The Washington herald., 1909-10-17

OF insurance. such as marine, boiler. en-
ployers liability, and government and
workingmen's compulsory insurance are
also treated. Indeed, II is In these latter
| features that the work may serve its
| greatest usefulness, as reliable and scien-
tiic treatises on the newer forms are
rare.
Volume II is given up wholly to life
insurance, and here, as in the first vol
ume, much stress is laid upon the his
torical development of insurance; also
the theory and function OF life insurance
are treated in considerable detail. In
the light Of the insurance Investigations
Of three years ago. the chapters on the
management Of companies, their legal
status, and the relation Of State and ma
tional government to the business is
especially interesting. as Mr. hartman
severely arraigns the regulations intro
duced by the States and at the same
time makes a plea for Federal super
vision.
AS many Of the papers presented are
tine work Of practical insurance men,
who express their views. formed from
frst-hand contact with the workings of
the companies. in a vigorous and oonvinc-
ing manner, the book takes on a new
value, and is immune from the charge
Of being merely theoretical.
THE AMERICAN OF THE FUTURE AND
OTHER ESSAYS. BY Prof Brander Matthews.
New YORK: 1harles scibner's Sons.
Prof. Brander Matthews has collated
his recent essays into volume and pub
lished them under the title 1.-THE Ameri-
can of the Future ard other Essays"
the list running the gamut OF things phiIo-
. /
dramatic. seeming 20 establish the writ
er's astounding versatility, or at least
his profound temerity in tackling any
subject within the range Of the human
mind. The eccentrlcities OF national
character the broad aspect Of interna-
tional feeling. the channels Of local poll
tics. the influence Of literature. whether
English, French, or German, the develop
ment and spread OF languages. the faults
Of the modern drama, the beauties of
phonetic spelling, are ali equally invit-
! Ing to him He handles all with facility
and settles each with complacency
The subjects treated upon are THE
American OF the future" american
/ character" The Americans and the
British" BLOOD Is thicker than water"
) The scream Of the spread-eagle, -
; American manners" American humOr. F."
] The speech Of the people" English as
, a world language "Simplified spelling
Z and fonetic reform" ''The question OF
the theater," Persuasion and contro-
} versy" Reform and reforners,' Those
j literary fellows" and Standards OF sue
cess" the titles alone being sufficient 10
demonstrate the tremendous range OF his
, observation and criticism. and il must
be ADMITTED that the dominant strain IN
Z his writing IS contained in the latter ele-
ment
Prof. Matthews. although his view OF
3 causes and basic principles IS sometimes
, at variance with popular ideas. and his
? version OF historical features not always
in accordance with tradition in the large
majority Of cases. comes 10 n reasonable
conclusion, the result being sometimes
marred by a curious mixing OF the prem
E ises. rs for instance in discussing the
] English and French languages, he says:
! "Englih tragedy is on the whole. far
] superior 70 French comedy. whereas
r. French comedy is. on the whole, far SUI
{ perlor to French tragedy" where, q
would seem that comparison of French
tragedy with English, tragedy. and OF
4 French comedy with English comedy
would be more 70 the point and IN COM
Z menting upon the statement of an Amer
lean returned from abroad that his coun-
trymen were "a people compared 10
S whom the Berserkers were Chesterfelds
e and the Tartars a race Of Talleyrands. -
the critic adds that the public morality
and the private morals Of Tallyrand and
Of Chesterfield do not commend them
3 selves as worthy models for American
imitation" when It is obvious that the
. question OF manners and not morals IS al
r. Issue.
= Although all Of his dissertations are
d interesting, ia the present series. THE
q American Of the Future" and English
p as a World Language" are the most
= striking. In the former he treats Of the
b assimilation Of the hOrdes Of foreigners
D tlOcking to our shores and the making OF
t them into good American citizens. His
thoughts, TO some extent, parallel those
OF Zangwill as regards the great melt
n Ing pot and the fact is made apparent
) although he does conclusively state II
that proper results must be obtained, not
t by their injecting their traditions and
s characteristics into our system, but by
= an unequivocal adoption on their part OF
our governmental and social ideas. which
are, for the most part OF English origin
In the latter he correctly concludes that
, the universal tribe" OF no particular
n language can rise higher than the Do
% litical and commercial greatness of the
a nation which speaks Il. He depicts the
& passing Of the Greek, the Latin, and the
Z French, each at some period an aspirant
n for universally" by reason of the de-
n cadence OF those nations IN the warlike
d and commercial sense, and ascribes The
. spread Of the English language TO the rise
,. Of the English speaking nations TO po-
n litical and commercial Importance. HC
a holds out strong hopes that English may
e become the world language" but by In
/. ference. at least. from his premises. Il
Y depends on a continual forging to the
, front in those respects. Prof. Matthews
!. Is extremely fond of quoting eminent mer
n Of all nations in defense OF his theories
: and it is evident that two Of the mos
prolific fonts from which his theorie!
2 spring are Theodore Roosevelt and Prof
/, Lounsberry. His essays are scholarly anC
y interesting, and where his arguments
q may fail TO make converts, they are GER
:, tainly calculated to engender some new
: thoughts upon Old albeit essential, ques
= tons.
! ARMY LETTERS FROM AN OFFICERS WIFE
q BY Frances NJ. A. Roe. New York and Lon
don: d. Appleton s. Co
/ Army Letters From an Officer
l. Wife," by Frances NJ. A. Roe. is an in
: teresting series OF experiences on thu
! frontier during the period running from
= 1S71 10 1883, the writer being the wife O
!. an army officer, who accompanied hin
a in his migrations from one army pos
: 20 another during that eventful run o.
years so important in the upbuilding o.
the great West just before the poten
5 advent of the railroad, and the final dis
S, appearances Of the buffalo, when gam,
< was abundant and the Indians RESTLESS