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THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND. MATiClT 14, 1920
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MOST DANGEROUS PERIOD OF LIFE DECLARED TO BE MIDDLE AGE
Dr. Joshua Stansfield Interprets Text: "The Destruction That Wasteth at Noonday.'
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BY Dti. JOSHUA STANSFIELD.
Of the First Methoilist Church.
Text "The Detru-lioii That Wasteth at
' Noonday." Psalm xci :ti.
WE arc not groins to make this
text mean the "great war."
though in that there is surely
one of the greatest destructions
"wasting at noonday" that hte world
has yet known: the frightful wast
ing of human life at the noonday of
the world's civilization. Neither shall
we hold the text as referring primari
ly to the great white plague or the
wreckage and ruin of liquor and lust
ful vice, though in each and all of
these, this scripture might find deep
meaning. We shall rather hold the
phrase of the text as referring to
something less spectacular, but more
general in human life.
Luther used to call this 91st psalm
the "traveler's psalm." .More than
once, when I have been starting on a
long journey, I have read this psalm,
and if you ever read it under such
circumstances, you will realize why
l.uther should speak of it as the
"traveler's psalm." It is because the
psalm tells of the protection and un
failing providence of the eternal God.
There is no finer experience in the
Christian life than that in which one
feels he is safe in the protection and
care of the father. This is one of the
rich experiences of religion, and has
given birth to some of the choicest
ongs and hymns in our literature.
Psalm Expresses Experience.
The psalm, though'spoken of as the
"traveler's psalm." is a psalm that ex
presses the experience of people under
many conditions of life, and in the
words we have selected as text "The
destruction that wasteth at noonday."
there are suggested to us some things
that should be carefully considered.
If some of my physician friends,
w hom I might name, were reading the
91st psalm, they would probably say,
"Ah, yes. 'The destruction that
wasteth at noonday" the great white i
plague that is carrying off young men '
and women and older persons by the
; thousands. 'The destruction that
wasteth at noonday'; the great white
j plague."
I Let others read this psalm in a
country where there has been great.
overwhelming calamity or destruction
a terrible cyclone, or a storm in which
scores have been swept away; let
them read this psalm, under the
shadow of such an experience and
they will read slowly and in deep
tones, "The destruction that wasteth
at noonday."
Calamity Mentioned.
Let a family, the father and hus
band of which has been taken away
in the very prime of life, and every
thing is suddenly changed: let such a
family read it through tears, "The
destruction that wasteth at noonday."
and they will feel the phrase refers to
their present calamity. This word, the
Bible, is the "word of life.' and it
takes life to interpret it. The mean
ing of the word comes out through
the varied, checkered, changing ex
perience of people, and the same
scripture may mean more to one per
son than to another.
Now let me ask: Is it not true
there is much destruction at noonday,
not by cyclones, or white plague, or
disaster, or great catastrophe, but by
the thousand subtle forces that are
at work among men and women in
the middle period of life; and instead
of 'noonday' referring to some partic
ular 24 hours, why not let it refer
to a period in the life of every one
of us. Let noonday mean middle life,
and let us think for a few moments
of the "destruction that wasteth at
noonday" middle life.
Life Ik a Dir.
I have only to suggest that life Is
a day and every one assents. Child
hood and youth, we think of as the
morning of life, middle age as the
noonday, and old age, the evening of
life. That has been a common inter
pretation through the centuries:
childhood, morning; manhood, mid
day: old age, night.
When I lived inMichigan, 1 used
to visit at a little old farm house, one
of the cleanest and neatest I ever saw.
They had not many pictures they
were not given to art; but one little
picture they had always took atten
tion a small green print, not worth
SO cents. I suppose, but there were
the three suggestions youth, middle
life, old age. On an ascending ladder
the youth was climbing, full of hope
and vigor, up to the large, plateau of
middle life, and on that elevation was
the strong active man, and then, third,
the" ladder went down, and step, by
step the middle aged man seemed to
grow more and more feeble, down to
old age a picture of life.
Blearest Danger at Middle Age.
There is more in youth and old age
to keep people good than there Is in
middle life. The biggest danger mor
ally to most people is at middle age.
We have Jtiad scores of sermons to
"young men and womeh" about the
dangers of youth, but the dangers of
young , manhood and womanhood,
through passion and impulse, are in
most cases outlived, particularly
where there had been fairly good
moral training.
In old age, too, there are saving
influences at work the influence of
memory, for in old age it is always
easier to remember the -good past
than to be fascinated by things near.
The earlier things of life are often
the sweeter and nobler, and holier
things. What a mercy is memory. God
brings man into the world a child of
faith, and hope, and expectation. . In
the childhood of life are dreams, and
visions, and expectations, and long
ings, and ideals. Oh. they may be for
gotten in the rush of busy middle life.
They may be ignored in the days of
great excitement and urgent activity,
but as old age creeps on there is a
return toi first things, and I suppose
that is why we call old age second
childhood. No, it is rather an enriched I
manhood. It is getting back into
one's life that which has been over
shadowed, ignored, forgotten, and
there is not anything grander under
the stars than a good old age. The
innocence of childhood is . not com
parable to this. The Innocence of
childhood is a memory. This is an
experience. The beauty, the faith, and
trustfulness, and love of virtuous old
age are the finest products of life. If
people live in the light of the Eter
nal, they may grow old gracefully;
and gray hair in a worthy life is as
beautiful as any flaxen locks. - nay
more. The beauty of virtuous old age
Is the richest man ever looks upon:
childhood, with its ' incentives to
faith and morality is fine: but there
Is jiof a man or woman present over
35 years of age but knows that when
we come into -niddle life a great
deal of the beauty, and glory, and
grandeur and brightness, and idealism
of the earlier years is gone.
