New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-30
CURRENT CRITICISM
AND BOOK NEWS
Two Masterful Statesmen First Duke
and Duchess Of Marlborough Austria
Hungary and the War.

before. and bad had some things 10
f. I'D China. Core3 and Other amos o.
that hemisphere. Again. We ha"
made ourselves their allies in tne.r war
for. .ndcpcrdercc hat IS hat.r con
.raa cted b, Admiral Dewey and by Al.
vino have most perfect knowledge o.
Tho .ubfcct. and can never be perm'iiec
to mass uuchallc0Ccd Finally: W
purchased thc Philippines. We 1io
NOT ru~cha.. them. Ne TOOK trem Df
r.cht OF co.GGcet. confirming ana re-
ovfo~r.,o chat title with The additional
...lo Of Unconditional ccssion by spain.
tho .vc-+, millions which We paid 90
>pa5r was uo moro @ purchase price i"i
the islands than was our promise TO
urgc restitution o. the couhsca'eG e'-
tstcs Of British loyahsts the purchase
price Of our ndependence Do the
Treaty Of Paris OF 1883.
II is only through ar imperative
sense Of patriotic duty and Loyalty 20
the truth of history that We lake these
executions go q WORK Ecnera.i' SO &C
curate. so iudiCous. and so equltao.e,
20 all concerned. as tins. Mr.. 'a-t
as. Given us true and vital portrayal
NJ ono of the most interesting and en-
oao.rr figures in American politics IN
+re last quarter OF the last century.
d is the figure OF a sinEular-y sincere
and earnest patriot, by 10 means de-
void Of ambition and ms bloGrapncf
leaves room for wondering 20 what eN-
tent frustrated ambition may. perhaps
unconsciously. have swayed his ludg-
nent and directed his course IN the lasl
wears of his public life. l. IS the ne
ure. 100. Of one Of the most alert, re-
sourceful and aggressive protagonlsts
The great conflict hall at Washington
has ever seen; a terror 70 ms Toes ana
r tower Of strength 70 his friends. Inc
author has placed the nation under
debt Of gratitude for this authoritative
exposition OF the career and the char-
actcr Of one Of the men whom lt mas
delighted 20 honor
Another "frst-class fighting man..
.boucb Of different type, is presented
10 our vision in the volumes o. Joseph
Cbamberlain's speeches, with the mod
est but spprecistive flial preface and
the Illuminating historical notes oy
the editor. They are, OF course, moi
all Of his speeches. nor are all OF those
which are given presented in full. Bui
they are sufficient 20 reveal the qual.
itv Of the man himself as well as O
his stvle as a Parliamentary deDdteI
and expositor. and 10 indicate his con
Giant and consistent evolution from
narochial 10 national and from national
70 mineral interests He was one Of
tho greatest social and induStria. re
formers that England has ever known.
Il has long been an unchsllenged com
monplace 10 declare him the greatest
Of all her Colonial administrators. II,
moreover. the present state OF ahalrs
in Europe does not vindicste his pres
cience in vision Of foreign affairs, we
mast confess ourselves 20 be unable 10
discern the signs Of the times.
We have spoken OF Chamberlain as
a Parliamentary debater and eNpositor.
and not as an orator. lie was MOI an
orator in the sense in which that des-
/ ignation is applied to Bright and Glad
stone and Cowen and others among his
|contcmporarics. lie never could have
uttered Brght's Angel of Death
speech. or the peroration or Lincoln
second inaugural. Nobody could ever
have called him. as Disraeh called
Gladstone. "sophstcal rhetorician
inebriated with the cxuberance OF ms
own verbosity." Neither could Cham
berlain ever have called anybody that
not even Gladstone. In those two
denials the quality Of the speaker is
revealed. He was surpassed by mum
Der in his own time as AL orator lie
was surpassed by nobody III his own
time. If In any time. as debater.
whether in attack or defence. whether
iu construction or IN destruction.
A lighting man Of a different type
from Reed. we have called him. II was
the lot, perhaps the misfortune, OF Reed
20 spend most OF his time in opposi-
IL !. rr lao q
Of the governing party to have little
share in constructive legislation. De
spite his long and brilliant career IN
the House. not single important law
is on the statute books through ms
authorship: though there does stand
rule Of his which made II possible 10
enact many salutaTy laws. We say that
perhaps that was his misfortune; or II
may have been good fortune. How he
would have aQuitted himself as a con
/ structiVe lawmaker must remain a
matter Of speculation. Chamberlain,
+ on the contrary, had long career as
+ constructive lawmaker and as an exec
utivc administrator. and As such al
+ tanned his greatest fame. HIS speech
making. profusc as n was, was lnvari-
ably subordinate and adluvant 10 ms
executive work He was cXpoundlnC,
. ueltNOiIlEs IiOllNNNIE > g. INV
OF state. or he was attacking with a
destructive force unsurpassed IN Par
/ lamentary history the measures OF
/ others which he considered lnimical
10 the welfare Of the state.
His speeches do not read with the
b classic statelincss Of Burke. or with
the contemplating. sympathetic organ
melody Of Bright. They have not the
glitter and the glamour OF Disrael's
word magic, nor the deft dexterity with
which Gladstone persuaded others and
perhaps almost persuaded himself that
two and two made something other
than four But for convincing mar
shalling Of facts and an irresistlbly
convincing deduction of conclusions,
for rcsourceful defence OF his own
ground against all corners and An ir-
rosistible attack upon the weakest
point of his opponents ground, and oil
in calm. dispassionate, business-lke
strain, YOU viii make long search
at ST. Stephens and elsewhere for his
superior II cannot be said even by
hi. admirers that he was infalible.
either as n nstional statesman or ss q
party leader But for better OF for