Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-05
BOOK REVIEWS.

ON SOME OF LIFE-s IDEALS. BY
William James. author OF Inc
Principles of Psychology" etc. New
York: Henry Holt & Co.
~ PSYCHOLOGISTS have for so long
been abstract, and technical, and
dull-as the average reader
counts dullness-that when now
and then one feels the impor-
lance of reducing himself TO comhio'l
terms OF intellgibilty. the reader wakes
up. surprised, to learn that what the nina
does, and when. and how, and why, IS
matter of most absorbing interest VI
all, William James is the most readable.
as he was also one of the most profounu
of PSYCHOLOGISTS. One recalls wildly the
exhilarating professional stir Oh MS
.STaIks to Teachers wherein this aloof
subject OF psychology takes on nearness'
and color pfth and point. Among these
talks, as a sort of climax to the whole'
are two essays of special import and ap-
plicability The two come together IN
this booklet One. ron a Certain Bllno-
ness in Human Beings" the other. what
Makes a Life Significant" The first has
10 do with ones point of view and the
effects of this. 1t defines the average
mans point of view as essentially eA-
ternal and. to a degree, unreckoned,
condition that serves effectually to ex-
Clude him from the manifold deep values
and meanings with which life is SOAKED
and shot through" In proof of the rlch
man of conscious inner vision, Mt. Jalnes'
with delightful grace. presents Iois.oi;
Wordsworth. Robert Louis stevenson anu
Walt Whitman. The second essay a"pli,
fies the powers of sympathy, insight anu
- fhxa
of courage. the heroism of toll. prI.atioI
all pressing toward goal OF ratlo.ai
ideality These are stimulating tnous n.s.
That in this handy form they may pass
easily and often into the minds OF Ieau
ers iS a distinct tribute to the undenlaoiy
good service of the one presenting 'his
little volume.
cuunIsROR N THE CITY STREETS.
By Edward N. Chopper. Phi. d., sec
rotary of national child labor com
mittee for Mississippi valley. Ne"
York: The Macmillan Company.
II is in the main true that the facts
most securely intrenched against as
covery and interference are the facts
closest at hand, the immediate, outstano-
ing ones. This explicit and pointed volume
brings additional evidence that human
eyesight is long. rather than short Wit
ness the prophet, seen and held in honor
abroad. but indifferently overlooked at
home Witness the missioner, gathering
up i'm clear vision some savage pano IN
far-away Africa while the savage up the
alley is invisible to him. Witness-and
here lies the subject of this study-the
modern reformer. frenz1ed with zeal
against child labor in the factories down
south, or in the sweat shops up north,
while on his own streets small errand
boys newsboys, bootblacks and peddlers
ply unmolested trades. This volume covers
a comprehensive study of child labor In
city streets. It>is an orderly and simple
view designed for immediate and urgent
appeal Serious fair-minded investigation
. is at the bottom of it. Innumerable cases
Of wide geographic range oojectify the
general situation which gains emphasis
and personality through certain special
reports. Following searching examina-
ton of the effects Of this phase of child
labor Is a discussion of practical remedies
for this civic ailment. In this connection
a most interesting summary of the work
OF other countries with this subject is
presented. The whole sums to an urgent
plea. not for further Inadequate regnla-
ton, but for a rigid prohibition of this
particular form Of child labor.
THE RED CROSS GIRL. BY Richard
Harding Davis, author of Gala
gher, etc. Illustrated by Wallace
Morgan New York: Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons. Washington: Brentano's.
Richard Harding Davis in these half
dozen short stories stands by his familiar
ambidextrous literary habit. One hand
seizes things as they are. The other pre-
sents things as they ought to be-. One,
the hand early commissioned to make
good. is practiced in the gentle art OF
"scooping' real news. The other, looser,
the instructive i.And, plays happily among
the varied patterns of romance. In gath
ering material Mr.. Davis vigorously
hooses facts-prosaic. indisputable facts
ALI of uitra-modern cast, or forecast.
These collected and before him, the news
man is out, the romancer in. Gifted
with an old-faShioned imagination, most
At home in the half-forgotten land Oh
onivalry and inspired by a frank desire
10 give pleasure and to create a feeling
Of afl-around good cheer, the story teller
sets to work upon this hard material.
because he is first romancer, the clear
lugic of events is sometimes abandoned
lor less rigid paths, the improbable often
comes 10 pass. In the issue sharp cor
pers have rubbed to curves, ragged planes
have smootlfed to bright faces. With
method of realism. Mr.. Davis frequently
achieves results too good to be real. This
yofume illustrates clearly the qualities or
the author. The stories are not of equal
excellence. Two of them at least are lit
tie more than padding for the others.
However good or less good. Mr.. Davis
is well worth reading for his spirit, his
ingenuity, his clean company.
GEORGE HELM. BY David Graham
Phillips. author of "Old Wives and
New" etc. New York: d. Appleton
& Co.
Plutocrat here. proletariat there, and
between the two. the hosts Of Arranged
don captained for social righteousness. AS
a profoundly dramatic spectacle. 1t is ir-
resistible. Writers of every order. feeling
the appeal Of this complex, are making
haste to envisage it and to embody 1t in
literature. George Helm" an example
OF this theme in fiction. makes familiar
development of the career of fearless
young reformer in a corrupt, bought-and-
paid-for community. The story is neither
better nor worse than innumerable others
drawn from the same source. What one
misses here is the peculiar and exclusive
quality that came later to stamp the
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