Time to Settle Down.
Early middle age is the time when
persons ."settle down." That is a
significant phrase "settle down" to
what? Settlo down to business.
A man becomes permanently and
almost wholly a banker or a lawyer,
or a mechanic, or a master workman,
or a capitalist. He settles down to
his business. What does this mean?
It means, in nearly every case, that
the life that was made for large
things Intellectually, morally,', reli
giously, emotionally, shrinks,! and
weakens, and hardens, and men per
suade themselves that this is neces
sary in order that a man may "make
good." In middle ege, the life of the
earlier years shrinks, and warps, and
hardens. Man settles down. Women, j
too, in many cases just "settle down."
Now one could easily ptint cut many i
dangers of "club life"; but when you
have, named them all, there is much
In club life on an intellectual, phil
anthropic, truly social, and humaniz
ing basis, that is really worthy and
good, for by it the powers of womanhood-
being actively challenged and
-employed in the higher things of life,
it prevents shrinktge and premature
age.
But for the men folks. The claims
of business and professional calling
are such that in "middle life" there is
truly the "destruction that wasteth
at noonday." There are persons by
the hundrad who are so busy, and
crowded, and cramped, and stereo
typed In one groove of life that the
great enthusiasms of other days are
as a dream perhaps hardly that.
When there Is an appeal to manhood
for this "movement or that, or the
other, .the answer is a significant
smile and curling of the lip. and the
great challenge and opportunity find
no response.
Tragedy I nrks About.
We often hear- it said, "The Lord
will save he city ly the young men."
You expect all defense to be with the
passion and ambition of youth. I
want to .say to you the Lord will not
wholly save the city by young men,
but the city may be lost by the hard
ening and shrinking of strong, middle-aged
men; and because of this
tiangcr, there is more than one place
in America in which the affairs of
the city have been dumped on to per
sons of mediocre ability, or less. The
Lord does not always save the city
by young men; many cities are lost
because of the fact that strong,
wcrthy manhood is losina itself in
business and professional interests.
Thn epitaph on a tombstone in a
churchyard in old London, "Born a
man,' died a grjeer," is true of too
many today. That is tragedy.
"The destruction thtat wasteth at
noonday" fs tho secret, subtle some
thing that is working in the lives ot
people intellectually, emotionally and
otherwise, untii men grow less and
less moral, religious, and nobly
achieving. When a mn reaches mid
dle asre, he knows he must provide
for himself and others a competence
and must do it soon. One of the dan
gers in the nO"nrtny of manhood is
at this point. What by some would
be called prudence, is often sheer
selfishness; and there are thousands
of men capable of song, and prayer,
and philanthropy, and religious work
and leadership, who are so busy in
making, achieving, owning, that it
never occurs to them that such Is
their work, or that these are
their opportunity. They are settled,
swamped, lost in "business."
. Slna Are Hidden.
"The destruction that wasteth at
noonday."
The destruction of faith; the de
struction of the emotional element.
the blurring of ideals. Oh, it Is often
by the destruction of the very best
that a strong, successful business
man comes to be a practiccl, "hard
headed man." What a phrase that is.
It h,ides a multitude of sins. "A hard
headed man." It is a condition oi
life that is ominous. Is there any
valid reason why men at middle age
should not be religious, philanthropic,
energetic, in the things that are high,
and true and gocd? Is It not true
that in proportion to the so-called
success . of middle age, men are
squeezed out from these activities,
and in lieu of their presence and per
sonality, become mere "patrons of the
good?" A person who is only a "pa
tron" of tho good has gotten away
from the best.
"The destruction that wasteth at
noonday," is a destruction of faith in
God and the best of human life. Why?
Because the successful man comes to
feel he must depend most upon him
self. He feels his own self-sufficiency,
and that he is the master of
his fortune, and the maker of his life.
Weaker folks may have their reli
gious sentiments and emotions, and
ideals', and exercises; and presumably
it is all right for those who want
that kind of thing, but for him there
rs no such need.
1'nith la Destroyed.
In middle life, the forces that make
for the destruction of faith in God
are many; and there is no greater
danger in this city today, -than the
danger of the dying of faith, in suc
cessful middle-aged peopie.
Not alone so, there is also the dan
ger of losing faith in others. One
strikes so much, and is struck so
much by false and unworthy men.
I Oh, In childhood and youth we have, day that the boat things of life are
our Ideals; and we see men and I ruled out.
women who stand for things, and we ! How, then, can w save ourselves
hope we may be something like that. I Just a suggestion. We shall prevent
and then as we come face to face with this condition by pulling ourselves up
anu juumiia minHi aiiuarny in in
folks who lie and injure, and wrong
you, we see and find thlrgs which
stagger our confidence in men: and
sometimes we say words that are not
nice, and sometimes, perhaps, we
should be better If only we could say
such words. Anyhow, we lose faith
In men. and women, and preachers,
and teachers, and strong folks, and
rich folks, and other folks. One of
the saddest losses in life ia the loss
of faith in God and In humanity, for
"when faith Is gone, when honor dies,
the man is dead." It is a sad fact
that in the middle age period of life,
we strike so much and so many
things unfavorable that many settle
down to a matter-of-fact-strictly-buslness-experlence-sort-of-llfe;
and
there 13 more materialism In middle
age than in any other period.
Get in conversation with a half a
dozen middle aged men and you will
find that in nine cases out of ten the
talk turns to something in business,
or politics, or salesmanship, or some
thing of that kind. Why? Because of
"the destruction that wasteth at noon
day." There is nothing sadder than
the wide fact which this phrase ot
the text suggests.
