Oregon daily emerald., April 29, 1925, Page 3, Image 3

® Library Browsings n
Edited by Olen T. Borch
“THIS MAD IDEAL” J
NEITHER GOOD NOR RAD
“This Mad Ideal” is the title
of Floyd Dell’s latest novel. The
word mad, used in this manner, car
ries to the average reader a sense
of greatness—but a greatness that
ends in futility. Mad a strong
word, in fact much too strong to
apply to this novel. Perhaps the
maddest thing about the book is Mr.
Dell’s idea that it will in any way
convince anyone of anything, or
prove anything to anyone. The au
thor evidently wished to bring out
the thesis that ideals are very mad
things to have, and on the other
hand, that the person without ideals
is dull, prosaic and uninteresting.
This of course brings one to the
logical conclusion that only the mad
people are worth knowing. Perhaps
this is true—I am inclined to believe
that there is something in it—but
my opinion has in no way been in
fluenced by Mr. Dell’s novel. For
this reason I feel a bit guilty be
cause he seemed to want one to
fonm ideas from his book, and like
the average well-intentioned indi
vidual I like to live up to what is
expected of me. This is particularly
true when the expector happens to
be a person that up to the present I
have respected, and perhaps ad
mired.
However this book is impotent.
Neither good nor bad. It is merely
a novel that will soon be forgotten,
without scarcely having made a
ripple on the surface of the literary
lake. “Janet March,” whatever
one may think of it as a novel did
create a good sized ripple. Perhaps
the ripple was so large that it
frightened Mr. Dell. “This Mad
Ideal” may be a result of that fear.
The moralists, the puritans have
certainly done something to Dell.
They have made him indefinite and
fearful of taking a positive stand.
The manner in which he evades
risque scenes, in this, his latest
novel, is little short of amusing. He
seems to have been torn between
a genuine impulse which has its
germ in the clear eyed wisdom of
experience, and on the other hand,
by a desire to propitiate the Phari
sees. He has accomplished neither
thing.
Perhaps the book is impotent be
cause it is about so many impotent
people. Judith, herself, the idealist,
is influenced in her desire to avoid
marrying the man she loves, more
by a chance remark made by her
mother, than through any bed rock
of conviction in herself.
Roy is ill. The illness has been
brought on largely by Judith’s re
fusal to marry him. She looks at
his pale face. Then she thinks of
her mother, but we know our Jud
ith. The always thinks of her
mother in any crisis. Therefore,
thinking of her mother she remem
bers that the lady in question sent
her husband away because she loved
him too much to live with him. Jud
ith says to herself: “If I marry Roy
we will both stop striving.” Judith
wants to continue striving (at least
Mr. Dell seems to think that she
does), so she leaves Roy and goes
to New York. Gloriana, the mother,
had tried to live her life by singing
in a Vaudeville troupe. Perhaps
Judith will go her one better and
go into the Follies.
The above may sound unkind. It
is not meant as unkindness. The
book does not irritate to the extent
of causing the desire to ridicule. It
is not virile enough for that. It is
the unfortunate brain child of an
intellect which in some way has lost
its vitality.
There are good bits in the book,
especially among the characteriza
tion of the minor characters. The
book as a whole, however, is vastly
below the standard previously set
by Mr. Dell.
DARRELL LARSEN.
THE WEEK’S • ***j
BRIEF REVIEWS . ’T!
THE CREATIVE SPIRIT, An In
quiry into American Life, By Rol
lo Walter Brown. This is one of
the most interesting non-fiction
books of the day. The fore part
of the work contains an analysis
of the “creative spirit, its forms
and uses, and the remainder deals
with the problem of releasing this
spirit in America.
THE GUARDSMAN, By Franz
Molumar, A light tale of theatre
folk. An actor, jealous of his
wife, resolves to try her affec
tions. He disguises himself as a
guardsman and makes love to her
—successfully, much to his own
discomfiture.
LOTTERY, By W. E. Woodward. In
this book, the author of “Bunk”
attempts to show the place played
in the life of the American by
luck. This is the rollicking tale
of a young chap who starts with
nothing and finishes a million
aire at 30.
THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN
IDEALISM, By Gustavus Myers.
Cynics delight in pointing out
that this same writer is the au
thor of “The History of Tam
many Hall,” “The Great Ameri
can Fortunes,” etc. Just how
much of aa authority Mr. Myers
is on the subject of American
idealism is not known. Bat
who isf
SEA HORSES, By Francis Brett
Young. “Conrad himsely could
not have written this thrilling
story of the sea and Africa in
more masterly fashion, nor imag
, ined a love story more moving.”
