe,
of course, if after choosing such a
foreword, she had fallen short of her
mark. So, be it said in haste that she
has not. Getting the wind up gaily
on her first page, as it were, she sails
along with that impudent ease which
is mastery, and she takes her craft
into many seas before she finally
comes to port.
She forbears to write on such dull
matters as where, when and what
next. Instead, she is concerned al
most wholly about how. Her book
becomes a critical essay on her re
actions to certain phenomena of liv
ing—not a book of philosophy, but
one of memory and opinion. She
writes of literature, the theater, the
arts and personal memories. She
has given as an autobiography by
indirection. We know her mind when
we have finished, even if we know
little about where and when.
How easily Miss Stern might have
fallen into the slough of being de
lightful and chatty! How many,
many good writers have gone down
Into it, attempting what she accom
plishes! She escapes becaase she is
a master of style. Her work here is
an example of the triumph of style
over matter. One can think of no
one except Rose Macaulay who can
*o stiffei the frail, Imponderable stuS
of casual personal memory into life.
Mere journalism will not do this, I
though it may serve to produce a good !
average novel. It requires the hand j
of the prose artist.
• Monogram" bears the mark of such !
a hand.
TO THE MOUNTAIN. By Bradford
Smith. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Mer
ril Co.
VVTITHIN recent months three novels
1 on modern Japan have come to
reviewers' desks. One of these was
written by a Japanese, the Baroness !
Sugimoto. In her “Daughter of the
Nohfu” she treated of the problems
which the westernization of her land
has created for the farmers. The
eecond book, "The Wooden Pillow,”
was a romantic picture of modern
Japanese manners as seen through the
eyes of a foreigner. Both works make
clear that the present unnaturally
rapid change in customs that is taking
place in the Island Empire is heavy
with potential tragedy, although
neither of them deals with that im
pending grief as a central theme. In
the most recent Japanese novel, Brad
ford Smith’s “To the Mountain,” that
tragedy is the story.
Analyzing, through the lives of his
characters, the various conflicting
streams of opinion current in Japan
today, Mr. Smith makes plain from
the beginning of his book that catas-.
trophe is inevitable. He centers his
etory about a young man, son of a
wealthy merchant, who, in sensitive
ness and broad humanity, has a sym
pathy for the good contributions of
both' the western and the eastern
Against the universality of this
man's mind are duly contrasted the
specialized philosophies of certain
Japanese whom Mr. Smith evidently
considers typical—the proud old con
servative, the oriental who has
acquired a western veneer, the student
who turns to communism, the Japan
ese Christian. The tragedy lies »in
the fateful circumstance that west
ernization is taking place more rapidly
than human beings can change them,
selves, that they are all swept along
In a tide that they do not understand.
The young man is crushed by the
Instrumentality of his own father,
W’hose philosophy, basically oriental,
permits him without scruple to pur
• chase a young girl for a mistress. She
T is rescued by a Jaanese who has
adopted the Christian religion—a
' major in the army, and the character
who. under Mr. Smith’s treatment, is
represented as most nearly in adjust
ment with life. In his home the
youthful hero meets and falls in love
with the girl. Marriage is impossible,
because of the father’s opposition.
The young couple commit suicide.
While the story thus interprets a
ipecific time in a specific country, it
must not be thought that it is merely
a thesis. It is movingly human; none
of its characters fail of well-rounded
| living proportions. Its plot, as out
j lined, will be recognized as somewhat
conventional. Indeed, with certain
; variations of a surface nature, the
actual story could be set in our own
or any western country.
However, this conventionality in
stead of deadening Mr. Smith’s work,
has served to acentuate its merits.
For if it were not profoundly human.
It would be a sort of sociological
melodrama, with X, Y and Z in the
leads, jerking obviously when the
strings were pulled. This does not
occur in “To the Mountain.” It is
human first, and sociological as a by*
A
G. B. Stern, author of
"Monogram.” Macmillan.
product. For that very reason, its
sociological significance is so sorrow- I
fully impressive.
It is a fine book and one which
ought to do much toward adding to
our understanding of our nearest
Oriental neighbor.