Further, there Is not alone the
danger of losing-faith In God and In
man, but there is the danger of loslnut.
Interest in things that are really
worth while.
Bent Tatars Roles' Oat.
Men! When we come to the close
of our short life, tho folks who love
us most will not talk so much about
what we made. They will not make
a song about what we have achieved,
though these are right in their proper
place, but they are going to think and
talk of our attitude toward things
that are high, and noble, and reli
gious, and moral, and good, and that
because of the consciousness that
these are the things that really last.
It is a sad thing in any career
when there Is such a waste at noon-
face, and then saying to ourselves, "I
cannot afford to die out that war.
I will from now on fasten my life to
something worth while. I will put
something of time, of money, and will,
and work. Into religion, and good
things. I will take my place for re
forms and philanthropies and human
betterments and each week ot my
life do something not alone for my
self, but for the world, and the age la
which I am cilled to serve
The best reelpe for continued man
hood is to have the life open toward
the future, arms locked with men ho
are marching under great Issues; and
to hsve something before one that la
really worth doing. The way to keep
truly manly Is to meet the living chal
lenge of the needy world.
Life Kept Open.
Thirty years ago 1 ued to near
Alex Fnlibalrn of Atrdsle rollese,
Bradford, Knglsnd. He saw thins is
and said things, and w knew that
there was a great man. Recently In ths
Literary Digest I saw a pic ture of the
old man, over SO years of age now,
and what did they say of him? "Him
Newman, the rreatewt religious
thinker In the English world." Why?
lie always had work before him. His
mind was toward' the open.
The way to keep mioly Is to keep
In touch with live questions and peo
ple. Let us begin today to be mora
distinctly and squarely religious. Let
us begin to stand more openly, de
terminedly and helpfully for reforms
and human betterment. Let us set
near to life, t pray Gnd that "the
destruction" which ha.i been all too
marked In our lives may rease, and
that constructive forves trmy come
In; that we'mav move forward and
upward to a ir-and. strong, heallhy
manhood and old ace with the con
stant prospect of Immortality. A Ufa
full of day, and strength, and
service.
L-- . I " 'Brruccutm M-A f
liflr Years in the Royal Navy, by Admiral
Sir Percy Scow. Illustrated. George H.
Doran Co., New York city.
This is by all odds the most remark
able and sensational book of d's
closures regarding bad conditions in
the British navy during the late war.
among similar naval books issued i;ur
inir that Deriod.
Sir Percy Scott likes to fight and
says candidly that during more than
half a century of his service as an
officer in the British navy he was
more or less laughed At and it war
with red-tape and antiquated meth
ods of ignorant civilian-landlubbers,
who, as the British -idmiralty, presid
ed over the destinies of the 3ritish
navy.
All his naval career. Admiral Scott
has been a big-gun specialist and
anxious to improve gunnery.
Before the war broke out with
0rmany, Sir Percy says he told the
Fr-iish admiralty tc get busy with
submarines, and to prepare to defeat
Zeppelins when the latter should
bombard London. The authorities, he
says, ignored his warnings and
classed them as prepostarous.
Sir Percy's revelations concerning
woeful inefficiency of the British
grand fleet at the opening of the -e-cent
war, actually comes as a shock.
In January, 1917. he paid a visit to
the warship Centaur ana s.tys ne
found the squadron o be handicapped
in a night action "a they .v- not
supplied with star-shells to r.imine
the enemy, and their searohlisnts-
could not be effectively used."
Admiral Scott insists hat the Brit
' ish navy was "inferior to that of the
Germans, in the power cf our search
lights, and the control of them, and
that our guns forming the secondary
armament were not fitted for director
firing, whereas the Germans had 3
good system. It was for these reas
ons Lord Jellicoe did not seek for a
night action at Jutland. Only six o?
his ships had director-firing."
Admiral Scott advised the British
admiralty to equip the navy witn
director-firing gear, but red-tape
methods of official delay made his
efforts vain. The Germans had an
elevation of 30 degrees on their naval
guns, which enabled them to shoot at
longer range, while the British were
inefficent with 13'r elevation. Ad
miral Scott's plea for 30 degrees ele
vation ultimately was adopted for new
naval ships under construction, which
were not completed when the war
closed.
Condemnation for the Dardanelles
failure is voiced by our author, who
insists that naval guns on floating
platforms have no chance against
land forts with concealed guns fired
from mobile platforms.
In short, the British navy, according
to Admiral Scott, suffered so much
from poor gun equipment, especially
in being outranged in gunnery by tnc
Germans, that it is a wonder the
Germans didn't win the war.
What of the failure? Admiral Scott
regards the surface battleship as use
less, and pins his laitn ior aerense
and offense to fleets of 100-miles-per-
hour airplanes carrying high ex
plosives, and to submersible battle
ships of 10,000 tons each.
Rarmond Robins" Own Story, by William
Hard. Illustrated. Harper & Bros
New Tork city.
wYitten In graphic, understandable
English, this informing book gives us
. a clear account of the formation and
growth of the bolshevik government
in Russia.
Colonel Robins is the central figure
In the storv. and his views on the
present soviet government in Russia,
also about his intimate talks with
Lenine and Trotzky. are fully stated.
At the beginning of the Russian
revolution. Colonel Robins was a chief
factor in the dealings of the United
States government with bolshevism,
at Petrograd and at Moscow. He was
actually a participant in these deli
ate negotiations. Month after month
he acted as the unofficial representa
tive of the American ambassador to
Russia, in conversations and negotia
tions with the government of Lenine.