^ At least so say the press agents.
BEYOND THE UTMOST PURPLE
RIM, By ' E. Alexander Powell.
This is the first of two volumns
devoted to a recent African expe
dition, and is one of the most in
■ teresting books of travel now on
the market. The story of the au
thor’s wanderings across the dark
continent—the discovery of a na
tion old when the book of Genesis
was written—the meeting of a
veiled empress who claimed de
scent from the Queen of Sheba
and called herself the “Queen of
Kings”—and the account of a
wonderful zoological garden in
Abyssinia. A veritable animal
Eden—all these incidents and
many others makes the book as
fascinating as a piece of fiction.
THE STORY OF WILBUR THE
■■ HAT, By W. H. Van Loon. At
the beginning of this book, the
author has scribbled in “Written
and published for the fun of it.”
After glancing through it and
reading some of the most per
tinent passages and looking at the
pictures, we can well believe that
it was.
• * *
THE PEASANTS, VOL. . Ill,
SPRING, By Ladislas St. Rey
mont. Yes SPRING is here at
last, the third and last volume of
a great work.
PROFESSORS SUGGEST PLANS
;to stimulate reading
Increasing need has been felt
during the last few years, of an
(adequate analysis of the reading
situation in the universities and col
leges of this country. Despite the
many remarkable advances of civi
lization in the last decade, a know
ledge of books is still more or less
essential to the education of the in
dividual.
The apparent inability of the av
erage student to realize the impor
tance of acquiring the reading habit
has been the cause of much discus
sion both on and off of the college
campus. Critics of the modern stu
dent assert that it is only indicative
of hiB general intellectual ineffec
tiveness. The student himself,
though somwhat bewildered, is in
clined to believe it is not altogether
his fault. “I’d like‘to read if I
had time,” is a common cry on
every college campus.
The American Association of Uni
versity Professors, a national or
ganization of more than 5000 mem
bers, has attempted to discover just
what, if anything, is wrong.
An article printed in a recent is
sue of the Publisher’s Weekly re
ports that the association “has been
making a study of the general read
and of the. various methods used in
the different colleges to acquaint
students with books other than
those in the prescribed courses.” As
a result of this investigation the as
sociation found, as had already been
suspected, that the “average college
student does not read nearly as
much as he should,” and that the
fault was not entirely his. Sugges
tions were made by various members
or tne association, ana in me en«
In the first place, the “choice of
a program of possible action was
mapped out consisting of 14 points,
insrtuctors of broad reading and
huiman interests” is emphasized.
‘The definite shaping of courses, as
far as possible, toward the stimula
tion of interest and of outside, in
dependent reading. . . Making the
primary aim of the course the de
velopment of those students who
ire capable and intelligent (not ne
cessarily brilliant) and limiting of
recitation or quiz sections to 20 or
25 students in order that individual
reading may be encouraged,” were
isted as points 2, 3 and 4 respec
;ively.
The teaching of methods of read
ng, study, use of' reference books,
ind elementary hints on bibliogra
phy to freshmen. . . . reading for
lonors (somewhat after the Colum
bia plan). . . general examinations
it the end of the college course (the
itudent to prepare himself by read-1
ng done independently). The in-'
rroduction of “stimulating lecturers
From on or off the campus to show(
:he value and the necessity of good \
reading independently undertaken, j
ivere all included in the order given.;
Other suggestions included in the !
list are: the provision of “a com- ;
fortable and attractive reading
room with about two thousand se
lected volumes; the cooperation of j
the faculty in the formation of stu-1
lent reading groups and in the de
velopment of fraternity libraries; j
the election to Phi Beta Kappa or ;
to similar scholastic organizations i
it the end of the junior year or
early in the senior year, in order
that these organizations might func
tion in a real way in university life;
the frequent issuance to students of
attractive book catalogues offering
good books within the means of the
| average undergraduate; the estab
lishment, where practicable, of a
bookstore like the Brick Row Book
Shop of princeton; the issuance to
all students by a carefully ehosen
faculty committee of selected book
lists.
—g. r. b.
THE ADDING MACHINE,
A REVELATION
“ What he has done with wither
| in insight is to expose the starved
and bitter littleness and at the same
time the huge universality of the
slave type.” This is the estimate
given in the foreword of Elmer L.
Rice’s play “The Adding Machine,”
written by Philip Moeller, director
of the Theatre Guild of New York.
