Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-27
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. C. NJ.

| u1dLSs N1Ecen @ 70.
Civilization, like every other human
undertaking, Is compelled, In its own
interest, to take stock Of itself from pc
Rod to period. What has it on hand of
substance and quality2 What of bulk
and kind to meet the uses of man ct
any stage of his advance from the long
past cave life to the far future Of his
reach toward the stars themselves?
What in the long transit has fallen
away, useless2 What has sprung into
life out Of new and demanding con-
ditions?
Toward Civilization" has called to-
gether a group Of actively wise men for
| light on this common query of
"Whither?" for mankind, upon the gen.
eral interest Of man in his own des.
tiny. All forward-looking writers, these,
engaged in special probings into one or
another Of the current phases Of this
astonishing age Of science and Of the
effects Of science allied with invention
boundlessly prolific world. Here Is,
therefore, book Of expert testimony
whose sum Of evidence Is that the world
is stepping of into new phase Of ex-
istence. In other words, that we Of to-
| day and those Of the days to come are
moving with incredible rapidity toward
a new civilization. The domain Of pure
philosophic thought, with It's misty the
cries of existence, and the destiny Of
man, with its vain moralizings on in
substantial foundations-this domain Is
growing weaker, less potential. Science
and invention are contributing to q new
1 world, If not actually creating q new
world. 1t Is this transition, this incon-
ceivably great drama Of progress that is
causing the world a deal Of troubled
thought. The humanist, clinging to his
classic masters in philosophy and art,
cries aloud against the materialism of
the new day. The wizard of science,
the genius of invention, in turn, point
to thousand ameliorations that have
come to the lot of the common man I'M
der the partnership set up by these two
inspired agents, inspired by knowledge
and its full use for the benefit Of man.
kind.
within the book men Of action, Of ex-
perience, Of achievement In this new age,
this new civilization talk to the reader,
each giving out his own experience
coupled with corroborative matter from
kindred lines Of some Of the things that
the world is doing today for the benefit
| OF mankind. One man talks about the
spirit Of invention In this industrial era,
picturing new avenues of life opened,
new utilities brought forward, innumer-
able convenienceS introduced to old and
4 AdDO4AOuS pIOCcOScS, bLkIlC-SdF1Llk uSNlCCS
| that shorten hours OF work and lengthen
those Of play, with no diminution in the
| bulk Of industrial output itself. Another
man talks Of the wizardry Of discover
| ing urlsuspected powers that lay so long
! in the natural resources Of the earth
running water set to work. steam cut
short in It's vague cloud-play and given
a job that reacts in innumerable profits
| and easements for the man on the Job,
for the woman in the kitchen. Modern
industry Is no longer q makeshift con-
glomeratlon Of vague utilities. Business
is q profession, conceived as such, de-
veloped as such, managed Is SUCH Read
| about 1t here, for the sake Of gathering
your half-formed notions on the subject
into compact budget Of common sense,
which Is expert management" reduced
to its common denomination. An upper
most theme In this. conclave Of wise
men is agriculture" a topic which, re-
lieved Of extraneouS political stun, be-
comes scientifically projected concep-
ton of the land, Of its powers, of its
susceptibility to enormous production
under the spell Of modern soil and plant
chemistry, under the plain business
treatment that Is applied to every other
sort Of business. The farm has long
been a sort of sacrosanct object, left to
the god of the weather and chance for
the increase. Not any more. A theme
packed with sheer magic Of the modern
brand Is munication"-roads, radio
telegraph, telephone, ships and airships
The wide world becomes a neighbor-
hood both In fact and, ultimately one
thinks, in feeling. Getting together for
agreements and accommodations, for
relief, for succor, for nspiration-these
an ever-increasing part of the civili-
Zation toward which the world is to-
day Individually moving. Not arrived yet.
Not yet. There will be still more init
mate contacts by way of the genius of
scientist and inventor. BY way Of great
economists and engineers who are plan
ming and building so marvelously that
the contentious mind Of man Is bound
to train itself to accommodations and
acceptanceS that, In the course Of time,
will have so greatly transformed the
world as to create something like the
new heaven" Of which we have so
often read. I know-there are still
many who deplore this new day--this
selfish, cruel, mechanistic day"-itS god
q mere combination Of wheels and other
gear responding to nothing more than
q natural resource turned into action.
Nevertheless and notwithstandinR-w
read these scientists, these truth seekers,
these sane men working through the
mysteries of the earth and its laws out
toward the amelioration of mankind as
| q 1bCdQ NdlCdlhcI EuplnS Ma
chine Industry and Ideaiism." Read
Art in the Market Place." 1.-THE Ma
chine and Architecture" Read the
whole Of this book, this body of high
lntellectualiSm and expert training and
practical outlook, this book of substan-
tial fact and deep sanity on the general
theme Of a world advancing toward q
bigger and deeper and more potential
civilization. We-the average and gem
eral-are in deep debt for such com
municable discussions Of vital and deep
ly significant matters.
YOU AND YOUR JOB. James ],
Davis and John G. Wright, New
York: John Wiley g. Sons, Inc.
A cabinet officer and the head of
the Bureau of Vocational Education
are engaged here in talking over that
which may be called every mans busi-
ness, his job. And, since both Of these
high officials captured "jobs" almost in
their infancy, certainly there could be
no captious claim, so frequently brought
they don't know what they're talking
about" Clearly these two do know.
And so they sit down, inviting you to
have q seat. At first they review the
things that they have just been doing
the big things that the whole country
is interested in having pretty well
turned out, as national "1obs." Only
natural, then, for the pair to move
backward for reminiscent partakings In
the earlier jobs that came their way.
Just why do we work at all? This Is
a good starting place. Maybe the
answer is Of biblical authority. Maybe
it is not. At any rate, 1t is close-by
answer that we can easily lift over
into our own private notions Of why
folks work. More important. however,
j is the choice Of work. Here 10 sound
talk on a deeply serious point that is