Evening star., 1914-05-16

81 ."The Everlasting Mercy" etc.
New York: Tine Macmillan Com
pany.
49, HOUGH John Masefeld has
chosen a condition and an
event out of ancient history
II as the foundation of his new
MAY. vet that condition is so
,u[souslv kindred to one prevailing III
,banreseut that the drama is, III ITS es-
eer1JaIs a thoroughly modern on" M
adsst forcshortening in the handling
.,sm embassies still more its Illusion
~ Emmediacy. and moves the struggle
of 3ompey and Caesar into the current OF
,,.-n events more than ..uUH years
a,fsr this struggle took place. rms is
a 6tama of the old Yet ever New ""i
fa+ of the many against tt- i"W' oi
the people against power II i '
story of the regularly recurring surge
Of -the mass toward the surface y
chNge of names, few differences IN
fhAs mere epidermis of tondluoiis, an"
@ht1 resistance of the Roman people 10
,hEpatricians becomes the revolt OF 'le
modern proletariat. Pompsy Is the
stSdpatter the preseriptivc man OF ms
daE Caesar the progressive. the insur-
yeAH one. MIR. Masetield has mace an
acHble play of cumulative movement anu
cohFerging incident. He las done nel'er
than that Ry q superb bit OF history
teaching he has demonstrated the funda-
mental use of history. History IS hoth-
ing more than bodies OF experience oul
ef y hich the world Is to learn us lesSoiis'
gather foresight and exercise ltsell M
Wisdom But before it can do any ol
these things bodies of historic experience
must be proved identical with those
per1ods and situations which they are 10
instruct and. besides. they must pe
translated into the Vernaculaf OIL tiieil
Students from age to age. And thls Is
that has been done in this drama ol lh
.ucient day wherein lurh many OF the
Grid problems of the present.
,MERICAN svNDICALIsM: The !. W.
~ BY John Graham Brooks, ;tu-
Thor of The Social Unrest etc
New York: The Macmillan Company
IN. this study the authors single aim
ppears to be to give a comprehensive
iew and an intelligible statement of the
.'rench doctrine of syndicalsm this,
\ the United States. is embodied in the
,tlastrial Workers of the World and rep
scented by them Commonly the
Workers are observable only i'll their
'urid moments CT public demonstration.
md any dispassionate analysis of the
group in its quieScent as we'll as in its
ruptive moods. is as uSefully informing
IS il is difficult of achievement
Nj. Brooks defines American syndical-
sm as ''the newest and most audacious
'oryn of socialism. whose deepest source is
4ndeniably economic though its more su-
uerticial origin lies in an angry protest
Igainst what it looks upon as the Supne
character of the present phase % social
i,m The distinct aim of the !. W. w. Is
tn he system,
branch, to take over production and
appropriate il. On the subject Of 1ust
how this is to be taken over. and ul how
il is to he adjusted to economic and So
cial life after it has beeli taken over. the
syndicalist is haZily vague and manifest
ly unprepared. Direct action" expressed
in the general strike is the weapon of the
T. ". W. Its warfare is of the guerilla
type. The intense and often wanton indi-
viduaiism that makes syndicalsn resist
organization or any other restraint sets 1t
Off from the most modern form of social
ism and points its methods upon those of
the anarchist. It's quarrel with both or
sanized socialism and organized labor is
that they are organized. and that they
make compromises with capital Labor.
indeed is counted 10y it as Il part of capi-
talism by virtue of its being part of
the wage system.
Mr. Brooks study leans neither toward
this subject nor away from it. but pur-
suea instead a middle course of unbiased
investigation. II grants the fundamental
Embellishments of society that lie AT the
roots of the /. W. w. cause. Ii con-
cedes am idealistic vision TO the syndi-
cahst. But 1t makes equally clear the
fact that syndicalism has no constructive
plan with which To follow up its lawleSs
and oNer-ready destruction. The author
has very interesting things to say about
5he racial makeup of the /. w W. and
rfs effect Of q practically unrestricted i'm
migration upon it's ultimate bulk and
..ieI. -ts Very significant part nj the
widely diffused social unrest. American
syrdicaism deserves study. and Il sancr
exposition of the subject than this would
''e difficult to find
SILENT SAM: And other stories of Our
Day. BY Harvey J. OHigeins, au-
thor of ''Don-a dreams" etc. New
York: The Century Company.
Tie majority of story writers in search
OF theme keep as close as may be TO the
-lpper crust of life. for the very good
reason that the majority OF story readers
re still in the lovely -priucesS-sn nd knight
youth stage of appreciation. once in
= wntl.. however, a writer breaks through
his illusivc field into the and OF things
- they are. Now and then one Of these
$ inspired by the drama of the common
latT-the alternate tragedy and comedy
If fhe average or below average folks.
II takes art and heart and hunor to dra-
Inatfze these. o. Henry was master
hand at il, and So is OIEggins. Here
are twenty proofs more or less of the
rare gift of this writer In making strong
and direct appeal through the medium
of the unappca.ifIg III either life or art.
The east side IN New York--the east side