The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972, August 21, 1915, Page 9, Image 9

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    BOOK REVIEWS
MAGAZINES
PORTLAND, OREGON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 21, 1915.
POPULATION AND ITS
Here's, a Merry Group of Bathers Enjoying a Refreshing Dip in Breakers on Oregon Beach
RELATION TO SUPPLY
OF FOOD IS THEME
IN CHINA TOPIC OF
Present Standard df Living
Commercial Pendulum . Is
Swinging Toward the Ori
ent, Declares the Writer. .
Must Be Simplified or Rate
.of Increase Lowered,
AMERICA S CHANCES
AN INTERESTING BOOK
FRANCE IS AN EXCEPTION
population In That Republic Ku Been
. Kept Well Within Means of
Subslstance.
. "Population: A Study in Malthuslan-
lsm," by Warren S. Thompson, is a
monograph in a series of studies in
history, economics and public law. is
sued by Columbia university, New
York city, and edited by the faculty of
political science. It Is the work of an
instructor in the department of soci
ology of the University of Michigan.
and is based, on elaborate statistical
studies of the leading nations of west
ern Europe and of the United States,
with -occasional references to Russia
and the Argentine Republic. The ap
pendices are elaborate and valuable
and buttress up the text.
The . Malthuslan- doctrine, the au
thor Insists, too often has been stated
I In the original and not the final terms
Of its Originator, and as discussed in
this monograph is interpreted to be
this: "Although at any normal time
there is food enough to keep alive all
members of the population, yet it is
only actual pressure- upon subsistence
(operating in certain portions of the
population) or fear of pressure (which
assumes manifold forms) which keeps
population from multiplying more rap
idly than it does."
Exception Made of France.
Contrary to some, but not a majority
of recent economists and sociologists
discussing the validity of Malthuslan
theory, the author assents to it. He
claims that with the exception of
France population does tend to increase
with food supply. Population, he says,
"cannot continue to increase at the
present rate without being subjected
more and more to the want of food,
providing the distribution of labor be
tween agricultural and non-agricultural
industries continues in Its pres
ent trend." Nor can a greater and
greater proportion of the population
be devoted to agriculture and the pres
ent rate of increase continue without
checking a progressive standard of liv
ing. Kither our present standard of
living must be simplified as an in
creasing proportion of the population
' becomes. rural or the present rate of in
crease must become lowered." Prob
ably both must take place in order to
have a really progressive population.
To simplify standards of living does
not necessarily mean a lowering of
them. It means rather that a good
many of the things of our civilization
which we consider essential today
may be found to be passing phases, in
jduced by our rapid Industrial develop
ment." Countries Are Compared.
In the United States, Great Brit
ain and Germany, wages measured in
terms of food, are smaller than they
were formerly. France Is the only
country where wages have kept ahead
of prices since 1890, a fact due, in
Professor Thompson's opinion, to the
fact that population there has been
kept well within the means of sub
sistence. In the united States, some
of the Increasing disparity between
subsistence and population Is probably
due to Immigration from foreign coun
tries at a rate which counts aaversely
against traditional standards of liv
ing. In this latter opinion the university
economist agrees with organized labor
In the United States in its support of
Immigration restriction.
Longmans, Green & Co., New York.
P. S. King & Son, Ltd., London. 11.75.
Knife Declared to
Be Best Weapon
Today the defense stands pat on
earthworks, wire and machine guns.
The attack has tried gas, petrol, bayo
nets, siege artillery, field artillery,
grenades and mines, and has comw out,
generally speaking. second best.
i Trench mortars have not developed
the requisite accuracy nor the requi
site destructive power. High explo
sive shells In sufficient quantities
have accomplished the best offensive
work, and the Infantry Is depending
more and more on a snort, neavy
knife, which is the best for work
underground or in the dark. To sum
up: killing the defenders of a posi
tion is accomplished by shells fired
at least two miles away on the aver
age; and. secondly, by what theFrench
call body-to-body fighting. , for which
a. knife is the best weapon. The train
ing of infantry on the continent will.
in future, undoubtedly include the
technique of hand-to-hand struggles
for which physical agility and strength
must be developed. The New Repub
lic.