IN FAR JAPAN. Bv Frank H. Hedges.
Tokio: The Hokuseido Press.
'T'HIS book is in marked contrast to
the one reviewed above, or any j
of those mentioned in that review. It
does not treat of modern Japan, but
deals instead, in a vein of poetic nos
talgia. with the Japan which has. with
in recent decades, almost wholly van
ished. and which, the author feels, will
soon be gone completely. That is the
Japan of the plum and cherry blossom
festivals, the rickshaw, the wayside
shrine and the kimono—the romantic
Japan, in other words, the Japan of
'Madame Butterfly." The essays are
tenderly done, and it is plain that Mr.
Hedges regrets the passing of a culture
that made so profoundly a fetich of
beauty.
Of modem Japan he -says only a
little. "Young Japan,” he remarks,
“is in rebellion.
‘"The standard that has been raised
is Liberalism. . . . But the design
and the pattern of the standard are
not clear cut. . . . Liberalism is a
very vague idea to most of Young
Japan, which is striking out blindly at
what seems substance but may prove
only form.”
Beyond these apprehensive observa
tions he deals little with the present.
But to those who have known the
island in its other days his book ought
to hold a store of highly agreeable
memories.
MANHATTAN SIDE STREET. By
Jay Dratler. New York: Long
mans Green & Co.
'T'HIS is a novel of poor people in
New York, done in a vein of
humorous realism. It makes very
good reading.
The Krampfmuhles, the Krakowers,
the Minomis, the Putaniks, the Sheans
Marine Davis, author of
“The Lost Generation.” Mac
millan.
and the McLintys are the characters.
The time is the period during which
some old houses on the block are be
ing razed. The action is a bit of
everybody's life, coming to an unroari
ous finale when Tony Minoni saves
his fellow-workmen’s lives in the East
River Tunnel and becomes a hero
"just like Columbus," whereat, with
the participation of the local Tam
many organization, the population
throws a marvelous block party.
A better piece of description than
Mr. Dratler's account of that party
need not be sought. For a like appre
ciation of the particular brand of ab
surdity which is New York's, you will
have to go back to your O. Henry. And
that would seem about to cover the
case. For true realism that still con
centrates on other aspects of poverty
than the sordid, this book can be
heartily recommended.
THE LOST GENERATION. By Max
ine Davis. New York: The Mac
millan Co.
■ n V. stave U1C acwuill
of one more Journalist who, In a
“cheap second-hand car,” traveled
many miles across our districted land,
seeking out what might be wrong with
us. This book, however, has a distinct
Individuality in that its author, as
may be judged from her title, has been
chiefly Interested in the young people
of our time, those young people who
have grown up in a day when employ
ment opportunities are rare and family
funds for education have often been
curtailed.
What are they doing? she asks.
And in pursuit of her answer she
visited many such places as were in
vestigated by her predecessors at this
kind of writing—schools, juvenile
courts and public and private agencies.
She describes her findings In such
terms as must be believed—the young
people are faithless, leaderless and
growing toward Intellectual atrophy
through prolonged inactivity.
So far so good. The knowledge Is
no discovery, but It is valuable here
in being set down with clarity and
compactness.
What then? Miss Davis frankly
does not know. She says that she
does not concede that “there are no
more frontiers.” But beyond saying
\
th»t “there is a whole world of work
in fields of personal service as yet
untouched,” she does not indicate
what frontiers she means. She does
utter a warning against what has
happened to a generation similarly
stranded in Europe—that they have
been made the tools of dictatorships,
because they had nothing else to turn
to. Something of the same kind, she
seems to fear, may happen here.
An even worse alternative is sug
gested by her statement that “this
generation is straying aimlessly toward
middle age. Socn It may be alto
gether lost. Then we as a Nation
will face a future dominated by a
defeated citizenry • • *”
It Is a grim picture, but beyond any
question a true one. There seems to
be nothing to do but point to It.
Miss Davis' book does that pointing.
M-DAY. By Rose M. Stein. New
York: Harcourt Brace & Co.
