Evening star. [volume], January 30, 1937, Page B-2, Image 16

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

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CHRONICLER’S WIT ENLIVENS HISTORY OF PAST 100 YEARS
.. — A--—-A.------- . ■—
OLD EVENTS GIVEN FRESH TOUCH
Philip Guedalla Writes as Students Wish Historians Would Do
More Often—The "Grand Tour” Revived—A Chinese
Poetess of Ten Centruies Ago.
By Mary Carter Roberts.
THE HUNDRED YEARS. By Philip
Guedalla. Garden City: Double
day Doran & Co.
IT SEEMS indisputable today that
the best of our books are non
flctlon, but from this It does not
follow, as might be expected, that
the non-flctlon field claims the best
of our writers. The argument seems
to be Instead that non-flctlon writers
continue to produce relevant and vivid
works: whereas our novelists for some
time have merely repeated them
selves. Certainly, during the past
year, none of our established fiction
practitioners wrote any book that was
not predictable; moreover, no new
member of the craft appeared with
claims that were Imperatively prom
ising. (As for the short story, of
course, silence toward it In Its pres
ent state Is the only possible critical
attitude.)
It Is heartening, therefore, to ob
serve that among writers of non-fic
tion who have established high stand
ards In the past, there Is evidence of
continuing vitality. Philip Guedalla’s
present work is a case in point. Mr.
Guedalla, In his past books of history,
has established himself as an excellent
puppet master, one who, exhibiting
characters out of our past, obligingly
and with finely calculated alternation,
shows his spectators first the dancing
dolls and then the manipulation of
the strings. In his present work he
continues this procedure without mo
notony. He sets himself to display
the drama of the hundred years which
ended in 1936, and he makes a vastly
amusing thing of It.
Being a resume, n may pernaps De
ealled superficial from the historical
point of view; the objection will have
no relation to the object of the work.
“The Hundred Years" attempts noth
ing more profound than to chart the
erratic and unreasoning course over
which we have traveled, giving par
ticular mention to the points at which
we have taken pertinent turns, the
steps up which we have ambitiously
struggled and the obstacles over which
we have, more than once, with ig
nominy, barked our shins—these mat
ters, of course, to be presented in the
light of an agreeable irony and in the
medium of an excellent wit. To the
reviewer's mind, the attempt is emi
nently successful.
“The Hundred Years,” in short, is
“popular history” par excellence. It
is “superficial” enough not to tire the
average reader’s capacity to under
stand, and sufficiently pointed with
shrewd observation to satisfy those
whose demands are somewhat higher.
Seldom Indeed is a puppet show pre
sented as a profound drama. Yet,
when Its director is fully master of
his craft, It can be precisely as pro
found as the spectator, satisfying
every one. The adroit Mr. Guedalla
has given us such a piece of enter
tainment here.
His procedure is to choose certain
dates in the course of the century
which he is picturing, to describe the
events which In his opinion rendered
these dates significant, and then to
dwell a little on that significance in
relation to the world’s history. Thus,
we have him selecting the year 1848
and listing, in separate chapters, as
its contributions to the future of man
kind. the establishment of Prince
Albert’s influence in English politics,
the Mexican War in America, the two
revolutions which diverted Paris dur
ing that twelve-month, the outspread
ing of minor revolutions from Paris
across Europe and the first hauling
of freight by rail in Chicago. These
happenings, he remarks pleasantly,
had lasting consequences.
pROM 1848 he then goes to 1861,
to treat that year in terms of the
abolition of serfdom in Russia, the
Civil War in America and the passing
of Albert from the English scene. And
in this manner he proceeds until he
arrives at the final year of his century,
1936, where the Master Ironist takes
matters out of his hands by allowing
him to find the greatest significance
to lie in the accession to the throne
of England of Edward VIII.
But the goodness of the book lies
In its mood and writing and not in
the minutiae of Its contents. Take,
as a demonstration, this description
of the revolutionary contagion of 1848;
“Italians,” says Guedalla, "demanded
to be governed by themselves rather
than by Austrians, whilst Austrians
in turn demanded to be governed by
anybody rather than by Mettemich;
Czechs, Hungarians and Croats col
lided in an ill-directed passion for
eelf-govemment; and Germans were
divided between a comprehensible
determination to be governed better
and a vaguer aspiration to be governed
In a larger, more impressive unit than
those provided by the 38 constituents
of the Germanic confederation. Flags
of every color fluttered in all direc
tions: there was a riot of new con
stitutions; and disappearing ministers
eluded the unfriendly attentions of
their fellow-countrymen with the
agility of trap-door artistes . . . while
Mazzinl and Man in insisted with
•ubllme reiteration on the importance
of being Italian, Teutonic voices em
phasized the higher duty of being
German. Parliamentarians praised
parliaments, and patriots of every race
—Poles, Magyars and Slavs—exalted
their own nationalities without the
least regard to other people’s. Not
that the prophetic voices were ex
clusively optimistic in their tone or
national in their objectlvee. For while
bright-eyed reformers hymned the
march of progress and Kossuth and
Palacky intoned their national an
thems, Carlyle retained the greatest
doubts as to the utility of things in
general and King Leopold’s police
removed a sage from Brussels, whose
beliefs (In the convenient form of the
Communist Menlfesto) came danger
ously near to a denial of the whole
existing order. . . .
