The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-01-07
Literary News and Notes.

Sarah McBride's story of ''Old Ma'am
Simpsky's Hen" presents pathetic pic
ture of orphaned childhood, and indicates
how a cbild's natural, unstudied good
will and sympathy can disturb and soften
heart long callous to- any appeal of
tenderness. The story is told in The
Youths Companion of December 31st.
The Youths Companion lately ran on
its editorial page series of articles on
''The Question of Farming" The great
er part of them dealt with the business
side of the farmers occupation, and sug-
gested how much might be done to as
sist farmers financially through new
methods of rural credit and cooperation.
These articles have attracted so much
attention that i. has been found worth
while to reprint them in convenient form.
The titles of some of the articles are:
1.-THE Open Mind, 1.-the Business Side,
Fright Use of Rural Credit, "Helps to
Rural Credit "True Cooperation,
"People's Banks" Anyone may OBJ
tain the pamphlet by sending two-cent
stamp to the Editors of The Youth Com
panion.
Two very remarkable contrloutlons
about the war appear in the January
American Magazine. One, by Ray Stan
nard Baker, is entitled "The Last Phase
of the Great War" 1t is a fiction story
of the German Invasion OF America In
1856 and is sort of imaginary history
OF the war supposed to be written one
hundred years hence The United States
wins without any fighting at all and the
story of it victory is ingenious and full
of sense, humor and surprise. The other
contribution on the war is entltled Hats
Off to FranceW it is by Win Irwin,
special correspondent of The American
Magazine and it reports the courage and
GOODNESS with which the French are TAX
ing part in this war. One gains from
! this article the impression that France
is determined and sportsman-like to the
last degree. Fiction is contributed by
David Grayson, author of Adventures
in Contentment, in the way of new
novel Untitled "Hempfield,' and there
are other stories by John A. Moroso,
MoIie Best and Maravene Thompson.
James Montgomery Flagg, the well
-Four Easy New Vars Resolutions, -
oiil tHC i'tCi Co' nj AS'klS dSP'As
| ment completes hve.y ard beautiful is
sue.
The perplexing problems behind the
war form the subject OF the leading ar
ticles in the January Atlantic. The
problem of Christianity VS.. War-so
often extravagantly attacked by press
opI i,,Iio,onS
swers in two widely divergent papers by
Repplier, with all the wit and wisdom
which have earned her the title of Amer
ica's foremost essayst, calls our peace
talk 'fabby, and denies that Christian
ity is now bankrupt; the Editor, on the
other hand, recognizing the fact that re-
ligion has broken down in the face of
war, draws with equal force the conclu-
sion that our religion must grow to in
clude the spiritual equivalent of war;
the note of the fife as we'll as the peal of
the organ. After the War; by G.
Loves Dickinson, clear statement of
the task and problems of the peacemak-
err, is sure to gain wide hearing by rea-
son of it's sanity and the international re-
nown of its author. Henry w. Massing-
ham, the editor of the London Nation,
sketches the personalities that are now
at the helm of the English government,
and their probable future policies; Gus
tavus Ohlinger outlines the surprising
history of German aggression In the ORR
ent; and l.. Ames Brown tells what
President Wilson is quietly doing to pro-
mote "A New Era of Good Feeling be-
tween the continents of America.