Evening star., 1920-12-12
Reviews of New Books

ANS~s ~ y ~
WHAT SOCIAL CLASSES OWE TO
EACH OTHER. BY William Gra-
ham Sumner. New York: Harper
4 Bros.
TINS discussion is based on the
principles underlying social
science. 1t excludes. rigidly.
the emotions Of society as the
groundwork Of philanthropy and other
humanitarian measures. The latter has
its place. but its place is. clearly in
the domain Of private relations. and not
in that of the public and social relations
of classes. The chief value OF this STUDY
lies in this separation Of lines OF think
ing that, Inherently distinct and sepa.
rate. have become identical in the mino
Of the average man. To this unscien-
tific attitude is due the many-sided bur
dens that are imposed upon the state to
secure the so-called rights OF man; now
the single right Of man. according 10
this student. is the pursuit OF ms own
well being-not necessarily It's achieVe-
ment. The inequalities that appear are
due to a thousand individual inheren-
cies-not to the wicked and wrong func-
tioning of the state itself. These IN
equalities-some of them-are discussed
according to the laws OF socia! ScieHce;
under such headings as He VINO wou1
himself" "It is not wicked to be rich,
I'VE must have few men II we want
strong men," and SO on. A hard ooc
trine, but one that cannot be gainsaid
from the standpoint assumed by tne
writer in presenting it. He mas very
pertinent things to say about the Tor
gotten man"-the man who Is held up
to hand out the means by which. say, A
decides to provide for B. with this ior-
COTTON man c to furnish the means
One can see that drama in miniature
on any street corner Of any day in the
week, The writer has great sympathy
for this helpless forgotten man. Ano
this whole scheme of helping the other
fellow out lies in the realm OF pure
charity and cannot be legitimateiy graft
ed upon the functions OF the sta!e.
From this point Of view there are dls-
cussions Of labor. wages. employers. cap
italists and so on. Written thirty years
ago or more, the study is notably appn-
cable as a scientific treatment OF the
public social relations OF the present.
A piece OF brilliant writing as We'll
PAYING MOTHER. BY Margaret Hill
McCarter, author Of "Vanguards OF
the Plains." etc. illustrated oy ).
c. Gruelle. New YORK: harper q
Bros.
Just commonplace story OF com
monplace folks that ! heard as ] lay
with my ear to the prairie grass roots,
warm with a chrism OF spring sun
shine A simple tale to which only
| that one who loves mother or the
memory of a mother will care to
listen. For. there is nothing new in
it nor in my way of telling IT; yet
on some Christmas eve. or in quiet
hour at the ending of the May Sab
| bath that we call Mothers day., the
! human touch upon the heart strings.
| old as mother love, young as the lat
| est pulse beat. may give some worth
! to the thing itself that / caught from
sunlight, and singing to me low
sweet, honey melody" This, the au-
thor's own word across to the reader.
gives the touch of sympathy and poe
| try under which the mother-story is
sent forth. In dress, as well as in its
| a Christmas greeting.
THE SPELL OF BRITTANY. By Ange
H. Mosher. Illustrated. New
York: Duffield & Co.
The clear lure of this story of Brit
| tany lies in it's simplicity. And this
| in turn, goes back to the writer's
deep intimacy with the Breton peo-
| pie and their country. Not once. but
many times, did Mrs. Mosher MAXI
long tarryings in this historic corner
of France. 1t proved to be the home
of her spirit. Year after year she
lput herself in heart-touch with the
native Bretons. gathering the ole
tales that had come down from long,
| gone generations, touching the spot.
that boasted points of authentic his
tory. cleaning here and there. from
poetry and prose. the tributes that
have been given to one or another
valorous Breton. In a specially
}happy4-Way has the writer blended
here the elements of place and per
sonality. so that one-possibly fol
| the first time-comes upon the native
setting Of this familiar historic fig-
ure. orssthat one. An introduction
| by Anakhie Ise Braz verifies the sub
stance sM tffis story of his native
| Brittany and pays tribute, as well. to
the sympathetic spirit in which the
story has been wrought.
SEEING THE FAR WEST. BY John
T. Faris. author of "Old Roads Out
of Philadelphia" etc. illustrated.
Philadelphia: j. B. Lippincott
Company.
A big generously pictured book. that
| is meant to put in the way OF the Ameri-
can reader some of the far-west beauty
spots Of his native land. The book
takes one from the Rockies to the Pa
cific, sometimes following the line OF
railway, or wagon road. but, quite as
often, breaking away from these to
! reach points that lie out Of the range
of these. According to this compre-
| hensive. plan one is brought, again, to
familiar places-to the national parks
and monuments-and to many a one
that is not familiar. Descriptions of
clear beauty set before one this roman
tic and picturesque region. Photo
a
a practically useful quality to this study.
since it might be used as a guide to
direct one definitely from point to point
| in this sumptuous region Of natural
beauty.
THE TREASURE OF THE ISLE OF
MIST. By w. w. Tarn. New York:
c. P. Putnams Sons.
"a fairy tale for my daughters
the writer. says. Then. generously.
he passes It on to other daughters
of the family of fairy tale lovers The
Isle of Mist lies in the north Atlantic:
not far from the broken shores OF
ragged shore-line is made for caves.
Caves are made for treasure hidings.
And treasure is made for screenings.
Who ever resisted the prospect Oh
treasure hunt! So, without moment
of demur one goes along on this Ianci-
folks of the world-fairies, little peo-
pie" breads. dryads and the rest.
take captivating part. Ihe actual
people-that is, actual to our duii
sense-are the student and Fiona and
the Urchin and Jeconiah. Their ad-
ventures in the Isle of Mist-it is
that brings out these hidden people
| in their various roles of helper or oo-
structionist A delightful todo that
grown folks will take TO- quite as
zestfullv as their youngsters. and bet
ters, are bound to do.
AMERICA TRIUMPHANT UNDER