"Kings abdicated or appeared on
balconies In the most progressive atti
tudes. The King of Prussia, after a
tentative attempt to shoot his sub
jects down, rode through his capital
In the new colors and an uninterrupted
series of alfresco speeches designed
to satisfy them that he was the in
surrection's latest and most voluble
recruit; the King of Bavaria, with
more restraint, followed Lola Montes
Uto private life; the Kings of Han
over and Saxony indulged their sub
jects with becoming shades of liberal
concession; the King of Sardinia
granted a constitution and. succumb
ing to the prevailing atmosphere, went
to war with Austria for love of Italy;
agid the Pope himself pronounced the
fashionable formula with creditable
*
NORMAN FOERSTER.
Author of “American State
University.” (University of
North Carolina Press.)
And thus a century of human folly
Is set down according to Philip Gue
dalla—but a century not more foolish
than any other, a ridiculous show, to
change the figure, but not worse than
customary and by no means devoid
of Interest. Thus, in other words,
the way of the world.
It Is a book full of promise of
amusement to the philosophic, and,
withal, so studded with the “worth
while'’ that it must also please and
flatter the merely serious. One looks
for it to appear on the best seller
lists with the shortest possible delay.
It seems likely to please every sort of
customer.
INSURANCE AND BANKING—EX
AMINATIONS AND ACCOUNT
ING. By Herbert L. Davis. Bos
ton: Christopher Publishing
House.
TVRITrEN for bankers, attorneys
and accountants, this treatise
stresses the duties and obligations
incident to trusteeship, suretyship
and other vital problems relating to
insurance and banking. The author
considers investment and speculation,
sound life insurance, fraudulent
i claims, codes, valuation of securities,
j gambling with other people’s money,
dishonest financing, self - awarded
contracts, collusive appraisals and
rules for fair market value of realty.
In a most comprehensive manner
Herbert L. Davis takes up Insurance
accounting, amortization of securities,
real estate transaction relating to
mortgages, as well as receivership
proceedings and fiduciary relation
ships. It is not light reading and is
not intended to be, but every page
reflects its value to attorneys, ac
countants and examiners who meet
these problems almost daily.
Interest in “Insurance and Bank
ing” is intensified by the fact that
the author is a Washingtonian very
widely known in the legal profession
and the insurance field. He rendered
valiant service in support of the life
insurance code which was passed by
Congress and approved by President
Roosevelt while Mr. Davis was super
intendent of insurance in the District
Of Columbia. The code has since
been adopted by many States.
A former referee and court auditor
for the Supreme Court of the Dis
trict of Columbia, Mr. Davis has had
unusual legal training and experi
ence with banking, insurance and
accounting. As a member of the
faculty of the National University
School of law. he has taught many
i ot the subjects about which he writes
so informatively. Much of his ac
tive legal work had to do with ex
posing dishonest practices. About
such cases, he speaks mo6t vigorously,
citing many United States Supreme
Court controlling decisions and guid
ing precedents.
His work is certain to be widely
read by bankers engaged especially
in trust service, by insurance leaders,
and by accountants In their efforts
better to protect the Investing public
and insurance policy holders. As Sec
retary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper
says In a letter to the author, the
book covers a field which has been
only inadequately treated in the past.
E. C. S.
THE RECOVERY PROBLEM IN THE
UNITED STATES. Washington:
The Brookings Institution.
'J'HE worst depression in the history
of the modem world is about
over—at least psychologically. Cer
tainly its trough has been passed, and
this Nation, together with the world
at large, is a long way on the up
turn of the economic curve.
Perhaps it still is too early to un
tangle the complex causes which
brought it about—economic, political,
psychological and spiritual—or to put
a Anger definitely on what Is bringing
about recovery. In a series of publica
tions which already are classics in the
history of economic thought, the
Brookings Institution specialists have
attempted to appraise on a wholly ob
jective basis the economic forces which
plunged the Nation into the depths of
despair. They have gathered masses
of fundamental statistics and digested
them, and in these statistics the
trends clearly are discernible.
Probably there will be economic de
pressions in the future. If they are
to be prevented the forces causing
them must be gotten under control,
and the only way to do this is by the
same method that other forces of na
ture have been brought under control
for the benefit of man. This has been
by the patient gathering and classifi
cation of facts and the synthesis of
conclusions from them. Economic
forces are fundamentally no different
than physical forces—only probably
more complicated.
