Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-26

By the Booklover.

II ia q safe social rule which pre-
vents ma from, telling our friends our
honest opinions of them. Otner"lse'
friendship might soon cease. Keepers
of Journals. or even line-a-day DOCKS
have a secure repository TOT SUI
opinions, which must often serve nelp'
fully to ward off completes Oh sup
preston. If later fame causes SUN
journals TO be published. their reNeia
lions sometimes rise to the status OIL
biography. The famous CardinaI oe
Retz. cleric and politician during the
period of the minority OF Louis NV
and the rule Of Cardinal Mazarin,
wrote memoirs, to which ne coniiueu
not only his love intrigueS ana ms
Quarrels with the great caroihai anu
the Duke d'Orleans, but also priet
estimates of some of the prominent
persons of the court. he hau no
great opinion of the queen-motper
but wrote that she "had more or the
pious intention than of real piety,
more obstinacy than well grounoeu
resolution, and a greater measure OF
incapacity than of all the rest
u *'* u
He confided to his pages that
Cardinal Mazarin was mean OF Dlrtn.
had a scandalous youth and loved
IIiIAScis IOO we'll, WItACii 40 ~
a sordid soul; and feared himself too
little, the true characteristic OF those
that have no regard for their reputa-
tion." The Duke d'Orleans was set
down as a coward. with "all the good
qualities requisite for a man OF hon.
or except courage" The Prince de
Condo won the approval of the critical
Cardinal de Retz. as a great general
and as possessing "as pure a soul as
any in the world" Nine. de Chew
reuse. famous for her connection with
the Duke of Buckingham, he de-
scribed as a woman whose vivacity
supplied the want of Judgment and
who found II impossible 'to live with
out being In love with somebody
The scorned fanaticisms of one gen
Grafton have a way of becoming the
respected reforms Of the next and
finally are imbedded in our history
as accepted social movements. The
history of some of the later movements
and Of the moving spirits in such re-
forms is contained in a series of bio
graphical studies entitled Causes and
Their Champions" by NJ. A. De Wolfe
Howe. The book deals with eight men
and women Of recent times whose,
names have been associated with the
furtherance of some great causes. His
tory and biography are blended, since
in each case the cause is presented as
well as its champion. They include
the Red Cross and Clara Barton; toler
ance in religion as embodied in Phillips
Brooks; the long drive for temperance
with the help of Frances r. Willard;
the new uses for great wealth as ex-
emplfied by the Rockefellers: the
American labor movement led by Sam
uel Gompers; woman suffrage and its
Napoleon. Susan B. Anthony: the road
up from slavery for Booker T. Wash
ington and his people; and world
peace and Woodrow Wilson's fight for
1t. Each monograph is based on wide
reading and succeeds in being sym
pathetic, accurate and popular. The
Booklover's appreciation of the serv-
ices of librarians to writer's Is such
that he delights at the authors express
sion Of gratitude in his preface "for
constant helpfulness from the librarian
and staff of that blessed focus of
teeming shelves and quiet alcoves, the
Boston Athenaeum."
The Atlantic Monthly articles of
William z. Ripley, professor OF
political economy at Harvard, have
been incorporated In a book, Main
Street and Wall Street." which should
be helpful to investors who make no
claim to unusual business acumen
and who are not on the inside The
book tells great deal about methods
of finance in use today. Un1ustinapie
practices are pointed out and attacked
and constructive suggestions 1or I'M
movement are offered. Advice to the
small investor forms one OF the most
valuable features of the book. Prof.
Ripley believes strongly in the neces
sitv for full and frank financial state
ments by all corporations.
some has. perhaps, to live in Wash
ineton." says Mary Badger wilson
in the foreword to her collection OF
short stories, 1.-THE Painted City, TO
find what a sallow city it is, beneath
ito painted cheek. A brief inspection
will not discover the artifice. But
living in and with it. one learns that
1t is singularly bloodless. this paint
ed city. The life of its people Is
perniciously anemic. A Cit or EN-
ployes-no matter how high-sounding
their titles may be. A city where
nobody takes a chance. A city or
fear" Again, in one of the stories.
CHERRY Blossoms" the author says:
THAT was the meaning of the gray
u1onotony she had lately come tot
realize in Washington life. Washing.
ton was a city of Salaried men ana
women. They walked in a sort OF
lockstep from one small promotion to
another and they could never know
the scarlet drama of success or fail
ure. Beauty was thrown over the
city like a silken coveriet; but when
YOU lifted the fringed edge, under
meath you would find patched sheets
and darned pillow Slip" Myra
Davis, in Cherry Blossoms who
has come to Washington from a New
Jersey industrial town to take a posi-
ton as stenographer in a Government
department.. is the thinker OF these
gloomy thoughts about the beautiful
painted city" She leaves Washing |
ton to get out of the "lockstep' and
goes back 10 the Office of Bloomberg's |
shoe factory in New Jersey. Then, |
very delicately. the author gives us |
another view-a more cheerful view. |
Myra misses Washington. When the |
new sales manager at BlOomberg's, |
John Peterson, formerly Jan Petrow
ski, who Is headed straight for busi- ,
ness success, asks her to marry him. |
she says, "I am not going to marry |
to Washington where there /
are cherry blossoms in the Spring
time"
* * X
Taking refuge from a life which
has become disillusioning. even dis
gushing. to him, in the occupation OF
a movie photographer. a modern Ital-
ian finds there at least excitement
II not soul satisfaction. The italian
is Seraflno Gubbio in Pirandello's
novel. "Shoot" The dramatic climax.
or catastrophe. of the story is an &C.
casion when Gubbio is to shoot" a
scene in which a real tiger Is to be
killed. At the crucial moment. the
hero. VINO is to kill the tiger. makes
q mistake and kills the adventures