Double Barreled Story.
ii Zane Grey's new novel. 'The Rain
bow Trail." which the Harpers oub-
llshed August 12. Is what Mark Twain
would call a double-barreled story. It
Is a tale of adventure in the great
southwest for those who may or may
hot have read zane Grey before, and
It also contains the outcome of the im
portant Incidents in "Riders of. the
Purple Sage," notably the ultimate
fate of Lasslter. Some .of the stirring
parts of 'The -Rainbow Trail" are in
the Mormon country, from which Zane
Grey has been banished. He was no
tified, he says, in the most direct man
ner that there was a price on his head
because of the frankness of his writ
ings.
Edwin C. Martin Dies.
Edwin C Martin, whose look "Our
Own "Weather" is one of the very few
on the subject written for the average
reader, died last week at his home in
Watchung, New Jersey. He had been
engaged' in the law and newspaper
work in Ohio and in the south. His
wldow, Martha Evans Martin, is the
author of two widely read books "The
Friendly Stars" and "The Ways1 of
the -Planets." The weather In this
country, its phenomena and sugges
tions for forecasting form the subject
of "Our Own Weather.. , . - , ,
I If lf frr !v o 7-Y K r Vi s&? 7JU VKi tcAy p L - iCw j
HISTORY OF ETHICAL .
ADVANCE TREATED BY
Chanter Dealing With Moral
Evolution of Ancient Tribes
of Israel Interesting.
Philip Van Ness Myers, formerly
professor of history and political
economy in the University of Cincin
nati, needs no introduction to readers
who are students of history. His
repute as an historian, whose graceful
and well rounded diction characterizes
his earlier works, will be all that is
needed to induce an interest in his
latest book, "History as Past Ethics."
The motif of this book, intimated in
its title, is well portrayed by one sen
tence of the preface. "The book."
says Professor Myers. "Is the out
growth of a conviction that the phi
losophy of ethics, if it shall become
a stimulus and guide to social service
and humanitarian effort especially if
it shall bring reenforcement to that
ethical idealism which bo largely mo
tives the present day movement for
world peace must be based on a
knowledge of the facts of the moral
life of the race in all the various
stages of the historic evolution, and
that to gather and systematize these
facts is a part of the task of the his-
j torian, indeed the most important
part of his task."
; It will be seen from the above quo
: tation that the purpose of this work
I is to give an ethical lnternretatinn
I of history, rather than to regard the
dominant note In the progress of man
kind as an intellectual unfoldment, or
an economic development, or even as
an evolution of sectarian religions.
This book will no doubt interest a
large class of right thinkers, who
are always ready to welcome a mes
sage that Inspires thought to a
clearer apprehension of truth.
Probably the most Interesting chap
ter is that which deals with the moral
evolution of the ancient tribes of
Israel. "It was her allotted task,"
says Professor Myers, "to interpret
in ethical terms the phenomena of the
world - of nature and the drama of
human life and history. And It was
her happy lot to become the teacher
to mankind of the truth of an alone
and righteous God, and to be the creat
or of a moral ideal which is today the
highest ethical standard of all the races
of the western world, and the moat
i vital moral force at work in univer
sal history." Ginn & Co., $1.50.
Wolf Is Awarded
The Grand Prize
Henry Wolf, whose wood engrav
ings appear almost every month In
"Harper's Magazine. where they have
been printed for years, has Just been
awarded the grand prize in etching
and engraving at the Panama-Pacific
exposition. He has already received
medals at expositions in France, Vi
enna and Germany, and from the
Paris Salon, and specimens of his
work are in all the large European
museums, The art of the wood en
graver which has languished since the
time of Prof. George E. Woodberry
describes in his book. "History of
Wood Engraving.- but Henry Wolf
and some of the modern practitioners
of the craft seem in a fair way to
give it a genuine renaissance.
Road Toward Peace
Proves Good Seller
"The Road Toward Peace" by Dr.
Charles W. Eliot has been so well re
ceived in England that the London
publishers, .Messrs. Constable & Co.,
have been obliged to increase their
supply of copies.
The United States would be pre
vented by the laws of neutrality from
presenting a ship of war to any one of
the warring nations in Europe as long
as the -war lasts; probably -no one has
entertained the fantastical notion that
this country should make such -a gift.
