Evening star., 1922-05-21
Reviews Of New Books


ITO certain intents and purposes.
the Philippines are at present
part OF the United States.
From this corner Of our coun-
try the outlooker is able on a fair
day to see one OF the islands OF i'm
perial Japan. A step beyond Japan is
China. and wedged In between the two
lies Korea. A new neighborhood,
this. filled withs special Implications
and obligations. The Washington con-
ference for the Limitation OF arma-
ments-surely one Of the great ges-
lures Of all history-and Mr.. Hard
tng's Tets sit down and talk 1t over"
policy gave tremendous impetus to
the common desire and need to know
the truth about these neighbors Of
ours. since understanding is the goal
OF this great get-together policy. The
average man needs something to slip
under his newspaper reading about
the far east-something to round 1t
out: to give 1t place and relationship.
And right here Mr.. Powell offers this
admirably comprehensive and prac-
tical study of Japan. China, Korea,
the Philippines. II reads like TO-
nance or an adventure. This author
writes that way. Happily. he appears
to have no other way. Despite the
the book is solid stun throughout
Mr.. Powell Is a waywise traveller.
who sees about all there is to see and
who possesses besides the power to
classify and compare and place prop
erly those things that come under his
national aims and methods. the fitting
OF historic fact into present activi-
ties and future plans. With this
equipment, he gives here graphic and
picturesque summaries of the pivotal
points in each of the countries COM
bookman would have loaded the study
with confusing non-essential matter
to the disheartening of the average
reader for whom the book Is de-
signed. But not this man. Here Is a
clean-eut, straight-line body of fun
soned with frank and considered
opinions and the whole presented in
the SURPRISING quality of this par
ticular mans writing gift. Americans
have a special need to know this sub
ject. Here is their chance.
WALL SHADOWS; A Study in Ameri-
ian Prisons. BY Frank Tannen-
baum. author of 1.-The Labor Move
ment" INTRODUCTION by Thomas
". I.
putnam's Sons.
There are books that ought never
to have been books. Instead they
should have been leaflets showered
upon the world from airships. or
daily half columns in the press, or the
voices OF street preachers-or any
other medium of wide and sharp con-
tact. Books are more or less buried
things. Here Is a book that should
be in the widest possible open. For.
you see. we forget the people who are
shut away In prisons. simply because
We never see them. Mr.. Tannenbaum
here tells us about some of the sew
l'continent-that he visited. He had
himself been in prison. SO what he
saw got quite into the inside Of him.
No. it was not murder. nor burglary
-"unlawful assembly" instead. Hav-
ing served his term. he went back and
into other prisons voluntarily. This
book contains some Of the things that
are going on in these places. Whip
ping posts. dark cells, solitary con-
finement. cages. bread and water for
days, no work. no pay for such work
as is done-these are among the
lated to make even good men over
into bad ones. Mr.. Tannenbaum does
much more than to set down the
brutal facts of our medieval prison
system. He reconstructs those insti-
tutions-in his MISUNDERSTANDING So
cial organization for isolation. work
for idleness, progress in self-control
for sheer discipline, the removal of
prison control from politics-of pro-
fessfonahzing this control, as he puts
it-and other fundamental substitu-
tions for an artificial and futile mode
Of prison procedure. This is no theo-
rist talking. 1t is a real man. whose
purpose Is clearly that Of practical re-
form, whose psychology Is so true
as to be recognizable by even the
average reader and the average citi-
zen who Is interested in the we'll
being of his own kind. Certainly.
they are Of his own kind" Why
notf
FROM PRIVATE TO FIELD MAR
sHAL. By Field Marshal Sir Will
liam Robertson. illustrated. Bos-
ton: Houghton Miffiin Company.
Modesty under conspicuous achieve
ments and deservings Is an uncommon
quality-an irresistible one, too. The
book in hand is a case in point. The
the authors backwardness in coming
forward. Always, to him. the thing
to be done stands foremost AT no
time in the whole account is there
pause to count success and to take
tribute. The work is the thing, and
with successes in the sum Of events.
The Immediate effect of this attitude
10 to project fields of activity-hrst.
as private soldier in the imperial
army in India. Later in South Africa
during the Boer war. the author grad
cessive promotions to commands of
increasing power and responsibility.
The second half Of the book goes into
the story Of the world war. Here the
seasoned soldier and the experienced
onicer gives appraisal and pronounces
failures Of the allied forces as they
moved inevitably toward unity of or
ganization and single supreme COM
mand. 1t is, however, with the ear
lier years Of this soldiers life that
the real charm of the story lies. The
picture Of India as It appeared to this
young private in the ranks Is a vivid
and Immediate panorama of restless
native tribes, of a bewildering and
exacting natural setting, OF the hard.
daily grind that reveals a genius for
hard work on the part Of this par
ticular soldier. who in off moments
picked up languages and dialects as
the average man takes to play and
ioafinR, The South African picture is
equally vivid, but the private here is
growing to the stature of the omcer,
with opinions taking the place Of ele-
mentary studies. Indeed, this fact of
steady growth. springing from untir-
ing work of the plain and plodding
sort, Is striking and inspiring fea-
ture of this expansion OF personality
and power. "A war book Tor the mill
tary man In Its second part. this is in
its first half an absorbing story for
boys and grown folks alike
THE LATEST Things And Other
Thinrs, BY Alexander Black, au-
thor Of "The- Great Desire" etc.