Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-20
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. C. NJ.
THE DEGRADATION OF SCIENCE.
BY T. Swami Harding, authcr Of
''Fads, Frauds and Physicians"
New York: Farrar d Rhinaiart,

THE DEGRADATION OF SCIENCE.
BY T. Swami Harding, authcr Of
'Fads, Frauds and Physicians"
New York: Farrar d Rhinailart,
Inc.
Clearly, this is an ailing world. Not
the planet. It's human content instead
Composed and dependable as ever, the
earth spins upon itself and circles its
celestial path in unchanging precision.
Still sets out the seasons. undeviatingly.
Still opens the day with dawn and sun,
still lights its candles of the sky at dusk
and nightfall.
Yet, in respect to man himself, plain
ly much has gone wrong. Both wise
man and fol agree. What the cause of
this striking maladjustment of the hui
man to his foot of ground, to his min
ute Of time? And, to be sure, everybody
has an answer-his answer-to the ur-
healer, steps forward, his particular
| dosage in hand for the curing Of all the
naticns under the sun. The preacher
knows the ailment and he knows the
remedy. The teacher knows, too. The
lawyer, the man Of business, the money
king. these all know. Indeed, the BUTCH
er. the baker, the candlestick maker, are
equally wise to the real trouble with
these times. SO openly out Of Joint.
AAFA OAAA6 AAtO"S' WV ASCGOSA
than being quite so positive. let us
say, instead, that his guess is better
than most, by virtue of its better
foundation of demo nstrable fact 80
presented as to take on the good quality
! of evidence itself. Besides, 1t is not the
purpose of this writer TO play the part
of physician. That Is. other than in the
special line of diagnosis. with additional
| probings into causes.
THE author "a n RNienfiSt And alnn0
with his tribe he sets supreme value
upon the animating spirit of scientific
! research, which Is the pursuit of truth.
facts, and which demands also a
certain method of relating and co. rdi-
: nating bodies of fact into organisms
| that function logically and conyincingly
in their respective fields.
A very fortnight investigator, be-
sides, Is Mr.. Harding. He follows the
| into the streets and offces Of his own
neighborhood TO find out, first-hand
what is going on in these places under
| the various professional names that
| flourish In all communities.
The vision that guides him Is, nat
| urally. the amazing new world that,
within few hundred years science has
| created, Is creating, unmindful Of the
| old and out-moded magic. necromancy,
alchemy. legend, fable and myth, which
| In earlier years were the building
stones Of mans temporal existence.
A great adventure. and useful, this
man sets himself. within his own door
| yard, so to speak All dooryards are
practically alike. And everywhere. out
| around the town, there Is prodigious
| activity, the most of 1t parading under
the latest discovery of science. or its
latest application to the current de-
mands of life. Into Offices and out
again. Editors, doctors. dentists, law
makers. money-lords, bankers, preach
! ers-all are profess'onalized in the
! name OF science and many of these,
/ Willingly or otherwise. ere false
prophets, with some of them running
! close to pure charlatanism.
! A sensational disclosure? All Of
that. Due. in part, to the natural
| recoil Of man from criticism, to any
accusation Of ignorance, even in an
, accounting of professional errancy. In
other part, the clearly startling quality
| of the book is sourced in the per-
sonality OF T. Swami Harding himself.
| A student OF positive ideas and fear
| less frontins3, An easy alliterativc
writer, sounding. we'll, maybe bit
/ fiippant, when n is only very much in
! earnest in his cwn way. And here he
! is indubitably. il earnest over the I'M
! fair impositions placed upon the name
and work of scie zee, by rabid material
! ism in the market place, making dis
honest use OF catch-words. scientific In
sound and import, to promote personal
! ends and selfish aims. To ignorance,
and no: wholly to Ill intent, does Mr..
Harding ascribe some OF the haltings
and failures of the collective life. In
dividualism " gone, but the world
denies 1t, working in the old technic
| of single effort. when every lesson that
is worth anything today is posted in
/ the terms of cooperation, co-ordina-
ton. And this, whatever department
Is under examination. The one man
as an asset in the world is gone. That
i he still hangs on. maybe through ig-
norance, and certainly through pure
| sef-devction and that from the wrong
| point of view, is an obvious fact. You
might like, II you have any doubts
about this. to 60 around with Swami
| Harding, or another OF his competency,
| to look into the court room when II
is in action, into the great doctors
/ imposing quarters, into the shopman's
! corner, into the meetings of order and
clan and tribe. Listen to them. LOOK
! at their manifestations OF an sort Oh
knowledge of life in its big an i'm
personal sweep toward bigger ana
| greater units CT acLion.
A book that fronts upon disagree
ments and very likely upon I'll fee!lng
! expressed as such. A book OF truth
all the same. One. besides. that makes
no excessive claims. Merely sets the
| foundation of science in action. Then
vigorously and seriously, brings to this
norm the various modern agencies that
are striving to corrupt and degrade 1t
! Good work. Good for everybody t.
lead. because it stipulates more knowl-
edge as the basis Of modern outlook and
| activity.
SCHOOL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and Practices. Report of New York
| Commiss.cn. New York: Teachers
College, Columbia University.
For about 20 years the New York
Commission on Ventilation has been
! conducting experiment and trial on
| this most important matter of provid-
! ing good air to the public buildings un-
der its supervision. The present book
| let is confirei to a consideration OF
such service as applied to school build
| ings and rooms. A long call from the
| tight-shut windows of earlier days 10
| the highly specialized system OF Ventl-
! lation that has been worked out from
! every point of view ana now prevails
! for the health end general well-being OF
pupils in the schools.
Reconstructed in 1920, the commission
/ has published a series of technical re-
, ports. The book in hand is concise
| final report. including the current school
J wear. Therefore, this is review OF the
| history OF this subject. with short
summary of such investigations as have
been made in respect TO the matter.
Here is a discussion of the physiologic' u
objective of ventilation. There is given.
! also, an account of the development OF
/ the idea of having buildings provided
constantly With unvitiated air. Then,
the account of how the topic became a
legislative concern, with the creation OF
the commission as its operating agent
Here, the report of studies made in