But more than a century and a quarter
BOSTON
INSTRUCTOR
ago the United States presented a bat
tleship to France. The circumstances
are record-ed in Gardner W. Allen's
"Naval History of the American Rev
olution" as follows:
"August 13, 1782, the Magniflque,
a ship of the line belonging to the
French fleet of the Marquis de Vaud
reull, at that time entering Boston
harbor, ran aground on Lovell's is
land and was lost. September 3, the
Continental congress, being 'desirous
of testifying on this occasion to his
majesty the sense they entertain of
his generous exertions In behalf of
the United States: Resolved, that the
agent of marine be and is hereby In
structed to present the America, a 74
gun ship, in the name of the United
States, to the Chevalier de la Luxerne
for the service of His Most Christian
Majesty The ship remained less than
four years in the French service, being
condemned as unseaworthy in 1786,
and broken up."
The Audacious War
Creates Sensation
The European' Journalist and au
thor, Dr. E. J. Dillon, writing from
Italy to C. W. Barron, says:
"Your book 'the Audacious War has
created a tremendous sensation. I
have had letters from people all over
the world, who, not knowing that I
know you, recommended me to read It.
I have read notices of it in various
languages. I have received numerous
copies of it from several friends and
acquaintances of mine in England. I
need hardly say that I, myself, have
sent copies of it to influential persons
of all the allied states. And from ev
eryone who has read it I have .heard
the same opinion expressed: that it is
far arid away the best book that has
been written Blnce the war began. I
have many times heard it said that It
is going to be translated, into several
languages. Has this been done yet?
Please tell me whether this has been
done yet, as if so I should like to send
copies of it in French and Italian, and
If possible, in Russian."
Bangs Says Books
Are His Friends
John - Kendrick Bangs, author of
"A Houseboat on the Styx" and "Cof
. fee andr Repartee," who Is spending
the summer at nis camp in Maine,
said in an Interview last week: "Peo
ple should own and read books - Just
as they 'should seek friendships, and
try to understand their friends. A
book that one has come to know.
and to love, is one of the truest of
friends. In my library Maine are
not many books, but rjone the less
Lincoln walks there with me; Emer
son is my friend; Balzac and Dumas
are permanent dwellers at my side;
I frolic with , Mark Twain there: I
travel with O.' Henry, and I play boy
ish tricks with Aldrich and Penrod;
I fence, with Montaigne, and the
great spirits of 'The Spectator.' "
How to Know Architecture.
Frank E. Wallls, author of "How to
Know Architecture," written for the
general .reader, has written in the past
for his fellow architects. Two of his
books served for a number of years as
a mine of ' information for students of
the Georgian period. His first volume,
published in 1836. is a folio, without
letter ; press, containing :. 60 plates on
Colonial architecture. An occasional
copy Is still' to be found, although it
would bring a prohibitive price. "How
to Know Architecture was brought
out In a revised edition this summer.
Book Found Practical.
A practical method of reviewing a
book has been put Into practice by a
New York critic who tested Sarah J.
MacLeod's ''Housekeeper's Handbook
of? Cleaning." which Harper & Broth
ers recently published, by following
out the directions for removing grass-
stains In addition to otner tests. The
results were ; completely f successful
and the reviewer's verdict was that
the book' is" exceedingly practical in
being exactly what it purports to be.
; , i Two New Novels. :
; Harper & Brothers , will ; publish
early in September, two - new novels.
'The Inner Law, is the latest work of
Will N. Har bert whose novels of Geor
gia; life have established, his reputa
tion. .'The Trail of the -Hawk Is by
Sinclair ' Lewis, . who. wrote; 'Ourr Mr.
Wrenn published last. year. i
WOULD BAR INSANITY PLEA
Pleas of Insanity Should Not Be Permitted to Go Before Juries In
Criminal Trials, Declares Dr. Pearce Bailey; Question of Re
sponsibility Could Be Settled After. Main Issue Is Determined.
Dr. Pearce Bailey argues in The New
Republic that the plea of insanity
should be barred as a defense in crim
inal trials, and Juries should bring
in a verdict merely on the facts.
"No Jury would send an Insane man
to his death. But with the death pen
alty abolished, and this is another
argument for the abolition of It, Juries
might be counted on to find true ver
dicts, if they knew that some exemp
tion by reason of insanity would be
provided for later. .The question of
responsibility could be raised after the
main Issue had been settled, and would
be best decided by the court, helped
by a commission of three alienist
it is not proposed to do away with
these! appointed by the court to ad
vise its conscience.
