New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-18
THE WAR AND AFTER.

MIN. WOMEN AND WAR BY VII Irwin. i2mo
pp 1872 u. Appleton & Co
PRoBIEMs OF REApJU STNiENT AFTER TIE
WAR l2mc. 70 w. I>6 .. Appleton 4 Co.
/ TIE WAR AND AFTER short Chapters on Sub
lcy's Of serious Practical Import for the A'crss'
Citizen ~ A. y 1873 ouwa-us Ev Sir Oliver
Lodge l6mo. ~. Iih 2-5. Lorjcu Me''uea
Co Lad
Mr.. Irwin, whose vivid letters from
/ London will be remembered by Tribune
readers. has gathered in this volume
/ those impressions and experiences OF
his that have lasting value. He was
one Of the quartet Of American CORE
spondents - Cobb, Bosch and Nc
Cutcheon were the others who, IN the
first days Of the war, drove out OF
Brussels in taxicab to Tirlemont and
Louvain, and thus into the German
I lines. Mr.. Twins account OF the al
venture appropriately opens these
pages, and, after all that has been writ
ten about the initial stage Of the strug-
gle since then, il is exceedingly wei
worth our while. II is picturesque, II
is dramatic. and il is often interest
ingly subjective. Withal, there IS mere
an admirable economy OF means,
directness of description which is re
porting at its best. The gospel OF war
l"the religion of valor"- does not APP
peal 70 Mr.. Irwin. lie abhors its fruits
as he has seen them in ruined cities
and villages, and on pitted, ploughed,
torn battlefelds. The theory OF the
purging of the nations by battle Is to
him perfectly undemocratic, essen
tially aristocratic" Yet out Of It has
come The Soul of France" which he
analyzes so reverently, most Of all as
il has been reborn in its women. HIS
chapter on "The British Calm" is no
less revealing. with its reflections upon
that strange British faith in muddling
through, (which seems to have grown
from a rcproachful watchword to a
creed" Still,
As time went on, you began 10
perceive that there is something,
after all, in the British policy OF
muddling through. II their imper-
durability had got them into this
fix. that same imperturbability was
getting them out of the fix. They
did not. like more emotional, more
mercurial, or less controlled people,
become appalled, at the nature Of
the problem and develop q case OF
"rattles" or encouragement. With
a kind of unsystematlc sense or
system they did what was TO be
done. Il became almost
fascination to watch England wake
up-not as a nation. but by lndl-
viduals and by sections
This was written .n December. 1914.
What England hos since done is still
very much Of -t-.ct carefully kept
If Kitchcncr's .e, -.td prophecy thar
the war would leg.I N May of TINS
year has not been realized, certain i IS
that his army is in France to-day, j.
100000 strong. Perhaps Mr.. Irwin we'll
have the opportunity to write his I'M
pross;ons Of this later phase Of the
British calm. The book stands ap2it
rom the general ran OF war CORE
:pondence. Its title truly describes H.
The discussions Of problems of Re
adjustment After the War" by Pro
feSsors Albert Bushnell Hart, Edwin K.
A. ScIgman. Franklin II. Giddings,
Weuel ". Willoughby, George Graf
ton Wilson. Emory K. Johnson and
Rear Admiral Caspar +. Goodrich, form
a volume OF exceptional interest, es-
pecially 20 US, for, IN writing theSe
CHAPTERS. the authors have invariably
kept in mind American interests and
the American point OF view. IfoleS-
sor Hart leads with an article on the
influence OF the outcome OF the war
upon the fortunes Of democracy; ne
world is bound 20 .ake notice OF the
relative efficiency Of popular and arlS-
tocratic governments. The ordinary
voter is not political philc o'hti;
And as for the record OF aGprorarcd-
ness of the democ.acios OF Europe we
in this country may well take heed.
Professor Seligmaa's economic iH-ef-
no H..
less directly. lie forcsccs more eco
nomi. struggles. We have advanced
from the export Of agricultural 2Iod-
ucts to that Of manufactures. Nheh
we shall reach the third stage, tina o.
the export Of capital for the eEpiol.a-
ton of the undeveloped parts Of Che
world, the real test OF our ~, 1ten S. mp
with England viii come. "Ihe CfiS9.5
in Social Evolution" is dealt with by
Professor Giddngs the struggle TO-.
supremacy between two conceptions OF
civilization. "Gcrman efficiency is
made; French, English. American eil-
s-'a~