Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-14
NEW BOOKS
= AT RANDOM
I. C. N.

Il -~-@ L
I. C. M.
THE END OF THE WORLD: A POST
Mortem by Its Intangible. Assets.
editor. New York: Harper a Bros.
Joseph Pulitzer was the world.
just rs some one individual Of krowl-
edge and power, Of wisdom and purpose
and VIII, Is, IN effect, the sum and sub
stance OF every great newspaper.
SO, when Joseph Pulitzer died the
World died. too. fingered Q few years,
It u true, by virtue of the elixir pumped
into 1t out OF the blood and brain and
Drawn OF its founder. Died Of malady
derived from the same source. also.
Not an uncommon besetment In o
man Of high achievement, that Of ex-
cesSive self-confidence. And, going
along with this, an equal lack Of trust
with him. Herein lies the certainty Of
ultimate failure. No one person can do
the whole work, nor does any one sur
vtve the years Of dis own great enter
prise. So, unless during his season Of
service he has created successors out Of
his own ability and in his own pattern,
the undertaking is foredoomed TO final
decay and disintegration. No matter
how great IL may be In plan, nor how
generally henencent In purpose, this is
its end.
So It was witheJoseph Pulitzer ana
his worthily famous newspaper. The
man, so secure in himself, could not
open to the tremendous working forces
around him, learning from them.
teaching them, welding himself with
the mass Of live stuff around him so
indissolubly that when he passed the
work itself went on, went on trium-
phantly In the vigor and vitality of the
great originating spirit Of the New York
World.
Only . few weeks ago came tn:
been sold. Sold suddenly or so 1t
seemed to the unnotified crowd that day
by day had seen to 1t that the paper
went to press and from there out into
the thick Of events everywhere. Aston
ishment and confusion followed; ap-
prehension for the immediate personal
future of each man, q sense OF being
''let down" undeservedly In high
handed autocratic manner. The emo
lions subsidized as these do and must.
A more philosophic spirit took control.
In this lighter mood there came the
plan Of 'post-mortem."
And here 1t Is:
no meet the purpose Of this ceremo-
NAL the city editor makes the days as
signmerts, as usual. Noticeable that In
these the word last" has the right of way
the ''last" day or night or the last"
supper and the last" story. To F. p. A..
is assigned 1.-The World Was Too Much
With U.s." and in rhyme, naturally, he
throws out the query:
"Who killed the World?"
,".said J. p.
with my last will and t.
killed the World"
"Who saw it die?" 81" said 1857
of us.
30 to each is given his task-to re-
porter, rewrite man, Sunday editor, in
dustrial editor, court reporter-the
whole human whatnot Of getting out
the paper" assemblies here for the daily
task. Familiar names appear-Harry
Hansen, Haywood Broun, Walter Lipp-
mann, John Gibbs, Richard Montague,
Elsie Mccormick, Herman Nicholson
and another and another. Each has his
special outlook upon some aspect Of the
work Of the World. Most interesting,
as they would be, and most Illuminating
as well.
The keynote Of the post-mortem,
taken as q whole, Is personal, deeply
personal. Reminiscent in spirit, it,moves
forward into o zone of individual prob
blem and possible distress. Most nat
ural. Each conscious Of his relations to
a thing counted impregnable, tnvul-
nerable, finds that bulwark overthrown,
or dissolved away, with himself left
standing unsupported in an occupa-
tional world that Is calculated 70 make
the tropical jungle look like Q subur-
ban lawn. Revealing an intimate dis
closure Of newspaper life at q critical
point, this would seem to be Of interest
to members of the fourth estate alone.
Much wider than this Is its call. The
great newspaper IS an institution, like
church and school, entering into the
daily life of all. Its actual purposes and
policies, its composite parts welded day
upon individual life-theSe are some Of
the qualities that make this story Of
the rise and decline of the New York
World most instructive record, as well
as q brilliantly interesting one. The
human equation-the man clements,
after all, the supreme potency OF enter
prise In whatever department Of activ-
ity that undertaking may be set.
THE DANGEROUS LIFE. Judge Ben
b. Lindsey, author of 1.-THE Revolt
Of Modern Youth" etc, and RUDE
Borough. New York: Horace Live
right.
In effect, an autobiography, since
Mr.. Borough merely put into good
order the reminiscent facts Of Judge
Lindsey's life as these were given to
him by this pioneer In proper legal
attention to children of unfortunate
circumstance. Ben Lindsey founded
the Juvenile Court in Denver, thereby
setting up an institution that has been
copied the world over, thereby creating
q civic institution in his own city for
which the majority Of its population
pays him sincere homage.
Yet, despite such human service,
Judge Lindsey appears TO have fallen
upon evil days. Days of condemnation,
withholding from himself and his fam
lily, wife and child. What could have
done this thing!
And we read his story, going back
as 1t does to his life in the South,
pleasant life for boy-country, and
farm, dogs and horses and "darkies,"
all friendly and happy. Then the re-
moval of the family to Denver. And
Ben studied law and practiced 1t, up
TO a certain point. But here IS, OBJ
viously, man more human than legal
enactments some Of them so rigid as to
yield to no touch of extenuation, others
so plant as to fall fiat under certain
modes Of pressure. A kind man, this
one. Under everything else is kind
ness, and q deep pity for small suffer-
ing things like children poorly born,
poorly reared. Certain victims to such
life as they are placed to encounter.
So deeply thinking, he set up the
Juvenile Court. That was not so bad.
The prime misconduct of the man ap-
pears to be that he remained human,
and humane, in the conduct of this
court. Young folks looked upon him
as friend. Went to him with their
difficulties. And he helped them, some
times throwing away the sacrosanct
nthikandar and crarfIIras that Ii1akina fS