The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-29

matter of sanitation. In all affairs OF
public finance the rankest corruption eA-
listed. In municipal matters morality was
at low ebb Nor was this confined, eX-
clusively to Spaniards. Cubans them
selves were not Without STAIN, The larger
portion of the work is devoted to Ha7
vana. In speaking of conditions as they
were found Mr. Matthews says:
During the first two months or the
stay Of the American army In me lslaiu,
for the declared purpose OF pacltylng tne
country and establishing a stable gov
eminent by the people of Cuba, Vast
and extensive governmental macnlleiy
was Set in motion, 1t involved enormous
labor and great tact. 1t required pa
thence, courage and a shrewd business
foresight. In those two months the mo
mentoHs task of reconstrucunS a. toi
eign land was begun. 1t was iaho
cursed by centuries of misrule, whose
chief characteristics were corruption, as
ease and filth, and this misrule was prac-
ticed upon a nervous, volatile people, po-
lite and in most respects gentle, and as
keen mentally, from the most lntelleetuai
and refined to the most ignorant ana
brutal, as probably exists anywhere IN
the world.
With these conditions in mind Mr.. Mat
theWs proceeds TO relate the progress OF
the work Of regeneration blythe Ameri-
can officers in all departments The prog
resS made, he considers, has been re-
markedly. rapid and satisfactory. Ha-
Vana under American rule is scarcely the
same city 1t was under the regime. OF
Weyler or Blanco.
Filled with picturesque incidents, and
with a tropical literary flavor The New
Born Cuba" is far from being dry,
statistical work Of reforms accomplished
and the cost thereof. The chapter on
''H8Vana Grave and Gay is perhaps one
of the most captivating in the book, ana
in incident and description it reads like a
romance No better idea Of the metropolis
of Cuba can be found in any historical or
SeCgra phical work In chapter paruc-
ular attention is given to the great work
accomplished in the sanitation OF Ha-
vana Much has been written upon this
topic, but Mr.. Matthews has most thor
oughly exhausted the subject, and that,
too, In a pleasing and readable style Inc
customs and postal service taxation ana
finance, conditions and prospects or
Americans in Cuba, the American sol
diery now there, the sugar problem ana
tobacco culture are all covered In man
ner that leaves Httle to be" desired. me
work is illustrated with several hundred
half-tone cuts and portraits, and it may
be fairly said that it is a valuable add
ton to the literature of Cuba
'.History of the United States"
History Of the United States From the
Compromise of 1885," by James Ford
Rhodes. Harper & Brothers, New YORK
and London. publishers. For sale by
the ST Paul Book and Stationery COM
pany.
The fourth volume of this we'll written
historical work carries the reader from
the events incidental to McClellan's cam
paign against the Confederates, in 1862
down to the second election Of President
Lincoln, in 1864. Practically up to this
period the work can be considered MIS-
tory of the War of the Rebellion, al
though the first volume was devoted
mainly to incidents which. led up to the
war and the preliminary agitation over
the question of SLAVERY Should Mr..
Rhodes extend his work to the opening
of the twentieth century, which 1t IS
understood is his intention, many more
and it IS hoped, as entertaining volumes
will be required. 1t Is possible that he
Is destined to give us the first readable
history of the Spanish-American war.
Should he do so his future. work, judg-
ed by his past, must be largely discount
ed The present volume, the fourth, is
open to the objection of Republican par
tisanism. 1t is not impartfalg GIke Ban
croft. A strong politicale xb9as runs
through almost every page xBpch is
most deporable defect in history, and,
although Macaulay was guilty Of SINH
lar offense, even he has not escaped
just criticism for it. In the conduct Of
Mcclellan Mr.. Rhodes can see nothing
commendable. He goes out Of his way
to belittle his efforts, and forgets 10 write
in the almost insurmountable difficulties
under which the first commander of the
Army of the Potomac labored. He neg
lects to tell the truth concerning. the po-
liticaI obstacles thrown across lAicClel-,
lars path by a, narrow minded clique at
Washington, a squad similar to the naval
board Of strategy against which Admiral
Dewey, In self-defense, was forced to cut
the wiresz Mr.. Rhodes work isa patriot
ic, and no. one will blame him for that,
but it certainly is not the province of the
historian to distort truth for the sake of
politics. The army under Mcclellan, Re
publicans and Democrats, alike, loved Nc
Clel!an, admired his ability for organiza-
ton and sagacity in saving his forces, and
well they knew the small, petty jeaiousies
that worked against bis success against
an. army outnunbering. him. at every
point The men in McClellan's army know
now that~even Grant refused. supreme
command of ethe sfederal Il epces{ k1intil he
was promised additional trGapsrato the
number of 600 more. And with but a
fraction of this force Mcclellan was eX-
pected to meet the Confederates, the ear
Iy flower of the Southern government,
outnuimbering him on every hand, and
"On to Richmond at once. This was
the problem given Mcclellan, and this is
the truth which an impartial historian
wouId-haye written, man like Bancroft
or Prescott. Isl.
In spite of the defect of partially. Mr..
Rhodes history of the United States
from the late date Of 1850 is q good one.
He has been painstaking in his citations
and dates. He has written such work,
50 far as Horace Greeley or William
Lloyd Garrison might have written on the
subject of slavery, all against and moth
ing in favor And this is rot exactly
the way to write impartial history.
'"Fhe Brownie Girls"
"The Brownie Girls" by Brownie Rath-
bone Weaverson. Published by Fred
Weaverson &c Co, Chicago
1.-The Brownie Girls is one of the in
SEPARATIONS Of the year. The Brownies Of
the past, popular to a vast degree. have
all been of the male persuasion. Mrs.
Weaverson, taking her cue from the pratt
tie of pair of cherubs, has written a