Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-10
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. G. M.
GRANDEUR AND MISERY OF VIC
TORY. Georges Clemenceau. Har-

"JaccuSeP You recaLI, maype, THIS
flaming headline by Georges Clemen-
ceau, whose charge Of forgery and con-
spiracy in the Dreyfus case so reused
France as to bring about new trial
and the final release Of the martyr OF
Devils Island"
In the main, "J'accuse" Is the motif
of Grandeur and Misery Of Victory"
To be sure, there are interludes Of pure
praise and exaltation, of homage to the
martial spirit Of the common eoldiery.
But, upon the whole, there Is more Of
lamentation than of commentator for
the leaders in that cataclysmic event Of
war. International duplicities among
the allies, national greed and self-seek-
ing, vicious diplomacy, criminal military
incompetency, covenants neither open
nor openly arrived at, small intrigues.
huge OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES assemble here
under passionate accusation or recrimi-
natory reference on the writer's part
In substance, Grandeur and Misery
of Victory" Is q survey Of the war and
the deliberations of peace that followed
it. The conflict itself Is comprised
within the first five chapters Of the
book. Then comes the arnistice.
Then. the peace conference, with its re-
sulting treaties-1, 2, 3, 4. Nearly
half the discussion Is devoted to
"Mutilations of the treaty Of YER
sailles," in terms of separate peace"
financial mutilations,' "Locarno,"
Germany arms, France disarms," "the
organization of frontiers" "defeatism."
The war itself Is considered chiefly
from the standpoint of unity of COM
mand." This measure, not embraced
heartily at first, finally demonstrated its
prime business efficiency In that most
| momentouS Of enterprises, that dif1cult
matter Of preserving man stuff and pro-
noting human slaughter at one and. the
| same time. 1t Is here that the writer
/ has biting things to say in characteristic
/ Tiger fashion on the disposition of the
| American troops. The situation desper-
, ate without question. Need Of fresh
| troops of the highest urgency. Be-
| wilderment and rage that troops from
this side were not upon arrival over
there slid in, piecemeal, to any COM
mand already in action or ready for
action. You may be sure that here IL
| a point where the particular tempera-
ment Of M. Clemenceau rises to its ut
most Of individual Interpretation and
characteristic Judgment "Pershing with
his tight Tipped smile kept putting
| things off" "but he owed 1t to the
romantic side of Americas intervention
| to form self-contained American
Army" And so the writer goes on
opening to the reader the serious dis
agreement raging among all the allies
on the matter of command, immediate
| use of troops, and so on. 1.-The true
function of the American allies was
first and foremost to help us make up
for lost time by joining the fray as
they arrived, whereas the natural vanity
of the great democracy inclined her to
throw in her full power for the SUI
preme victory on the last battlefield"
| This quotation is as good as another to
| give the character of M. Clemenceau
distilled through the tragic years of
suffering and disaster that faced his
| beloved France. For, clearly revealing
as this book is, stirring as it is by virtue
of its revelations, wide-open as 1t is
upon many a hidden aspect of the
Great War, invaluable as it is by the
| frankness of its deep discloSures-yet,
after all, this is not history. Rather is
| it the study of q temperament-of a
| high-geared, passionate, inpulsive, hon.
est, fearless, indiscreet patriot reacting
j in behalf of his own beloved land to
| the greatest common menace that the
| world itself has ever known.
It is in the section devoted TO the
various "mutilations" of the treaty that
NJ. Clemenceau rises to his own greatest
raignment. Especially in the "finan-
cial multilations" is he of surprising
eloquence. Here he Is remindful of the
days long past when America might not
have secured her independence had 1t
not been for the Frenchmen, many and
brave, who few to arms in behalf of
an aspiring and idealistic handful OF
colonies across the water. AL true, too
Yet, all the determinations of a brave
AkasxV De- iV1
peril. Naturally, the world Is going TO
read this story Of the war, captivated
by its frank avowal and its impas-
| stoned presence. Individuals are 60
ing to regret it. Diplomacies are going
| to deplore 1t in silence. When, how
ever, one reminds himself that this Is
a singularly endowed temperament, seri-
ously and nobly engaged with vital mat
tiers and rejecting these through his
own peculiar nature--why, then, the
great book, the truly great book, is to
arrive at its own rightful place of In
formation and use. In all events, 1t Is
a new view of the world at its highest
! point of action and significance. AS
of interest-of acceptance here, Of re-
lection there.
1f1E 1IGER. IcOIBcS SleLlSI1CCdui
1841-1929. George Adam. Harcourt,
Brace 81 Co.
Born into the jungle of French poll
tics. Sired by one who spent more time
in cursing Bourbons and Bonapartes
than in his professional engagement OF
curing patients. Such 1.-The Tiger" whose
story is so vigorously set down here.
The first public appearance of this cub
was on the road to Jail for some youth
full indiscretion In the field of free
thought and action. A Swift-moving
record of activity, of advance here and
defeat there. The Panama scandal,
Boulanger, Dreyfus-amazing men and
affairs created to the very nature OF
this growing Tiger that, between kill
ings on his own account and ribald
as no mere tangle OF the wild could
possibly provide. 1t takes the human
to round a jungle to the uttermost
of really inspired cruelty. And what
ever his occupation-writer OF journal
istic persuasion, politician, statesman,
premier, dictator, whatnot-the preoc"
| cupation Of this man-tiger was the hui
man to be set free, from actual bonds
or spiritual ones, the man to be cham
pioned, the country to- be upheld with
the body and soul Of each Of its chill
dren. A tempest of man. A whirl-
wind of a personality. One to make
enemies. One to bind friends to him
with bonds of steel. Just the human
est Of beings cast in the mold of temp
est and stress. With the steadiness Of
one trained to his own artistry of jour-
nalism, George Adam follows the vicis-
sitous lead of .Clemanceau through his
youth on to the stress and storm years
that came so early to this man of
France. Where all is so emphatic and
stresSful, a writer might be expected
to turn the life of Georges Clemenceau
into a pattern of pure pyrotechnics.
In this case. however, no such explo-
sions take place. Instead here is an
orderly. but strikingly vivid picture OF
the man and his contribution to the