Could Be Transferred.
"If the convicted person were found
insane, he would at once be transferred
to a hospital. But even if he should
Ye scribe and family and
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Walters
will Moose at Estacada to
morrow. Vol. 7.
SAT. EWG ALIBI
Rex Ltmumtn, Ed. and Pnb.
Sub. Price, On Jitney.
AUG. 21, 1915.
EDITORIAL.
WEATEEB UrDOK&ED.
The Alibi desires at this
time to Indorse the present
weather, which as we go to
press feels like the exhaust
from i Turkish bath.
The weather, day In and
day out, up and down the
world, is more talked about
than anything else except
the neighbors.
Weather in its chronic
form is called climate.
Another difference be
tween weather and climate
Is that everybody tells the
truth about the weather.
The Pacific coast has
more and better climate
than any other section of
the universe. '
In this delectable dis
trict climate has been re
flected in the price of real
Climate has been capi
talized. Bonds issued on the cli
matic capitalization of New
York and Michigan .pell at
par only five months in the
year.
. Among the famous quo
tations employed by folks
who talk about climate, es
pecially when trying to sell
real estate, is this one:
"Really, I , never saw a
day like this in Portland."
Or Seattle. Or San Diego.
Or Medford. Or Pasadena..
Mephistopheles, , we un
derstand, has heard of -it,
and has Instructed all the
policemen in Brimstone
park, and all the Jitney
drivers on- Asbestos avenue,
when entertaining sight
seers, to tell them that such
a Say as the one under dis
cussion has never been seen
there before.
The instructions are to
say it frequently to arriv
als from the Pacific coast.
It plagues them, worse
than anything
Weekly Alf Item.
Aft Crldge says he still
continues to go through the
motions of parting his hair
on. tbA left side because
trained that way In boy
hood, although; the.--halr has
left -instead of the part. Alf
says - - that the - atrocity
called music - in movie
shows" has a purpose, and
he knows what it is. .
i . bux zs Back. " ; ; :
Bill Hessian is back from
S.-F and has resigned him
self to being broke - fox - 2
yrs. '
We're Waiting-, Jos.
Joe Le Vinson promised to
call us no whenever he gets
: nn,43 ea for -ibis paper-. t . r
(It
to get
t to Al
f beach.
recover from the Insanity, he should
still be held in some place of detention
for a period of months or years, the
length of time being proportionate
to the offense against public safety.
"Some such plan would effect a ma
terial saving to the state in the ex
pense of trials. But Its true economy
would be that it would remove much
of the suggestion and example which
so often makes potential criminality
actual. If murder trials ceased to be
a game between experts and attorneys,
with violent death the stake, public
interest in them would surely dwindle.
Thaw Case Cited.
"With suppression of that interest
and publicity would also be suppressed
potent incitants to outbursts of Insan
ity and crime. Few realize how many
unstable persons there are who only
need such thrills as are furnished by
the lurid tales of criminals and their
jwmr mm
"EVEETBODY NXEDS ONE.'
PORTLAND, OR., U. S. A., AUGUST 21,
This Is NOT a Moving Picture.
(LCWHT T f Wif 111
was before the censor board sat on
says he prefers Harold Bell
Wright to Richard Harding
Davis. As to poets, he says
you can't get away from
Ella Wheeler Wilcox. You
don't try. Jlmmle.
A large party from Port
land, including Chief Mut
Strandborg and George D.
Lee, Bull Runned Sunday
and took tea In the wood
shed with Kernel Bush
TOWN TALES.
The drouth out at Oak
Grove continues, and rain is
still needed.
Kernel H. C. Bowers can
hear the beach at Newport
calling him.
Orton E. Goodwin has
written a letter to us which
we will not publish because
it criticises this paper.
Jack Johnson says he
knows the best vodeveal
show in town.- Anyway, he
says, its the only one be
ever goes to.
Jim Sayer has given up
the idea of an escalator for
Bancroft Bt. It's too hot
while Mrs. Bush
ting supper.
Will Taft Is coming to
morrow and the Portland
Press club will . have a
breakfast for him. The Oak
Grove Press club will have
dinner and supper for him.
with chicken both times, if
he will come out.
Mrs. Josephine R. . Sharp,
the celebrated Alberta up
lifter, dropped In to see us
this wk., and we told her
how to get some of her
theories in print, but not
how to get them in opera
tion. Detective Capt. Baty has
had to put on glasses. We
know he had to. from the
way he looks with them on.
