Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-07
NEW BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Stead Writes a Volume on the United States
Of Europe,
VOLUMES OF MORE THAN USUAL INTEREST
Lord Charles Beresford Gives Results
of His Investigations Into Condi-
zion of Chinese Empire and
Suggests Needed Remedies.

In many respects one OF the most lmpor-
tant works Of the year Is The United
States OF Europe" by w. T. stead. 1t Is
especially timely, coming to hand while the
parliament Of peace Is in seesicn. The
author, who is the editor Of the English
Review Of Reviews, has lately returned
from a trip to all the capitals OF Europe,
where he has talked with the important men
of each country, from the car CT Russia
down, on the question Of a possible United
States OF Europe" In this book he gives
the views OF the statesmen Of the old world
on the political situation of 1899. in the
light of the cars peace rescript and OF
american expansion" Besides treating az
Americas task In the West Indies and Phil
ippines, the "Chlnese Puzzle" South AZ
rican problems, the Fashoda muddle, the
concert of Europe and its work in Crete
and Gambia, and many other matters OF
current interest, MIR. Stead forecasts very
Interestingly the immediate political future.
More than a hundred portraits, views and
maps illustrate the volume. The author, in
his preface, says: "In the year 1898 two
strange things happened. 1t is diTcult to
say which was more unexpected. In the
west the American republic, which for
more than a hundred years had made its
proudest boast It's naughty Indifference to
the temptation of territorial conquest, sud-
denly abjured its secular creed and con-
cluded a war upon which Ii had entered
with every protestation of absolute d~isinter-
essedness by annexations 50 sweeping as to
invest the United States with sll that was
left OF the heritage of imperial Spain. In
ahe east a sovereign a%utocrat, m
ing the bayonets OF 5000, 900 of trained
soldiers and the implicit obedience of 120,-
900, 900 of loyal subjects, amazed and be-
wildered mankind by formally and publicly
arraigning the ornaments of the modern
world and summoning a conference of all
the powers to discuss practical measures
for abating an evil which threatened to
land civilized society in the abyss Pub
lished by Doubleday G. Mcclure company,
New York. Cloth, So.
Another work of great Importance, by
reason OF the prominence of the writer
and its timeliness, is THE Break-Up of
China" by Lord Charles Beresford. The
interest shown in Lord Beresford's trip by
the chambers of commerce of all the prin-
cipal cities in the United States. many of
which entertained him, has already created
"a remarkable demand for his works. 1t
as an admirable statement Of an experienced
British statesman and officer and Lord
Beresford affirms emphatically that the only
way to avoid international complications
and at tho same time to advance the inter-
ests of the normal trade Of all nations in
China is to prevent the so-called Spheres
of-infuence" policy Chat is, the policy, now
IN danger OF being carried out, of each
European nation securing a portion of
China and preventing any trade in that
portion other than that of its own ma
tionality) and to insist upon what has come
TO be called THE Policy of the Open
Door The whole book is a series of we'll
authenticated statements of the present sit
uation and of the necessary work to be car
ried out If the Chinese empire is to be held
together, based upon interviews with the
great Chinese v%iceroys, the famous tsung-
Ii-yamen, the ESCAPED reformer, Kang Yu
Wei, and others. 1t Is safe to say that no
book upon China has been published during
this century that gives in such small space
so clear and straightforward a statement
of the position China occupies and Is likely
to occupy in the commerce and politics of
the world. Harper & Brothers, New York.
Cloth, $500.
A work that is of no little Importance
and one that certainly ought to receive at
tentior especially from the legal fraternity
IS Estate Trials" edited by Charles Ed
ward Lloyd. A southern woman, who had
written lot years IOr the magazines ana
newspapers, was placed in charge of the
exhibit of the Department of Justice at
the Omaha Exposition. Among other things
entrusted to her care was a bookcase full
OF valuable old law books, the Pandects
of Justinian, Colonial Laws and copies OF
the State Trials in Great Britain from the
reign of Richard II to that of George III.
She net only read them herself, but she
bought a table and chairs, placed them in
the beautiful niche over which she pre-
sided and permitted her more cultured Wis
dtors to read them. This table filled with
books became n favorite resort for judges,
lawyers and scholars. The popularity of
the books, especially the State Trials of
Francis Hargrave and T. B.. Howell, esqs.,
convinced her that II the best OF these
books could be put in handy volumes at
a cheap rice there would be a demand for
them. The first volume is now at hand
and contains the trials of Mary, Queen Of
Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain
Kidd, the pirate. These are condensed,
but everything of especial interest is given
in full. There is no better way of i'm
pressing English history on ones mind than
by reading these trials. No lawyer can
fail to find n romantic interest in every
page OF the book and he will be amazed
at the language and the ruling Of some OF
the lawyers and judges OF the dates given,
Callaghan & Co., publishers, Chicago.
Works of Fiction.
The latest addition to the Ivory series of
novels or NOVELTIES Is "A Civilian At
tache," by Helen Dawes Brown. 1t is a