Evening star., 1933-04-30

trade; state and loccl government and regional
and city planning The discussions are confined
to hard facts, but here and there the hard facts
display human tragedy, as that in many
village the doctors shingle is no longer seen,"
and occasionally in times of crisis no doctor
can be obtained" The telephone and automo-
bile have made it possible for city doctors to ex-
tend their practice into rural districts SO that
the village doctor has often been eliminated.
The chapter THE Yankee Community in Rural
New England" by H. c. Woodworth, describes
the sad plight of the declining community.
whose people are drifting hopelessly" with mo
plans for the future" 1t would be interesting.
If space were not limited, to quote from the
biographical notes concerning the authors of
these articles, all Of them men Of distinction in
their fields.
THE ODYSSEY OF CABEZA DE vACA BY
Morris Bishop. New York: The Century Co.
If generations of the immediate past had been
! as eager for stories of adventure and dangers
as we are today, Cabeza de Vaca would never
have been allowed to remain for SO long in COM
parative obscurity. At the close Of the fifteenth
century not far from the time when Columbus
was setting out on the voyage which was to
bring him to America, in the city Of Jerez de la
Frontera, in Southern Spain. Alvar Nunez Ca
beza de Vaca born "of illustrious stock"
About so years after the voyage Of Columbus
he was crossing the North American Continent,
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf Of Cali
fornia. It is probable that he had been nour-
ished on tales and dreams of adventure In new
worlds, and it is likely that he had seen Chris
topher Columbus, who lived in Seville in 1904
and 1905, and Magellan. who lived there from
1917 to 1919. Fantastic rumors Of fabulous
wealth in the New World of North America
were reaching Spain and Cabeza de Vaca, be-
lieving them all, pledged himself to sail to the
1ov,d Ofo fypqc tn
Narvaez. So in June 1927 he said q joyous
farewell to Spain, while the monks Of Santo
Domingo in Jerez de Ia Frontera recited masses
for his safety
The party landed just MOI tn Of the present
resort of st. Petersburg and soon started on an
inland expedition. They lost their ships and
found no gold. De Vaca himself reached we'll
named Bad Luck Island, near the site Of GAL
veston and there was made a slave by the In
dams. But fate had not destined him for death
or slavery without further adventure. He es-
capped from his Indian masters and with three
companions, made his way Westward, toward
"the prickly pear country Mexico The hap
penings of this journey, which lasted for sew
eral years, included narrow escapes OF many
kinds growing acquaintance with Indian tribes,
not always cordial. and the accumulation of a
wealth of knowledge about the vast country he
was traversing. In the Southwest he conceived
the dream of Spanish kingdom in the Amer
icas, which should be both temporal and
spiritual dominion. He devoted the remainder
of his life to this vision, too exalted for the
avaricious god-seekers of his time. So, in
terms of the material his life was failure, but
1t was romantic, grand, heroic failure.
The author of this biography, assistant profess
sor Of romance languages at Cornell University,
became interested in the life story Of Cabeza de
Vaca while he was carrying on research for
book on the jesuits of Paraguay. His research
6ool, Hoe %olra I, ,f
Spain and private archives Of the Spanish no.
bility. The writing of the story has missed no
point of dramatic interest. It is a book for all
readers who care for the militant life
MANCHOUKUO: CHILD OF CONFLICT. BY
K K Kawakami. New York: The Mac
milan Co.
THIS opportune book, with a most appropri-
] ate title, is sequel to Japan Speaks on
the Sino-Japanese Crisis published in March,
1892. Mr.. Kawakami is Washington corre-
spondent of the Toxic Hochi Shimbun. In his
earlier book he surprised many readers who
expected an entirely partisan treatment Of the
subject by saying that "Japan's Shanghai inter-
vention was a grave blunder." His point of
view in this second volume is explained at the
start by his own statement that "the important
thing to be remem embered is that Manchoukuo is
here to stay and that she already has enough
achievements to her credit to justify the pre-
diction that she is going to be better admin
istered and happier country than China, and is
bound to carve out for herself . significant
place in the society Of nations It is, therefore.
essential that the world at large should know
what Manchoukuo is-its organization. its
foreign relations, its finances, its problems and
difficulties. That is the raison detre of this
book"
Mr.. Kawakami devotes his introduction to the
rift between Japan and the League Of Nations
over Manchuia-the rift which has become one
of those family breaks in which each side thinks
the other to blame and neither is likely to be