Saiiderson Reed. w. k.
att'y, weighs 165, and has a
sore , finger, which he stu
Didlv fell on while fishing
on the upper Kalama.
people interested in J
anything, he says.
Rev. Frank Gorman is
now a Pantages star. You
can never tell what will
happen, if you have a voice.
Look at Anna Held.
W. A. Hudelson, a met.
of North Powder, was here
last wk. Besides a store,
he has-a dual-purpose farm
on which he raises hay in
summer and ice in winter.
Bob Johnson has taken
off his collar during the
hot weather, which he says,
is the only practical thing
to do unless you want to
wear a sport shirt.
Alf Cridge is going to S.
F. today, but will be a fea
ture of- this paper Just .the
same. 'as we have a lot of
stuff on hand about him
that he wrote before he left.
Judge Bill Gatens went
Ring Out. Mild
Sing.
Lenora Hammond and
John F. Reilly were mar
ried at Bellingaanr last.wk.,
and are now in Cat- with a
lot of other young, men and
women who have done like
wise. Song.
' E Johnson, ass't - V. S.
att'y, which is a better Job
than some might think, is
back from honeymooning
around down 'on the beach.
Whereas before he smoked
the fragrant . Owl, he - now
smokes a corncob.. ; .A.
Barnes' ' circus last
Moil,, and bought tickets
several times for the after
show from the beautiful
young women who sold
them.
Jack Morrill was here
this wk. from Gold Hill In
a. hurrv to eet down to the
He went . to , New
port,- because Geo. Ober told
him - the view , was better
therer than any place.
- Jlmmie McDonald. who
works for pill's book store.
acts to loose triggers Jn their brains.
Perhaps more realize this fact now
than did before Thaw was received by
the acclamations of the ten thousand
people who betrayed, by their clamor
ing enthusiasm, that they too despised
Justice and cherished somewhere the
same desires and Ideals which gave
courage to the slayer, of Stanford
White."
Virginian Heart
Touched by Author
Frances Curtenay Baylor, author
of "Juan and Juanita," "A Georgian
Bungalow,' and other stories, is also
author and composer of the Ode',to
Virginia" which was produced on July
8. "Virginia day." at the Pan-American
exposition.
President Wilson, the governor of
Vlrginiaand the commissioners of the
exposition sent thanks and congratu
lations to the author, and a friend who
heard it. wrote to her: "It went
straight to every Virginian heart."
Watch for the Legal Edi
tion of The Alibi next Tues.
Every lawyer will need one.
1915.
No. 23.
POEM.
It is with regret tem
pered with sorrow, that we
are compelled to bring to a
close Fire Chief Dowell'
remarkable pome on "Ore
gon." Many things had
been said about our beauti
ful state, but nothing like
this. We have the promise
of other productions of the
chief's facile pen, and T.
Arnsley Botts, the bard of
Beaverton, has promised us
something on spring, while
Tom McCusker, sweet sing
er of the Lbrman's bldg.,
may come forth with a
blithesome roundelay on sur-
frisingly short notice, as,
ike all true disciples of the
lyric muse, he writes only
when Impelled by inspira
tion, which, of course, he
can't help. Herewith the
last stanza of "Oregon":
Portland, our beautiful Rose
City
Surrounded by hills and
crest,
Portland. There's only one
Portland,
It's the one we love the
best.
it.)
It Makes Him Think.
Our Portland contempor
aries, the Oregonian and the
Journal, awhile ago each
began weekly anti-serious
features, called respec
tively. The Monday Craw
fish'' and "The Weekly Ali
bi." For the first few weeks
the novelty of these ' fea
tures attracted. They were
refreshing to the readers'
sense of humor, Just as
strawberries are to the pal
ate. Then they began to
grow stale. They have been
running along for some
time without a redeeming
item. Both play horse
with some of Portland's
prominent citizens. - It
makes us think of the Upper
Valley column of the Hood
River News. Arthur D.
Moe in Hood River Glacier.
Very Radical, Indeed. -
Mrs. Joseph Fels, of
Phila.. is here. Mrs. F. be
lieves that poverty should
be abolished. This is a very
radical belief, and we fear
the time is not ripe.
Buck Paid.