AMONG books against war—and
there is a steady output of
them—this one seems likely to oc
cupy a curious place. Its author, as
the publishers point out, has been
in a strategic position from which
to gather materials; she was asso
ciated with the Senate Munitions
Committee and was engaged to pre
pare an official summary of the tes
timony offered before that body.
Obviously, she has had an excellent
opportunity to gather facts and
exanjine documents. Her book is an
attempt, virtually, to survey the world
from the peace-or-war standpoint,
using as her object lesson the course
of events which led to our partici
pation in the last conflict. M-Day,
incidentally, is the term employed
by the War Department to designate
the first day of mobilization.
One would like to say that Miss
Stein succeeds in her attempt. One
cannot doubt, certainly, her ardor for
peace. Yet, as one reads, chapter
after chapter, one is startled by the
recurring question—is this a book in
defense of peace or an attack on
capitalism? For Miss Stein plainly
believes war to be a phenomenon
of capitalistic governments, and flatly
blames the J. P. Morgan firm for
exerting much of the influence which
brought the United States into the
The point of view is, of course,
legitimate, and the reader can ask
nothing more than that it be sub
stantiated with facts. But Miss Stein,
although documenting her work pro
fusely, betrays more than a dispas
sionate desire to state facts. She is
writing in an emotional vein and the
undercurrent of her whole work is
a feeling of dislike toward all capi
talistic institutions. One cannot but
feel that she is rather far afield, for
example, when she states that our
war aims in 1917 were extended to
crush Bolshevism.
The whole tone of her book is that
of making a case, and one can never
be sure, as one reads, whether the
case is against war or against exist
ing governmental forms. She assails
the military command, the Red Crass,
the President, Congress and the citi
zenry. One is obliged to ask oneself
whether she is objecting to the fact
that a war was fought at all, or
whether she is chiefly indignant be
cause the nation that fought it was
founded in capitalism.
In the honest interests of peace
this undercurrent in the book cannot
but be deplored. It seems likely to
confuse pacifism with radicalism in
many minds. There is much interest
ing and significant material in the
volume. One wishes that its purpose
was more singly stated.
THE ANATOMY OF PERSONALITY.
By Howard W. Haggard and Clem
ents C. Fry. New York: Harper &
Brothers. ,
'T'HIS is a book on psychiatry, writ
ten for lay persons by two physi
cians. They start with the amazing
admission that the psychiatrist is a
human being, even as his patients,
and hence is subject to the same in
exorable laws as thc*e whom he diag
noses. Consequently, they observe,
psychiatry is not an exact science,
but. from its very nature, is peculiarly
subject to the action of human preju
dice and frailty.
With this statement handsomely cn
record, the authors then proceed to
outline, in simple terms, just what
established laws do exist for the guid
ance of psychiatrists today. They go
into the division of the race into
physical types, and then describe th<
mental characteristics which can re
liably be ascribed to each type. Thej
write of the extent to which the be
havior of each type, when mentallj
disturbed, corresponds to the type be
havior in health. They discuss mood:
and emotions. They illustrate theii
points with case histories.
In general, it can be said, from the
lay point of view, that they have
w'ritten a helpful and interesting book
For the lay person is likely to regarc
psychiatry as a mystery, depending or
I
superhuman qualifications in a prac
j titioner and almost unlimited in its
| healing powers. Here we have, in
such terms as the layman can under
! stand, a statement of the very definite
framework on which it actually de
pends, and the limits which, as psy
j chiatrists themselves admit, circum
scribe its application. Such a work
ought to be interesting to a fairly wide
i public. What the medical profession
j will say of it, one cannot, of course,
I predict.
>
HAII,, CAESAR! By Fletcher Pratt.
New York: Harrison Smith and
Robert Haas,
'T'HIS fine biography of Julius Caesar
A ought to move readers of stone to
enthusiasm. To go through It is to
have Rome made more real to you
than your own government ordinarily
is. It makes splendid—gorgeous—
reading.
It takes in the whole gallery of men
and women whose lives impinged on
that of Caesar—Cicero, Catallne,
Vercingetorix, Cleopatra, Brutus, Cas
sius—all of them. But they are not
done in the familiar flat. They are
rounded, vivid and humorous. In
fact, to use a quaint critical clinche,
they are alive.