He saw Lenine on an average three
times a week. During all those
months. Colonel Robins, actual head
of the American Red Cross, was, it is
stated, the only allied or American
officer who ever actually had per
sonal conferences with Lenine, who
speaks English fluently.
It is shown that In the black days
just before the bolsheviks came into
power, the Russian nation consisted
of these elements: 7 per cent of the
population that seemed to have a
monopoly of officialdom and mastery,
and 93 per cent of others with noth
ing between them. It was assumed
that the S3 per cent were not inter
ested in law and order, and were
made to be governed. '
Out of this condition grew the so
viet idea, and out of the latter came
bolshevism.
It Is shown when Trotzky first ap
peared at the all-Russian congress, he
walked up and down the speaker's
platform, calmly and quietly, as he
smoked cigarettes. Ue was not al
lowed to speak, "as people were
speaking at him." The words they
used were: "Pro-German," "German
agent." "spy" and "traitor." Then
came a lull. Trotzky raised one of
his arms and lashed that astonished
audience into complete, subjugated si
lence. Colonel Robins says that he
has heard many orators, but that he
has never seen Trotzky's equal, "in
the conquering of an audience, in the
carrying off of it. on flights of pas
sion, or flights of the mystery of the
instant weaving of patterns of word"
. Yet with ail Colonel Robins' admira
tion of Trotzky as an orator, he, Rob
ins, always is an opponent of Trot
zky's bolshevik ideas and theories.
Colonel Robins explains that in his
talks with Trotzky and Lenine they
both admitted bargaining with both
the German and American govern
ments, as to the best terms of peace
and recognition.
What's the ultimate choice, now, as
to this country and Russia?
Colonel Robins advises that we
should not leave Russia to the doubt
ful mercies of other rivals, but that
the United States should fight bol
shevism "where humanity and Chris
tianity can be with you."
Choose the policy in which the free
economic system can prove itself free,
and keep the world free. Choose not
intervention, but intercourse with
Russia.
The Harvest Home, by Dr. James B. Kcn
on. Jamea T. White Co., New York
city.
A message opposite the title page
of this book says that 550 copies of it
have been printed from type and the
type distributed, this copy now under
review being No. 456.
Dr. Kenyon's poems are not so well
known on the Pacific coast as they
ought to be. In eastern literary
if lilt n!
I t: Off
4
Copyright, Geo. DoranCo..N. Y.
Admiral Sir Perry Scott, author
of "Fifty Years in the Royal
XaTT."
circles, he is recognized as a scholar.
minister, editor, poet ano lecturer.
His Doema have achieved wide popu
larity through the medium of the At
lantic Monthly, scrioners. Harper 1,
Cen-tury and other high-class maga
zines. There are slightly more than "400
cf Dr. Kenyon's pcems in this book
of 414 pages. These poeme are most
ly crisp, bright ones, of varied
moods, cheerful, laughter-provoking,
tearful and otherwise. They show
the work of a thinker, a scholar, a
true poet.
Their purity of thought seems to
hark back to the cultured polish -of
the Victorian period in England.
Many of the verses somewhat re
semble the style of the poetic gems
written by Mrs. Browning.
My Eseape From Germany. Eric A. Keith.
The Century company. New Tork city.
Told with a modesty and restraint
that are attractive to the observant
reader, this account of our author's
two unsuccessful and one successful
attempt in escaping from Germany in
the recent war time as a British
civilian prisoner will win out even
among a multitude of such books. It
is such a personal, friendly message.
It is pleasant to know that when
he ultimately reached England and
liberty Mr. Keith entered the Ameri
can army In 1918 and saw service.
He was recently on duty at the troop
movement office in Brest, France.
called the Jules Verde of Oregon. Dr.
Linton possesses the fervent imagina
tion of the nner nnd seer. His hook is
like the approach to a tropical forest;
it is a succession of brilliant wonders.
The book is of 231 pages, and is
illustrated with seven . pictures by
Murray Wade.
The scenes of the first two stories
are laid in Oregon. Of course the in
cidents described consist of fiction
gems, and cannot be classed as prob
able. In "The Ocean Cove at Haceta
Head," Dr. Linton relates that on a
vacation trip he walked along the
Pacific beach near Ten Mile and Big
Creek. He had left his friends when
he stepped from the Tachats stage,
for the mouth of the creek. On his
beach walk he saw half a dozen
whales spouting, and 50 sea lions doz
ing on a beach of rock. The noon tide
had been ten foot six, and the beach
was large. He was astonished to see
the opening of a cave in a nearby
cliff and taking advantage of the low
tide, ne entered tne cave ana iounu
it had an upward incline.
Overhead hung myriads of glisten
ing stalagmites formed like icicles 6T
diamonds, while the outer edge of the
cave was marked by dazzling phos
phorous. He walked on and on until
to his alarm he heard the roar of the
incoming ocean tide behind him. He
was a prisoner, but took the problem
philosophically. Were there not near
him fresh water, fresh air, shellfish
and mountains of barnacles?
Our adventurer says he opened his
bottle of liquid refreshment and topk
a pull of "Kentucky Courage." . He
slept (of course) and onowakening
mined some of the loose coal he
found, to start a fire. He met a atone
animal, apparently about six feet tall.
Suddenly a voice from the cave
said: "One man." and It appeared to
be a call from a raven. Then he saw
a cave woman, and to his delight, she
spoke English. She wore a skirt of
skins that covered her to her knees.
