The Washington herald., 1918-10-20
The Edge of the Quicksands.

The Edge of the Quickssnds.
This important study of German po-
litical, economic and moral charac-
ter is the rcsult of frst-hand infor-
nation gained by a prolonged So
journ in the warning countries, fol-
lowed by a lecture tour in the United
States which brought the author into
touch with the status and the needs
of public opinion in this country.
In his present book Mr.. Curtin dis
| cusses the many differences between
the German and the speak
ing peoples and their civilizations,
with the key to German resistance
developing from these differences. He
analyzes the great forces at work.
those which constitute dangers.
strengths and hopes-by means of
! concrete facts and personal anec-
dotes He discusses the chief fal-
lacies prevalent in America regard
! ing the situation in Germany. the
real character Of the German gov.
ernment. the ilIusory nature OF hope
| for German characterization from
within, the main currents in Ger
man internal politics. the character
! of German Socialism. the necessity
defeat the German resistance. He
gives frst-hand examples of German
propaganda and how to meet it. and
gives an amusing account of German
war-plays. He also furnishes an il
| Eliminating exposition Of Wilson's
war policy
Mr.. Curtin is a war correspondent
| who has been an eye witness on fif-
| teen fronts. His former book, The
Land OF Deepening Shadow" was
| revelation OF fhe German situation
| up TO date. in the present volume
| ths study is brought right down to
| the summer Of 1918. His lecture tour
with the J. B. Pond bureau cnahlcd
| him TO give stirring message to
I the American people by word of
mouth. and 20 gather additional IN.
! formation concerning the situation IN
| all parts OF the United States. He
was gathering material for a book
on Austria Hungary when that coun-
| try mobilized He saw the first fight
| ing of the war at Belgrade, was
with the Austrian army in its first
| Serbian campaign, and with Hinden
burg's army in East Prussia. He
was with the Belgian retreat from
Antwerp and with the Russian forces
passed through France. Switzerland,
Austria and Rumana. He tramped
| through typhus-ridden Serbia and
through rural Germany The year
! before his return to this country was
spent with III" British. French and
Italian armies all the time keeping
in touch with German conditions. BY
| D. Thomas Curtin, George II. Doran.
| publishers; price, S.5O
Ny Lorraine journal.
Edith O'Shaughnessy is the wife OF
| Nelson O'ShauEhnessy. who handled
| our affairs during the recent McNi-
! can crisis. and the author of two eX-
| tremely we'll received books, a Dip
| lomat's Wife in Mexico" and dip
| lomatic Days" My Lorraine Jour
nal covers her experiences from
I June. 1917, to January. 1918, in which
! time she paid frequent visits to that
! part Of France which is now the
! American front.
| Some people have a genius for writ
! ing journals. and Mrs. O'ShauEhneSsy
! is one of them. The simplest record
J Of events would become readable i'll
| her hands and when she has things to
write about in which we are vitality
interested the result is naturally ad-
mirable 1t does not take more than
Il
! ored Of this authors style. There IS
nothing startlingly new either in the
/ things she has done or in the way
! ihev have affected her. but she en-
| dows them with a charm so piQuant
! and a pathos so real that they appear
! new and engrossing.
again / besouCht God to take care
! of His world. It's all alike-its war,
/ the ruthless, the indescribable. and
I everywhere the children paying most
! heavily. Could the war book of chil-
dren be written no eyes could read
it for tears.
Il can't bear the look on the
faces of the middle aged going up
/ to battle and l think more and more
! 1T is for the young to fight, she
says, and again, They all had that
strange. bold hard, shining look
about the eyes, with a deeper suS-
gestion of sadness that men re-
turning from action have.
And then comes one of the little
touches which make this author so
delightful for this very contrast:
THE poilu trying to find his
purse or the photographs of his
! family among everything else in
the world that he carries on his
person, pressed IlSutly against ONhSi
men carrying the same. feels doubt
less the way a sardine trying to
turn over would feel"'
My Lorraine Journal. BY Edith
O'Shaughnessy. Harper and Broth
ers. $3.50.
Hyphenated CiftEens in Eng land.
, America is not alone in having to
face the problems of the 'hyphen." :"
, In yellow Souls" by Dorota Flatau
! Doran), the naturalized alien who
continues to work for Germany in the
heart of England is strikingly por-
trayed. The story is concerned with
the multifarious underground work
! ings of a naturalized German. Sir
/ Frederick Schultz. who marries a
Lady Mary, becomes a peer. and is
/ denIonstratively British. The moral
! is one which Americans will not be
slow to grasp; and the whole situation
1 is as true of our own country as it
is of England. The authors protests
against insidious treachery at home
are fired with conviction and intense
patriotism.
The Greatest of These.
This is the diary kept by Miss