The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-24
Books and Authors
.a. ON WOMEN .NoyELIsTs

ellStS In a recent interview, ana mace Sonic
rather unjust reflections upon them. For In.
stance, he said they. think OF nothing bu:
what they call the sex problem. and. ina
ginning that marriage is forced upon woman
by man, they "gird at It, In their books.
He referred sarcastically to women who. In
their novels, out-zola lola himself, and In
elude passages which "a Satyr would have
ther, that women have always done that sort
OF thing; it Is means OF attracting atten-
ton
While 1t cannot be denied that In these lat
ter days, when a multitude Of women have
undertaken to write novels, some may be
found who push indelicacy of expression to
the very verge Of grossness itself, or clothe
sexualstic suggestion In the most attractive
rhetorical forms Of which language is capa-
BILE. 1t is true, too, that some women seem
to consider 1t duty to introduce the sex
problem In didactic way In their novels;
but II we recall the successful women novel
lists, 1t does not appear that either of these
two classes are the most successful novelists.
1t is not at all true that women have al
ways done that sort Of thing The women
writer's of the nineteenth century and Of the
twentieth century, who have made a practice
Of trying to out-zela lola are not so nuner-
Gus as 90 would haye US believe. Where
one adventurous woman wries Red Pottage,'
there are a dozen as good writer's as she and
better. who do not think 1t necessary to In
troduce the sex problem and present pictures
OF unhappy marriage terminating in tragedy
and moral ruin. Among the women who
do not or have not always done that thing"
l.. e., write of RED Pottage,' or dwelt on
the fragrant sins Of society in general. are
Amelia Barr, Louisa Muhlbach, Elizabeth
Stuart Phelps, Harriet Beecher Stowe the
Brontes, Mrs. Humphrey Ward, George Eliot,
Mary Johnson, Ellen Glasgow, Miss Mary
Murfree and others we'll known, who would
recoil from writing line (which a satyr
would have blushed to wrte'' as 20 says
many women actually do write. It is very
certain that "Qs" assertion that women like
to deal with the sex problem In order to
attract attention." Is far from the truth 1t
is q matter of congratulation that the vast
majority of women who have obtained res-
ognlzed position In the literary world would
spurn q suggestion that they. desire to attract
attention In that detestable way. IL
NEW BOOKS T.
Roman Biznct. By Georgia Wood Pank-
| born Boston: Houghton, Mif1in & Co
| Minneapolis: Nathaniel Mccarthy. $150
! Roman ~Blznet is introduced as q little un-
kempt boy. tramping about Canada with his
vagrant hddling father, Antoine Biznet,
| stealing chickens and what not for food nei-
I Their having much moral sense, the boy with
4 20 natural affection for his villainous father
1 = curious combination was the boy-part
| German, part French, part Indian with 4
strong musical instinct inherited from the
German forebear. The boy parts from An
| to1ne and is taken In by his aunt, and after
while a kind lady, attracted by his musical
promise and intelligence. undertook to adopt
MIN ana give him q musical education The
career or the ex-vagrant makes most inter
esting story, the author embodyfng valu4
pie etudy in heredity. without by any means
| por1ng the reader with too much STUDY. y
l wit he
| novels. Romans theory OF two natures war
| ring within him, as exploited In chapter ter,
| and IN the last chapter, is decidedly interest,"
ing and not far astray NJ ~. : !
Morchester. A Story OF American Society.
Politics and Affairs. BY Charles Datchet'
| New York: G.. P. Putnam's Sons Minne-
a ama :.n N; MCCARTHY se Price, $40.
que cannot help heartily admiring the
| heroine of this book, Mary Ellerton. Few
women wculd so patiently relinquish a man
she loved to her near friend Mary was rich.
Her father gave her good, solid instructions
about her fortune and how she should take
care OF it and keep her business secrets to
herself. The man, Marshall, whom she came
to love, was first seen by her when his father
was killed and he escaped death In, the col
'lision OF his buggy with a Are engine, There
after when Marshall had business troubles
Miss Ellerton rendered him financial aid. con
! ceallns her own identity. He pulled through
| but when he discovered she had helped him
| he was furious, for he had once refused her
prefer of aid. He behaved very badly. She
had utilized her fine business talent, SAVING
him from disaster Much OF the vitality OF
the story is In connection with Miss EIler-
tons efforts to save the Marshall business
There are other men and women in the book
but the reader will forget them all except
Mary Elerton. < -
a Lay Thesis ON Bible wines. By S.
r. Emerson. New York: Merrill & Baker
| Sill Sixteenth street. ...-- .s------.-' -
The author OF this volume, who says he is
a wine-maker himself. makes a very strong
argument against those people who regard i,
as a sin to 80 to the altar rail in the Holy
Communion and drink wine from the chalice
In obedience to- Christ's mandate. They re-
fuse to drink wine and substitute water .ol
what they call the "unfermented Juice of the
1 grape which Is not wine, for wine Is The
fermented juice of the grape and nothing
else So when Christ took the cup OF wine
at the Paschal feast, 1t not water OF
unfermented juice Of the grape. but just wine
for the juice of the grape begins to fermen,
SO soon as 1t comes In contact with air.
The Manual of Statistics. Stock Elk
change Hand Book, 1902 New York: The
Manual OF Statistics company, 22o Broadway
This is the twenty-fourth year Of this USE
i full manual and 1t appears enlarged by 1Ot
pages, and embraces vast amount OF essen.
tial Information touching securities and al
things affecting their value and facts about
market dealings in them. The principa
railroad companies in the United States
Canada and Mexico with details of their or
ganization, mileage. capital stock, fundet
; debt and earnings, are included, and concisl
information is given about them, such a,
names OF officers and directors, location o
; general and financial onices, with genera
railway statistics, including construction
roads sold under foreclosure in 1901. foreclos
r ures for twenty-six years. roads for which
receivers were appointed in 1901, and sucl
record for twenty six years. Details Of tn
street railways, their securities, mileage
capital stock, funded debt, earnings, etc.
are given. The list includes the Twin Cit,
Rapid Transit company, which owns rs
miles of road, with stock issued, common
SIS, 900 e00 preferred, $3,o0o,0o0; funded debt
s1o,664, 900. Dividends Of Z per cent are pai
ON the preferred stock IN quarterly; payment
. Of IN per cent each. In 1899 the compan
began paying dividends on the. common stoc
with per cent In 1900 8 per cent was pai
on common, and in 1901 per cent, payabl
, lf-yearly. During the ten years 1891 -l901
, the surplus aggregated $4,95S, AL. increasin
. from ss10,9 in 1901 to 81, 091, 4Se in 1901.
The vast increase of Industrial corpora
tions is indicated by the fact that 345 page
are devoted to the details Of Industrial sc
.curities, quoted in the leading stock mar
kets. IA chapter Is devoted ITO government
securities in leading countries, the publ
~ md int erest- bearing debt of the Unite