The primitive magician made little
real progress against nature by wav
ing his wand and saying "boo-boo” at
flood and wind. Neither will the pol
itician, following essentially the same
methods, accomplish much by boo
booing economic winds and floods in
an effort to scare away the evil spirits
which cause them.
Whether their Immediate conclu
sions are right or wrong, the Brook
ings specialists have laid the founda
tion for a much sounder attack. Now
they apply the same methods to the
current problem of recovery. What is
responsible for it and what will accel
erate it?
'T'HEY find, In the first place, that
A recovery Is far from complete and
itel |bam fin sinMMi pt tggtaMUtx ■
about it which, unless they are
watched closely, may undo all that has
been done.
Capital is abundant and cheap. The
burden of private indebtedness is very
low. There is a better balance be
tween industry and agriculture. Labor
is better paid, while prices have ad
vanced little—a very significant de
velopment and basic in the Brook
ings theory of recovery. Banks are
sounder. Prospects of foreign trade
are better with the elimination of un
economic barriers. There is a crying
need for new goods—new houses, new
automobiles, new everything. The
world is pretty shabby after the de
pression. The uncertainty over New
Deal policies, which may have acted
as a brake on business expansion in
some lines, has been greatly reduced.
Such are the favorable elements
making for a continuation of re
covery back to the 1929 levels and
beyond.
There is another side to the picture.
Public debts, both of nation and of
local governments, are heavy. Budgets
have been thrown out of balance
everywhere. Labor relations are more
unsettled than before, and the Brook
ings experts have little patience with
the theory that shorter hours at un
reduced wages, unrelated to efficiency,
will provide purchasing power to bal
ance the necessary higher prices. But
the worst cloud is that a good deal
of the recovery in the world at large,
upon which American recovery is in
some degree dependent, has not been
upon a sound economic basis, but be
cause of the expansion of military pro
grams.
The book lists some of the essen
tials for continued recovery—a bal
anced Federal budget as soon as pos
sible, a fixed price for gold, extension
of reciprocal trade agreements, the
preservation of a favorable ratio be
tween prices and wages, maintenance
of prevailing hours of labor, no more
restriction of production in industry
and less emphasis on restriction in
agriculture.
This Is likely to be one of the
really significant books of its time in
the effects it may have on economic
policies.—T. R. H.
GRAND TOUR. A Pilgrimage to Eu
rope’s Shrines of Culture. The Aris
tocratic Journey of the 17th and
18th Centuries. Edited by R. 8.
Lambert. Illustrated. New York:
E. P. Dutton Co.
READERS of this page may have no
ticed In weeks past that the re
viewer is not overpartlal to books of
travel. Readers, indeed, have some
times commented on this fact in let
ters addressed to the reviewer. And,
in so far as they have individually
commented on the attitude, they have
been individually assured that the re
viewer has no objection to the travel
book as such, but rather to the unin
spired manner in which most works of
travel are set down. For the most
part, her experience has shown her
that the current traveler’s journal falls
Into one of two categories—it is bub
bllngly delightful with everything
that is to be found in the new
country or it is grimly researchful
of "folk” or "racial” origins. In other
words, these books are not urbanely
written. They are the product of tod
great zeal, on the one hand for sight
seeing and on the other for facts.
The truly good travel work, however,
is a compound of sights, facts and the
writer’s individuality. The last-named
factor is today an almost invariably
missing ingredient, while the first two
are very seldom to be found In combi
nation. But all three are necessary.
It Is with unadulterated pleasure,
therefore, that the reviewer announces
a book of travel which is qoite outside
the above-decried classifications—the
present book. “Grand Tour.” It has
been a delight to read it. It ought to
be a satisfaction to own it. It is a
book to add to one's private library.
It is a remaking of the old "grand
tour” of Europe, the Journey which
was considered a part of every well
educated young English gentleman's
schooling in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, and which fol
lowed on his completion of his uni
versity course. It has been remade
especially for the writing of this book
by a group of “literary couriers,” each
of whom has taken one part of the
tour and contributed a chapter de
scriptive of the route today, in contrast
to its condition as recorded in the
journals of earlier pilgrims. It is well
done, full of delightful curioisitlea and
felicitously Illustrated with reproduc
tions of old travel prints and sketches.
Not the least of Its merits is its
preface by Mona Wilson, giving the
history of the "tour” as an educa
tional institution.
As Miss Wilson describes it: "In the
eighteenth century the ordinary grand
tour .. . meant the circuit of Ranee,
Switzerland, Italy, Germany and the
low countries.” This is the route cov
ered by the present writers, being
divided into six stages—from London
to Paris, from Paris to Geneva,
through Switzerland and the Alps,
around Italy, the cities of Venice,
Florence, Rome and Naples, Germany
and the Rhineland, Cologne and the
Journey to the coast.
