Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-30

THE HEART OF THE ORIENT; saunterings
Through Georgia Armenia. Persia, Turko-
By Michael Myers Shoemaker, author Of The
Great Siberian Railway. ETC. Illustrated New
York: g. p. Putnam's Sons.
Mr. Shoemaker's globe-trotting enter
prises have carried him into many more
comfortable regions than those that he
visited in the preparation of his latest
work on the orient. In fact. the chief
burden Of his song relates to the discom-
forts he encountered upon his journey.
the bad food, the bad beds, the bad travel
accommodations, etc. So much occupied
is he with this theme. indeed. that he does
not devote a proportionate amount of at
ton and space to the subjects of present
vital interest Of a political character.
If his route were likely to become popu-
lar with travellers, the hints he gives at
length as to the best method of travel
would be invaluable. But the great ma
jority of men prefer to remain at home
| until the accommodations are bettered,
and meanwhile wish to learn definitely
and in detail as to the trade resources and
the method of government and the socio-
logical aspect Of the distant peoples. In
| this respect Mr.. Shoemaker's present
book fails to meet the. requirements. He
contents himself with pointing out merely
| that the lands he visited are either d.
rectly or indirectly under the dominance
of Russia, and he being pronounced par
| tlsan or the cars government this fact
| stands in his mind as a sufficient index of
the bettered conditions of the peoples
| whom he visits. His Russomania Is the
most conspicuous feature Of his work.
He takes long chances on prophecy and
declares that Japan has no show for win
| ming the present war, which must have
been fairly we'll advanced when his book
| went to press. Russia will never leave
Manchuria. he says, and he essays to es-
| tablish for her right to stay there
based upon q lease Of lands In that prov
inee from China. His remarks on this
subject are diverting in view of the WELL
| known diplomatic records Of the case,
| and especially the developments of the
war But apart from these digressions
the average readers confidence in his
political Judgment, Mr.. Shoemaker's
| travel experiences. thus described, are
interesting and the work is readable
| duced, showing important buildings,
portrait or two ruins and landscapes, but
| 1t would seem as though many others of
even greater interest might have been Sc
cured by man with a camera. One of
| the most entertaining features of the
| work Is the description of tarantass
ride to the Vale Of Paradise a remote
region Of great beauty in the Alat noun
rest from their Weary ~ u jouTnaRi naa
| through the desert.
PHYSICIAN VERSUS BAcTERIoLoe1sr. Rv
Prof Dr: O. Rosenbach Of Berlin. Authorized
Rose. New York: Funk 4 wagnaIls Company
For some years DR.. Rosenbach has been
| conducting a warfare against the expert
| mental laboratory psychologists, who.
probably more extensively in Europe than
In this country, have been undertaking to
| supplant the curative work of the physt-
clans with system Of theoretically proven
tive dogmas. He has not taken issue in
any degree with bacteriology as a science
and as one of the greatest and most eff
cient aids to medicine. But he does con-
tend that the laboratory bacteriologtst, If
followed as prophet, will lead the people
tif1c problems, he AYERS, though important,
| are not the main object Of the controversy.
| Fear of infection, he thinks, is arising on
| all sides in consequence of the repeated
| warnings Of the psychologists and this, in
turn. has transformed the love for the pa
| tient into fear of the patient, as in the days
| when disease was looked upon as the work.
ing of mysterious demons and the patient
| as the enemy of divinity and man" DIR.
| Rosenbach regards microbe activity as
playing an unimportant part as compared
with the temperament and individual con-
| dition of the patient He likens infection to
| the starting of a fire. The latter operation
| depends for success upon a number of vi
tally important conditions. of fuel, air and
| place. Thus the infection Of the individual,
| he contends, depends upon a vastly more
complex series of conditions within the in
divtduai. with the chances greatly in favor
Of healthful resistance of the disease prin-
| ciple. While admitting the value Of the
| results Of meteorological study, he urges
| a greater degree Of attention to the cura-
| tive work of the physician, who must treat
| each case separately. He encourages the
| work Of the sanitarian, whose function is
to lessen the chances of infection through
| the betterment of the surrounding condi
| tons of life, but he deprecates the freedom
| with which successive laboratory demon
strationS-the bases of which often lack
| likeness to the conditions In the human body
under which disease Is resisted or received
| are exploited as the final word of discov
| cry and warning. He carries his argument
| rather further than is discreet at times, as
| when he assails the statistical proof OF the
value of certain serum remedies, such as
| the anti-toxin of diphtheria. His book will
| attract the controversial attention of scien-
| lists and practitioners.
| OUR POLITICAL DRAMA: Conventions, Cam
a astTasted. New YORK: ' The Scott cop
| pany.
The author Of this work gained the fund
| of information from which it Is drawn In
the course of his labor in preparing for
magazine publication a series of three arti-
| cles on certain phases of American politi-
| cal history. He has now assembled this in
| formation INTO a DOCK Oh especially tifueiy
| interest, which will call for general read
ing by all who are observant of the course
of current events. Little IL any of his ma
terial is new in the sense of being originally
discovered, and for the first time printed.
But much of It is derived from obscure and
half forgotten sources, so that its repetition
now, in this assembled form, is of great
value. He undertakes to tell the anecdotal
story of the growth Of the American politi-
cal system, repeating characteristic tales of
candidates, briefly noting the processes of
the evolution of the nominating convention
describing the methods of early campaign
ers, and finally telling some entertaining
stories about inaugurations, some Of which
are familiar and others unfamiliar to the
ears of the present generation, and all
worth repeating. The illustrations sug-
gestive, being in the main reproductions Of
the most characteristic campaign cartoons |
published in this country. 1t is essentially a |
book of the day, well written and hand |
somely printed. |
THE MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF ECLIPsES |
According to Chauvenets Transformation of |
BesseIs Method, Explained and Illustrated, to l
nh Asa ulnI TrAr tfa 81 and