After that, one can only repeat that
it is a biography of Julius Caesar. You
remember him. He was the man who,
when he fell, brought down the Roman
republic with him. An enlightened
fellow he was, but too popular. Mr.
Pratt says that he began life as a
radical. When, however, he could not
get “co-operation,” he took things into
his own hands. This is not the only
evidence in the present work that he
possessed a sense of humor.
VINCENT VAN UUUH. ay wauxr
Pach. With thirty reproductions
and 6 plates in full color. New
York: Art Book Museum.
'T'HIS small book contains a brief
biography of the famous painter.
Its author has frequently lectured on
Van Gogh at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art. and, more important, was really
the first man to write or lecture on
Van Gogh in America. His essay here
is not too technical a piece of criticism
for the average reader, and, in view of
the current awareness of Van Gogh's
j work, his book would seem likely to
be arresting to a good public. Author
itative and understanding, it would be
worth having at any time.
FEAR IS THE THORN. By Rachel
Field. New York: The Macmil- 1
lan Co.
'T'HIS small volume of verse is of a
good average level, and, at times,
the author has given us some really
fine pieces. Her work is of the grace- j
ful, polished variety, built around
whimsical and fragile thoughts. Some
times, one feels a Millay influence in
her verse, sometimes she comes nearer
j to Dickinson. However, she is neither
| of these by a long measure, but is
; still a very pleasant poet. Her pres
ent volume has such amicable quali
ties that one feels that it might be
come a popular "seller.” That per
haps describes it better than any other
phrasing.
THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY. By
A. A. Milne. New York: E. P.
Dutton & Co.
'"THE engaging creator of “Winnie
the Pooh” makes, in this book,
his first attempt at writing of the
esoteric practices involved in crime
detection. He has turned out a nice,
neat little tale, but disappointingly
without thrills. Moreover, his bright
young man, Antony Gillingham, who
solves the not so dreadful mystery, is
a trifle too gay, too cheerio and too
ready to mock at the good gray mas*
ter of Baker street. Outraged senti
ment protests when he and his friend,
Bill, finally take to calling each other
Sherlock and Watson—outraged sen
timent and perhaps also the feeling
that an author really ought to write
his own book. However, as one has
said, this is a neat tale. You can
read it with complete though mild
enjoyment.
-,
At top: Members of the workshop staff of the National Li
brary for the Blind.
Lower: “Seeing” hands transcribe books into Braille type
for the sightless.
Illustration with "To the Mountain.” by Bradford Smith. The
Bobbs-Merrill Co.
Brief Reviews of Books on Various Topics
I
Non-Fiction.
Those Fatal Generals. By E V.
Westrate. New York: Knight Publi
cations, Inc. An expose of military
errors and bad judgment on the part
of commanding officers throughout
American history. Mingles severe cas
tigation of incompetents with praise of
those whom the author considers truly
great. Might be controversial.
The Father of Texas: A Life of
Stephen P. Austin for Young People.
By Eugene C. Barker. Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merril Co. Clearly written
biography which covers the making of
the largest State.
The American Year Book: A Record
of Events and Progress for 1935. Ed
ited by Bushnell Hart and William M.
Schuyler. New York: American Year
Book Corp. The latest edition of a
valuable source book, containing
among other things a chronology of
International events affecting the
United States and one of the National
Government.
Revolt Among the Share Croppers.
By Howard Kester. New York: Covici
Friede. Championship of the cause of
the poorer classes in the South, with
what the author refers to as “the so
called 'best families’ ’’ playing the big,
bad wolf.
Round the World on a Penny. By
Anita Willets-Burnham. New York:
Covici Friede. The story of circum
navigation of the globe as* done by a
poor family on pleasure bent. Chatty.
Oriental Philosophy. By Francis
Grant New York: The Dial Press.
Story of Eastern religions reverently
told by the vice president of the Roe
rich Museum of New York City.
Buddhist MediUtion in the South
ern School. By G. Constant Louns
bery. With a Foreword by W. Y.
| Evans-Wentz. New York: Afred A.
