Evening star., 1932-08-16
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. G.. Nj.
I. G.. NJ.

HERBERT HOOVER AND AMERI-
CAN INDIVIDUALISM. By Walter
Friar Dexter, president of Whittier
College. New York: The MACMILLAN
Co.
The ism" stage reached, word or
term has, by that time, lost all of Its
personality and much of its original
character.
To pick up casually out of a thousand
cases in point. Individualism, social
ism, communism. Once, men moving.
Now symbols of social-poltical theory
applied to modes of government. Alb
stractions. Yet compact and handy
tools for digging in the soil OF construc-
tive citizenship.
Take individualism alone. In It's
American political significance. Its
spirit is that of freedom. The spirit
that fed English mind shackiingS, tnat
boarded the Mayf1ower and crossed the
sea- First to step out upon the rock
at Plymouth. Leader that slowly and
in labor subdued the near wilderness,
reached the great middle PLAIN.
spanned the painted canyons, climbed
the Rockies and stood, at last. beside
the Western Sea, now posted along us
shore by Spanish angels and Iberian
saints.
name of freedom for all, in the name of
individual freedom. Meanwhile 1t mad
been growing a government after its
own pattern. Imperishable, by virtue
of the deep rock of its foundation, the
right of every man to life, to liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. Every
American institution as such is but an
ortreach toward the fulfillment OF that
purpose.
And finally under the strenuous ar
dors of this free man, fled across the
sea from an Old World, not free, there
emerged a republican government IN
which every man has partaKlng part,
under fair regulatory condltlons. ana
there was set up also judiciary active
iv devoted to Justice for all, to protec-
ton for all. And. so, life and liberty
were secured for the people OF TINS new
country There remained only the pur-
suit of happiness to be assured. NOW
the pursuit of happiness Is personal
thing, an elusive thing. Its SEED nes
deep in each mans nature, Waltihs
for the sun outside to invite II, lot tie
warm rains of Spring and Summer 10
lure it into the open, for all manner
of friendly nurturings to waKen lnltla-
tive in the individual. to orec1 MS
| effort. to energiZe his activity, 10 pro-
| mote his aims, to fulfill his lie purpose
in harmony with the whole OF WniCa ne
| is a part and in forcetul contributor
to the spirit of that whole:
For this nurturing and evoking IN
fupnce-so infinitely delicate and VlCally
important both to that single inner sell
| and to the great community outside
| the home and the school stand as the
ero,,ndwork and the promise of Amer
! ican security. The warmth of them, the
early shelterirg, the free contacts, the
eager emulations and healthy rlvalrles
! the quick hurts and the swift meanings
all of a quality and power to brlng
| out into the open and to set upon lIs
| way that building, contrlvlng, creatlVe
spirit. In effect, that true substance OF
! every human. It is upon these 1ounda-
| tions that the later lifework Is set, that
| careers are built and stable contrlou-
| tions are made to the growth OF the
world itself toward general fair dealing
and larger freedoms, toward genuine
greatness. And all this time Of march
| ing on watch must be set against
| usurpations of the free government
| Neither ambitious politician, nor in
| spired dictator, nor visionary zealot, nor
| capitalistic king must be allowed foot
! over the threshold.
And with homes to back them, with
| education to beckon and to point an
| Illuminated way, with a robust life OF
hard work and hard play, fair dealing
independent thinking, no compromise
with maurauderS of any stripe, the
free common people of this great coun-
| try are safe in their granted right to
| life, liberty and the pursuit OF hap
| piness.
| n
From the beginning the New World
| invited innumerable groups of many
| and diverse purpose to its shores. Re
| ligious and political bodies, social re-
| formers and business projectors came
and. in time, became part OF the
| great people itself. Among these the
| Society of Friends, the Quakers. have
| played a distinguished and continuing
part. A thrifty, peace-loving people
| whose religious beliefs and usages were
F., of SO practical and of so constructive
quality as to serve amazingly we'll al
| the week days through. On Sundays
too. Industrious and friendly, these be-
came, here and there, along their lines
| of settlement, notably substantial ele-
ments of American citizenship.
| I seem late in arriving at the point
| of Walter Friar Dexter's book about
Herbert Hoover and American individ-
ualism AS matter of fact, I am not
| late, for I've been talking about some
| of it all the time About that elusive
| human self, bent to the pursuit OF
happiness; about Herbert Hoover's de-
votion to the individual in his protected
rights, in the encoura cement of initiative
| for him, in his mathematical summary
| that no whole can be greater than the
sum of its parts, not even govern
ment whole.
An indiHdualist. this leading Amer
lean man, political, social economic
individualist seeing bodies and groups
in a self-ordered freedom of co-or-
dinated movement. All free. AL
united in an enthusiastic loyalty to the
best interests of the whole
| Such, in effect, is the authors study
of Mr.. Hoover. He makes it, in the
the Society of Friends, from which Mr.
I Hoover is. spiritually derived. The
book opens with a most interesting
story of the settlement Of Iowa in such
large part by the Quakers, of the in.
| f1uence Of these wise and friendly peo.
pie upon the subsequent history of the
State as one Of the conspicuously stable
members Of the commonwealth itself
And here is, as matter of course, the
story of Herbert Hoover's childhood
and early years out in West Branch
Iowa. And here. right here, is the
source of the Presidents passion fol
the welfare of children, for the en-.
couragement of the home, passions that
come out in serious conferences wherein
the wisdom and knowledge and kindli.
ness of the whole country are invited te
give their help to this paramount ano
initial part of American citizenship
and young happiness. Yes, related, the
two.
Beyond this, a story Of the Quaker:
in the West; rather new story te
many, I assume. 1t was to me. A;
matter of fact, william Penn has 81
monopolized the glory of the Friend.
that we have. mostly, not yet crossed
the borders of the great Penn State il