Mr. Moeller further explains the
purpose of the expressionistic school j
of drama.
The play itself is a revelation. !
The characters are frankly symbolic !
not only in action but in name. The j
principal character is Mr. Zero, a |
bookkeeper for a department store j
for 25 years. He kills his employer
when he is told that adding .ma
chines make him no longer neces
sary. The last three scenes are in
the afterworld where Mr. Zero
shows himself too small to appre
ciate beauty or happiness and is
condemned to return to the earth
where he will “learn the wrong
things, in the wrong way, eat the
wrong food, wear the wrong clothes
and live in swarming dens with no
[light and no air.”
Mr. Rice sets forth the idea that
ithe modern civilization, as exempli
fied in the Mr. Zero type, is doom
ed to an unending descent into un
LEARN TO DANCE
at
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ending misery. Mankind of the
adding machine type are “raw ma
terial of slums and Wars—the ready
prey of the first jingo or dema
gogue or political adventurer who
takes the trouble to play upon their
ignorance, credulity and provincial
ism.”
“The Adding Machine” is not a
pretty play. It is not the sort of
play one reads to put one in an
easy mood. It is a vigorous and
thought producing piece of work
and an excellent example of the
modern expressionistic school of
writers.
T. M. G.
PICNIC WILL BE MAY 3
FOR CALIFORNIA CLUB
* May 3 is the date set for the
California club picnic, to which all
students from California are in
vited. At a meeting held in the
The College Side Inn, last week
night, preliminary arrangements
for the affair were made. The par
ty will leave the Inn at 3:00, the
afternoon of May 3. The meeting
next week will complete the plans.
sas~"»" t-wsy"——r-»r—
IT’S ON THE RIVER
The GateWay Auto Camp, Res
taurant and Confectionery. Get
off the street cut at West Spring
field.
Ice cream, all kinds of soft
drinks and lunches.
Open 6 a. m. Till Midnight
FRANK NETTLESHIP, Mgr.
H *\fhe TargestseUing
quality pencil
'“aK~" in the -world
black
degrees
3
copying
Buy
a
dozen
Superlative in quality,
the world-famous
V.
ENUS
PENCILS
give best service and
longest wear. 9
Plain ends, per doz. $1.00
Rubber ends, per doz. 1.20
cAt all dealers
American Lead Pencil Co.
220 Fifth Ave., N. Y.
What Shall I
Eat
This time of year everyone is confronted with the
problem—what shall I have to eat today? I don’t
really seem to be hungry.
That’s where we. specialize. We furnish the good
things for you to eat. Foods you can’t resist—they’re
the pick of foods.
iianunmm
' HAVE YOU EVER TRIED
OUR COLD LUNCHES? >
iiiiiiHiiiiniiuuiiii
f Number 2—40c
| Soup
s \ Cold Meats
■
Potato Salads
Bread and Butter
Ice Cream — Pudding
or Stewed Fruit
Coffee or Milk
Just the Warm Weather Cold Lunch
College Side Inn
iiimtisiaiiHiaiiiHauimiaiiiiiaiiiihaHuianiitBitiiHiiiimHiiimiimNi
Tk# constitution which been un
der the consideration of a commit
tee for the past two meetings was
accepted. Those on the committee
were Stanley Tomlinson, Gussie
Gottlieb, and James DePauli. Hom
er Fitzsimmons was elected treas
urer, for the remainder of the year.
The social committee for the term
is composed of James Elliot, Wan
da Plincz, and Homer Fitzsimmons.
Si
CATALOGS FOX SUMMER
SESSION NOW OFFERED
The catalogs for the 1925 summer
session have just been bound and
are now ready for distribution.
They contain brief descriptions of
the courses offered, the hour of the
eourse, the instructor and the credit
allowed for all courses given both
on the campus and at the Portland
braneh. F. L. Stetson of the edu
cation department, haa charge of
the lummer session school on the
campus, and Earl Kilpatrick of the
extension division in Portland, will
supervise the University summer
school there. Students may obtain
these catalogs at the registrar's of
fice and at the extension division.
PATBOMIZE
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♦
I HERE’S OUR SECOND
| BIG BARGAIN SHOW
I
A drama of love and amazing adventure
I
I
I
I
I
He loved her—but
fate had made her
the wife of another
Then a great cli- ly
max threw conven
tions tb the four
winds.
with
James Kirkwood
Lila Lee
Wallace Beery
Matt Moore
KINOGRAM
NEWS
DEVANEY’S
MUSIC