Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06

through Illegal means. and the direct
elimination Of all the undesirable elements
or voting age might have seemed COM
paratively simple undertaking. Had the
negro masses presented the only ilEterate
elements. that method might have been
pursued. But there were two defective
classes-the unqualified negroes of voting
age and the unqualified white men. Both
could not be dropped at once. A working
constitution Is not an a criori theoretic
creation II must pass the people" ut may
be remarked here in this connection that
Mr.. Murphy ignores the device OF the Vir-
ginia constitutional convention which mere
ly proclaimed the instrument drawn by It,
without submitting IL TO a vote thus es-
tablishing II by a priori mettrods) The
unqualified white men of voting ssge might
De eliminated by gradual process but they
must hrst be included In the partnership OF
Teorganiza ton. Such q decision was a DO
Httcal necessity They had been fused-by
their participation in the military struggle
Oh the confederacy and by their growing
partlupa@lon In the industrial and political
power OF the south-into the conscious and
dominant life OF the south Many Of them
Possessed large political experience and DO
litcal faculties Of an unusual order More
overland here we touch upon a far-reach-
ing consdderation-no amended constitution
no Suffrage reform, legal status for a
saner and purer political administration
was possible without their votes. They
all its moral and social issues-and they
demanded terms"
AIR. Murphy does not discuss the various
state amendments which have been devised
10 TINS end. but reserves such matters for
his interesting later volume He does not
touch upon the charge. brought by an Ala
bama democrat in criticism OF the process
or dlsfranchtSement adopted In that state
that the dominant party actually counted
the votes OF the negroes who were being
dfsfranchised I'm support of the instrument
which disfranchsed them.
WALL STREET AND THE COUNTRY; 4. Stud,
or Recent Financial Tendencies. BY Charles
Putnam's Sons.
Mr.. Conant is well qualified to tell the
story OF Wall street for he has been study
ing the financial question in its broader as
poets for years in connection with his Jour
naiistic work Of high order. which has
stamped him as one of the foremost of
American authorities on this subject He
hopes by gathering into single volume the
essays which appeared over his signature
in various periodicals during the past few
months to set forth the magnitude of the
problems presented by the modern tend
ency to capitalization in a way to remove
found Judgment in the minds of a certain
portion of the public. He says:
1t Is the aim of this book to set forth in
some degree the operation Of economic
principles in the financial world and the
dangers of proceeding too rapidly and too
rashiy in extending the area of federal
intervention into fields heretofore reserved
for the states. and in lettering that freedom
of action and of initiative which has been
one of the essential causes of our national
progress. 1t is not proposed to present a
"A an deal yytf
They are subjects which are not likely to be
exhausted this year nor the next-perhaps
not within the time of men now living. 1t
Is proposed here simply to submit GER
tain phases of these subjects a few CON
siderations which have been thus far more
or less obscured''
A glance at the topics with which his
chapters deal suffices to indicate the scope
of the work: The Future of Undigested Sc
curities; The Trusts and the Public:'
The Function of the Stock and Produce
Exchanges; The Economic Progress of
the Nineteenth Century" Putting China on
the Gold Standard and THE Growth of
Trust Companies. Mr.. Commits work as
a member of the commission on information
al exchange led to his writing the paper on
China's monetary standard.
OF sIENA AND I' SAN e sah s sy "a.
mund q. Gardner. Illustrated by Helen NJ.
James ,nn, anu man, many repfod , from the
NJ. Dent & Go. New York: The Macmillan
Company. Washington: Brentanos.
The story of Siena is one continuous mar
rative of war, intrigue. treachery and strug-
gle. It's record is that of the average me-
dieval Italian city. often a pawn on the
great chessboard of European politics. some
times dominated by the church. again by
the German emperor and often by some
temporarily victorious faction within its
walls. It's brightest aspect is afforded by
the story of Saint Catherine whose name
is inseparably linked with that of Siena
In the course of its record of unrest and
distress are told many tales OF high person.
al achievement and a few heroic figures
arise from the ruck of schemers and trail
tors and sWashbuckers and petty states
men. In this compact book the story is
told with admirable clearness and dramatic
feeling and the pictures drawn by the late
Helen M. James, whose death Interrupted
the series, add richly to the value and in
terest of the work. Sena is a picturesque
city and the artist caught its medieval
spirit in her sketches