The San Francisco call., 1909-10-02
BUILDERSp A
BEACON LIGHT
Lincoln Steffens Shows the
Awakening of the People
To Civic Reform
By ARTHUR PRICE

| optimist. That is. the aspects OF
municipal government which the
author of the famous Undertaking
book. The shames of the Cities" has
depicted in his latest work is the
awakening of civic reform or more
decent democracy in the places in
which dwell the men he has selected
for portrayal.
The title of the book suggests the
characterization he would give his
types. The book is called "Upbuild-
ers." 1t is a volume of some $40
pages from the press of Doubleday,
Page & Co., and the ~Upbuilders' stef-
fens has reported are the following.
as stated in his table of contents:
Mark Fagan. Mayor (of Jersey City.
N. -.
Everett Colby. "The Gentleman from
Essex" Estate senator, New Jersey)-
Rem Lindsey. the Just Judge (of
Denver, Colo.).
Rudolph spreckels. Business Re-
former (of San Francisco).
W. s. URen. the Law Giver (of
oregon).
The portrait of each OF these men is
given in the book.
steffens has taken his cast of char
acters from public or semipublic life.
But they are men of different environ
ment. Pagan was an undertaken, an
anomalous Irishman-one without
sense of humor. Colby is a millionaire,
chum of the younger Rockefellers-
Lindsey. Spreckels and U'Rren are
known to the west. spreckels is the
only figure of the San Francisco graft
prosecution included in the book, but
the article on him contains a succinct
review of the local fight against graft
and of the work of Francis ]. Heney
and the others in the civic struggle
in this city.
To read the book through is to gather
a unified idea of the distinct reform
movements which have during the last
or 10 years. broken out, without ap-
parent interdependence. in distinct sec
tionS of the unfon-in New jersey.
Colorado, California and oregon. But
the separated struggles have been
a.
foreword with which the author intro
duces his book The incidents of the
lives of the men he writes of are incis
dents of travail. of struggle, of disap-
pointment, of seeming sporadic victo-
ries for the decencies the fve men have
battled for. But in the prologue to the
reports from the front" the corre-
spondent of this war shows which way
the course of the battle seems to lead.
He says:
rs it hope that is wanted? Wide
eyed optimism? Hese 1t is, in this
book. And faith? Faith in democracy
Here il is. And a hint as to what one
man can do? Here it is.
Wherever the people have found a
and not too far ahead, there they have
followed him. and there has been begun
the solution of our common problems;
the problems of the cities. states and
nations-the problems of civilized liv-
ing in human communities.
The happiest men know in all this
unhappy life OF ours are those leaders
who, brave, loyal, and sometimes in
tears, are serving their fellowmen."
The book must be read in connection
with the foreword. 1t is a book that
should be read widely, particularly
should it be read widely by candidates
for Office and Office holders who are de-
ternined to do what is right. The book
shows what pitfalls of corruption have
beset Office holders. and how the sub
jects of the reports, the s''Upbuilders.
have sometimes bridged the pits. more
often entirely or partly eradicated them
from the scheme of their political en-
vironment. But the book is best in that
it shows what sincerity in an Official
can do-in that it shows what Mark
Pagan, the blunt undertaken. did to
gain the condolences of the people and
gained them. In what 1t shows Judge
Lindsey and the others have done. II
is book which should stir men Of this
country to take chance at substan-
tial. able bodied reform work-to em,,-
late the "Upbuilders."