She said she had a bear, an elk, and a
coon, all tamed. Twenty-one years
previously, she said, she had found a
place of refuge In the cave. It ap
peared she had been wronged by a
lover in eastern Oregon. He had mar
ried another girl, and in revenge, the
wronged girl, Laura, kills the seducer
with her gun. She fled for refuge to
the cave where her baby was after
ward born. Laura confesses to being
38 years of age (guileless one).
Our hero told Laura of the new
world of mechanical inventions of the
last 20 years. When he hinted that it
was time he reached the outer world,
Laura said she knew a way out, but
wished it kept secret. She blind
folded him, and he walked on, and
found himself again in the Tachats
country.
Dr. Linton's adventure in the cave
became known among his neighbors
and was talked about. What follows
is related in the tale "Rescue of the
Cave Woman of Heceta Head." Let
ters reached him on the subject, and
one correspondent. Herr L. Moshier,
writing from Nome, Alaska, asks that
Dr. Linton make a second-trip to the
cave, to see the stone animal, and
offers to join the expedition. The two
men meet in a hotel in this city,
and Mr. Moshier says he has Invented
a machine called an "earthomotor,"
or boring agency, which takes him
trips, for miles, through the earth.
The machine is driven by a new and
more or less perpetual power derived
from a mixture of earth and stone.
Dr. Linton and Moshier travel with
parts of the earthomotor and food,
etc., to Eugene, and thence to the
foothills of the coast range of moun
tains. The two men and Jim, the in
ventor's Indian servant, enter the ma
chine, and away it starts to - go
through the earth. The small fly
wheel indicates a speed of 13.000
revolutions per minute. The machine
bores its way through to the cave,
miles below, where Laura is found.
The Inventor and she fall in love, and
are married by Dr. Linton. The ma
chine forces its way upward and
takes them back to tire outer world.
Mr. and Mrs. Moshier go to Germany.
In "Three Weeks Inside the. Earth,"
Dr. Linton and Moshier reach Yuma,
Arizona, and in the Moshier machine
thev travel 65 miles . through the
earth, until they reach the ' "other
world," on the Inside of this globe of
ours. The people there are peculiar
and think the travelers come from
hades. Thought takes the place of
spoken speech in the other world.
The voyagers pass' miles of coal de
posits, radium, diamonds, etc.. In those
through-the-earth trips, and emerge
ultimately In California.
The Hermit of Chimaso Island"
tells of a trip to Nome. Alaska, in
the spring of 1900, made by . our
author. On a bleak island he found
a hermit, Alan Arlington, who had in
vented an airship and has many won
derful adventures. ,
tures are super-excellent and worth
possessing.
Among these pictures are: "My
Little Gray Home in the West." by
George M. Allen: "Study." by William
B. Dyer; "The New Year's Edition,"
by Will H. Walker all of this city.
Human Nature in Businens. by Fred C.
Kelly. G. P. Putnam's Sons. New York
city.
There is a good deal of common
sense, mingled with shr. wd observa
tion, in these 279 pages, presenting -a
message showing- how to capitalize
your every-day habits and characters
istics. In business and for your profit,
by certain well-defined rules.
Some of the chapters appeared orig
inally in well-known magazines.
Mr. Kelly writes often with a de
licious humor that shows he belongs
to one merry clan of the Irish race.
Open Gates to Russia, by . Malcolm W.
Davis. Illustrated from photographs.
, Harper Brothers. New York olty.
Practical and Interesting, this is a
valuable book showing the oppor
tunities Russia will offer in her com
ing period of reconstruction, and
what she desires in the way of busi
ness and trade, particularly to Ameri
cans. The book pleads also for Amer
ican sympathy for distressed Russia,
that seeks good friends among the
nations.
Poor Relations, by Compton Mackenzie.
Harper A Brothers, New York city.
An amusing English novel of cheer
ful entertainment picturing a suddenly-rich
dramatist, John Touch
stone, who is pestered by. his needy
relations. Help comes to him from
an unexpected marter his secretary,
Miss Doris "Hamilton.
THI7 LITERARY PBRISCOPE'
r
The Single Track, by Douglas Grant. W.
J. Watt & Co., New York city.
An exciting, dramatrc novel about
Alaska, and a pretty heroine rich in
money matters who makes things interesting.-'
, ,
The Earth Motor, by Dr. C. E. I.inton.
Illustrated. Statesman Publishing Co.,
Salem. Or.
Dr. C. E. Linton, our author, whose
home is in Waldport. Or., has shown
such brilliant imagination in writing
w fmir shnrt stories that ha hax.
U be care fairly won the title to be beauty of presentation. These, pic
pictorial Photojrraphr In America. 1920,
Illustratea. lennant t wira, ew ior
city.
Quite a magnificent work of art. 1
In these 115 pages we meet- with
eight short essay-articles on the
progress of pictorial pnotograpny,
particularly irt our own west, accom
panied by half-page and full-page
pictures of scenes and faces that
evoke sincere admiration for the
AEW BOOKS RECEIVED.
Happy House, by Baroness Van Hutten,
an tinglich novel of pleasant entertain
ment, describing the matrimonial and
household troubles and joys of brave Violet
Walbridse successful novelist, wife and
mother; The Tall Villa, by I,ucas Malet,
the chronicle of an extraordinary English
love affair, dealing with the occult, mvs-
t:cal and romantic, and with a heroine
who sugfrests the shivery beauty of
Debussy prelude; and Cathy Rossiter, by
Mrs. victor KicKara, a smart Knglish
novel about aristocratic folks and social
conattions in ingiand after . the war
(Doran Co., X. y. .