'pus tour, aays Miss Wilson, ns
originated by Queen Elisabeth,
who devised it as a method of training
for future statesmen and, penurious
as she was, sometimes even financed
it for a promising youth, although she
preferred that her future statesmen
pay their own way if possible. Fran
cis Bacon, in his time, wrote pithy in
structions for the traveling youth, in
which he urged that they keep diaries
and Thomas Cecil and Philip Sydney
were among the young gentlemen who
followed his directions classically.
Through the seventeenth and eight
eenth centuries, the EUasbethan
model continued in form, Miss Wilson
tells us, and the typical traveler of
those times was the young gentleman
student, accompanied by a servant or
two and a tutor. But with the Na
poleonic wars, the tour began to de
cline and when travel revived it was
the Byronie pilgrim, rather than the
future statesman, who became the
classic wanderer.
And then, says Miss Wilson, with
the Improvement in inns and trans
portation, came the melancholy days
of Brown, Jones and Robinson, and
the tour ceased to exist save in name,
although, she notes, in name “it per
sists as a common title for advertise
ments of organised trips in tbew days
of Messrs. Thomas Cook and Dr.
HECTOR BOL1THO,
English "biographer and author of “Marie Tempest" first full
length story of the famous actress. (J. B. Uppincott.)
delightful—scholarly, humorous and
well seasoned.
THE INVADERS. By Stuart David
Engstrand. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf.
'T'HIS is a novel by a new writer,
one in whom the publisher seem
ingly has taken great pride, for some
weeks, reviewers have been receiving
advance notices artfully designed to
titillate the critical appetite. A work
of ‘genuine power” we have been
told, was about to break upon our
horizons, and yet other adjectives
were used to drive into our Jaded
brains awareness that “The Invaders”
was something very fine. Indeed. Alas
for hope. “The Invaders” is here,
and it turns out to be a thing of
very dubious merit. It Is plainly a
work written because a young man of
energy wanted to be an author. The
information that he had been a com
mon sailor, a trapper, a tree trimmer,
a share cropper, a salesman, a re
porter and a free lance contributor
to horae-raclng Journals has also been
kindly tendered us in recent weeks.
Well, he is an author now. He has
published a book. It is not entirely
without evidences of awareness of an
author's obligation to his materials
either. It shows with painful clear
ness that Stuart David Engstrand has
understood that a novel ought to have
a plot, even if it is necessary to
rough-hew human conduct into an
unrecognizable state to procure one. It
also shows that he has an eye on
popular taste, as he has seized and
dragged into his story (In the most
energetic manner imaginable) two
kinds of material that are in good
popular favor. One is the estimable
"class struggle,” which, if not a gen
erally popular theme, is still rated
highly as reading matter in certain
quarters. The other Is always sure
fire—frequent descriptions of the more
intimate moments of married life
done in a somewhat excessively virile
style. He also has not neglected to
touch on the Freudian derice of the
“mother complex,” nor has he omitted
to provide his work of art with a
heroine of morals aomewhat lighter
than featherdown. And there you
are. A work of "genuine power.”
It is a story of a farmer and his
wife, and the struggle of his farmer
neighbors to deal with the wicked
capitalists who run the local cannery,
and of a strike and broken hearts and
heads and a great deal of noise. It has
the elements of a good book in it
(since It has about everything), but
it is done with preposterous badness,
with its people at one moment talking
like stage yokels and the next spout
ing in the manner of stage Greenwich
Villagers and nowhere conducting
themselves even slightly like people.
Still, it is done.
MARIE TEMPEST. By Hector Boli
tho. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippin
cott.
'T'HIS Is a biography of a famous
actress by a competent writer. On
the one count it ought to be inter
esting to those with a taste for the
stage and stage history. On the other
it should appeal to those who enjoy
contemporary lives. It is plain, of
course, that Mr. Bolitho tremendously
admires his subject; his book is frankly
adulatory. But as Marie Tempest has
commanded the admiration of a great
public during her life, there may be
some reason in this.
The book is told to a considerable
extent through the medium of con
versations with the actress, the author
using her own words for many pages
at a time. It is not, he says, a com
plete biography, chiefly because, al
though he spent much time with Miss
Tempest trying to elicit a coherent
*
Brief Reviews of Books
Non-Fiction.
THE NEW DEAL. By the editors of
the Economist (London). New
York: Alfred Knopf, Inc.
The New Deal, In other words, by
the editors of the Economist (Lon
don). You know—the New Deal.
THE COMMERCE CLAUSE UNDER
MARSHALL, TANEY AND
WAITE. By Felix Frankfurter.
Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press.
Should be comprehensible to law
yers.
