The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28

herself in various ways
Mrs. Nome has a great fear of and
an intense contempt for organized
charity, and to avoid the charity work.
ers of the city, Mrs. Nome starts the
children of this helpless family out beg
glng. This begging continues for a
time but the beggers finally fall into
the hands of organized charity and are
investigated" and are cared for" The
girl who tells the story 'out of the
dump" was placed in the home OF one
of the very wealthy families in Chi
cago the Van Kleeks. She tells of the
life in this rich home and many In
stances are cited to show that those
who in this world receive the good
things, are not necessarily the capable
or the Industrious. After spending
some time in this rich home, the young
girl is given a position In the office
of the United Charities and when she
Begins to describe the workings of or
ganized charity, she does her best
work She shows who are the givers
to the organized charity and attempts
to show what is happening in the bus
mess establishments of the givers from
which the funds are received.
In the charity work there are shown
some typical cases" which are all
recognized by the charity worker and
to which she is ever prone to furnish
but conclusions are drawn in this
book quite the reverse from the usual
deduction.
The writer shows in a very short
space what charity workers must in
time all come to realize-namely that
they are graphing with problems far
beyond their reach. That the ques-
ton of poverty which calls for charity
is produced by economic conditions; in
fact 1t is the great problem of the
unemployed" and poorly paid.
In one of the cases" used in the
book, 1t in effect shows that the chart
ty organization recognizes this inabil-
ity to cope with the unemployed prob
lem" and exhibit this recognition by
declining to aid ease" SO long as
there Is an idle ablebodied man in
sight. In the Cease" exhibited in the
book, in order that his family might
receive the aid which he was power
less to give owing to his inability to
secure a job, and he couldn't get job,
the man finally deserted his family
so that organized charity could see its
way clear to help his starving family.
Brother Bob" is a typical character
from real life. He soon begins to take
strong interest in the propaganda
of socialism. Bob Is represented Is the
strong, capable and inh erently honest
child of the slums who has felt the
economic conditions and who has the
brains to see from which source the
oppression originates-to see who Is re-
sponsible for 1t. Bob has become the
support now of his family: Pretty
soon he fails in his work; not from
any fault of his own--on the contrary.
He becomes law-breaker through
force of circumstances only. member
of what some people designate as 'the
criminal classes"
The pretty girl who is telling the
story, near the end of it meets one of
the representatives OF the owners of
the earth" who was fair, strong,
quite impressionable young man and to
him the pretty girl gives the message
of the Underworld.
The book closes with the liberation
of Bob from prison and an account OF
his conversion to socialism.
To my way of thinking, 1t is very
| apparent that this book was written
not to indict charity but to tndict the
present conditions which compel SO
| much charity in this land of plenty.
| Tho book undoubtedly shows that or
| gantzed charity 10 forced up against
a very large proposition. In other
words. that charity organizations are
but as little children lighting giant
that Is, the conditions-whtch the or
eanizations are making no effort to
| improve economically.
WILLIAM GREENE RAOUL, JR.
| "old lin Case of South Hollow" by Ed
ward irving Rice. Doubleday, Page
& Coz
| If you had the misfortune to live up at
| or around Syracuse, N. Y, wherever that
may specifically be, and knew the kind of
characters, people and things, described
in ''Old Jim Case of South Hollow" no
doubt you would howl with glee in the
reading of It,
AS 1t Ia. you are likely to not produce
the requisite amount of glee when read
ing that Jim Case, when asked at the
Waldorf-Astoria what kind zof potatoes
he would have for lunch, said, I'll take
the EARLY Rose " or words to that eff
feet
The reviewer knows the book is funny;
he has the word of Mr.. Peyton Steger
of Doubleday, Page Co., who once lived
in Syracuse, but struggle as he has. truly,
the laughs will not come for the nonce
or for any old time.
Books are personal things; 1t also de-
ponds so much on when you read them,
how you feel, all that sort of thing, SO
that Judgment as to books depends on SO
many things
Mr.. Steger told this reader that this
hook was fine. No doubt 1t Is; great
MANY reviewers, who should know, say
so: but to this reader 1t came pretty close
70 giving him a case of pips, which are
awful and trying. If you ever had 'em,
you know.
Old jim Rose was the village oracle Of
South Hollow He Is quoted at length
and II this reviewer knew what was con-
sidered glee in or around Syracuse, he no
doubt would get enthusiastic also. But
as 1t Is, nothing doing. Mr.. Steger was
SO enthusiastic about this book that extra
pains were taken to use all the dragnets
possible to catch the humor-again moth
ing doing. AS the book has to be re-
viewed, here 1t is.
There is a love story in the book. rum
ming through Jim Cases philosophyfng;
1t was necessary to pull In the heart In
terest; otherwise no publisher would have
touched it. The love theme is very weak.
as love as a filler or a brake to Jim
Case-it Is a winner.
Mr. Rice is a prominent coal dealer In
Syracuse, N Y. To show the style of hui
NOR up there, 1t might be mentioned
that the press stated some short time
since that Mr. Rice, farmer, fisherman,
Joker and an artist, Is a thorough be-
lever in advertising Recently when a
mad dog scare in Syracuse required dogs
TO be muzzled or killed, Mr.. Rice gave
away 5000 to 5000 wooden puppies as the
result of an announcement in the papers
to this effect: 10000 unmuzzled dogs to
be let loose in Syracuse. Come and get
ones
How's that for persifiagging-scinti
49, xyit7 Cau vnu. heat if-in Syracusa7