Buck Buchanan rode In
from Alblna on ae- Williams
ave. car Thurs., and paid
his fare Just as though he'd
always done it.
Times So Changs.
Another tradition has
been smashed. Rev.- Eld
ridge, of Mt. Tabor, asked
us over to his house to have
fried chicken.
Well, Maybe.
Glenn , Skinny) Miller
says a "supernut"' is a. per
son who said a year ago
last sprlntr that there would
never be another great war.
A sign at the Rose City
rink says: "Ladies, except
special (tractions, free." . ,
was get- (
Bells
GUIDE BOOK SERVES
PERTINENT NEED OF
T
L
"The Overland Route" Is En
tertainingly Written; Tells
Story of West.
"The Overland1 Route is one of a
series of four guide books coverlnsf
four of the older railroad routes west
of the Mississippi, issued this year
by the specialists employed by the
government for the benefit sf 1915
tourists between eastern and interior
centers of population "and the Pacific
coast. In short, it is the geological
survey's contribution to the "seeing
America first" campaign, the object
being educational: and the Method, as
Director George Otis Smith says, be
ing "to entertain the travelerTSy mak
ing more Interesting what he sees
from the car wlndov." Messrs. Willis
Lee, Ralph W. Stone, Hoyt S. Gale
and other officials of the bureau, who
have compiled the data, written the
text, selected the countless illustra
tions and made the series of maps of
the route stretching from Council
Bluffs in Iowa to San Francisco, have
done their tearri work well.
Data Zs Skillfully Blended.
Geologic, geographic, histprical and
social information are blended skill
fully so as to make the scenic and
physical and the human and Institu
tional aspects of the territory de
scribed easily understood and visual
ized. The "broad story of the west
as a unit" is thus pictured, and a
public document becomes , as fasci
nating as a . Baedeker might be If
edited by a romanticist and a statis
tician collaborating. Tears of pio
neering work by civil engineers, ge
ologists, geographers and other men
in the government service here, for
the first time, have something like
coordinated presentation for the ben
efit of a traveling public that now
rides . In palace cars over prairies,
deserts, mountain ranges-and bridged
valleys once the abodeaof races of
aborigines and gigantic reptiles.
Critics Are Challenged. "V
If any sceptics or any critics of the
government's bureaus devoted to re
search can scan this book and still
remain unimpressed with the service
rendered by trained experts In fed
eral employ, they must be confirmed
croakers. t
For the benefit of persons wishing
to be informed minutely as td"" the
route to the Yellowstone park, the
makers of this monograph have in
eluded It Ifr the territory described.
It is a- detour that many travelers
will make this year, who pass through
Ogden, Utah, going to or coming from
the Paciflo coast. -
Address superintendent of docu
ments, Washington; D. C. $1.
Say's Indian Will Be
U. S. Cattle King
Los Angeles, Aug. 21. (IT. P.)
"The Indian Is destined to be the cat
tle king ef the United States.
"The chief .aim of the bureau of
Indian, affairs- is to make the red man
a producer instead of a consumer, thus
lessening the financial burden on the
government.
"I do not . regard Intermarriage of
Indians and' white as a menace. The
tendency is toward absorption of the
original Americans with Caucasians.
"Our school sat Kiversiae is one or
the best in the United States."
These are the opinions today or Cato
Sells. United States commissioner of
Indian affairs, who will visit Pasadena,
Riverside and reservations and schools
in Arizona and Texas before his re
turn to Washington..
"If the Indian progresses In the next
tft years as fast as he has In the
past two, he will become very largely
self-supporting," the commissioner de
clares. "There are 250,000 Indians in
21 states. The property of tho red
men, including lands, . stock, , oil, tim
ber, coal and gracing areas is valued at
about StOO.0H,OO. The 13.000 Indians
in California are progressing well."
nuns
GENERA
MINERAL WEALTH SHOWN
Amerloan Business Men Urged .to JTlrst
Master the Chinese Kaagnags
ana History. .
American business men will find
much valuable data on conditions- In
China by reading Paul Myron's new
book, "Our Chinese Chances Through
Europe's War.". The author writes
from personal observations gained on
three trips to the celestial nation. ' He
urges American business chiefs to
awaken to the great trade possibili
ties of this part of the Orient and
gives pertinent suggestions on the
best means of capturing this trade.'
