Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-21
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. C.. M.

venturer. Allan Nev1ns. harper
g. Bros.
There was no compulsion upon me
to read these two stable volumes In
single day, none save the urge OF the
story itself. On a Saturday, too, when
broom and brush and buster were
ready and waiting for the weekly tussle.
whose pious object Is to present to the
Sabbath a bright and shining house.
Much more important than this. how
ever or so 1t seemed to me. was the
fact that just then mood and oppor-
tunity had become one. Now these TWO
rarely get together in full accord.
When mood is ripe for adventure, MOTH
ing but dull stuff stands along the way.
ready to 20, the spirit Is of taking
nan. Not so, this Saturday morning.
Right on the sunny window seat was
Fremont" reckoning more perSuaSlVely
than mere words could do. And I. per-
hans sensing the truth, or certainly
some CLEAN of it, left the things around
me and went joyously to meet It.
Then. don't know just what sort
If necromancy came into play-but, all
at once. I am in a new place, yet not
an entirely unfamiliar one. Yes. stlii
washington beyond doubt. for there
high on It's hill stands the Capltoi
and away to the west the White House.
In between, however. stretches MT,
or-miss straggle of house and snop ano
hosiery, bordering the SIDES OF St lee
dusty or muddy. that pears no , ,.ss.,
ness at all to the great Applan way
that We of the present know so well.
Tn a second I knew what had happened.
T had been telescoped back, SO to speak.
Something like ninety years. BACK W
the washington, not of Calvin Cooioge.
hit IN that of James K. Polk. Not 10
the Congress of 1928, but to that Garner
ono Instead. Yet these two bodleS::
though separated by such a reach OF
time behave exactly alike. The pollCi-
cal rancors and recriminatory partisan.
shin have not turned hair OF SplrN
or method in almost one hundred years.
B,,t-that is something else.
A slender young man steps promptly
into the foreground OF this STORY: Anu
this is a good time to say that ne. py
full right. holds complete possession VI
1t throughout: .+ ,o,,no
man come rp to Washington from the
South seeking fortune and future
after the fashion OF youth. A Quiet,
engaging fellow who In no very long
time draws attention to himself ana
enlists the interest OF those VINO are
ahie to put opportunity In his way.
And that appears to be all ne Is loon
inc for. He is appointed one OF sur
vevinp hand sent West to spy out the
Iand'' in response to the growing sen.
timent in Congress for expansion ana
the need. therefore. of better knowl-
edge of the frontier and the LANDS pc
hind it. Already the project OF ex-
pansion and the slavery question: "eie
inextricably bound together.
once started upon this outIaIlns'
Fremont appears to be the CHOSEN gou-
child of pure notwithstanding Oh
kind to which his blood leaps: Oh q
quality which his spirit goes out 10 meet
snn,,t,no New regions become his goa.
These embrace the upper Mississippi
the older oregon Trail. then south 70
Great Salt Lake and the outlying ianos.
now Utah and Nevada. After all TINS
there is a passage of the mountains
and An entrance into California where
a great turmoil is in full blast. Mex-
can native Californian. and settlers
from the East are all at odds about the
destiny and the status OF the State
itself. Matters are moving at break-
neck speed there. The internal troubles
Of Texas are overflowing State bound
aries into the Union itself; war with
Mexico is at hand: the gold rush 10
California Is setting In: the slavery dis
pute is as keen upon the PACING COAST
as II Is in the East. Indeed. II the
greatest adventurer that the world mas
ever known had been looking Tor neio
suited to his proves. hardy coo!o ne
have found one 10 surpaSS that OF tnis
st.S.
Young Fremont is not an avoWeo al
yenturer. Probably he has not even
suspicion that he Is one. What he does
know about himself is that he giories In
action. that he Is at home In strange
places. that the open is his domain,
that men respond to hts spirit, that they
answer to his call And here, all around
him. is tremendous Indictment. shifting
inducements, the constant urge. Mer-
curial. impetuous. daring. no wonder
that young Fremont plungeS into the
midst of situation each OF whose
many sided faces offers the glamour OF
action and excitement. And the sur
ecyor passes into the soldier. the ad-
ministrator. the leader.
So far the story has been q rather
breath taking experience for me. IL
will be for any reader. It Is SO vivid
sharing the hardships and feeling per-
sonal pride In the triumphs, Under
the zeal Of this explorer one learns anew
OF the great West opening up to the
courageous and the enduring. And al!
along the way affection grows Tor The
gallant leader.
Then, changes come. Political poll
cies, the advent Of war with Its tremen-
dous issue, slavery in respect TO the eN-
banding Union the personal rivalries
OF individual leaders--all Of these reach
out TO the coast. and some OF these are
brought to bear directly upon the course
Of John Fremont. There are suspicious
and accusations, There Is u court
martial. there is an approach 10 DIS
grace itself. But the friends OF Ere
mont are strong and faithful. The man
himself Is of quality To defeat
oblivion. SO. by and by. the matter
shifts over into the military field and
from that into the domain Of national
politics. And. strange 10 say. John Ere
mont becomes presidential canoioa'e.
Clear misfortune this. for Fremont Is
not Of the executive pattern, However
the point Is that here. as Ill every otner
ISSUE. this man becomes high storm
center Feelings on both sides are Of
the deepest. measures are OF the most
extreme. The presidential campaign
raging around John Fremont stands out
In the sharpest possible lines VI advo-
cacy. on the one hand. and Reputation.
on the other. Yet the man at the
center Is the most quiet. the most COM
posed Of the figures In the nationwide
contest.
This story Is eminently worth while
TO the student OF national politics Just
at the point where the campaign Tor
Fremont begins and rises to Such
amazing heights and then falls away
into defeat. Its value lies In the fact
that 1t IL tho exact essence ot the po~
litical campaign today. The methods
are the same. The bitter spirit has not
sweetened with the passage of time,
Accusations OF fraud and false counts
might have been those ot last Year. ri
ui,,iiar ar, AAAAAN IL In hnWGNar the