The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-11
THE sIxTy-F1Rsr SECOND


THE SIXTY-FIRST SECOND
By Owen Johnson, illustrations by n. b.
Wenggell; Frederick A. Stokes company,
New York.
If owen johnson. author of ''Stover
at Yale" whose THE SiXty-First Sec
ond" has recently come out has seen the
recent dispatches from New Haven. he
must regard them with a certain degree
of satisfaction. According to the tele-
grams the entire Yale sophomoreS class,
with the exception of one or two, has
signed a petition TO the faculty and the
senior societies requesting that the
senior societies abolish secrecy and
take greater care to elect members on
account of merit only with no regard
for personal and family connections.
Although the graduate members of
these societies have been trying to stay
the storm ever since the publication of
..Stover,, made the matter acute last
spring their efforts have been unaNail-
ing and now this petition of the sopho-
mores has come to the seniors and VIII
soon reach the faculty. The junior fra
ternities are also the SUBJECT OF the
soptomores' refofmatorY action although
the changes here contemplated VIII De
less radical as the fraternities are OF
comparatively less Importance. The atti-
+ude of The sophomore class makes 1t
certain thai an oVerhauling of the Yale
| society system is at hand. 1t Will be re-
membered that these reforms are among
the most important urged by implication
| in "Stover at Yale
1t is perhaps useless to nope that MT.
| 1abrson,s .,The Sixty-First Second, -
which deals incidentally with New York
| financial conditions and the money trust,
will have n similar effect upon members
! of tbe stock exchange. In the latter case,
Mr. Johnson disclaims any attempt to re-
| form conditions He does, however, show
| an intimate knowledge of them in the
| course of his story.
! MANY an ordinary person has often
| wondered how novelists so to work TO
| huiId m the plot of a novel. especially
| when that novel is a complicated mys-
| tory story. owen Johnson tells how the
| 49, f the "Sixty-F First Second" occurred
| - hin, He had already written snort
| storv entitled zone Hundred in the Dark
! en,bodvine the Incidents related in the
first few chapters of the book. These
| roll how costly ring is stolen at Boz
han,ian supper party, now the nostess
| locks the doors turns out the lehts anu
| raouests that the ring be placed on a
si..i,, table while she counts 100. No
| astions will then be asked. At the count
- g, tho ring is heard to clink on the
| tah,e hut after the lights go alp again
n, 100 II is gone second time. VINO
| - 10 Mr. Johnson told this part of the
| storv 10 Mr. Arthur Maurice OF the Book
| ron an editor of broad acqualntanceshlp
it'll authors and an expert IN mystery
| stories. Mr. Maurice lmmediately eN-
| ,.a .sNhat a wonderful beginning
| novel; The possibility appealed
~ 20 Mr. Johnson and in the inspira-
-, of the moment, the entire plot
! flashed into his miho'
~, ndward F. Croker. for IL years
i'S "FIRE PREVENTION
o,,i.f Of the New York City fire de-
/ nartment With numerous Illus
trations Dodd. Mead Co, New
| York. =, 90 -.
aities was 10 cents per capita in
! 80 t,neIish cities it was "A cents; in
I,.a,nb cities it was 92 cents and, in
an7 American cities 1T was S2.'s! These
.a.,stice coupled with the appalling fact
1nat in one year fires in the United
\ ctotes destroy property worth more
80, s250 900 900, and blot out hundreds
of lives demand the attehtioh VI every
| Thoughtful American.
| Tarard r. Croker. for 27 years New
| v,,l, fireman. and for the last 2 years
| - ,bat time head of the department as
,,,a,,aand as Intelligent fighter of fire.
hans as ever lived. has done a great
| service to the American people by writ
Inc this book on the prevention Of
| fires. We have carried the business
of fiqhting fires to very great efHcien-
greatest variety of helpful devices. and
tbe hravest and best firemen in the
unrld. hut the total of our losses con-
tinues TO increase; and the per capita
lnss is far greater than among aAy
c,her people. What we want now Is