Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-26
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the Bookloper

The world since the World War has
been so different geographically, eco
nomically and socially that most OF the
books on geography and social science
existing before 1914 have been stamped
out OF date" Realizing this and the
held open for new popular books OF
information, Herbert Adams Gibbons
entered the field. Europe Since 1913"
The New Map of Europe" The New
Map Of Africa The New Map OF
ASIA" Ports of France" THE New
Map of South America" and now
Wider Horizons; the New Map OF the
World" have brought the newest mod
ern world to our doors by describing,
continent by continent and country by
country. the new social, political, eco
nomic and international status OF the
various lands and peoples on the globe.
In his famous new map" series ne mas
tried to interpret what the various
countries were and what they are pc
coming, particularly in thelc RELATION
to their neighbors and the rest OF the
world In Wider Horizons" DIR. GID
bonS discusses recent developments III
science, art, statecraft, business, So
GEOLOGY. religion. His chapters are
called New Measurements OF Time and
Space; New Forms of Motive Power,
1.-The Healthier and More Etficient
World in Which We Live, Culturai
Migration" "Grpwth and Distribution
of TIE Human Race" international
Trade and Investments. Womans
Politics" Influence of Youth in Con.
temporary History" Thirty Years OF
Church History" international Or
CARNATIONS" war Against War. Her
bert Adams Gibbons was born In An
napolis. Md. in 1880. He is grad
uate of the University OF PennsylvanIa
and has the degrees of M. A. and pn. ~.
from Princeton University. he lntena-
ed to be a clergyman and received oroi-
nation. but then went to Robert Col
lege. Constantinople, as professor OF
history and political economy during
the Balkan Wars and the World War
he corresponaed for several American
papers and has since devoted MS lime
to writing He recently spent Some
time in China and WIDER HorlzolIs
was completed in Toxic, so his next
book is likely to be about the ORIENT
X X X
Tho cbanter "The Healthier and
More Eficient World in Which We
Live" is one of the most interesting In
"Wider Horizons" The stamping out OF
endemic fevers and plaques or the les.
SEEMING of their virulence has been OF
the greatest value not only to the safety
and comfort of humanity but also 70
the industrial development OF the world.
Projects in tropical countries could not
be carried out efficiently or without the
sacrifice of many lives until malaria
and yellow fever were practically ex-
terminated. Now scientists are at work
on the problem of sleeping sickness
caused by the bite OF the tsetse ny,
which attacks both man and domestic
animals. Experiments are being made
with various chemicals which might De
an antidote for the poison OF sleeping
sickness without lnjuring human organs
and tissues German, English and
French Institutes of tropical medicine
are still graphing with the problem.
once an effective remedy for sleeping
sickness is found the whole complexion
of the African colonial problem will
change" DR.. Gibbons briefly describes
methods used in eliminating or amelio-
rating typhoid and scarlet fevers, ma
laria, yellow and typhus fevers, tuber-
culosis, pellagra, beriberi, ricketts,. scurvy'
cholera, bubonic plague, hooKWorm,
diphtheria, syphilis goiter, leprosy and
diabetes. The definite separation of the
nutritional diseases from the infectious
diseases has been the work of recent
years. "The record in new knowledge
of the causes of dietary diseases is bril-
liant. Pellagra was a CLASSIFIED disease
for nearly 200 years, but before 1912 It's
cause, in definite scientific sense. was
unknown. It was uncertain whether
pellagra was infectious or not. That 1t
was due to faulty diet was discovered
less than Is years ago by experiments
in American orphanages and prisons
and among World War refugees in the
Near East. Since 1922 1t is agreed that
pellagra is caused by a deficiency in
specific vitamine., which has not yet
haVf
is endemic in Eastern and Southern
Asia, the Malay States and the north
ern and eastern coast of South America.
While the mortality Is not high, it re-
duces the efficiency of those affected
almost to the zero point. Vordermann,
in the prisons of Java in 1895, dis
covered that beriberi was due to over
milled rice. His findings were confirmed
by American Army investigators in the
Philippines, and since 1910 the change
from overmilled to unidentified rice has
virtually caused the disease to disap-
pear among those whose food Is fur
niShed by the United States Govern
ment The specific vitamine destroyed
in overmilling rice has not yet been
exactly identified. But the fact that we
know how to combat the disease is al
ready proving great gain for Brazil
and the countries of the Far East"
X X
An economist in search of examples
of advanced social legislation-and\ a
demonstration of how they work-often
goes to New Zealand. An account OF
how New Zealand became such an eco
nomic laboratory is given by j. B. Con-
life, D. Sc, in his book New Zealand
in the, Making" The location of that
remote island, called by its original in
habitantS, the Maoris, "Ao-Tea- Roa," or
lnvae xxyl1 g that 4
ought easily to be outside the area OF
contamination by the disease of strug-
Cling nationalitieS. It Is 400 miles
from Australia, $500 miles from Homo
lulu, 10000 miles from Europe of the
Atlantic seaboard 1t has an ideally
mild climate and delightful variety of
scenery-mountains, coast, farmland
and forest. The name New Zealand
was given to it by the Hollander, who
was perhaps the first European to visit
the island, Abel Jansen Tasman. To
him it was merely an interesting new
land for settlement or exploitation, not
a beautiful LONG white cloud" and he
named 1t obviously after province OF
Holland. Colonization followed and, of
course, Immediately economic inequali-
ties grew up. Some coloniStS acquired
land and built up great estates; others
remained poor and labored for the rich.
In the COS New Zealand developed
a Socialist, not Communist, govern
ment. The state owns and operates
railroads, telegraphs, insurance, farm
ers' loans and many other utilities. Well
fare legislation is abundant There are
laws limiting hours of labor, minimum
wage laws, compulsory arbitration laws,
factory inspection laws, many laws safe
guarding women and children, old age
pensions. Infant mortality in New
Zealand is the lowest in the world
1874 per 1000. Figures give the
mortality in England and Wales as rs
and in the limited States as 70 Be