Evening star., 1921-10-23
THE HIGH COST OF STRIKES. BY
Marshall Olds. New York: 6. p.
Putnam's Sons.

THE HIGH COST OF STRIKES. BY
Marshall Olds. New York: G. p.
Putnam's Sons.
CINCE the war. strikes have
swept the country like an cpl
demic. To furnish the public
with a budget of Information
that bears directly upon every man.
woman and child in the United States.
Mt. Olds has made definite concrete
studies Of certain strikes. The OBJ
ject of these studies is to determine
what the rublic-including labor IT.
self-has had to pay for the exercise
of the privilege which organized
labor has gathered to itself. The
authors method is to take up GER
tain strike-say that of the dock
workers between the southern fruit
and vegetable fields and the north
ern markets, or that Of the fishermen
on the California coast. or another
one hero and another one there. He
points out, as the basic condition,
that q strike at once interferes with
either production or distribution, or
both. And these are the two vital
elements in economic life. In each
strike with which he deals he traces
definitely its exact effect upon ono
or the other of these basic factors.
The next step is a shortage of sup
ply. The next one is an increase In
price. an increase that bears upon
the striker as well as upon the inno-
cent public generally. In this con-
crete manner he studies the enor-
nous recent increases in the cost or
food, fuel. clothing and rent, combining
himself in this investigation to the
effect of labor strikes on these costs.
These four studies form the substan :
tial and Immediately appealing part
of this direct. courageous, plaln-deai-
ing book. Beyond this the author
discusses the responsibility of labor
leaders In this outcome, of their
methods to universalize the strike, of
their social outlook and intent. He
takes up, also, the effect of class
feeling in a democratic form of gov
ernment, the insidious menace of
class privilege. He deals, in fine
spirit and vision, with cooperation
as the safety of the present and the
promise of the future. There is no
hostile intent here, only IA search for
the facts. This being true, it would
appear that the place for this study
is the hand of the lahoring man him
self. He must do his own thinking,
and here, certainly. is a good place
10 start. The book is full of fact
and meaning for everybody who be-
longs TO this country.
THE SIEVE; Or, Revelations of the
Man Mill. BY Feri Felix Weiss.
Illustrated. Boston: The Page Com
pany.
American Immigration is the out
standing subject upon which Feri
Felix Weiss writes here. For thir-
teen years he has been an inspector
1T the gateway of New York. In
that period more than a hundred
thousand immigrants have been per-
sonally inspected by him. He is an
urally proud He was an immigrant,
a fact calculated to inform greatly
his duty toward both America and
the immigrant. Here MIR. Weiss sets
down twenty chapters Of pure ex,
perience in the line of his official
duty. chapters that deal with every
imaginable kind and sort of alien
coming to the new country. chapters
that deal with all the measures set
up by our government to deal fairly
with both sides of this great ques-
tion. AS experience. the book is
vivid and concrete. transporting one,
In effect, to the side of this busy
and conscientious inspector. One fol-
breaking. nerve-racking day. One
goes to quarantine and digs out the
stowaway. He comes up against
John Chinaman and more than one
other man of mystery At the end
of each chapter the author, very
various manifestations toward the
alien, showing that either in it's es-
sence or in its practice 1t could very
we'll stand certain notifications. The
whole story is fascinating and, 1t is
much more than that. 1t is inform
ing and highly suggestive. 1t looks,
upon the surface, as if those who
are directly concerned and RESPONSE
BILE in the matter of immigration
legislation might pass q profitable
and fruitful evening over this dra-
matte summary of official perform
ance and it's outcrop of seasoned
opinions.
CARTER; And Other People. By Don
Marquis, author of Noah an Jonah
an CT pm John Smith" etc New
York: D. Appleton & Co.
Number Thirteen Of this group is
play. The remaining dozen are short
stories, picked up out of incidents lying
things. like the white negro whose 80
per cent of whiteness struggles, help
lessly, with the other. the dominant
10 per cent. Common things, like this.
appeal to Don Marquis. So he picks
them up. brushes the dirt off, turns
them over, digs into them, catches a
CLINT of their real colors. and sets them
down in their substance with pen
that runs something besides fiat ink.
Number Thirteen is a one-act play
with an interesting history. Nobody
viii play it, undeniably good though 1t
be. Written ten years ago it has. since
that time. so the author admits, been
Wandering around looking for stage.
II it had always borne It's present num-
Der that would explain the hoodoo. The
market Is the matter. No cannier mar
ket man than the purveyor Of plays ex-
lists. He knows to T just what people
will not own UP to about themselves.
and will not submit to having spread
out upon the stage. In words and
Thoughts" the play, John and Mary
Speaker carry forward the ripple Of
words that, by common consent. is
used to sustain social relations in gen.