New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-07-21
CURRENT HISTORY.
THE RECORD OF LAST YEAR ARRANGED
IN DICTIONARY FORM

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR BOOK; A Com
Renolq dno OF Ine MoT7qs F HG oIby Il
Professor Of Economics in New-Yor University.
illustrated. Quarto. PIP. So. Dood, Mead Il Co.
The annalst of the year 1899 had an unusual
" rich field TO work. Prosperity characterized
the industries of the country. and new prob
lens OF the greatest Importance presented them
selves in connection with our colonial policy.
The more the United States enters into relations
with other nations. the more important to Amer
leans become international questions Foreign
affairs. such, for example, as the Transvaal
war, The Hague Conference and the Dreyfus
trial drew the attention OF Americans TO the
Old World perhaps as never before. To have
an accurate and systematic record Of events in
the varied fields OF industry science, art, litera
ture, politics. economies education and biogra-
ply and TO have IL in moderate compass, is
greatly to be desired. Such record the editor
Of The International Year Book" has striven
make. and in the main the effort has been
successful Comparatively few matters of larger
interest have been omitted. The record is clear,
concise and, so far as we have been able to dis
cover, accurate. Many of the individual ar
ticles are remarkably exhaustive and luminous
The only adverse criticism 20 be passed is on
the score of workableness Every book Of this
kind must be well furnished with those mechan-
ical devices which help the reader to find the
information he seeks most surely and most
readily. These devices ordinarily in the
form OF q full and elaborate index. But in the
case Of The International Year Book" reliance
is placed upon dictionary headings to the vari-
articles and cross references. In these par
ticulars the book is deficient, and it's usefulness
is thereby considerably affected.
One Of the valuable routine features Of the
book is its able summaries under each con-
ttnent, nation. and. in the case OF the United
States. each State. of it's history and statistics.
For example. under Africa there is given in
tabular form the political condition Of each
State-whether they are Independent or are pos
sessions Of some European country. OF especial
interest and value at this time is the article
the Chinese Empire. particularly the parts
it's railways. mining concessions. the Anglo
Russian agreement the italian claim and the
''open door'-the British Chinese policy Of last
year. The Transvaal comes in for very full
and elaborate treatment, its history being re-
viewed from the beginning Of English occupa-
don, in 1874, and the diplomatic efforts and
military events being outlined in a most salts
factory manner The results of The Hague Con-
ference are admirably summarized in four pages
Other features Of great interest which receive
treatment are the Alaskan Boundary Question.
the Australian Federation and the Nicaragua
Canal. THE Drama In 1899 is reviewed in
three pages, and Literature, American and
English" requires twelve pages. The literature
OF each Of the other European countries has
Epecial article Colleges and universities. espe-
cially those that have made notable advances or
have had great gifts during the last year, have
special articles and all institutions of this grade
are included in elaborate table of statistics.
Another feature Of great value is that of the
numerous biographies only obituaries of
famous persons who died in 1899, but also con-
else and accurate sketches Of men who figured
conspicuously in the worlds affairs Joseph
Chamberlain, Cecil Rhodes, Paul KRUGER and the
leaders in South Africa are represented. as are
Dewey, Otis, Wood and own military and
naval leaders. That much attention is paid to
science is shown by the twelve pages given to
astronomy, the six to botany, the three to chem
istry and the seven to zoology. Mention should
not be omitted Of the excellent maps including
those of China, the seat Of war in Luzon and
the Boer republics, nor Of the many excellent
portraits and other fullpage illustrations,
Having mentioned some of the excellent feat
Of this work. which make it reference
book of great value, it remains to particularize
some Of its faults Of arrangement which impair
its usefulness. The article recording the prog
ress Of the British Association for the Advance
ment of Science is entered under the name Of
that society. as one would expect to find it. But
8 similar article the American Association for
the Advancement Of Science is entered as fol-
lows: Advancement Of Science, American Asso-
citation for thea place where one would by no
means look. True, the bare name OF the asso-
citation has an entry, but simply for the purpose
of referring the reader to geological Societies.
but without any cross reference to the one under
Advancement" In the case Of the excellent
article Tall Buildings" (who would think Of
looking under '"TalT) no reference is made
from it to the article on Architecture" nor is
there any reference from the latter article to the
former. The brief article on the Church of
England is entered as England Church off,
while the heading Church Of Ireland" finds
place in the slphabetic arrangement Just why
the list Of members Of the French Academy
should be put IN American cyclopsedia under
Academic FRANCHISE" is difficult to under
stand, especially when there is no cross reference
from French Academy. Again matter about the
American Academy Of Medicine instead of be-
ing put under the name Of the society entered
by its first word Cor, If strict subject arrange
ment were sought. under Medicine American
Academy or. 1t is put under Academy of
Medicine, American" Although many more
similar cases could be pointed out yet enough
have been mentioned to show that no uniform
and harmonious scheme has been adopted for
subject headings. In spite of this rather exas-
perating feature, the book is of great value in
its field.