Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-02
y IDA GILBERT MYERZ
Going Backward Along the Road Of Fiction.
Making Use Of the Volga-AHSorts Of
Stories for Summer Reading.

should be the atmoSpheres In which the action
thrives or willis. But. you see, true to the Owen
text, there rs, beside young Seotee, the old
Chinaman, Hung Long Tom. father. too. and
the old farm. Without the deep and feeling
friendship Of Hung Long Tom, this would have
been an unbearable story o more unbearable
situation. The oriental and the good earth, the
old farm. these slowly and almost 1mpercep-
tibly wrought patience in the boy, and Q sense
Of not having lost all, and q little bud OF hope
sprouting--and then, vertically out Of the good
earth the rare earth" there came at the last O
return TO sight. And with this the added treas
ure Of knowing the bounty aHd the beauty Of
the world of the soil itself. Yes, there Is q love
story here. Three of them. in fact. But the
biggest one OF an, the most beautiful Is the
story Of the earth in It's bounty In Its goodness
to any one who comes open and certain into
the zone of It's deep beneficence.
A poet, that Is Frank Owen poet ripened
IN the wisdom Of Oriental philosophy, With It's
patience, It's silences It's power 80 responsive TO
confidence and belief. poet who Is able to
work prOse-poems out Of hts belief IN the sem
hency Of inanimate things Of an old house. Of .
ripe and waiting acreage Of SOIL belief In the
power Of these COMMONLY uncounted things TO
minister and to heal just another gurpass-
inb book by Prank Owen, another harvesting
from his own spirit.
THE ROAD TO THE GREY PAAdIR BY Anna
Louise Strong Illustrated Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
NEWSPAPER woman, Anna Louise Strong.
n College woman. besides. Turned TO child
welfare as an interlude Of profession In this
position, prominent in America and elsewhere
for thorough and practical work among chill
dren. At heart something Of q nOmad. Such
schooling and experience, welded and subcon-
sciOusly shaped by native touch Of wander
lust, would some years back, have made o mis-
sionary Of Anna Louise Strong.
Happily however, for all concerned, the row
{mO Of ioalrn ksnfrr
competent and practical woman. So over the
world she went over the world" in this case
means Russia. Surely the sensitive spot for
news Of moment and urgency. Then, . chance
to get into the Orient. up 70 the Grey Pamr,
which the king Of adventurers Marco Polo.
named ~the roof Of the world" quite some time
back. By airship preferably would this news
man 60. No? Not by airship, after pesky de-
lays In country where delays assume treznen-
,dous proportions. All right Then by cara
van. And 50 It was, for q while. Then, In .
company Of soldiers . military unit going her
way, the deed was done and Polo's roof Of
the world became temporary perch for this
uneonquerable lady Of the press.
And, believe me, q good storyl Up to the
news Of each passing moment, Of course. That
b Anna Louise Strongs job. So ut each turn
IN this long and bOne-racking TRAN the writer
wAs coming upon traces Of the new Soviet Rus
stA IN action. To each phase Of this absorbing
experiment Miss Strong gives sturdy attention
and an immediate record Of fact Repetttions
Of this plan, produced the book Of travel that
In addition to exploring Q new 1eld under great
d1meultaes. gives also the aspects Of the new
Russia OF I'm the Himalayas, 20 far from the
source d the venture which. just now, Is hold
ing the world itself to strict attention upon It
- whole and in each Of its parts.
A spirited, daring, male performance, made
Immediately communicable and fascinating by
Q truly feminine art Of disclosure thorough
Witty. eolorful and clearly reliable. Fine work.
YOuu like It,
EouR IN FAMILY Nv r1aunnhr.u n.kan.4ou