The Economic Consequences of the Peace,
by John Maynard Keynes, C. B. represen
tative of the British treasury at the peace
conference held in r ranee, a book of inv
portant economic and political value,
dealing for the first time with the actual
workings of the council of four ; with ar
analysis of the failure of the treaty, large
ly on economic grounds. 2SS pages Har-
court. Brace & Howe, N. T.l.
Our Unseen Guest, by an anonymous
writer, a sensational, romantic novel deal
ing with ouija board activities, and what
happens after darkness or death a queer
but able story (Harpers, is. ..
Luca Sarto, by Charles S. . Brooks,
charming, well written novel teeming with
romance and poetry and describing the
plots and Intrigue of the France of Louis
XI (Centura Co.. x.).
The Knchanted Golf Clubs? by Robert
Marshall, a golf story of uproarious, lively
humor, about an English army officer who
plays a golf game with a rival to win a
widow whom they both madly love (Stokes
& Co.. N. T..
A Jewel in the Sand, by Alma Newton,
the sentimental novel of an impulsive
heroine who loves a wicked male affinity,
He does dreadful things, but the heroine
Is sure "love will yet triumph," a novel
for mature readers only Duf field ft Co.,
N. T. ).
Lenfne: The Man and His Work, by Al-
bert Rhys . Williams, and the impressions
of Col. Raymond Robins and Arthur Ran-
some, an appreciative, informing biog
raphy of the great Russian who is leader
of the Soviets, a biography by those who
knew Lenin intimately in Russia (ricott &.
SeltKer. N". T.).
The British Revolution and the Ameri
can Democracy, by Norman Angell. an
able, philosophical review of British labor,
political programmes, and the present
social upheaval in Britain, an educational
book that is. an eye-opener (B. W. Hue bach,
N. T.).
The Tidal Wave, by Ethel M. Dell, six
short stories with plenty of open-air heroes
and heroines. stories that provide enjoy
able entertainment (Putnam's, N. Y.).
SIR GEDDES BLAMES GOLD
High Cost in Europe Held Dne to
' 'America's Accumulations'i
LONDON, Feb. 23. The present
high cost of food in Europe is at
tributed by Sir Auckland Geddes,
president of the board of trade, to the
fact that there Is an enormous ac
cumulation of gold in America, which
he estimated at roughly nine times
more than before the war. In an ad
dress at the Victoria Working Men's
club he said, currency had gone down
with a -bang. That was what they
meant when they said that cost of liv
ing had advanced.
Until the gold now in America be
gan to flow to this country a fall
in the cost of living could not be ex
pected, said Sir Auckland. There was
only one solution of the present po
sition and that was that somehow this
country would have to largely in
crease its volume of production. This,
he said, would bring about a fall in
prices of commodities. I
' :.v
ETHEL ft. SAWYER,
Director of Training Class Library As
sociation, Portland Oregon.
T is strange the people who are
going in for literature now-a-days.
We read that McClure's
magazine has recently been sold to
Herbert Kaufman, novelist and jour
nalist, who will henceforth be its edi
tor. Associated with him are George
L: Storm, chairman of the board of
directors of the American Safety
Razor company; Leon Shinasi, cigar
ette manufacturer; J. F. Bresnahan,
vice-president of the American Chicle
fompaay; and the one-time manager-
editors"' of Everybody's and the Cos
mopolitan. "There's more In this
than meets the eye!"
E. Powys Mathers, compiler and
translator of "Coloured Stars," an
anthology of' eastern poets, was by
some accident of the press of his pub
lishers stated to be a chinaman born
in America. He na3 sent them the
following: letter: "I do hope that you
will be able to correct with all speed
the statement that I am an American-
born Chinese valet (This descrip
tion applies to one of the authors
whom I have translated.) 1 have
been asking among my friends and
find that their impression coipcides
with mine exactly that I am a
Scotchman of worthy family, aged 27,
a public school and 'varsity man, an
Invalided soldier and (here opinion is
not so unanimous) a poet. X cannot
help thinking we must be right."
Here is one possible answer to the
question why have we not more ex
cellent plays from our young writ
ers. . The editor says that young
playwrights are worried over the ten
dency of producing theatrical mana
gers to insist that a professionel colr
laborator be permitted to touch up
nearly every play accepted for pro
duction. . . He is supposed to be
paid a stipulated sum by the mana
ger for his work. The manager of
fers a contract calling for a division
of royalties between author and col
laborator and. it is maintained, pock
ets the collaborator's share. This i
bad enough; but the worst feature of
the affair is that the collaborator
likely to be over-wise in the ways of
the theater, especially in the so-called
"sure-fire" ways to make an audi
ence sit up in its seats, and this
hocus-pocus is forced into a play
Wright's work in place of the really
meritorious though possibly untried
material.
W. W. Ellsworth, for nearly 40
vears connected with the Century
company, in his delightful book of
reminiscences entitled "The Golden
Age of Authors," gives many most in
tcresting snap-shots of our contem
porary writers. Chesterton, he says.
is about the biggest man he ever
saw. considerably more than six feet
in height, with tangled curls on i
great head set on his massive body
"I rode with him once in an open auto,
mobile down Oxford street and Pic
cadilly, and he attracted as much at
tention as the king going to open
narliament. 'Why'. I said, "they all
know you'. Tes", replied Chesterton
in a grieved tone, and if they don t
they ask .
George Moore is described by Mr.
Ellsworth as a cheery, elderly gen
tleman with white hair and a ruddy
face. His books show him pretty ac
curately. "What are the conven
tions?" he asked; "I put my foot
through them."
m m w
John Spargo says that the chief
reading of the native-born American
I. W. w. Is theology, philosophy, so
ciology and economics, together with
statistics. It really seems as though
there was getting to bo only one way
to handle these fellows read up and
get some information ourselves. What
chance does tne nanve-Dorn Ameri
can V. B. M. whose library is the
newspaper and the trade Journals
stand in an argument. It looks like
an unscrupulous advantage to take.