MASS CONSUMPTION. By Frederick
Purdy. New York: The Talisman
Press.
Economics.
AN ATLAS OF CURRENT AFFAIRS.
By J. F. Johnson. New York: Al
fred Knopf, Inc.
A handbook on the current events
of the world, country by country.
ARE YOU A STOCKHOLDER? By
Alden Winthrop. New York: Co
vicl Friede.
A manual for investors.
CABINET GOVERNMENT. By W.
Ivor Jennings. New York: The
Macmillan Co.
A scholarly account of the evolu
tion of cabinet government through
the last century.
A HISTORY OF THE UNITED
8TATE8 SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.
In five volumes. Volume V. By
Ellis Paxson Oberholtaer. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
The final volume of Dr. Oberholt
aer’s work, begun 25 years ago and
now completed.
THE AMERICAN STATE UNIVER
narrative from her, she waywardly re
fused to reminisce unless she happened
to want to. But It gives pretty sub
stantially the outline of her career.
If the reader can enjoy the completely
worshipful attitude to the length of
300 pages, he ought to find this an
entertaining chapter of theatrical his
tory over a considerable period.
-•
Bootlegging
—
(Continued From Page B-l )
and absentee owner of "The Stanley
Manufacturing Co.”
Tipped that "something funny” was
going on In the "paint and oil works,”
Investigators of the A. T. U. became
genuinely suspicious In January, 1935,
when they discovered that great quan
tities of salt were being purchased by
the "manufacturers” from Philadel
phia. What, the agents reasoned, was
the connection of salt with the manu
facture of roofing paint and the recla
mation of crankcase oil? Likewise, a
lot of alcohol was seen going Into the
factory, but very little paint was com
ing out.
Agents visited the plant, but didn't
get very far, as the odor of alcohol was
obliterated by chlorine gas fumes, re
leased from valves whenever strangers
got too near.
The distillery’s truck, labeled "Bur
roughs Contractors for Heavy Haul
ing,” was stopped by three agents on
July 1,1935. The Investigators discov
ered three tanks camouflaged by what
appeared to be a crated washing ma
chine. The driver borrowed a match
from an agent to light a cigarette,
jumped to his seat and opened valves,
which allowed the alcohol to flow to
the ground. He struck the match and
tried to Ignite the highly inflammable
substance. Fortunately, he did not
succeed and was arrested.
The agents entered the plant, but
caught only "small fry.” A search of
several days failed to reveal the prin
cipal item of distilling apparatus, but
on July 4, during a rainstorm, agents
heard the whir of a motor. They
found the motor, hidden In a base
ment compartment. It was so fitted
that water In the compartment, upon
reaching a certain level, would start
the pumping machinery automatically.
Water leaking In because of the rain
had caused the motor to start.
But the ringleaders were still miss
ing. In the plant was found a par
tially filled medicine bottle on which
was a fragment of label, which sup
plied the Initials of a druggist and part
of the prescription number. The drug
gist was found in Camden. By search
ing his records he found out who was
the prescribing physician. The phy
sician, located In Camden, recalled
the patient whom the agents sought
had been treated by him at a Camden
hotel while in company with a woman
named Edna Mulford.
The Mulford woman was found at
the hotel. She supplied Information
which led to the arrest of all the ring
leaders.
Tarpon Fishing
(Continued Prom Page B-l.)
energy that throws him clear of the
water from 4 to IS times (and I mean
clear), a heart that never quits until
the gaff enters his gills, sheer weight
and power and fighting ability, and
you have a combination of a finny Joe
Louis and Max Schmellng that's hard
to lick.
A SAILPISH may give you more
jumps than a tarp. But most of
the jumps of a sail are half-hearted
Hill: University of North Carolina
Press.
The case against the university, on
the grounds that it has subverted the
higher interests of democracy.
ZIG-ZAGGING THE SOUTH SEAS.
By Isabel Anderson. Boston: Bruce
Humphries.
Routine travel stuff. Fairly good.
THE PROPHET CHILD. By Gwen
dolen Plunket Greene. New York:
E. P. Dutton Co.
Religious philosophy based on the
need of becoming as a child In order
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
DEATH VALLEY PROSPECTORS. By
Dane Collidge. New York: E. P.
Dutton Co. s'
History of Death Valley. Interesting.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP A
SCIENTIST. Being the memoirs of
Dr. Henry Manure. By his aman
uensis. New York: Scientific Pub
ILshing CO.
Satire on popular science writing.
Good idea, but not as funny here as
It might be.
Fiction.
THE PERSIAN JOURNEY OP REV
EREND ASHLEY WISHARD. By
Elgin Groaecloee. Indianapolis:
Bdbbs-Merrill Co.
Sentimental tale of how a mission
ary won the kindly feelings of a
tribe of wild Kurds. Very naive.
