Evening star., 1919-12-14

THE ARafY BEHIND THE ARMY.
BY Maj. e. Alexander Powell, U.
S. A. illustrated. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons.
N past times Of peace one imaged
war. casually, as an indefinite
multiplication of two men, stand
ing opposed. each with a loaded
gun in hand. That was long ago
four years ago. almost five. Within
the last pregnant half decade, how
ever, one has learned that to make a
man the fighting devil that war re-
quires him to be. the whole of civilian
industry stands behind him. supply
ing deadly and more deadly instru-
ments Of destruction for his use. 1t
is this aspect Of modern war that
Maj. Powell presents herein, thor
oughgoing and oficially supported
description of the enormous army
whose work is to keep the battle
itself constant and deadly. The re-
sources of the world. the brains OF
the world, the experience of bankers.
of captains Of industry, of scholars.
of inventors-all in the last war
were as essential as the fighting man
himself. 1t is of the work of this.
army Of industrial specialists that.
the amazing story in hand has to do.
to do the work, supplied with every
sort of special information and per-
sonal liberty, Maj. Powell has woven
true story around the separate mill
itary branches of the service that
puts to blush any mere romantic in
vention that has yet come into print.
There is not an uninteresting page
in the book, nor one that let's the
reader down for a moment from the
height of his sustained amazement and
absorption. And the book is clear in
formation-solid meat throughout.
The manner of it, too. is a part of
it's striking appeal-a flexible, con-
versationa1 story, aware of it's poSs1-
bilities and living squarely and pic
turesquely up to them.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE FOUR
TEEN POINTS. By Harry Hansen.
illustrated from photographs. New
York: The Century Company.
Harry Hansen represented a dozen
newspapers at the peace conference.
And this is his story of that event
from the day of it's opening at Paris
to the signing Of the treaty of Veraa
sailles. Keen to dramatic meanings
and issues, Mr.. Hansen makes the Ia
nous Fourteen Points" the hero of
this drama. And it is the adventures
of this Don Quixote. this knight err
rant, this crusader In international
idealism, that he portrays here with
so great q color and dash of move
ment. An episode of significance, an
incident of special high light, per-
sonality of dominance-these in turn
are grouped around the fortunes OF
the hero, marking some feature in the
career of the Fourteen
Points in the conference. A clear pos
session of the facts of surrounding
history comes in here for the purposes
of a sustaining atmosphere. A knowl-
edge of political theories and be-
haviors Eliminates the course of the
hero. An intimacy with the devious
ways of diplomacy throws a bit u
prophecy in the way of this right
eous crusader. The whole gives one a
deeply interesting survey OF the men
and the measures that for so many
months turned the attention of the
world to the city of the Seine. MIR.
Hansen's chapter headings give an
inkling of the originality and fresh
ness of the work itself. For instance,
selecting at random-"How President
Wilson went across the seas with his
Europe had a few ideas on the same
subject." Again-'The story of lit
tie town called Fiume. and how the
amazing unanimity with which all
parties concerned applied the Four
teen Points almost disrupted the
neace conference" A most illum1nat-
ing. and a most interesting, picture
of the striking features Of the con-
ference.
THE TRUE LAFAYETTE. By George
Tho TRYYn r.