Of-course there Is always the club
answer to any argument but they
say clubs are becoming Increasingly
unfashionable.
.'Major J. E. Spingarn, one of our
most Interesting younger critics, is
conferring a real favor upon the
book-loving public by calling atten
tion to our deplorable book jackets.
He is stimulating by means of prizes
competition for artistic designs. We
who have been sufficiently affronted
bv the girlie-girlie type, the vicious.
or even more deadly obvious and In
ane, will cheer on his efforts. Could
not somebody also take up the
blurbs" that appear as book anno
tations on the jackets? How did a'
certain novelist feel. I wonder, when
he read this on one of his latest
ovels?
A young wife picks a quarrel with
hjtr buaoaad because ha u common
place and elopes with a man of high
intellectual ability. This is the start
ing point of Mr. P.'s delightfully
humorous novel. The elopement, per
haps it should be explained, is purely
a nominal one, carried out on a high
moral basis with the most tender
respect for the lady's reputation and
character. The book abounds in un
usual and frequently amusing situa
tions and ends in a way that will
be wholly satisfactory even to the
most particular of readers." Just ask
yourself to what elements in a pos
sible reader's makeup does such an
introduction appeal.
Speaking of the menace of southern
European immigration, let us cite
from the Ellis island, reports the
following statement: That only 1 M
per cent of the immigrants from the
Czech states are illiterate. Mr. Thomas
Czapek,. whose name would almost
convict him of a certain knowledge
of his subject, has recently written
a book on "The Czechs in America,"
which doubtless could give us other
disturbing data about these Ignorant
foreigners.
.
Here is a new standard of civiliza
tion: An English trade paper produces
statistics to show that while Amer
ican consumption of paper is esti
mated at 124 pounds per head per
annum, the English consume only
about 100 pounds per head. This we
may accept as a fact susceptible of
demonstration, and we may deduce
therefrom that the English are a
more economical people than we, or
that they have more thoroughly
grasped the economic relationship be
tween high prices. lessening produc
tion and wasteful use, or that they
may be striving for quality in print
rather than quantity. Our English
trade writer, however, indicates a
3omewhat different and a far more
(to us) flattering conclusion. He says
that the standard of civilization
reached by a people Is marked to a
certain extent by the amount of
paper consumed by them, and inti
mates that England would do well
to heed and emulate our prodigious
papier-mache activities.
Our own trade Journal, the Publish
ers' Weekly, throws a little sobering
light on these buoyant figures, how
ever. Of the 124 pounds, it says, we
may safely consider that not more
than one-half to three-quarters of a
pound is used In our book output.
The rest is mangled for newspapers,
wrappings, periodicals, circulars. Eng-
glish civilization may. therefore, rest
easier in the light of this interpre
tation of the figures. A few statistics
are such dangerous things.'
Arthur Symons. sensitive critic and
Intimate friend of W. B. Yeats, wrote
of him in 1900 or 1904: "Mr. Yeats
is the' only one among the younger
English poets who has tne whole
poetical temperament .and nothing
but the poetical temperament. . . .
He is also the only one who continues
a continuously poetical substance
with continuous excellence of poeti
cal technique." it is the constant
awareness of his sense of beauty that
one feels as a uominant trail or me
man and of his art: likewise a pe
culiar sensitiveness to magic. If you
do not know what magic is you would
do well to read Mr. Yeats' own state
ment of his creed in this matter.
which is to be found In bis collection
of essays entitled "Ideas of Good and
Evil. Mr. Yeats is to speak in
Portland March 19.
the European ecleny run out and
strict rationing is enforced until the
ship arrives.
Unless the 23 members of congress
appear at parliament houses properly
attired, in a black frock cr.at. patent
leather shoes, white waistcoat and
top hat, they are liable to a fine of
$5. The thermometer somttinies reg
isters 110 In tho thade.
Lloyd George Tries to Find
Housekeeper.
Employment Aarrnclca Are Aaked
to Stop Sending Applicant.
LONDON, March 13. Premier Lloyd
George has been besieged at his of
ficial residence, 10 Downing street,
by a large number of would-be house
keepers attracted there as the result
of a joke with a moral perpetrated
by an organization of women clerks
and secretaries.
Hundreds of members of the or
ganization have been dismissed of
employment in government offices as
post-war activities have ceased. They
have protested vigorously through
delegates who have tried unsuccess
fully to interview Mr. Lloyd George.
In answer to their last communica
tion the premier had the following
addressed to them:
"The prime minister says there
can't be very much In this talk of
women finding it hard to find em
ployment. He has been trying for
some time to get a housekeeper for
No. 10, and he can't find one who
wants the situation."
Dorothy Evans, secretary of the
organization. Immediately called sev
eral employment agencies by tele
phone. The proposition appealed to
many applicants at the agencies, for
it isn't every day that a woman gets
a chance to work at the famous No.
10. Soon the austere doorman at the
official residence was opening the
door not to higher-hatted politicians,
but to a number of women in ail
stations of life brought by servitude.
The doorman reported to a secre
tary, the secretary to the prime min
ister and in a short time the secre
tary was on the telephone telling the
agencies to call off the applicants.
And the prime minister has not yet
obtained a suitable housekeeper.
Republic of Liberia Rather
Backward.
Mayor of Monrovia Ia Owner of
Nearly Everything In Sight.
BOLSHECIKI B00M "ART"
Red Government Pays Bonus for
Work Accop4cd by (Viiiik II.
