New Britain herald., 1925-02-16
AT YOUR LIBRARY

Have you ever cherished more or less carefully concealed weak ness for detective stories? You may not have enjoyed them and they may even have made you acutely uncomfortable but you yielded about once in so often. And that Is be- cause for, the purposes of good story most bad people are infinitely more interesting than the ordinary run of harmless and highly re- spectable citizens. Tho swift, ire sistible progress of an intrigue and the courage and skill of the hero in foiling It have a fascination for al- most anyone though he may insist that 1t be described in his favorite style.
 Justice to All" by Katherine Mayo, has just this glamor with the added attraction that its villains are real criminals and Its heroes mem bers of the Pennsylvania state po- lice. Like its companion volume, Mounted Justice" it is packed full of real adventures described with skill which should send thrill down the spine of the most hard ened diner on tales of crime.
 
 "The Criminal as Q Human Be- ing" by George Dougherty, tells about law-breakers as the author has observed them during his long term as police commissioner of New York city. He tells of the clever stage management of crime by which suspicion is diverted by the acting of apparently innocent by islanders to allow the principals to make a getaway. He also describes the work of shadowing suspects, of carrying out the modern humane third degree" and the psychology of the criminal.
 Trials are often almost as excit- ing as the capture of the suspected person. Decisive Battles of the Law" by F. T. Hill, in lively nar- rative form, tells of eight great trials of profound significance in American history. Among those in- cluded are U. S. vs. Aaron Burr, Commonwealth vs. John Brown of Harper's Ferry. Dred Scott vs. San- ford, and the impeachment of An- drew Jackson.
 Romantic Trials of Three Gen. turies," by Hugh Childers, carries one back to the days when women were tried for witchcfaft. It also tells of William Penn's experience in court, of a parson turned forger. of the Lyons mail robbery and the trial of Disraeli Dramatic Days at the Old Bailey" by Kingston, gives more incidents of the same kind. What the Judge Thought" by Parry. contains essays on Lincoln as lawyer, on the psychology of perjury, and the future of Portia."
 The psychology of the jury is very entertainingly discussed in Francis WeIlman's Day in Court" He, tells of watching for prejudices and idiosyncracies which might in- fluence their decision and of meth ods of conducting the cross ex- animation. The qualifications of an 1u1t hn orIC ,N1 opportunities of the profession are very excellently brought out.
 "The Young Man and the Law" by Bandwin, also gives the pros and cons of the law as 8 career and illustrates the qualities which a lawyer must possess by anecdotes from the lives of some of the most famous men in this field. "The Law as a Vocation," by Allen, contains much the same material, also in brief, understandable form.
 How to Become a Law Steno- grapher,' by Mason, is invaluable to one who has to do court report ing or much handling of legal forms. Typical examples of afti- davits, deeds, and other legal docu- ments are. included with specific di- srections for the proper arrange Anent of a typewriter copy. There is also vocabulary of Latin terms and Putnam shorthand signs for the most used phrases.
 When the trial Is over and tho sentence begins, there is usually an end of the pubic's interest in the affair Most of us haven't the imagination or the knowledge to form any picture of prison life and it's effect on the mental. moral and social side of man. There have been many attempts to make us un- dcrstand but most Of them are so unpleasant that we ignore them or so superficial that they don't count. wall Shadows" by Frank Tennen- baum, Is an extraordinarily fair, re- strained and constructive analysis of the prison system by man who has actually been there. Prisons and Commonsense," by Thomas Mott Osborne. describes the working of the Mutual Welfare league which he established at Sing Sing and
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