Evening star., 1933-03-26

street damned with folk, unemployed, night
workers, and pushing, plodding bargain shop
pers," many tragedies have happened.
STRAWBERRY ROAM. BY A. G. Street New
York: Harcourt, Brace g. Co.
HE strawberry roam calf. daughter of Void
Dolly, who has already produced 10 other
calves, is the heroine of this pastoral comedy
of manners. Wold Dolly belongs to Mr. John
Dibben, baker and grocer In the town of Coonnbe
Wallop. who has put his savings into smaa
farm near the town because he longed to "get
back to the soil from whence he sprang," even
though he knows that his bakery business will
have to carry the loss from the farming. Soon
after her birth the strawberry roam calf Is sold
by Mr. Dibben at Winchbury Market and SO
begins her travels from farm to farm in the
neighborhood, finally ending as a 3-year-old
heifer back ON Mr. Dibben's farm, now become
successful dairy farm. Here, as the best
mixer, she Is much pampered, but she shares
the late OF all the bovine mothers in having
her calf taken from her, and as she moves about
reStlessly. refusing her food, refusing to be
MIXED, old Silas. the mixer. says to her: moo,
tnen, my pretty. Thee got no call to take on 70.
Childer do come, an jist when you be
gettin q mite o pleasure vrom 'em, they do CO."
During the three years of the strawberry
roan's life changes take place in the families
OF the farmers Of the locality q part OF Wilt
shire The postwar boom in farming ends
and the depression sets in. Some Of the older,
wiser farmers, who have been through depres-
sions before, practice Walter Morleys phi-
losophy: "Tis just stickin' power as Is wanted
Go carefully, bde at home and work, and spend
notMn TILL times do come round" But Chris
Lowe. young. pleasure-loving, absorbed in the
1dyll OF his marriage with Molly, gets deeper
ano deeper into d1mculties and finally loses his
1arm The single minded devotion Of the sea-
soned farmers to the soil which is their liveli-
hood and their life is shown in opposition to
the smouldering resentment of the farmers
wives, who realize that they and their wants
and their children are entirely second to the
needs OF the farm. This gives opportunity for
some good character drawing. as in the cases
OF the Dibben and Morley families Land deyo-
ticn and pride also prevent the marriage of
Frank Parsons and Alice Buckley because he
viii not leave Woodend and she will not leave
Rookeries. A. g. Street. author Of strawberry
Roam, was less than two years ago running a
dairy farm and delivering milk to customers in
Salisbury, England. His first book. auto
biographical in form, farmers Glory" pub
hshed in 1882, described the downfall Of British
agriculture in recent years
WHAT is AMERICAN? BY Frank Ernest Hill.
New York: The John Day Co.
M/HAT are all the elements which have gone
w into the making of the comnosite Arner-
lean? The Puritans, the Q1akers the Dntch
the Swedes, combined to make our early his
tory; later nearly every European nation
contributed its bit. But the net result, in Mr..
Hnls opinion, which differs from that of MANY
Is something unified, typically American When
america entered the World War, the Europeans.
"all but spent with the struggle" looked unon
ner almost as genie rising from the smoke of
the battlefield. Her men and her resources
were considered limitless "The Americans, too.
became suddenly excited about America" and
began to be conscious of solidarity not before
reallzed. What is Americana" is idealistic.
1t does not consider our country merely in
terms OF dollars and cents, of budgets and In
come tax returns of carloading and shippinps
important though these are to prosperity. Mr..
Hill has been drawn to note certain great
specific experiences which men have had in
America-their experience with the frontier.
unparalleled in all human history; their pecu-
cliar adventures with God and through God
with morals and art. their adventure with their
fellow men, called democracy; their latest
adventure with the new era called the machine
age" If the question of the title is never
categor1cally answered, that does not consti-
tute serious criticism of the book. The
answers to most important general questions are
not available In tabloid form. They have to
be worked out step by step, with thought, trial
and correction. Certain conclusions about the
nature Of America and Americans are, never
theless, reached In typical, notable Americans
are to be found simplicity, spaciousness, direct
ness, resourcefulness, ingenuity q sense Of free
dom-"freedom both spiritual and social, for
self and for others"-and passionate and IDEAL
istic dedication to their work." But in typical
Americans there is also "a lack Of smoothness,
Of proportion. Their characters jut out In one
emphatic direction, achieving power by concen-
tration, yet showing at the same time kind
Of fncompletenees" Mr.. Hill thinks Americans
of the future will not fail TO einbody all the
chief experiences which other Americans began
before their birth. They might, indeed, reflect