He declares that the great European
war .has left the Chinese In a posi
tion to welcome America's entrance
Into a field which, for the time being,
at least, has been abandoned by Great
Britain and Germany.
First of all he advises American
commercial agents to master the Chi
nese language. Establishment of spe
cial courses in American institutions
of learning in recommended as a re
quirement for the mastery of the Chi
nese tongue and history of the people
there.
China Wot Self Contained,
China is not a self-contained nation,
according to the writer. The popular
belief that her people are content to
go on and on wholly dependent' on
their own native talents and resources
has resulted from a misconception of
the real facts, he asserts. It Is point
ed out that nature's barriers of moun--tain,
plain and ocean have had marked
Influence jn "walling" up the great
empire. Advent of modern means of
transportation on the Pacific ocean
and Improvement in transportation
facilities within the confines of the
country itself have brought on new
conditions. The time Is now ripe for
trade extension.
China is not overpopulated. It - is
said. Hundreds of thousands of acres '
of land are lying idle because of the
lack of sufficient means of handling
the products.
Special emphasis Is 'niade of the
mineral wealth of the land. Untold
millions of tons of ore and coal are
said to be available. American capi
tal is needed to develop. these natural
resources. .
Social Customs Discussed.
The author discusses at length so
cial customs and personal traits of
the Chinese. He predicts that the cus
tom of secondary marriages will ere
long become a relic of the past. Foot
binding, It is declared, will see a slm- 1
liar fate.
The Chinese are said to be good
business men and their regard for the
family traditions Is remarkable. The
Great Wall of Peace the barrier of
brick and stone erected long ago to
keep out invading hordes is descrlbsd
In detail. This wall ' served its pur
pose. It was a substitute for a large
and costly standing army, the author
says. ' "
China's large cities such as Peking,
Hongkong, etc., are described and the
wonderful botanical gardens of Singa
pore ai-s mentioned.
China's great men and her religious
Institutions and the Japanese situation
are ably described.
The work is featured by Illustra
tions contrasting the old and the new
China. ,
The book Is published by Linebarger
Brothers, Chicago. . ,
Canadians Showing :
Interest in Novels
Novels which promise to be popular ,
In Canada this winter are Mary John- , ,
ston s "Ths Fortunes or Garln," Sam
uel 'Hopkins Adams' "Little Miss1
Grouch," Kate Douglas Wiggin s "Pen
elope's Postscripts," and William Mac- i
Leod Ralne's "Steve Yeager, for all of -,
which Houghton, Mifflin company, the
Boston publishers, have received sub
stantial orders.
. ... i
Reviewer Reviews Himself.. ,,,
Booth Tarklngton, whose new novel
"The Turmoil", was reported by "The '
Bookman" four successive months as -the
best selling novel In the United ,
States, had been reading some of the
notices of "The Turmoil' when he '
said: "My feeling about reviews Is'
that a reviewer reviews himself as
well as the book he is estimating. Most
reviewers seem to 'me to reveal more
of the reviewer than of the book." And
the great majority of the notices , of
"The Turmoil" were good. ,
Ford Taking Week Ends. -James
"G. Fod, whose recently, pub-:
Ilshed novel, "The Great Mirage."
good naturedly punctured the mythl- ,
cal New York of the Sunday supple
ment, is spending the summer. at a
cottage colony on Long Island. He
Is reversing the usual custom, for he
sometimes week ends from the coun
try Into the city, so as to Iteep In
touch with his editorial responsibili
ties. ILawyer and ; ICovelist.
Maarten Maartens, whose novel "My ,
Lady Nobody" gave to English readers ';
a charming Dutch heroine, died this
week in Zelst, Holland. His profes
sion was the law and his real name ,
was J-M.-W. Van de Poorten-Schwarts.
After writing "My Lady ; Nobody,- ,
which is still Widely read, and other .
hovels he came to this country In 107
and spoke at the National Arbitration
and Peace congress in New York.
New Books Announced.
Harper & Brothers announce that -
wl thin a nlATlth fh.v will fr1n Alt t-H
addition to two volumes of fiction, tb '
following dooks:. ine otory oi a
oneer," by Anna Howard Shaw, In col
laboration - with i Elizabeth Jordan:
"The Laughing Muse, by Arthur Gui-terman-.
, "Mark Tldd In Business', toy -Clarence
B. Kelland.