Evening star., 1933-06-17
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C., BOWERMAN.

| FAMOUS F tsST FACTS. A Record OF
First H openings, Discoveries and
Inventions in the United States. BY
JOSEF Nathan Kane. New York ::
The ID. w. Wilson Co.
The first thought that comes on
opening this book Is that the H. w.
Wilson Co. should follow It by first
fact book for Europe. One good turn
deserves another-of the same kind.
The first person who introduces a new
idea or invents o new device Is often
overglorified, but more often forgotten.
There are many disputes among dis
coverers and inventors for first place,
and historians frequently differ in their
judgments as umpires. Seven Greek
cities have been claimed as the BIRTH
place Of Homer and three American
cities as the birthplace of the Repub-
lican party. Mr.. Kane does not ask for
belief in his infallibility in the fixing OF
his "drsts." He says that when there
are rival claims he has chosen the best
substantiated and has obtained his in
formation through personal investiga-
ton OF direct sources. The utility Of
the book for reference purposes is vast
ly increased by its chronological and
geographical indexes. Illustrations also
enliven the pages, among them the first
commercially manufactured baby car
riage, which looks like q miniature
buggy, and the first automobile truck,
q pathetic box Of an affair. To read
through the whole book would give us
an immense amount of information,
much OF which we should have no use
Tor: but as well stocked reservoir in
which to fish for facts we want, the
oook Is invaluable. Mechanical infor-
nation predominates. Here are some
questions to look up, If you do not al
ready know the answers and care to
know them. Where did the United
States Army first use an armored tank?
Where and when was the first cafeteria? ?
What Is the first mention of golf clubs ?
Who were the first Chinese immigrants? ?
Where and when was the first library
service? What was the first electric
company? What was the first cantilever
bridge, the first double-deck bridge,
the first steel arch bridge? What was
the flrst Sunday school? Who invented
tne oyster cocktail? (This is an inter-
sstng storyo The H. w. Wilson Co.
mas previously published a number OF
valuable reference books, INDISPENSABLE
Tor libraries and useful for individuals
such as the Readers Guide" Ito peri
odlcals), the Book Review Digest
ana Living Authors" (biographica]
sketches), to which q supplement will
PROBABLY soon be issued
MODERN MONEY. By Joel Carter
Bonine. Boston: The Stratford Co
In simple. untechnical style, Mr.. Bo-
nine explains for the average person the
meanlng OF the word money" and all
To- III
says that his book is adapted to use as As
a high school text book. He starts with
proposition for proof that the source
OF = nations fund of cash and bank
credits Is the margin of profits exist
ing between country's total cost line
ana It's total price line. This fund
Is not upheld either by gold or the
wealth Of the people In lands, factories
or other property" This fund. whether
1t be considered "an abstract entity or
creation OF bookkeeping In the banks, .
Is our principal medium Of exchange
rev people understand the intricacies
o. the currency question, yet during the
past 40 years the currency laws and
proposed changes In them constituted
tne paramount issue in four out Of ten
presloential campaigns and was an i'm
PorCant element in a fifth. So. Mr.
BONNIE not unreasonably concludes that
the Nations voters should do something
10 INFORM themselves about the forms
OF currency and their meaning. In an
Gent times q peoples surplus of com
mooitles, as skins, grain, etc.. was a
medium OF exchange. Later, after the
discovery OF metals, the surplus was
turned into stamped coins In modern
times "a country's stock Of capital has
become divided into two parts, one a
1Cnd OF cash, the other fund of bank
creolts. The bank credits at present
greatly exceed the cash. Hence the IL
iuSlon, according to Mr.. Bonine, of the
golo standard and the property basis
the0ry. he concludes that the use of
bank credits Is the best possible inter-
national exchange medium.
SPARKS FROM THE E1EcrRoDE
By G: L. Mantell, Phi. D. New York :
The Century 90.
This Is one Of the volumes of the
century OF progress series, whose object
Is to depict graphically and systematic
ally the last hundred years of intel
lectual advancement, with the resulting
scientific achievements. The author is
consulting engineer at Pratt Institute,
brooklyn. The series is published under
the auspices OF the Century of Progress
Exposition. Sparks from the Electrode"
tells the story Of the union of elec-
tricity and chemistry during the last
century. Chemical industries have de-
veloped on the basis of cheap electricity
from water power. Zone reason for the
acuteness OF the power question: Nj
agara Falls, with its power wealth, in
PRODUCES the book. The chapter, ''The
March Of Progress" then presents bat
teries, electric furnaces, electroplating,
electrotyping, electric dynamos. and all
the processes requiring electricity in the
manipulation Of chemicals. DR.. Man.
tells style is lively, not didactic. He pic
lures scene at a dignifed meeting of
the Royal Chemical Society in London
in 1907, when Sir Humphry Davy is lee
turing ION some Of the chemical reac-
He performed experiments and this
scene "as far as the public is concerned,
is the birthplace of electrochemistry."
Davys two sparkling points are
the hub out of which in the next CEN
tury our modern electrochemical prod
ucts have come" Copper refined by
electrochemical means, drinking water
purified. textiles bleached. light metals
for finishing purposes produced, precious
metals recovered, lubricants and paints
coming out Of the electric furnace, coal
| cnangeQ INTO cOKe-tneSe are some OI
the many miracles related in Sparks
from the Eectrode."
AFTER THE DEACON WAS MUIR
DERED BY Cornelia Penfield. New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Deptford Center, "placidly unpro-
gressive (and proud of it," seemed a
restful place for a holiday with bit
of trout fishing It. 'drowsed along
the ancient turnpike, between the iso-
lated village green and the high-spired
white church" To Geoffrey Hamilton
on his arrival it offered no possibili
ties Of excitement, but he wanted none.
He was sure nothing had ever hap
pened there, beyond the few natural
births, marriages and deaths. Later
Jane Trimble, genealogist in the town
clerks office, told him that only one
| or two murders in q century occurred