Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-01


The Century Company.
"DWIN DAVIES SCHOONMAkER
here opens wide doors of out
|" look upon the world storm now
raging According to Mr.. Schoon-
maker the monstrous movement
is hu, another step in the northward
march of Caesarism across Europe
,,,rcb whose trail is marked by the
triumphs of national freedom. men
caesar. something like two thousand
,..,c ago passed uorthwestward into
,:aGl. Italy behind him began her long
and yicissitous urge toward liberty. And
again. when Caesarsm. PERSONNEL nrs'
in the "sun king and later in Napoleon
| n,ssed east and north into Germany.
France then moved toward the dawn
az ber national life. Now CaesarlSm
k,iserism. militarism, is fighting lor
it's life in Germany, its fate on tue
knees of the gods of war. And wheh
militariSm shall have ceased TO trouple
this land, leaving it as has the o'hers
to the development of a larger anu
worthier life. Russia. standing III 'he
course of its northward march, VIII NC
its temporary abiding place TINS lac'
makes Russia and the quailty OF 'he
Slay the most important OF All ques
ton bearing upon the present wal, ~
it is at this point that the au.no' 10
tn question the Slavic people as 10
whether it is a friend or a roe Oh
democracy. The two chapers on rus
-sia that stand here as answer TO this
uuerv light up the character OF Tue
Siay of the hole people. with an IN
sight and a fairness that one mas not
hitherto met SO much Tor tne PIoo-
able future home of such mll'tarisil as
may he left out of the present connect
To war this writer makes it clear that
landlordism as well as caesaii .sn
must be called to an accounting III T tie
settlement of the near future. 1nen.
facing forward. Mr.. Schoonnaker
points to the United States as the per
feet model for similar Cnlted states
of Europe. In this consloera'ioH , ne
tries out the most conspicuous OF ouI
various modern preposseSs1ons anu
movements-socialism. culture. emci-
ency the church. the woman question-
in the largest sense of failure. ana
where they have proved inadequate.
And here he shows that the future must
bear in mind that it has valuable les
sons to learn from the spirit, at least,
that animates militarism- He demon
strates that peace must go to school 10
war in order to learn the great lesson
of cooperation that hes at ,ne roo ~
Mr. Schoonmaker's remarkable book
does not at all convey an idea OF the
splendid quality of this study. To It's
high intellectually are added nobll-
ity of spirit and a power of eloquence
that can be communicated only by
nersonal reading of this SURPRISING
book.
Room. THE MIND OF THE RACE, THE
WILD ASSES OF THE DEVIL. AND
THE LAST TRUMP: Being First
Selection from the Literary Remains
of George Boon, Appropriate to the
Times. Prepared for publication by
Reginald Bliss, with an ambiguous
Introduction by III. q. Wells New
York: George H. Doran Company.
A man continually in print must chafe
at times under the restraints OF his
perpetual dress parade. Now and then'
no doubt. he would give good deal to
take off his clothes, so to speak. and to
throw himself around in the roomy
nakedness of what he really thinks
about a whole lot of things. And often
he sets himself to planning some free
and-easy excursion of this sort. There
is but one thing that celebrated ana
conspicuous writer in such straits can
do, and that is simply to play that ne
is somebody else. In other words. all
that he is able to do is to hide his dis
distinguished person behind the OBJ
security of some make believe nobody.
And this is what Mr.. Wells appears TO
have done here, except that he has set
up two shields before him instead OF
mere ostrich performance. First there
is Boon he who does as much as he
is able to name this long-ttied tale.
Then there is Bliss. whose business
here is to rummage around IN the Ht-
erary ragbag bequeathed him by Boon,
In order to bring out from it such bits
as are required for this go-as-you-
please adventure Mr.. Wells merely
opens the to-do with a modest. an over
modest. introduction. The raSoag,
emptied out between the covers OF this
book, stands as the jottings of gen
eral observation to which is added a
good share of literary criticism. Here
are scraps of conversation. interrupted
solilouuies. notes for future bookmak-
social appraisal and comment. 1t is
amusing stuff. Much of it is clever.
Some of it is wise. Now and then 1t is
conspicuously forced and dull. Boon.
to have his full say about Henry James
as a novelist. He works out a novel
in the James manner. Il am convinced.
say Boon. or Bliss, or Wells. that
abundant minds alive in the whole
world, and he has the smallest penetra-
ton. Indeed. he has no penetration.
He is the elimination Of the super
minds one that about a year ago in
his Notes on Novelists" Mr.. James. in
the urbanity of manner and generosity
Of concession that mark his criticisms.
had a few things to say about Mr..
Wells and MI. Bennett, and about the
school Of English novelists as whose
masters they stand. 1t is the old quar-
rel as to whether a novel belongs to
art or to the slip-shod and sprawlfng
habit Of life itself. The most that
can be said about this book Of parallels,
fab1eA and farces is that 1t 10 amusing
when It Il not wearytng.
4 GEHMAN-AMERICAN CONFESS
SION OF FAITH. By Kuno Francke,
curator Of tho Germanic museum Of
Harvard University. New York: B.
w. Buebsch.
By means Of the i've articles Of this
volume Kuno Francke makes answer
to the "bittsr and iIl-informed criti-
casmr that has been pointed at him by
certain Germans and German-Ameri-
cans for his stand during the present
war. Mr.. Francke's refusal to take
part In the propaganda set on foot BY
q group Of German-Americans to ef-
feet an embargo on arms and munitions
of war. appears to have been the match
that fred this train Of bitter criticism
and angry insinuation. What one gets
out of this self-exposition is greatly to
the glory Of Mr.. F,rancke. 1t sums to
the fact that this man is now an Amer
lean, having made q free-win choice
of the United States as his home and
his country. In this capacity. he Is
therefore under the highest moral OBJ
legation to so cultivate his feelings,
regulate his words and direct his con-
duct as to conserve at every possible
point the highest interests Of the
full power the aims and policies OF its
Government reaching this point