Knopf. The theory and practice of
Buddhist exercises for Westerners by
the president of Les Amis du Boudd
hisme.
The Christian Faith in the Modern
World. By J. Gresham Machen. New
York: The Macmillan Co. Study of
questions relating to the interpretation
of the Bible by an eminent conserva
tive divine.
Medieval Francis in Modern Amer
ica. By Adalbert Callahan, O. F. M.
New York: The Macmillan Co. A his
4
I tory of the Franciscan order in Amer
ica from 1855 until the present time.
And It Shall Come to Pasa By
Willi* S. Bryant. Long Prarie: Hart
Publications. An interpretation of
Biblical prophecies throughout his
tory and a forecast of the future.
Written by an Army captain.
Fiction.
Rainbow at Night. By Mary Graham
Bonner. New York: Lee Furman,
Inc. Simple story of love affair of
Nova Beotia fisherman’s daughter with
35
;<man from the outer world. Dignified
and full of ‘‘local color.”
The Happy Alienist. By Wallace
Smith. New York: Harrison Smith
and Robert Haas. Ironical and clever
tale of an alienist who was obliged to
go mad in order to solve the problems
of his own existence.
Pierre of the Teche. By Robert L.
Olivier. New Orleans: Pelican Pub
lishing Co. Very pleasant romance
of life among the Acadlans of Louisi
ana. Worth reading.
We in Captivity. By Kathleen
Pawle. New York: Dodd Mead &
Co. Novel of Irish rebellion during
the World War. Long and serious, but
with some good characterizations.
Red Neck. By McAlister Coleman
and Stephen Raushenbush. New York:
Harrison Smith and Robert Haas.
Story of a coal miner, with strikes,
fights and labor questions for scenery.
Colloquial. All right If you like them.
Here Lies a Moat Beautiful Lady.
By Richard Blaker. Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merrill Co. A novel of indi
viduality and much merit, telling the
story of a woman’s life as she lies
unconscious from a wound. A broad
panorama of colorful scenes.
California Caballero. By William
Colt MacDonald. New York: Covici
Frlede. Western stuff.
The Death Riders. By Cornelius
Cofyii. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Thriller about international spies and
secret organizations.
The Man Without a Head. By Jo
seph Bowen. New York: Covici Frlede.
Murder in Taos.
Greater Love. By John Rathbone
Oliver. New York: The MacMillan
Co. Story of human brotherhood, as
exemplified by a mother and son who
undertake to devote their lives to wip
ing out the wrongs done by another
member of their family. Executed on
a somewhat mystic level,
t
Wallace Smith, author of "The Happy Alienist ” Harrison
Smith and Robert Haas.
MAKERS OF LIGHT
Blind Workers at National Library
for Sightless Lift Gloom Surrounding .
Fellow-Sufferers Through Braille Books*
By F. Jay Carmody.
H ET there be light."
Well might that be the
slogan of the enterprise
which finds shelter in the
four walls of the modest building at
1126 Twenty-first street. Not light ai
you know it, the gold and blue of the
midday sun, the ghostly silver ol
moonlight, nor the purple of twilight
but light just the same. None of these
but the light of literature transmuted
into a type which the blind may read
through their finger-tips.
Blind are the paid workers in thii
quiet shop where Braille books are pro
duced. They do not see light as the
average person sees it, but there is n<
darkness in their world. Serenity per
vades the atmosphere where they g<
about the making of books that create
new, wider and enchanting horizon!
for others similarly afflicted.
The National Library for the Blind
the institution which occupies the
modest structure, is a thrilling place
to visit. It is full of surprises.
One of the first of these Is the rela
tive scarcity of books visible to the
seeing eye. Unlike most libraries, the
books on its shelves are not static
things. Books are the blind man’s
and woman's world. They do not re
main on shelves to collect dust. Theii
circulation is constant, mute but con
vincing testimony that there are toe
few books for the blind; that a b4
need remains to be filled, if the librarj
here is to fulfill the function it ha!
set for itself.
The books which are to be found
there, books which shortly will be
in the mails again with possibly ar
address as remote as Istanbul, Turkey
are in remarkably good condition.
