Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-17

AYERS that a large percentage of the meat
prepared for domestic consumption-that
sent abroad being of prime quality owing
to the foreign demand for the best, and the
government inspection to make sure that
only the hest goes forth-is below standard
in point of wholesomeness, much being de-
rived from diseased cattle as well as from
animals that have grown old in breeding
and dairy service and are therefore worth
less for food. His revelations are shock
ing. He indicts the federal inspection serv-
ice at the great packing centers as made
quate and little else than farce. citing
figures to show that 1t is impossible for
the governments force to cover the ground
In other respects than those relative to
the public health he assails the beef trust,
showing briefly how it brushes ompetition
and fixes prices. The book is exceptionally
well written and if 1t came indeed from
the pen of Mr.. Hirschauer he is gifted
writer as well as a practical butcher OF eX-
perience.
LITERARY LIVES; Edited by w Rob
ertson Nicoll-ERNEST RENAN. By
William Barry, DID. Illustrated. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Washington: Woodward & Lothrop.
Remains life is ideal modern type of
the scholar of olden times. Absorbed in his
literary work. his studies, his thoughts he
passed his years in quietude, undsturbed
by financial difficulties, and indeed with lit
tie concern for the material things. He
contributed richly to the intellectual at
mosphere of the continent of Europe. and
France quickened under his touch to an
appreciation of finer elements than those
that had been in vogue before Remains re-
markable productivity began its yield. AS
classical scholar, critic of the Scrip
lures a literary archaologist, Renan takes
rank with the foremost of the worlds
workers in the realm of the purely intel
lectual DR.. Barry's biography is sympa-
thetic and comprehensive. 1t offers Remains
mind in detail disclosed by his letters,
his books and his actions. The author pays
his subject perhaps the highest possible
tribute when he says: From the day
when his Life of Jesus appeared the Bible
had become for clergy no less than laty
a modern book. the most momentous in
living literature"
IOWA; the First Free State in the Lou
isiana Purchase; From its Discovery
TO the Admission of the State into
the Union, 1673-1S46. BY William
Salter. illustrated. Chicago. a. c.
McClurg q Co.
Iowa's distinction as the first free-non-
slave-state to be admitted into the Union
from the land purchased from France has
always been source of pride to the ma
tives of that commonwealth, some OF whom
today remember the tribulations through
which the territory passed during the days
preceding its admission. Mr.. Sa!ter's book
is narrative description of the crcum-
stances attendant upon the discovery and
development of the territory. an account of
the conflicts waged between whites and In
dams for the possession of the soil and an
interesting sketch of the men whose sacri-
fees contributed to the development of
Iowa's great possibilities until 1t became
one of the richest agricultural states in
the Union 1t is interesting to know that
no of he St3 IS derived from n
approximation of the French pronunciation
of the name of a tribe of Indians dwelling
within the area now defined as a state. The
first appearance of any form of this name
is in letter of Father Louis Andre written
from Green Bay April %, 1876 mentioning
the presence at that point Of seven or eight
families of this tribe called "Aiaoua.' The
name gradually evolved into simpler spell
ing and has become the Iowa of the pres
ent time.
EPIGRAMs AND APHORIsMS. BY Os-
car Wilde. Boston: John w. Luce &
Co.
It Is not difficult to find "quotable" mat
ter in oscar Wilde's plays and books. They
are filed with wise and witty sentences
and paragraphs, so we'll filed indeed with
them that at one time the plays and the
books were accepted by a certain portion of
the public chiefly on account of these smart,
cynical and sometimes all but trite pas
sages. For while Wilde unquestionably
posed for this effect. He has himself so
confessed in his posthumous DE Profun-
dis" issued last winter. He sought the
epigrammatic form of expression for the
sake of the form and not the thought. Later
he tried to give utterance to his thoughts
In the form of the epigram not for the
sake of the artistic pleasure of putting the
case wittily, but for the intellectual delight
of putting truth eloquently or strikingly.
This compilation of Wildes epigrams and
aphorisms, by George Henry Sargent ar
ranged according to the sources, demon
strates the change in Wildes mood and
method, while it offers in an artistic edition
a collection of delightful readings
ROME. Painted by Alberto Pisa. Text
by NJ A. r. Rucker and Hope Male
son. London: Adam & Charles Black.
New York: The Macmillan Company.
Washington: Brentano's.
Another book on Rome! The output is
endless, as the city is eternal But there
will always be a welcome for such book
as this, even though it does crowd closely
upon its predecessor from the same press.
The artist whose water-color sketches, sew
enty in number, so into the illustration of
the volume, has indeed caught the Roman
spirit His paintings are remarkable for
their vividness their softness, their accur-
acy of outline and their depth. In the an
cient section, in the churches, in the streets,
with ruins or with peasants as subjects, he
shines equally with an evident truth and an
artistic touch that alone justify the enter
prise of the publication. The sketch show
ing the Arch of Titus is exceptional for its
translation of the brilliant Roman light
falling upon masonry. And again, the
scene of the Holy Stairs at the Sagro Speco,
with a kneeling peasant midway up the
first flight, is a triumph in interior treat