The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-05
Literary Lights and Shadobs
BY s. MAYS BALL.


 author at Thomson, Gal
 Mr. Watsons Story of France" in two volumes, and his Napoleon" in one volume, are recognized in France even as about the best historical works on those subjects yet published in the Eng fish language. Congressman Burnett of Alabama wrote home from Paris once how he had in the great bookstore of Brentanos, on the Ave del Opera, asked for the "best history of France and Ma poleon, written In the English language, and had had promptly handed out to him Mir Watson's books.
 In MT. Watsons Life and Times of Thomas Jefferson" the reader is told in that delightful Watsonesque style (noth- ing better or clearer) just what democrat ic principles are; also he will discover much history in that book to the credit of the south and west which the New England writers left out.
 In MT. Watson's new book, called "Po- 1itical and Economic Handbook" the au- thor says that he has filled it to the brim with facts important facts, undis- puted facts,' in order that editors, speak CTS, lecturers and voters might have in the convenient storehouse of one volume all of the scattered information contained in many; and "in order that they might have brief statement of the line of ar gument which we adopt upon all es- sential issues. I have written the book. have tried to make it an armory from which reformers can draw every weapon of offense and defense"
 In discussing a book by MT. Watson, the ordinary reviewer-sueh as this one recognizes so fully his limitations It is simply impossible to place within re- view, such an appreciation of Mir. Wat son's books that the real worth of them
 fl,1 ,1 CT. There are few, if any, writers using the English language today who excell MT. Watson. In reading his weekly and monthly "Jeffersonans''-the editorials therein-one feels as if he had not simply read an unusual article, but that he has been listening to the author talk, great feat that, and one in which MT. Wat son is a postmaster.
 There are % chapters and an appendix in the Political and Economic Hand book" illustrated throughout by cartoons by MT. Gordon Nye. It is wonderful how MT. Watson gets at the bottom of every thing and shows 1t so clearly to his read CTS. In the first chapter dealing with Political Parties in the United States" down and through the fifth chapter, we learn all there is to know regarding the formation evolution, platforms, present condition, leaders and aims of the differ
 
 Watson quotes. from and writes of the platforms of each party; he shows the changes made In political machinery and thought, etc.. since the republic was formed and when a reader has carefully perused the five chapters mentioned above there is really not much else that one would care to learn or find necessary in order to be well posted on current and past political conditions.
 MT. Watson discusses, under the head of ''Vicious Legislation" the repeal of the income tax and in that chapter (No. 8 he gives us a full synopsis of the his tory of the income tax and its workings. How many of the average readers of newspapers and magazines today know that an income tax passed by congress July 1, 1862, which did not go into effect until 1863, under the terms of which all incomes in excess of $500 and under s10,- 900 were taxed at per cent; over $10.000 at 5 per cent. The total amount collect ed under this moderate tax was $3469O6, 73S. That this income tax was repealed by an act which passed the senate Jan- uary 26 1871, by close vote of 26 for the repeal and 25 against 1t, seven democratic senators voting for the repeal, only two democratic senators voting against 1t. The yeas and nays were not taken in the house and under the repeal act the tax continued to be collected until 1S77 be- fore which time the percentage of tax was changed every now and then, to bring as 1t did the total amount of in- come to the government the enormous amount of money mentioned above.
 How many people these days know that the United States government, through congress, donated to 5S railroad corpora tions s5OOO,oO0 acres of public land, and to the Pacific railroads 139, ,403,000 acres? That by a series of acts ending with the Texas Pacific act of March 3, 1S71 con gross gave away to corporations lot ag- gregating IA. 53s 134 acres of public lands; that Virginia alone gave the federal gov- ernment 165, ,659 6SO acres; Georgia gave 56,- 6S9 930 acres; North Carolina 29000,000 acres; that under an act the Mobile and Ohio railroad got through the states of Alabama and Mississippi 1156000 acres of public lands? few samples of MT. Watson's summary of the results of this public land donation shows that Arkan- sas had to put up BOO acres of land to get one mile of railroad; that Florida Twas made happy with the result of one mile of road for each 1000 acres'; Ala bama had to give to the railroads 33S5 acres of public lands to get mile of rail- road in it's limits and Louisiana gave the same amount as Florida.
 MT Watson gives a history of legal tenders, of corporations, of the Cleve- land bond issue, of the panic of 1898 and 1897, watered stock, franchises, most in teresting and instructive discussion on Eminent Domain and he fully dis cussed, under the head of 1.-Two Unsound and Vicious Decisions" the federal ju- dietary.
 The chapters For the Special Benefit of Farmers" Is just what its title claims 1t to be. The chapter dealing with the Dick military bill, under which our state militia, now has been placed under the ! control of the President of the United !, States instead of the governors of the | several states, subject to the call of the | President direct to the militia without | the call going through the governor of | each state, certainly will cause great 1 deal of thought and discussion. As this , reviewer understands the bill, from MT. | Watsons and others who have written | in regard to 1t, the situation Is that sup | pose, for instance, there was trouble, say, i in a disputed national election in Jeffer- | son county, Alabama, Fulton county, | Georgia, or anywhere in the south or | other section of this country! Under the 1 Dick bill the President could call from | Massachusetts, Illinois or California and | send to Alabama, Georgia or wherever i the trouble was, the militia from those | foreign" states to quell domestic trou- | ble Jack London in his "The Iron Heel" really a socialist brier takes up this | very question of the present law in re- gard to the United States militia and there is no doubt that in the hands of 1 an interruptions administration at Wash ington we southern people might "see i sights some day The way in which |