The blind man, the library stafl
tells one, is one of the world’s trull
great book lovers. His love for the
volume he reads is all inclusive. Ii
covers not only the spirit of the book !
story, the inspiration he derives fron
it, but the physical book itself. It is i
thing of transcendant value to him
a light in the world of all blind per
sons which he must be careful to pre
serve perfect and intact. To dim i
in any way through careless handlins
would plunge the whole fraternity o
the blind more deeply into the dark
ness. It is a form of treason whirl
the blind reader ever is careful U
avoid.
rvNE needs but to see a volume n
^ Braille to realize that its pureli
physical value is far greater than tha
of the average book. As comparec
with the volume printed in conven
tional type, the Braille book costs ap
proximately 15 times as much. The
latter is made by hand, the equivalent
of a collector's item.
Braille, a combination of raised dot;
on a piece of heavy paper—you car
get the effect by pushing a pin through
a sheet of paper and rubbing you:
finger over the reverse side—neces
sarily Is larger than the type devised
for normal reading. One page o)
ordinary print transcribed into Braille
usually makes three pages of the lat
ter.
The average novel, therefore, be
comes several volumes when made
ready, by hand transcription, for thi
Library for the Blind. It would b<
too unwieldy for handling otherwise
The most mammoth undertakes
of fiction transcription, it is interest
ing to know in this connection, wa:
that of Hervey Allen’s "Anthony Ad
verse.” This work, which exercisec
the same fascination for the blini
as for the general public, comprisec
36 volumes when put into Braille.
Many a reader will recall his owt
slow but unremitting ccmquest ove:
the nearly 1.300 pages of Allen’s stor;
when he learns that, despite its recen
release to the blind reader, two al
ready have completed the 36 vol
umes, while a third is on the thirty
first as this is written.
Promptitude that would shame thi
person with normal vision is showr
in the celeritous return of each o:
the 36 volumes as the individual blinc
reader completes it. The blind read
er of the book does not need to be
told there is a long waiting list foi
the two or three volumes which arc
sent to him at one time. He read!
them as rapidly as possible and re
turns them with the sure knowledge
that the individual who holds the
books next in line will do likewise
There is a depth of sympathy anc
understanding between patrons of thii
unusual library such as is rarely tt
be found.
TTOW rapidly does a blind man reac
n Braille? In the answer to thii
question one finds one of the mos
amazing accomplishments of thow
from whom the gift of sight ha:
been withdrawn. The more expert
enced, the true book worm, read:
almost as rapidly as the person witl
normal vision.
With a deft, lightninglike move
ment, the linger sweeps across thi
page, communicating the thought o
the writer instantly to the brain o
the reader.
To see a skilled reader of Braille ii
action that is so truly astonishing
in the light of the known co6t am
difficulty of producing books for hin
—is to wonder that there could tx
hope of keeping the library adequate
ly stocked. There is such a hopi
always in the hearts of those sponsor
ing the work. An inspiration liki
that of those they serve always lights
their path.
Libraries for the blind must be pub
lic. When one copy of a novel, sue!
as Sinclair Lewis’ “Main Street” costi
$100, transcribed into Braille, it b
obvious that a private library is ar
impossibility. One copy so expensive
necessarily must belong to all the
blind. Or, to use a more convinc
ing illustration, the single copy o:
“Anthejny Adverse” is fabulously be
yond the possibility of ownership b;
999 out of 1,000 victims of blindness
Its production in Braille cost the 11
brary here $375.
Why should Braille books be sb ex
pensive? Certainly It Is not becaus
the item of labor cost Is large. Bllne
workers in the National Library work
shop here, and »lt is the same else
where, receive but 6 cents a page fo
transcription of the works which ar:
slowly read to them as they sit at thel
work benches. It is slow work, part o
its slowness dictated by the extrem
care which must be used, for typo
graphical errors are to be avoided b
such books. The more skilled of th
blind transcribers can make as mucl
as $1.50 a day, the average abou
$1.20. There are, moreover, a host c
volunteer workers in the field. '
A labor of love, indeed, la thi
aspect of Braille book making, for
the blind man not only enjoys an op
portunity for so signally useful a life,
but also a chance to lighten the dark
ness of his fellow-man.
