The sun., 1918-08-04

NbllH lAoHS = hHNNtu TT GHtNfR Ut Ih'lN-
over. Tho books are astonishingly frank
revelations of the personalities of the men
WHO wrote them.
D.. billions text reveals the British
journalist TO whom the personal pronom
is at prime importance, the man who
kG"y-s LIS subject down to the ground
and Yet is 50 "vcriurdcncd with his
knowledge flat hiS text ycrgeS on The in
coherent Il reveal, the man weary Of
his subject and perhaps made doubIv
pes ni>tic owirg f. lis country's refusal
ia consult him and take advantage of his
knowledge of Rnssia in its diplomatic
interchange, with that country.
D.. Ross. on the other hand. is the
trained sorI"l"gIrt first, good reporter
next. and n man trimming over with en-
tin~I?SIu for lis chef ann IN writing his
boot-that is. to find something good in
Russia in spite Of It's present dstressful
condition. Finally. Hr Dillon writes of
wha is dead and gone: Prof Ross of
wha- i living and present
Is Russia Incomprehefsible?
DIR. DilIon's chief contention that Rus
sia = a cryptic volume 10 Slav nations,
and To BriionS book with seven seals"
Orc gathers that the writer knows the
Russian mind and character even if his
eomPatri"ts de- not, and this he surely
should owing to his knowledge of the Ian
gra:ye ard his many years of residence
in the country And from this know ledge
be discusses TIE Ea>,iap Enigmd. The
Russian Nird and L0ci II RUSSIAN Unitg
will profuSion of unlluminating foot
notes that are one of the unmitigated
borS of his tcxt
He also INDUCES in aifectations such as
always referring 70 the co--.trv and The
government as the "TSardorI.' the history
of which. 50 far as this work is concerned,
begins with the advent of Nicholas H..
although the Russia that ended with the
revelation of March. 1917. began ages
before the day of the second Nicholas
He describes the beginnings of the rcvo-
mtrnary movement Of 1905; devotes a
chapter TO Father Gapon and Azeef
(which contains little that is new yet
READS like an old fashioned Nihilist
novel;; ard another to Rasputn, whom
he Interprets as a "Symbol-of RusSia's
decadent bestiality We may assume.
Little New, Much That's Dull
In his chapter on Russia's international
relations Dillon tells Il story Of plot to
seize the heights of the upper Bosporus
that was worked out by the last Gar and
which we do not rerall seeing in print be
fore. yet it throws no new light on Rus
sian diplomacy since il is so thoroughly
characteristic What amounts to four
chapters are devoted TO the secret treaty
of Biorke. revealed in the willy Nicky"
correspondence. that for deadly dulness
would be hard TO equal in any historical
work We know. The chapter on The
DorHfaH Of the TSdrdom is more con-
red with giving extracts from what
DR.. Dillon wrote IN the Contemporary Re
rietr in 1905 and 1906 than in making
that record of the events of March, 1917,
which the reader might be led TO expect
from the chapter heading.
One of the most striking features of
this book as whole is thai its most
entertaining and rewarding passages are
not about Russia al all but the glimpses
it gives the reader of the Emperor Will
lam as an international political knave
whose ethics would make Philadelphia
ward leader blush.
Skip Ross's Preface!
Prof. Ross begins his preface
fortunately most people skip prefaces-
will the statement that scientific objec-
tivity" has been his guiding star in writ
ing his book. In this preface one reads
the cool and refreshing statement that
white he might have DrpSpuied the i'm