Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-26

RECORDS OF THE COLUMBIA
HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Volume
2S. Edited by John b. Larner
Washington: Published by the So
ciety.
~ f immediate local interest,
like others of the great class
to which It belongs, this
~ volume may become, is GER
tain upon occasion to be-
come, of prime importance in more
general application than appears
upon it's surface. Historical societies.
in growing numbers, are part and
parcel Of our common local life. They
began, after a fashion, even before
we had achieved an independent ma
tional existence. And steadily have
they grown in numbers as the i'm
portance of their purpose became
clear and as the quality of their in.
vestigations took on higher grade
through improved facilities for re-
search. Now, all over the country
these bodies of workers have as their
mission that of gathering exact rec
ords of their various localities, the
whole forming an authentic body OF
historic fact that covers North
South, East and West. When occa'
sion makes the demand these socie-
ties provide the source of authentic
Information upon whatever sub1ect
may be under scrutiny. Naturally
they vary with the intelligence and
zeal and scholarship and general
equipment for the work that supports
each Of them.
The volume in hand is The twenty.
eighth issue Of the Historical Society
of the Capital. Its contributors Are
members of this society, each chosen
it is assumed, for some special apti-
tude of research, for some dennite
line Of approach to the theme under
consideration The most Of these
contributions deal, very properly,
with the past of the city, though in
one instance q public-spirited profess
sional man of recent years is pre-
scented in short biographical
sketch On the whole, however. the
book confines itself to the past, OBJ
jectifying the city under the leader
ship of two mayors, BENJAMIN Orr
and Samuel Smallwood. Here, too. Is
an interesting story Of old T1oer
Creek, and a quite charming run
ming picture OF Lafayette square:
where so Ynuch Of the atmosphere of
an older Washington still fingers. Be.
sides, there is here a reminiscent
view of the reception rendered by
the Congress to Gen. Lafayette just
about a hundred years ago. Such are
some of the features of this issue IF
the society's investigations. An ap-
pendix gathers up officers ard mem
bers of the organization. Certain Illus
trations, interesting and appdcapie 70
local events, round out the volume 10
a full measure of fine purpose and
serious undertaking.
X X X X
YOU CAN'T WIN. A story from life.
BY Jack Black. Foreword by Rob-
ert Herrick. New York: The Mac
milan Co.
XOU can't win. maybe. Jack Black
= saws you can't. The certainty Is
that you can't leave this story till
he has said his last word in 1t. Here
he sits down with you. Jack Black
does, and tells you about his life as
thief, 80 years of it. No pride mani
fest In this career, nor any humility,
either, for that matter. Instead. mucn
as you'd tell your own story OF Iai[
citizenship, so does he tell his tale or
lawless living. No preaching, no say
ing what the world should have done
for. him at the star. None OF that.
lust the bare record. But it's fine In
that you begin to tell yourself what
ought to be done, not for Jack Black,
but for all the boys and girls coming
on along Jacks road. These sef-ac-
cllsing thoughts and forward-looking
notions leak out of the story as II
moves beside the man telling it. He
has no rule, what to do, / don't
know" is what he says, adding, I'm
sure of one thing-I failed as thief.
and at that / am luckier than most OF
hnQIfh and
liberty. What price larceny. burglary
and robbery? Half my 80 years IN
the underworld was spent In prison.
say handled $4,000 in the Is years
/ was outside; that's about - a day.
How much Of that went to lawyers,
fxers, bondsmen and other places!
Then count in the years in prison
suffering, hardship, privation." stu
talking, he asks any young man,
headed upon his old course, "What
chance have you now, with shotgun
squads. strong-arm squads: ana crime
crushers cruising the highways ana
byways; with the deadly finger print.
ing, central identification bureau. and
telephotoing Of pictures; and every
police station broadcasting your de-
ecription ahead of you? You can't
win. Figure II out yourself.
"TIad I spent that 80 years at any
useful occupation and worked hard at
Il and thought ana planned and
brought such ingenuity and concen.
tration to bear upon 1t, / would be In
dependent today" No. you can't win,
so get back on the straight road.
Nothing on this one for you.
-. y y
THREE WOMEN. BY Faith Baldwin.
~ author of Thresholds" etc. New
re York: Dodd, Mead & Co.
THERE is study of three women OF
~ the same family-grandmoth
mother and daughter. In the face OF
current facts this might be a story OF
the youthful grandmother outshlnlng
and 0utwinning both her child and ner
grandchild as she nowadays Is in good
faith occasionally represented. But II
is not that kind of modern Illusion.
The grandmother here remains true
20 the traditions and practices OF her
own day and date. Each OF the others
also objectifies the gradually easing
ways of women In outlook ana De
havior. The oldest of these three Is
wholly shut in upon herself, as al
women were so years ago, as the most
OF them still are. Within the prison
Of convention and custom very un,
beautiful things go on in the nina OF
this woman. Dominated by Jealousy
and the. will to possess her own son
against any claim OF wife or chllo
Laura Sheldon, quite in the name OF
Righteousness and propriety, becomes
a clear agency of cruelty and unfair
ness. Set off against her Is Joyce
Sheldon, the granddaughter-the CIR
of today. Independent, frank, know
ing something Of life and admitting
nfvz he