The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-11


 one, but there are very few sciences, and none Of the arts, in which the old book is of current value Grays Anatomy is still standard, although it was first published 75 years ago. There has been no change in the propositions of Euclid, and the stand ard works on trigonometry and high CT algebra do not need to be of the 1918 edition But when we have to provide a book on the |psychology of color for the use of the eamou- flage corps, if has to be a new book. The chemistry of high explosives is a subject on which we cannot get books from the average mans book shelves Neither do the average mans book shelves yield books to meet such demands as one which one of our librarians recently encoun- tered, from a Greek soldier, who wanted a book to help him teach an Italian soldier how to read Eng fish. . The publishers are very generous in their discounts. some of these running as high as 50 per cent; otherwise we could not, with our lim- ited funds, go as far as we have been able to go, for VIC have bought since the first of the year nearly 750000 books in addition to those which have been given by the pub lie. Our services are of no value whatever unless We can put into the hands of the man who needs it the exact book he needs when he wants it. When the notice of an Annapolis examination was posted at Pelham Bay recently, 80 of the boys decided to try for it. They swooped down on the librarian with 8 demand for books on higher mathematics, which she was able to fill by tele- phoning our New York dispatch of flee which forwarded some hundreds of trigonometries, algebras and geom- etries These boys needed the books then and. not after we had time to 20 out and beg for them from private libraries.
 When the united war fund cam paign starts on the eleventh of Mo- vember there should be a generous re- sponse. Of the $170,500,000 to be raised then, the share the library as- sociation seeks seems a bagatelle. Yet the cause is of such deep concern that every library worker will put his shoulder to the wheel in cooperation and do his part in pushing the gen. eral war fund movement.
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 Two misguided soldiers in an Illinois thought they would have q little fun with raw recruit. After they woke up they discovered that the rocky they had elected to pick on was strangler'' Lewis, the wrestler
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 At any rate the fact that Prince Max was once an inmate of an insane asylum is less discreditable to him than pris- on record would be. if he had spent the same length of time in jail
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 Ex-King Ferdinand of Bulgaria will make his home in Germany. But after 8 while Germany may not be the safest 41,z Gov, fO,, 1 head to vegetate.
 A South Chicago riveter earns s64 for eight hours work At that rate how long will it be before he is occupying a suite in one of Chicagos lake shore hos telries?
 A quick response ito the Presidents peace note is expected. Naturally. Aren't the allied armies headed straight for German soil and getting closer to it every day?
 Even if the Kaiser has abdicated, is there a castle on the face of the earth, except in Germany, where he would find fhe latchstring hanging out7
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 The influenza epidemic is a double hardship for the small boy who had his fayorite movie house closed right in the
 
 x < $. pr. Dernburg, breathing soft platitudes. Surely he still bears the impression of Uncle Sam's boot.
 People who merely glance at some Of the newspaper headlines and then run to tell the neighbors usually get the war news wrong.
 Every town laid in ruins by the re- treating Huns will incrsase the size of the indemnity Germany >will have to pay
 There must be a lot of grim satisfac- ton for the Belgians in rounding up batch of covering Huns.
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 General Foch is conducting himself like a man to whom peace "feelers" mean nothing in particular.
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 Every person afflicted with the disease Is expected to conserve his influenza germs