Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-31

just as the leVeflSn MILITARY IlFdA
Of Europe eliminated. naturally. In
the World War. Having made definite
research into the problems Of strategy
that would characterize any conflict In
the Pacific. having set out these prob
lens in their various parts and rela
Itionships, having arrived at conclu
sions inherent in these problems. the
task is still but half accomplished. TIC
be sure, from this study definite alb
stract strategic facts stand clear. But
| an abstraction is of use only when II
has been reduced to it's practical con
crete substance.
1.-THE Great Pacific War is such a
reduction of the principles Of modern
warfare to demonstration In war itself
True, this Is but an imaginary war be
tween the two logical combatants In
this quarter, Japan and the United
States. But II is, nevertheless. pro
jected in exact and definite accord with
the general principles Of naval war
| fare modified by the superficial vari
ants Of time and place and circum
stance THE Great Pacific War" is
the Capitalization. the concrete case
of Sea Power in the Pacific" Set
ting the event only half decade for
| ward, to 1891, this author contrives
the usual trivial pretext for conflict
that is familiar to all students OF his
tory, and the war between the United
States and Japan is on. In no time
at all the Japanese invade the Philip
pines, which, from their proximity &c
Japan, their long range from the home
base and from their Inadequate nava
and military protection. fall into the
hands of the enemy. The next point
of meeting for the combatants is
0uam-and Guam falls. The Jap
anese lay mines OFF Hawaii. and a
mine field is discovered off San Diego
reminder Of what at the time was
called nervous apprehension on the
part of certain Senators. There are
attacks by submarines on the coast OF
California and air raids also in that
, region.
The United States, after the fashion
of it's English progenitor. is self-as
sured, overconfident that there will be
no war, willfully ignorant of the readi
ness for war that its opponent is so
| swiftly approaching. In realistic de-
tain the author portrays the moves
and countermoves which. at first, are
clearly disturbing to this country.
Air raids, submarine attacks, radio
and cable communications cut on,
elusive feints made in this direction
and that, the chief aim on the part
of Japan TO avoid A direct sea fight
whil. working dana ge at widely sep
arated points to American commerce
and to certain inadequatcly protected
naval bases.
Then China, at the back Of Japan.
begins TO be troublesome and Man
churia becomes a rindrance to concen-
| trated action upon the Pacific itself.
Then the United States wakes to the
demand for a strong and single-mlnded
offensive-and the war takes new
turn. 1t goes the round. with Manila
again a part Of the United States, with
Guam restored-indeed, with the STU
alton just what it was at the begin
ming of hostilitieS. save that thou
sands Of human beings have been
slaughtered in an age-Ud interna-
tional game that would be ludicrous
were it not so inhumanly monstrous.
| One cannot deny TO Mr. Bywater the
achievement of thrilling drama con-
structed upon accepted military prin-
ciples applied TO an existing condition
Of adjacent possessions and rival
claims within an area calculated 10
produce friction. However, the world
| is individually moving forward. SO,
while reading this clearly projected
| ina ginary picture OF war, II can be
accepted as a strong argument against
war because Of its ultimately fruitless
results and still more because OF its
essential barharity in an age that
| claims TO be civilized.
| 4 +
| CHRISTINA ALBERTA'S FATHER
Ely II. G.. Wells. author of "Mer
Like Gods" etc. New York: The
Macmillan Company.
~HRISTIEA ALBERTA herself gets
~ into the story quite as completely
as Christina Albertas father does, de
spite the authors repeated motion &c
push her out of It, asserting strongly
| that this is her fathers story. not hers
One suspects the sincerity of this
gesture on the part Of Mr.. Wells. II
| he had wanted Christina Alberta &c
keep out he would not have made hel
so desirable and welcome to the read
| Grand to himself. This Is a story OF
many escapes on the part OF both
| father and daughter In the firs'
place when he was a young and de
fenseless boy Christmas mother mar
| ried her father-one suspects, when
he was not looking-married him right
! into the laundry business. where he
! led quiet and comfortable life. But
| on the death of his wife Christina AL
| berta and her father. little Mr.. Pre-
| emby," escaped from the laundry and
went out to see the world Of London
A dreamer. little Preemby, living In
the past with old kings and potentates
| specializing much on the lost Atlantis
| and on the secrets of the Pyramids
and other such widowed and musty
| themes. Once at q seance he was
! hailed as Sargon, King Of Sumeria.
| Little Preemby believed and &C
! cepted his charge of bringing back
| golden days to earth. And. after q
while, Preemby escaped into an asy
I In, u-ha CT, - OF
on dreaming of all the beautiful things
he was going to bring to pass
! Christina Alberta escaped into the
freedom of London life and agar
escaped matrimony by the simple proc
ess of abstracting the essence of mar
| riage and by finding out, afterward
that she had no use for its hull. 81
won't marry you. There's no man In
the world I can marry. I'm going to
Bobby. From now on" That's AL
berta Christina, wondering out loud
why we don't take what we want ir
a world that. after all, is regardless o,
the individual life. No matter about
the theme, the preachment of the
book If there be one. Just the &C
quaintance with little Mr.. Preemby
and his daughter. Alberta Christina
as they Ali every page Of all these
pages with sheer delight for the reader
in humorous, tender, pathetic, anus
ing experiences and episodes-this il
the readers joy in such a Wells TO
nance as he has not read in many &
long day now.
y X
QUEER JUDSON. BY Joseph Lin
coin. author Of doctor Eye." etc
New York: d. Appleton & Co.
| AN enormous number of people
maybe half of ,them-follow occu
pations for which they have neithel
| gift nor liking. Tremendous waste o.
human stuff, this. Latterly there ap