SADDLE MEN OP THE C BIT
BRAND- By Hart Thome. New
York: Dodd Meed ft Co.
Western stuff.
Mysteries.
XT HAPPENED AT THE LAKE. By
Joseph Shaw. New York: Dodd
Mead ft Oo.
Trouble starts at a "queerly as
■Etaft* ImSm uutm.
TT --
ECONOMIC CREDOS EXPLAINED
The Agrarian-Distributists (Whatever They Are) Distinguish Be
tween "New” and "Free” America—Mencken Eats Sugar.
"Nation” Article Snaps at Air Bureau.
#• ——————————— ■
By M. C. R.
HIS department receives a copy
of Free America this week and
learns something that it did
not know before—that this
periodical is the organ of the Agrarian
Distributlst movement. Well, there
you are. Life is simply full of sur
prise*.
It also learns that, in the past. Free
America has been called New Amer
ica. But, says an admonitory note
inclosed between the pages, this title
gave rise to a danger of Identifying
the magazine with the New America
Movement, and consequently the name
has been changed. The New America
Movement, say Free America’s editors,
has “aims in many respects . . . op
posed to ours.” But beyond this they
are discreetly silent. What these aims
are—how reprehensible they may be—
it does not say. One only knows that
they approve of them.
Well, it is all very Interesting. Until
the reviewer received this copy of the
Agrarian-Distributists’ little paper, she
did not know that the Agrarian-Dis
tributists existed. And now It seems
that they not only exist, but are men
aced by villains with aims opposed to
theirs.
As to what the Agrarian-Distrib
utists are, as set down in their paper,
why. it all sounds fairly familiar, and.
if like the reviewer, you have not read
of it in their own paper, you undoubt
edly have read of it somewhere else—
under a different name probably. The
complicating part of the career of our
enterprising economists seems to be
the limited phraseology of economics.
Two men have diametrically opposite
panaceas (panaceas still, however),
but only the same terms in which to
express them. It makes for confusion,
you will say? Well, then, multiply the
men by a hundred and see what you
get. And comprehend, too, what a
bode and magazine reviewer gets in
this day when one only needs a pencil
to set up as an economic authority—
and pencils are easy to borrow. Yes,
just do that,
IlUT, If you must know, this is what
the Agrarian-Distributists want:
The principle of small industry, the
homestead principle, the principle of
consumer co-operation, the principle
of government ownership or close gov
ernment control. And that, as they
explain it, means that they want the
great Industries split up into small
ones, privately and co-operatively
owned; that they want every family to
own Its own homestead with enough
ground to put in a garden; that they
should have consumer co-operation so
that everybody should get the highest
pay and be happy, and that all indus
try which does not lend Itself to these
terms should be government owned or j
controlled.
The editor of Free America seems i
PHILIP GUEDALLA,
Author of “The Hundred
Years.” (Doubleday, Doran.)
—-■---- |
to be the enterprising Mr. Herbert '
Agar, who wrote a long, wise-sounding i
and quite incoherent book last year j
about how to avoid and end depres- '
sions. He also once won a Pulitzer i
Prize.
1
American Literature, the quarterly i
of the Modern Language Association,
announces that Its current number
contains 31 hitherto unpublished let
ters and notes by Walt Whitman. The
information may be of interest to
Whitman collectors.
This periodical also publishes regu
larly a list of all articles dealing with
American literary men and women
which have appeared in current mag
azines. Its editors mildly observe that 1
this may be of interest to “writers of
papers for clubs."
AS WAS announced in December,
the American Mercury, following
the election, declared Its intention to
go on making war on the New Dealers,
landslide or no landslide. In its Feb
ruary issue, however, it seems to indi
cate a more patient attitude toward
the regime in power—or maybe its |
writers are just pulling up to breathe. ,
Anyway, we have H. L. Mencken an
nouncing dourly that calamity is not
at hand nor likely to be. To be sure,
he makes the statement as a tribute to
American hardihood and not as praise
of Dr. Roosevelt’s efficacy. But he
makes it.
“After four long years of intensive
and relentless salvation,’’ he says,
"carried on by virtuosi of unparalleled
ardor and no visible competence or
conscience, the country Is still solvent
and even prosperous, and the best
pickings, as usual, are going to the
smartest fellows.”
We have run ourselves into debt, we
have bred an unconscionable number
of morons, he notes, but we are still
better off than the rest of the world,
and that by Immeasurably great de
grees. Well, there seems to be some
thing to that. Look around you, if you
do not agree.
And, continues Mr. Mencken. In
effect, we will have no revolution—
neither to the left nor to the right.
We will Just muddle ungracefully and
foolishly along.
