The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-31
NEWS OF The BOOK WORLD
THE UNEASY CHAIR

- 'ho ''THlioSoPny OF AmerIcaniSm" az
seen Thru Germans Eyes.-The prayer
see us is sometimes answered. For the
American 1t has been answered in a book
that must for the most part give every
american reader a very deep sense of
satisfaction. This" book is: The Americans,
ny Hugo Munsterberg. professor of psy-
chology at Harvard university.
| ::''The Americans is a study of .the
American man and his inner tendencies"
| 1t was originally written for Germans-to
snow them the good things, and some of
the bad things, in American life. In
that respect it is just the opposite of
! American Traits;"l book written for
Americans, criticising some Of their
| tendencies as measured by German ideals.
! Professor Munsterberg sees four great
motives at work in American life-in
politics there Is the spirit Of self direc-
tlon;> IN economics the. spirit of self-in-
| ltlatlve;s in the intellectual life, the spirit
OF self -protection; in social life, the; spirit
| Of self-assertion. The. chapters on these
| motives contain the ipfth Of the book for
American readers; the cOthers are largely
illustrative and explanatory. In - ="
! Inc yearning of the American heart
after self direction" SAYS sthehlprofessor,
has been the shaping influence in the ma
ton from the beginning and it is Still the
guiding force In ifhe1 poflt teal affairs Of
E>OpAS' =
| efforts Of ithe people to overcome munich
pal corruption for example, and he tells
! the German critics of American municipal
affairs that the case Is not so bad as they
would make 1t: out to be-: He says: I p
+"Even municipal politics are much bet
ter than they are painted The easiest way
OF overcoming every evil would be to re-
! move the public service from popular and
party influences, but this is, Of course,
Cio1c in0 lo~ +i.;ng
| most cherished prorogative of individual
ism. Besides the American, is comforted
about his situation because he knows that
just this direct efficiency Of the peoples
will is the surest means Of thoroly I'M
roofing the evil as soon as it becomes
really threatening He may be patient
or Indifferent. too long, but if he is once
aroused he, finds in his system a strong
| and ready instrument for suddenly over
| turning an administration and putting an
other in it's stead. Moreover if corrup-
ton becomes too runblushing, an 'educa-,
tional campaign is always in order.
| A trouble, which Professor Munsterberg
fails to point CIT, is that a corrupt admin
istratior1, once put out.by an aroused peo-
Pile, doesn't often 'stay, put = The aroused
public goes ito sleep again, and corrup-
| ton creeps back into office.
| The handspring which has set in
motion :: the tremendous =: economic
| f1y-wheel'' of America, the Harvard
professor says, is self -in1tiative-''the
pressure to be up and doing" He
asserts that in ;sthis the American Is
not gross materialist, as Europeans SO
often charge, but an idealist who Din
life acts because he believes in the value
! Of the deed 1.-THE central point of this
whole activity continues the professor,
I .is, therefore, not greed, nor the thought
of money, but the Spirit Of self-initiative."
spirit of ,pecuniary self-1nterest,, not the
spirit Of misery gain, but that Of love
of the wherewithal to- supply himself and
| his family with the. comforts and pleasures
Of life. Yet the professor does not men
ton this. Surely it. seems important
enough, as a propelling force in Ameri
can economic affairs, to rank alongside Of
4 self Initiative. tl 80,
This exception, to the position Of Pro-
fessor Munsterberg only serves to show
that the psychology of a people is not an
| exact science, that national motives are
rather too complicated to be so simply
formulated. Beyond question, the desire
| to be everlastingly. at lit is characteristic
Of Americans. Yet it is possible to see
how a German might mistake the fact of
| ceaseless activity, as seen on the surface
Of the everyday life Of Americans, for
evidence Of an innate desire to be ION
| the jump when, in reality. another mo-
/ tive lies deeper.
/ Self perfection and the intellectual life,
and self assertion and the social life are
1 subtler things, but the chapters dealing
| herewith are not less absorbingly inter,
esting than those dealing with the polit
ical and economic life Of the nation.
| Altogether our German critic has done
i a tremendously good work, both for his
3 own people and for Americans, in thus
at once putting the American under the
4 microscope for the German and holding
the mirror up to the American for a
study Of himself After all, as the pro-
fessor says, democratic America, with its
i unofficial aristocratic ,leanings, and Ger
1 many, with Its inner workings of true
democracy, are not so far apart, and mu-
tual study must prove profitable, espe-
cially when it is made as attractive as it
is in 1.-THE AMERICANS"
4 Mcclure Phillips Co., New York
i $3.50.
THE MIRRORS PHILOSOPHY.
| A mirror met by chance window pane.
Good friend'' the latter begged, "can you ex-
plain .s
b why our good mistress lavishes on you
8 Such loving care and such devotion true,
u While /, tho ever eager for a chance
To serve, am seldom favored with glance ~
THE reason, gossip is not far TO seek, =
Replied the mirror he speak,
Thru you each day her sneighbors' charms are
wiser, tell 81 nothing but but her own,
~. Forsyth Smith, in February Lippincott's
n IAw Mtraf a A