Evening star., 1926-03-28

Opinion" etc. New York: Har-
court, Brace G. Co.
//THE theory of popular gov
80 ernment rests upon the be-
lief that there Is public
that directs The course Of
events. I hold that this
public is a mere phantom. 1t is an
abstraction" And Lippman goes on
to say that mans environment ~
complex while his political capacity
is simple. And at this point lie again
asks the question that from Aristotle
tiu now has haunted political science.
can a bridge be built between the
complexity of mans political environ
ment and the simple lines of his po-
litical capacity?" And, so far, the
author maintains the possibility OF
such a bridging is not in sight
, The actual governing of our coun-
+rv sis made up of a multitude OF ar
raneements on specific questions by
particular individuals. These rarely
become visible TO the private citizen.
When a citizen has qualified as
voter he finds himself one of the the
oretical rulers of a great gong con
Germ. He has not made the compll-
Gated machine with its 5O0,OOo federal
officers and its uncounted local Oh
fees, lie has not seen much OF II.
He is bound by contracts. by depts'
by treaties. by laws, made before ne
was aware of them. Only some siilalI
fraction of il all comes to his notice.
And in those episode moments Wheh
he stands in the polling booth ne IS
a highly intelligent and public
snirited voter indeed who can discover
two real alternatives and enlist his
Influences for a party which promises
something he can understand.
And here, in further demonstration
Of the fact that the public Is phan-
tom. Lfppman enunciateS the ioilo"-
ing principles: e .,,o
"F,xecutive action is not for the
n1blic The public acts only Ry
aligning itself as the partisan OIL
some one in position to act eHecu-
lively.
"The intrinsic merits of a question
are not for the public. The puohc
intervenes from the outside upon the
work of the insiders.
'"The anticipation. the analysis ana
the solution of a question are not 1or
the public. The public's Judgment
rests on a small sample OF the 1actS
at issue.
.sThe specific. technical, intimate
criteria required in the handing ol
a question are not for the puohc,
The public's criteria are generahzea
for many problems: they turn essen
tiallv on procedure and the overt eA-
ternal forms of behavior.
And. going on the author cohciudes
that il Is the task of the polltlcai
sciartist 10 advise the methods sam
fnfY fYyIY1 q
teria of judgment. 1t Is the task oi ed
ucation 10 tram the public in the use
of these methods. SO. not for the pun
lie. the phantom public, to originate.
ar even to understand deeply. For 1t,
the task is to use the tools HANDED
over TO It, to make use of the ready
made methods put into its hand
A clear study, subversive in intent,
hut nevertheless bent upon a frank
acceptance of that which stands open
to the ewes of every man. And with
II there goes no specific, since its Of
flee is to set out the facts OF matter
that has SO long been sWaddled IN
fiction.
And in conclusion of a frank and
clearly stated theory Lippman says:
II have no legislative program TO Of
fer. no new institutions to propose
There are. I believe. immense con
fusions in the current theory OF de-
mocracy which Illustrate and peryert
its action. l do not know
what the lessons will be when we
have learned to think OF public opln-
ion as it is. and not as the f1ctitlous
power we have assumed 1t to be.
The best of this frank study is that
II is highly provocative of some indie
f,,lr in account
in place of our indolent acceptances of
other mems thinkings.
x j: =
LEFTHANDEDNESS; A New Inter
probation. BY Beaufort Sims Par
son. Foreword by Harvey L. Jor.
dan. a. NJ, PHI. D., Professor OF
Histology and Embryology in Uni
versity of Virginia. New York:
The Macmillan Company.
ssXX7HY should this be right
w handed world" The reasons
must lie deep in the history OF life
that have caused practically all Of the
race of men to make use of the right
hand to the exclusion Of the left. We
accept very strange things without
question till. one day, some one draws
attention to this or that which, upon
reflection, excites interest and curl
osity at least. "Why should this be a
rieht-ha nded world?" is such a. ques-
ton. This book is an answer to the
question. At least ii is a theory put
out for examination, for controversy
perhaps, for acceptance maybe. Not
an easy book for the layman to attack,
no matter how curious he may be. For
this is a study Of scientific character.
an occult thing TO the average. And
while the author has simplified him
self and his work more than the sci
enlist is wont to do. still the reader
must accept this as a task rather
than as a pre-digested pellet to lay
upon his tongue.
At the outset the author sums such
theories upon this subject as are at
hand. Habit, heredity. nursing and
early education and half dozen other
theories are offered here as SUM
mary Of the matter at the present
time. From this point he ventures out
into his own field OF investigation.
tests for detecting ones
native handedness, and adding the
general tests on this subject at Eliza
beth, n. j. Charts indicate the expert
ments made and the instruments used
in these Investigations as the author
svnthesizes the brain and the hand.
the brain and the eye, in the study OF
the mystery Of this generally right
handed world. Unsuspected correla'
tions are set up here as bearing upon
the subject Of our asymmetrical bed
les functioning in so unequal a part
nership.
What is it about? Are we gradually
TO be transformed to an equalsided-
ness Of greater functional efficiency?
This is for the scientists to say after
they have worried this theory OF DR..
Parsons to the extent that the scien.
-. 5onS ,r,or,-xy oaoh thing OraSented