TN THE January 23 Nation Robert
W. Horton has a serious piece on
the administration of the Air Com
merce Bureau. It is called "Death in
the Air,” and is sub-titled "The Re
sponsibility of Secretary Roper." It
deals with the Senate report of the
crash In which Senator Cutting was
killed and comments on the fact that,
although this report strongly urged
the Secretary of Commerce to “over
haul the Bureau of Air Commerce
with a view to improving Its admin
istrative officials” (quoted from the
report), those same officials are still
in control—seven months after the
Senate document was written.
The article lays the responsibility
of the crash to faultily operated
ground aids, and points out that, un
less such aids work perfectly, the
pilot who depends on them is worse
off than the old-time “contact” flyer,
who relied on visibility to keep him on
his course. Not only in the crash
which killed Senator Cutting, but in
the recent one which resulted in the
death of Martin Johnson has there
been evidence that the signals oper
ated by the Bureau of Air Commerce
have been improperly operated, says
Mr. Hortons’ article.
The following remarkaoiy sensible
statement is found in the current
issue of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Quarterly, and may perhaps be of in
terest to Washingtonians who have
been enjoying the opera at the Na
tional. It is in a piece by Dr. Isaac
Goldberg.
"The term ’fan,’ ” he says, "is sup
posed to derive from the word ’fa
natic.' We may well believe it when
we encounter a certain type of Gilbert
and Sullivan ’fan.’
"He Is almost like the dope fiend
who insists that you share his pleas
ure—and poison. He is responsible for
much of the disaffection among nor
mal people who would like to enjoy
Gilbert and Sullivan as they enjoy
any other pleasant experience. • • •*
affairs unworthy of the name. After
the first leap or two the sail usually j
gets only half his body and the spear
out of the water. But when a tarp
comes out he isn’t fooling. He comes
all the way out. and frequently so
close to the boat you’ll think he's go
ing to land in your lap. Many a time
I've put up an elbow to toss off a tar
pon that seemed to be sure to land on
my breakfast. But they seldom do.
Once In a while one will lose his bear
ings in the air and land In the boat,
but that’s a rarity. They have the
ability to twist in the air and get back
to the water somehow. But if they
do land in the boat, get out from the
spot quickly. A tarpon is a rough boy
with a wide and powerful tall which
he uses. Besides, he’s plenty messy.
He packs a coating of slime which
smells to high heaven under the hot
sun.
The tackle? WelL tarpon are being
caught by experts on six-thread line.
Now. if you don’t know what that
means, it means this: Six-thread line
has a breaking strength of about 3
pounds to the thread, which means
that it has a total breaking strength
of 18 pounds. The fish will weigh any
where from 50 to 120 pounds, so you
can figure out that It's purely a mat
ter, with such light stuff, of leading
him and not forcing him. The usual
West Coast tarpon man uses 18
thread line, but if you are a novice
don’t feel badly when the guide sug
gests 24-thread stuff. He knows the
sheer power and strength of his an
tagonist. Two hundred and fifty yards
is enough. The tarpon doesn't make
long runs like the marlin or even
such runs as the sail fish. But every
once in a while you’ll run across a
mean old character who does his aerial
stuff and then goes to the bottom to
sulk. You'll need more than pack
thread to move him, and 18-thread Is
about right.
The rod should pack plenty of
backbone, but it needn’t be a great,
heavy affair. An 8 or 10 ounce tip Is
about right, both for trolling and still
fishing. Some folks think a stiff tip Is
better for trolling and a mem limber
one for still fishing, but one of 10
ounces or so, of split bamboo, will do
the job all right. The reel can be any
good make, but it must be able to
take it, which means good workman
ship and not cheapness. And it must
be anchored to the rod. 1 don’t know
anything more downright embarras
sing than to have a reel come loose
from It’s seat in the middle of a
strenuous tarpon scrap. It usually
means losing the fish, a lot of cussing,
some mental recriminations and a
new reel.
'THE fishing methods? Well, they
A are many. The tarp is a smart
fish, but of there aren't too many
boats around, he's a sucker for a split
mullet. He’ll take a whole live mul
let, a whole live pinfish, a crab or
anything else edible which looks as if
it might have life. He”ll also eat dead
mullets, but the trolling method is
the most fun. You won’t have to
have any one knock you over the head
and tell you you’ve had a strike when
a tarpon hits your split trolled mullet.
The tarp will tell you quickly enough.
Before you’ve realised that you’ve
come up hard against something big,
the water will split open 30 yards be
hind your boat and six feet of his
imperial majesty will bound into the
air, cutting didoes across the tropical
scenery and bouncing your rod butt
against your belly until you will wish
you hadn’t eaten those chocolate ec
lairs last Christmas. And then he’ll
start out on a run that'll have your
reel smoking unless it’s well oiled.
During this process you'll probably
damp your thumb down hard on the
line spool and wish you hadn’t If
JOS do k lM baft* 8MA cor
thumb back to the factory for repairs,
for it won’t do you much good for a
few days, until the blister is replaced j
by new pink skin. But your thumb '
won’t have any effect on the tarp.
