The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-02
First Of ,Tritagy Of Novels
Dealing With the
Civil War.
THREE NEW BOOKS or VERSE
,'Colnpromises,' aNolume Of Es-
says BY Agnes Repplier.
& Greater America

MANASSAS BY Upton Sinclair. 4l2 rp,
55 $50. The Macmillan Co, New ork.
According to the publishers announce.
mert Mr.. Upton sinclair's Manassas"
Is written as the lirst volume OF a
,riloev dealing with the Civil War The
later volumes. Gettysburg" and "Ap-
pornattox." Will complete the cycle. There
is no statement to that effect In the pres
emit volume, however, and as oonse-
uuence the reader rays 1t down with
strong feeling that he is left snspenae 90
in the middle Of things. Manassas Is i.
described al "a novel of the CIVIL war,
h,,t whatever else it is, 1t Is not this. 1t
Is in reality an unusual sort OF .n'stois
d If the causes leading TO the civil war,
and az that war up to the first battle OIL
Bull Run Such characters as there are
r the author has introduced merely 70 IN
X fuse a 'hutnan interest" into his narra-
tive. and there Is little attempt at any
IA story.
ninrs ar the Civil War. to dismiss at once
the idea Of novel; is decidedly inter-
eEt3nr He sets forth with wealth OF
Ii detail which bcspcaks first-handed and
d exhaustive research. the immensely of the
questions which shook the country IN the
years Immediately preceding the wa aiis- IL
tho inevitablcness of>the final clash. IN no
single volume which we can call TO mind
have the &undercurrents of feeling, so IN
NJ tense mi so varied. that swayed mems
minds in those tronblous times, been SO
fullvFand so we'll portrayed. r.NSlnclair
has studied closely the condition OF me
4. country. particularly its sentimental con
dition at that time, and the picture that
has thus unroled Itself before ms eye
he has cauElt with SIT 1llilr @ii S
upon his canvas.
5sr1,,.-,a lore "
L the better displaying of the author
snatter are as we have Indicated, OF 1T
3stle consequence. Alan Montague IS tne
young prig who passes as the hero OF th le
story. Allans people were blue bloodeo
Squtherners OF the old plantation type,
y biut Allan, who had "a fondnessIt'r THINK
ing for himself, went to Boston. hears
the negro Frederick Douglass, and be-
cunes a rabid abolitonist. This is an I'M
vi fortuna to predcanlent for the. hero OF q
story, for the reason that when 4 young
gnerson upon a question of abstract right
81 or wrong, deliberately turns his back
$llpon his parents, his brothers and Sis
tiers his friends and old traditions, now
s6F ever much we may admire his head we
can't help thinking that ms near earl mus n!s
be somehow wrong. Allan at mrs con-
cealed his new opinions, bu: trey crop
ned outsunexpcctedly when the family
S.h,s.xrs the news of the attack upon
Charles Sumner in the United States Sem
! ate cha mbcr. After that it was intlmatea
to Allan that he had best return TO the
Il. Mort h to live, and 4he does. Allan vas
n be r,obbinr of the Massachusetts
ii regiment IN Baltimore, but when things
berans TO look like trouble, he stepped
down q side street or into a doorway
at til the coast was clear. Allan was aiso
at Manassas,labut at the first shot ne
pitched away his gun and sprinted Wiluly
sfor the rear. His sergeant was COM
,R.pelled to Jerk him about by the collar
nj curse him outrngeousy before his
manhood at length perks up. However,
lit is idle to criticize any OF the char
acters n this book, because the author
himself frankly dismisses them as OIL 1T
Is tie account.
AS a picture of a very interesting part
of our national development, done IN
very interesting way, Manassas, WI
author is presumably a Union sympa-
5R thizer the book is, on the whole, free
sssff rom marked prejudice or partlsanship.
and women famous for the part
they played in the oncoming Of that
great strife crowd the pages. There Is "a
. very unpleasant picture of Abraham LIN
& coin, which is very different from the
character drawn. In THE Crisis and
which we trust is Exaggerated. Lincoln is
\. here described as resembling in appearance
/ an '.undertaker,s assistant, or farm
y hand on his way to prayer meeting
and in manners and social dcportment as
something indcscribably awful. We should
i be sorry 10 think that any man Ike the
Il Lincoln o! this book ever occupied me
& White House.
MANKIND IN THE MAKING. BY IL G..
Wells. 400 PIP. Charles scribner's
5s- Sons. New York For sale by --eil
Book and stationery Co.
Mr.. Wclls's, new book, to quote from
his preface, is IAN attempt TO deal vita
social ana political questions IN a new
way and from new starring POM.
and. in connection with earlier publish
ed works. presents a general theory
81, social and political conduct" His
aim is. III a word. 10 get better citizens
into the world, or more specifically, into
the English-spealing world TO that
end, he takes the citizen at his p'rtil,
and rears an ideal theory Of education
for him, which is designed to deliver HIM
+ at the last fully equipped 10 take MS
place in the New Republic" and 10
show an evolutionary advance over the
generations that have preceded him.
',Within the last minute says Mr..
Wells, ''seven new citizens we're born
into that great Notwithstanding COM
munitv which il scattered under various
world On may present the whole
natter#in a simpl!hed picture by imagln-
Ing all our statesmen, our phllantnroplsts
and public men, our parties and insttu-
tions gathered into one great hall, anc
q lnto This hall huge spout, that no mar
can stop, discharges a baby every clsn
seconds. This Is. hold, permissible
picture OF human life, and Whatever y
nor represented at all in that picture
3ts asdiyerpent and secondary concern, On
SUCCESS or failure with that nnendint
Il ! stream Of babies Is the measure OF ou
This is moi really the be
. ginning of Mr.. Weiss argument, how
ever, because he goes back and discusses
the possibility OF fixing some moral
menta! and physical standard for parent
n hood In the matter of raising III
equality OF the average BIRTH he argue
tina, little can be done along the lines Q
'.scientifc" marrying, on account OF N
varying Interpretation put upon sue
4, words as beauty" capacity" health
and SANITY Even tho aualifcation 9
health, whlth he defines as a balance
q, ,,aian, a If b1n6H AGAINST nerve. of al