New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-25
NOTES ON BOOKS.
AN ENGINEERS HOLIDAY, AND OTHER
NOVELTIES.

,, ,porr, An CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRiBuSE'J
lfFoN ihh 'N LONDON, November 80.
rnc;noer,s Holiday y is a book which may
so;,1,, he said to have claims 10 orginalty-hot
.er,anv in it's subject but in its handling OF Well
worn topics. The author, Mr.. Daniel Pidgeon, Is
civi, engineer IL he can the compasses as wen
nc he does the pen he ought to be distinguished III
bis nrofessiOn. He has been round the Worlu us
frst youme is devoted TO America and tins is wha1
he saws of the United States
Handed in America prospective admirer OF its
peoI lie ana Institutions and lett IT, alter nnS
months stay. charmed with tne oec1toup 1
Kindness of its private citizens, astol ,i;,i
at the breadth and bOldness oil the Iasio nnd
MUD. and convinced that so far as power anu
nrosperity ere concerned the great repubhc sp Y
rs yyay to become the foremost nation OF inc
modern world. But looked for political entn9 i
asm intellectual aspiration ana KY Irnted
StatcS | found politics close profession, mateIll
we'll being the goal of ambition, and luxury ram
pant among the rlch'
A Frenchman could not have summed 1t up more
neatly Other nations the japanese the ohihese'
India, are etched in epigrams of equally rev ana
decisive strokes. Mr.. PidGeon is an observer
n man of open mind, willing to be
tancht ready to confess precOncelved errors
He is eouay plain-spoken about the faults and the
merits of the people he visits Like true engineer,
the material side of life attracts him. he fastens at
once on the defects of organization conspicuous III
America. But he looks deeper than this, ana some
of his first impressions of NewYOrk are described III
n way which tells of habtual reflection on soclai
problems. The difference between the place lnduS-
trv holds in America and in England strikes nun
ON essential difference he rightly calls it. If tie
view is not novel the way of puttDgit is fresh
Luxury and labor elbow each other good-humor-
edly enough on the brilliant sdewalksot tlth-ave''
and the newcomer finds that the love OF tine hrst'
Is, no Iaot pOmOIQte
surprise"
Tho relation between Mr. Beecher and his con-
crcgation is shrewdy depicted; the hearers belong
ing to the intelligent active, ambitious ana
wealthy commercial order, loving comfort anu
Christianity combined. Hence:
Nj Beechers sermon was an eloquent ana pas
sionate plea for doubling the life of the city with
the ecstacy of the sant--the message of the camp
meeting enlarged refined and adorned as behtted
his audience; satisfying while 1t stimulated the
needs of enotion hut leaving the intellect starN-
ing"
Like all English travellers Mr.. Pidgeon sstartled
by the enormous prices he has to pay IN New-1ork
I do not recollect that any of his predecessors has
philosophical on the causes in this strain:
Cor,nc,itiou il not popular IN America. Every
body wants large profits. From rival railroads ana
rival retailers. everyone prefers combination 10
competition. Even the buyer IS a e9nsent,ng party
NJ iiLes pduiRq q hgh price, aud such aruhcal val
ues rs the above. which seem ridiculous 10 a lew
conner are cheerfully approved by Americans.
Some people explain all this by saving that COM
,Drrce i'm tie states has been reared upon prytec-
ton but the Yankee, though a smart man OF Dust
ness on the surface, Is repuOncan .
not far below, and gives benevolent width TO the
proverb Live and let live" whenever the claims
OF labor are concerned.
One of the cases Mr.. Pdgeon cites is in
strong contrast to what occurs in England.
In America he says, even III newborn CITY, a
newspaper which is published at ) cents cannot be
bought at a stand for less than .. Perhaps the
American would put up less cheaTiully with this
small plundering if he knew how much better of Is
his kinsman beyond the sea. Mr.. PidgeOn does not
stop to draw the contrast but the fact is that all
over England from the Lands End to the Lakes,
the penny paper of London can be bought for
penny and three penny paper tor three pence.
believe The Times prOprieOTs make it condition of
Of sale to news-agent that the selling price to the
public shall not be raised. Yet the discount here
allowed TO agents is think. larger than the dis
count allowed IN New-YOrk Tho Englishman, 1t
appears. is satisfied with smaller profit than his
American friend in the same business and the Eng
lish buyer will not submit TO the exOrtiOn which,
If Mr. Pldeeon is right, the American buyer
not only endures but approves. The immense
monopoly In the sale of periodical literature sue
cessfuly established by Messrs, W. IL. Smith &
Son throughout England has this good side TO il,
that il has eguazed prices, and kept them low.
When you get into Scotland you have to pay more,
not because Scotland is more remote, but because
the business is IN other hands.
Mr. Pidgeon's confidence in the accuracy of his
congratulations is probably too great He can be
critical as we'll as complimentary and he complains
with some feeling that there is only little interest
felt in the New Werld for the Old" The chief
. ground for this belief seems to be an anus
ing interview with a Treasury care-taker
ut Washington, whom Mr. Pidgeon plainly
regards as a type of Americans in general. When
the Treasury care-taker was told that Mr. PidgcOn
and his party were English, hope sprang up in the
British heart that questions would be asked about
England. But no
lie paused for a few moments, and then with
the air of a person who feels bound TO make civil
speech. said And kaOW's England7'p
The tone SAYS our author prIcked such a big hole
in the bottom of his national vanity that he col
lapsed on the spot. The phrase is of the least
happy among Mr.. Pidgeon's occasional eccentrici-
ties Of speech and it does not EN- TO have occurred
10 him tina the Treasury caretaker was exempliiy-
ing one form of American humor Nor
bava his experiences of the American
tourist in Europe been happy. Such of
our countrymen he has met on his own side Of
the Atlantic found Paris heaven, and England
ONLY the country of Shakespeare and OF an
tiouesD "while the balance of Europe Is either
great bric-a-brae shop or a playground The in
habitants of the New-EDgsnd and Middle States
NAV possibly find comfort in the fact that this dis
paragng estimate of the American abroad occurs in
the chapter on Chicago. The inhabitant of Chi
csgo however. viii surely think he has his revenge
in the sentence which describes his city as ash-
heap ten years ago, and the rival of New-York to-
day. TO agree with Mr.. Pidgeon is not always pos
stole. but within this first volume America, and
IN the second which deals with Asia. he is always
spirited and entertaining, and often most excel