You could put your foot on the line |
and It wouldn’t stop. Nothing will
stop the first run of a tarp, if It has
any size.
If you still-fish In Monkey Hole,
which lies at the mouth of Rodgers
River, or in one of the passes of the
Shark, you are going to be bothered
by shark. They won’t run big—usually
—but occasionly there'll come along
a real old buster of tough hide, 14 feet
long and weighing 700 or 800 pounds.
If he picks up your mullet, you can
feel his weight and strength quickly
enough, cut your line. They aren't
worth fooling with. You may work
on him three or four hours, and after
all a shark's just a shark, a darned
scavenger who isn't any good at all. If
it's a tarp that took your bait you'll
know it quickly enough. The minute
he feels the prick of your hook, he’ll
be out of the water. The tarp doesn't
waste any time telling you just what’s
what. He’s quite a gentleman—the ;
tarp—not at all like the sneaking old
tough-hide the shark. You may run j
across a sawfish, or an occasional I
Jewfish. In the former case, cut your
line quick, too, for It’s tough work to
land one of these babies, with his
4-inch saw backed by 600 or 700
pounds of meanness. The jewfish will
give you quite a scrap, but he's just .
100 pounds of logy old fish, hardly
worth his salt as a gamester.
JF YOU hook a big shark he may
take care of the unhooking process
himself, for the shark has the habit
of backing up on the line and biting
it or he may roll In it. Either way
he’ll get rid of It quick, for a shark’s
hide Is like a file, only tougher, and
fishing line Is only linen. But your
real annoyance with shark will come
when. If you’re lucky, you’ve whipped
a tarpon down to the point where his
belly shows and he’s coming in on
his side, when along comes old toughle
and grabs a mouthful of your tarp.
A big shark can cut a big tarpon in
two and do just about as clean a job
of it as one of those steel-shearing
machines they have in the automobile
shops In Detroit. It makes you down
right annoyed to have It happen, and
It will also make you careful where
you bathe, and how you drop your
hands overboard in these waters. Not
that the shark Is brave. He isn’t.
But blood In the water makes him
rabid, and he can spot a fish In
Don’t Wait
Another Single Day!
G«t and Rnad
MARGARET MITCHELL'S
^ GONE
The book which shat- fl iVr ■ i
tered every record lMf I I #4
by sales of 1,000,000 *
copies in six months. TT EE
At all boektteraa $3.00 " ™ " **
WIND
trouble as far as A1 Smith can see
from the Empire State building on
a clear day. That's quite a piece, even
with a brown derby for a telescope.
Now there are spots and spots in
Florida where the silver king can be
had. Of them al, Boca Grande prob
ably is tops. It's a pass about midway
up the coast, where the waters of the
Miakka and Peace Rivers meet the
Gulf. There are more big tarpon
caught there than any other spot in
the State, but it’s Spring and Summer
fishing, not Winter stuff. The tarp
doesn’t hit in around Boca Grande
until May In any quantity. Shark
River and the Cape Sable country is
the place where you can get 'em now.
The Boca Grande fishing is largely
drift fishing or still fishing. You can
have it. It’s good enough at that and
the end result is the same, but give
me the thrill of trolling along the
mangrove islands, where the tide rips
swirl and old silversides lies in wait
for the bounty of the waters. When
he hits your trolled bait he leaves
no doubt about what's going to hap
pen. None of this stealthy mouthing
of the bait you get in still fishing, or
the waiting. And there's motion to
trolling. You are going to where th»
fish are and not waiting for them to
come to you. Give me trolling every
time. And, furthermore, a shark
doesn't hit a trolled lure. He's gen
erally too lazy.
^^ND while you’re waiting, watch th®
endless play of sun on the water,
or new vistas of loveliness open up,
and you’re at peace with the world.
Yep. give me trolling every time, even
if I can't split a mullet like Alton
Boggess or Greg Lopez.
Give it a whirl, this tarpon fishing.
Catch some of ’em, take a scale or two
to show to the boy friend back home
while you burn him up with your tall
fishing tales, and turn your fish back
to the water. Don’t kill him, if you’r®
a sportsman, for he isn’t any good.
You can’t eat him, for he’s full of
small bones, and besides he'd probably
spoil in the hot sun anyhow. Turn
him back and get a kindly glance from
your sportsman guide. Then go over
to Miami and catch a sail or two, and
come back and tell the world that th®
tarp has it over the sail like a tent,
for sheer scrappiness, vivacity and
toughness. The scale you love to
touch—that’s the tarp. But be war*
that first Jump. That’s the hook*
thrower. If he doesn’t get rid of th®
barb in that first leap, he’ll try again,
but the first one is the bad on®.