But Braille book production Is large
scale building, and quality building as
well. Consequently, it is expensive.
There is, of course, such a thing as
machine transcription of books into *
Braille. Metal plates made for this
purpose permit a great number of
copies of a book to be run off, but the
choicer, less popular books are so much
less in demand that they seldom aie
machine transcribed.
VUHAT types of books do the blind
' prefer? Action stories, as offer
ing the most marked contrast with
’ their own lives? Action stories are
popular, but no more so than other
1 types. History has its following. So
does philosophy. Political science is
popular with certain groups. The fact
is, according to Rev. Paul Sperry,
library director, the taste of the blind
reading public is quite as broad as
that of the average group.
The blind reader does not change in
his literary tastes, but carries over
into his less fortunate estate the same
preferences as before his affliction.
The popular books of the moment
are not unlike those on the general
list, including fiction, travel, biog
raphy, political science. Among the
titles on the list one finds Ann Lind
bergh’s "North to the Orient”; I. A. R.
Wylie's "Feather in Her Hat”; "Silas
Crockett,” by Mary Ellen Chase; "Ni
jinsky,” Haskin's “American Govern
ment Today,” Wagenknecht's "Biog
raphy of Mark Twain.”
Necessarily the library is slightly
behind the general run of the book
j trade, but its “best” list follows sub
| stantially that of the broader field,
j While Braille books are the most
| common of the media which carry’ the
i light of literature into the world of
the blind, there are others. Moon type
is used, although on a much more
limited scale. It is a more elemental
system of transcription, involving the
embossing of letters similar to the
capital letters of the alphabet.
j ^^EWEST of the departures In the
production of books for the sight
, less is the “talking book.” Funda
| mentally, the talking book is a me
i chanical substitute for the human
reader to the blind; a vocal transcrip
tion of the book to a series of phono
graph records. These additions to the
library's shelves are the gift of the
American Foundation for the Blind.
The limitation upon the widespread
use of "talking books',” of course, is
that it involves the purchase of re
i production equipment on the part of
the book borrower. In spite of this,
the library’s list includes 2,168 "talk
ing book” titles, for which there is
a strong demand. This phase of its
j work gives promise of steady growth,
j Talking books, like those in Braille.
. are rather elaborate productions. I if
takes 20 records for the transcription
J of H. G. Wells' "Short History of the
I World." From 2 to 13 records are
' despatched at one time to an indi
vidual "talking book” reader.
Braille, however, remains the basis
: of the library's took collection.
'T'HIS year marks the twenty-fifth
! anniversary of the establishment
j of the National Library for the Blind,
’ J which, in fact as well as in name,
j transcends the geographic limits of
1 j the National Capital. Thomas Nelson
^ i Page and Miss Etta Josselyn Giffin
| were leaders of the founding group,
1 I which included such prominent fig
ures as Charles J. Bell. Emile Ber
' | liner, Charles Curtis, Miss Ella I.
- j Dorsey, Duncan U. Fletcher. Charles
' I C. Glover, Thomas P. Gore, Mrs. John
' I J. Hamilton. Miss Mary S. Lawrence,
| Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and Dr. William
! Holland Wilmer.
1 j Braille books were vastly more rare
and expensive to produce in 1911,
but the group was determined that
no effort should be spared in making
books available to the blind in their
homes.
Direct financial assistance on the
part of the Federal Government, the
opening of the mails free to the
library in sending its books to sub
scribers, has proved an extremely
helpful form of indirect assistance,
but public subscriptions always have
i provided the basic financing.
As this year, when $25,000 is being
sought, they have been asked on
the basis that the money is spent
entirely in the cause of lighting an
1 otherwise dark world. Not only asked,
’ but granted!
! I "I—. ———I
Lending
Library
Here You Will Find
All the New and Most
Interesting Books
i Fiction and Non-Fiction
10c Minimum
Charge for 3 Days
for each
additional day
Main Floor
^B
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