LONDON. "Art." so far as the pro
duction of pictures Is concerned. Is
said to have had a great boom in bol-
shevist Russia owing to the fact that
the government pays a liberal amount
for all works approved by official ex
perts.
The whole domain of art has been
placed under the control of a council
or seven members, four of whom are
apostles of futurism. Artists' earn
ings have been increased through a
rule established by the council under
which all pictures that pass the
judges arc to be paid for at thj uni
form rate of 7000 rubles each.
Whether the artist has devoted
months of assiduous labor to a pic
ture or whether it Is a daub which
has taken a few hours to paint, the
recompense is the same. With such
encouragement the number of artists
In Russia is increasing rapidly.
Photo of Hla Own Crave.
Boston Cor.
Wilforrt O. Onltn of Patten.
Me..
LONDON. March 1. Liberia is truly
a hermit republic, writes Alan
Bourchier Lethbrldge. author and
traveler, in the Daily Telegraph. The
country, he adds, has no roads, no
railways, no telegraphs, no steam
boats on her rivers, nor. any prac
tical exploitation of her wealth.
Lodgings in Monrovia, the capital.
virtually do not exist with the excep
tion of one place which is conducted
by the mayor. This man Is an enter
prising negro of Nxrth Carolina, who
besides attending to the duties of the
mayoralty and conducting his hotel.
operates an Ice plant and an ice cream
parlor which formerly were terma..
property. From there Utter his prof
Its are said to be gigantic. He also
has "something to do with the post
office" and is a police court ma gist-ate.
In fact." says Mr. Lethbridge, "this
remarkable man, starting from noth
ing, has made .nmself a Rockefeller
of Liberia."
In Monrovia, says the traveler.
there are no horses, motors, rick
shaws or othsr wheel vehicles; no
street lighting, no drinking water
and not infrequently food supplies for
1920'S BIGGEST
"BEST SELLER"
THE HOUSE
ofBALTAZAR
By William J. Locke
Author of "the Rough Road,"
The Beloved Vagabond," etc.
50th thousand. Cloth. $1.00.
A dramatic story of love, ambi
tion, folly and fatherly sacrifice.
"Baltazar ... is always a
Joy." New York Times.
"A novel worthy to rank with
William J. Locke's best is 'The
House of Baltazar. Thin novel has
in it the same Ingratiating quali
ties that made The Beloved Vaga-
d 1 n a r y brilliancy." Philadelphia
necuru.
OF ALL BOOKSELLERS
JOHN LANE CO.
NEW YORK.
who Is home after a remarkable rec
ord of service In the war with a
Canadian artillery regiment. has
brought with him a photograph of
his own grave, with his name nhow
ing on the rudo slab erected to mark
his last resting place. He was shot
several times and In one battle loft
his identification tag. He has hern
cited for bravery and has recsived a
medal of honor.
PRAIRIE COLLEGE WANTED
1'nlTerj.ltv of Manitoba to Have
New $300,000 Home.
WINNIPEG. Man. Lrglslstlon to
provide for thn establishment of a
new home for the University of Mani
toba will be asked by (he government
at the next session of the legislature.
This Is to be constructed at Tuxedo
park and a start will be mnrte this
year with an Initial out hi v of $300,000.
MM)
Modern China
By S. G. Cheng TS
A valuable and limerf volume truuw
ing dear liglit on the chief prob
lemi of modern China with conatruo
tn suggestions tor their solution.
The discussion is oo(Aaly ttfnpontsi
and free from political biu and
deserves the dose attention of all
interested in Chines matters.
NapoL
eon
By Herbert Trench.
7tt ft
"One of the 1017111011; event of the
Engluh dramatic vear hat hem Mr.
Trench's 'Napoleon'. Like Mr.
Dnnkwatei't 'Abraham Lincoln' it
has bean suaxMhilly performed as
well as read and emerging from ths
propaganda drama ot the Shsvian
School R become a work of art and
ciuracteruaoon,of ipimaadpaiaon."
The Mechanism of
Exchange
By J. A. Todd tin
Thn book can he profitably studied
by everyone who haalro do with
either sale or txitthase of foreign
goods Tbs factors smich Conors!
foreign eachanga aradeariy explained
and enable oSc buuneai man to cai
fuBy judge their direction and trend.
Effects of the War
Upon Insurance
IVub Special efermct to the Imti-
tution of Insurance for Pensions
By 'w. F. Gephart.
The author, a wefl known authanry
on life insurance and has directed his
aosnbon not only to ths mMMdiats)
methods and pui pu of thepwnm
rocne in providing insurance tor men
m the semca but also its enact on
the ordinary artrrtties of the old
established insursncs comDaniaa.
Ireland the Outpost
By G A. J. Cole. t ;.
This
ires Ireland in the
L
av tMdur
r ttcrhr e an outnnmt not onlv of
England but also of Europe, which
has been profoundly influenced iirat
by its natural physical amicturs and
then by ths successive and ovsrlap
ping waves from which bar psnpla
and rivdisabon havs bean drawn.
Moslem Architecture
Its Origins nj eDcveiofment
By G. T. Rivoira fin fit
An original work of the griaiaai
value describing ths develortrnent of
the Mosque in Syria. Egypt, Armenia
and Spam from its bwth down to the
twelfth century. The remarkable
enrs of phocograprn collected by ths
author are illustrated on 158 plan.
Every student of architecture should
rfiTn" familiar with thn work.
cAt til ioabtllen ar from At fmihihtn
Oxford University Press
cAmerican 'Branch
jj West 32nd Sueet, New York
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