Evening star., 1923-02-24
The Library Table
BY THE BooKLOvER.

sho TREMENDOUS popularity or the
books OF Harold Bell Wright should
read In the February Bookman an
article by Hildegarde Hawthorne, en-
titled "The Wright American" The
author served as a librarian in q "Y"
nut In France. She reports that,
although almost everything in the
book line went there, ten out of every
twelve OF the boys asked hrst for
books by Wright. In peace time, too,
she learned that young men who care
little for reading any other books
read his. To find the solution of the
problem of Wright and of his vast
public she talked with the doughboys
and read his latest book. One soldier
gave this explanation for his liking
for Wrights books:
don't know as it's the story SO
much. but, You see, he kind of gets
at what I've tried to think about and
And he sure does know a lot of nice
American girls"
+ x.
Miss Hawthorne then proceeds to
elaborate the soldiers explanation,
from which. in condensed form. the fol-
lowing extracts are quoted: Wright
Is not literary man. He does not
wish to be one. but he does reflect
upon the obvious life with which the
public comes into contact. He is a
preacher, who expounds the basic
problems of right and wrong in
manner that will reach the greatest
possible number of persons. He has
d theme to teach. He believes to a
passionate degree in America and the
american; believes that If only GER
tain things can be set right, then our
the millennium or something just as
good. Wrights solutions are sane,
sound and kindly. Many of those
VINO read him are not readers at all,
write they would read nothing. But
reading him, they begin to form the
habit OF reading. He is training
readers in a nation which Is en-
phatically not a nation of readers.
His readers have nothing to do with
nave a whole lot to do with America
and her standards. He IS popular be-
cause he can give his own public
what it really needs.
Fortunately for writer's of eastern
stories and essays. not all readers
feel as Hugh Walpole recently told
his Washington audience that he feels
about literature on oriental subjects.
He said. in his lecture of February Is,
that when he opened book and read
on the first page description of
sandy stretch of desert with a camel
silhouetted against the sky, or of
some other equally suggestive east
ern scene, he always closed the book
instantly, even though it might be
The Sheik." Doubtless the east, both
near and far. northeast and south
east. has been rather frequently
treated of late in literature. even IN
the literature of propaganda and
phflanthropic solicitation. But even
the stated reader will generally re-
spond to such unusual excellence of
in his new volume of sketches called
"On a Chinese Screen" and his earlier
volume of short stories. The Irem-
bling of a Leaf" and his novel. The
is SO skillful in creating a vivid i'm
preston of place, or vital, eccentric
character, or an unexpected, perhaps
shocking. attitude of mind-each in
few wordS-that he can hardly ran TO
stimulate Imagination in his reader.
Readers of the books on China.
South America and Russia by Prof.
Edward A. Ross of the University of
Wisconsin will be pleased to learn
that this trained sociologist, world
traveller and writer will shortly pub
Iish a book on Mexico. His publisher
states that Prof Ross found Mexico
very sick country; her illness re-
suits from the evil heritages of the
past. The book is concerned princi-
pally with the land question. the la
Dor question. education and the status
of the church. 1t will be recalled that
when Prof Ross came back from
Russia he gave IL as his opinion that
revolutions do not pay: He returns
from Mexico with the impression that
the Mexican revolution did pay.
The degeneration Of the Spanish
novel in recent years is the subject
of an interesting article by Vicente
BIasco Ibanez in the Literary Digest
International Book Review for Feb
ruary The author. himself one of
the foremost of present-day Spanish
novelists, and the one best known
outside his own country. deplores the
fact that Spanish novels of the past
twenty years have shown a grave
lapse into immortality. He charges
that many writer's have been per
fectIy we'll aware Of what they were
doing" and. wrote immoral novels "in
more shocking the novel the better
the sale 1t has been a shameful race,
says Ibanez, Ito see who should run
farthest on the road of scandal" At
present. however, there Is a reaction
against this salacious fiction; the best
nri G a q
ity of readers are raising their voices
against it, and the Spanish novel is
now continuing on its true way"
The publishers Of David Harum"
are celebrating the twenty-f1fth an
niversary of the initial publication of
that example of the simon-pure
American novel by issuing an elabo-
rate illustrated edition of the book.
In spite of the changing tastes in
fiction, this near classic by Edward
Noyes Westcott, is still popular be-
cause of it's droll humor, pithiness of
expression and homely philosophy.
4 L *
Here in Washington we are able
to watch the business of lawmaking
at rather close range. Sometimes we
are HoI dttoECNiSl CollN thdI ItiS
process of lawmaking is thoroughly
scientific. A distinguished member
of Congress, Representative Robert
Luce of Massachusetts, has, however.
set out to analyze "The Science Of
Legislation" in four volumes, in
which he expects to treat the legis-
lative branch Of government histori
cally, descriptively and critically. The
first volume of the series, Legislative
Procedure" has recently been pub
lished, 1t treats, in more than 600