The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

c. DeMille, stands in class by itself. and before 1t all prejudice must be thrown 10 the winds. MT. Terhune has
 succeeded In combining the dramatic quality of the play with superb liter ary quality furnished by himself. and the
 result is an expressing book which stands entirely upon It's own merits. It is safe l to say that in its present form ''The Woman" will achieve the same promi-
 hence among readers of fiction as 1t did
 among theatregoers when produced by David Belasco.
 There are two distinct lines of interest
 in which this story is very strong, and
 both are lines in which the public a whole is concerned and with which 1t Is at present much engaged-the machine in politics and woman in her infinite variety.
 Both are treated not only in q manner that absorbs the attention of the reader,
 but with great fairness and due sense of proportion. There is nothing hysterical
 or ultra-piou in the attitude of the au-
 thor toward the weaknesses of his fel-
 lows, nor Is there any exaggerated pity for them. any confusion of right and
 wrong. any blinking at the fact that pun
 ishment inevitably follows sin, and that
 grown people generally know that fact
 when they run into wrong doing, and have, therefore, no right to complain
 when they have ito take their medicine"
 In short, 1t Is a human document which MT. Terhune has prepared-a document treated with excellent taste. to be sure but one which does not seek to idealize or to follow false ethics merely for the sake of romance. On the other hand, he
 has-found the good side of his characters
 and even the machine politicians are | shown with all the good qualities that many, pi obaby all of them, possess. The story is tense-dramatic in every situation. Ii all revoyes about the effort of Jim Blake, boss of the political ma chine, to uncover some scandal in the life
 of Standish leader of the reform, which
 will prevent Standish from being elected speaker of the house of representatives.
 and which will secure the office for Blal1es son-in-law instead. Standlsh is seemingly blameless, but finally it Is dis covered that In years past he has been in volved in an affair with a woman. To | find the woman is the problem, and Wan da Kelly a hotel telephone operator. Is picked by Blake as being the one best | able to accomplish the task. She under takes the mission-though she is not loyal ] to Blake and has no idea of disclosing the woman's name-and when finally she 1 does uncover the secret, Blake tries to wiring 1t from her by third degree meth ods, little dreaming that the woman in- volved is his own daughter, the wife of
 the man he would make speaker of the | house.
 It is a powerful climax which the story reaches at this point and into it the au- | thor has thrown all of the skill which a 1 clever writer has at his command. It teens with action and through 1t all the plucSy little telephone operator clings to
 her ideal of honor. though her own heart | is being trampled upon by the heels of the power-seeking politicians Of course, Wanda wins the day. and also brings to fl continuation her own romance, which all through the story furnishes love e1e-
 ment that is good, and pure and whole some.
 No book has been published in recent years that shows so convincingly the power of woman in her own place and | through her natural gifts and relation ship.