Evening star., 1934-02-21
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Marsmes Csrmond.

Mifilin Co.
With q wealth Of authoritative In
formation based upon the official rec
ords Of the five major nations parti-
cipating In the Great War, Miss Mayo
has undertaken in SOLDIERS, What
Next!" to state the sorry case OF the
American ex-service man. and to de-
fend his name against the tricks Of
those who have traded upon his eco
nomic position and played political
foot ball with his reputation ever since
he discarded his uniform and at
tempted to adjust himself to life as
private citizen In the country which
had sent him to war to save the
world for democracy"
No group of American citizens since
the birth OF the Nation has been 50
much talked about, written about and
debated about as the veterans Of 1917
1918. Yet the problem of properly
assimilating them into the economic
life of the Commonwealth Is more re-
mote from solution now than 1t was
when they were demobilized. More
than fifteen years have passed since
the end Of the conflict, yet the
cost to the American taxpayer to
meet the constantly increasing de-
mand for compensation has be-
come o burden not easy to bear. It
was to be expected that for the few
years Immediately succeeding the war
the cost of caring for the disabled
would increase, but it was also to be
expected that in less than a decade
the stabiliZation point would be
reached and that the machinery set
up with so much promise for the pro-
lection and welfare Of the veterans
and their families would perform
smoothly and efficiently.
How easily the American people,
despite the extraordinary business
ability which has enabled them to
build up the greatest nation In the
world, can be hoodwinked and fooled
by politicians and graftersl Instead
of the gradual stabilization which
should long ago have been reached,
scandalous administration and polit-
| ical chicanery, plus an inherent dis
position on the part Of a goodly
percentage of individuals to get
something for nothing, the figures in
dOilaio OCIlIo lldbC RlOhu 10
colossal proportions and the veterans
are no better of than they were in
the beginning.
Where Is 1t going TO end? And
when? The people of this Nation
know that of the more than five mil
lion men who were modified for serv-
ice Jess than one-haf Of that number
went overseas. They also know that
Of the total number of men who
crossed the Atlantic but two-thirds
| of them were assigned to combat di-
visions and that approximately one
fourth were disabled in actual COM
bat. They also know that in 1919
! the number Of men receiving COM
| pensation for disablement was only
! about 1872 600. while in 1892 the num-
Der had grown to nearly 100000. Has
the time not yet come when somebody
wants to know why?
In nearly every community in the
| country men who never approached
the firing line and who are as strong
and healthy as they were on the day
| they entered the service, are known
! to be drawing compensation Of one
sort or another, while other men who
are in some cases totally disabled are
still struggling for the adjustment OF
claims which they have been unable
to prove because the comrades who
might have stood witness for them
! lost their lives in battle.
These are but a couple Of the ques-
tions which are handled by Miss
Mayo in her latest book. There are
doznr1e 81 or r,d al Of ~-
Of vital Importance, though faith in
their ultimate settlement grows dim
as, year after year, the situation grows
/ worse instead of better.
Many may wonder why Miss Mayo
should have undertaken an exposi-
| ton Of the case for the veterans. It
so happens that she has been very
close to the service men, for during
the war she spent eight months with
the American troops in France, and
on the basis Of that experience she
has developed q profound and SYM
! pathetic respect for the men who re-
| f1ected upon the honor of their coun-
| try credit uneQualed by the soldiers
Of any other army in the field. She
believes in the patriotism and the
idealism of the men who came home
| filled with hope and ambition, and
she has set herself the task Of lift
| ing the cloud which has besmirched
| them through the grafters and para
sites who have made tools Of them
to crafty their own selfish and in
| satiable greed.
She has not gone blindly into this
work, for she has studied carefully
the official records Of other nations
| and made comparisons which can
not fail to rouse the righteous indig-
nation of all American citizens who
believe in the integrity of the over
whelming majority of the men who
went to war in their defense. Per-
haps this book will help to stimulate
into activity a genuine demand for
honesty and good faith In meeting
this as we'll as other grave problems
which today beset the people of the
United States.
SLOW DEATH AT GENEVA. BY
Diplomat. New York: Coward
McCann, Inc.
The World Political Conference, In
session at Geneva, has reached an
other impasse, and while waiting for
something to happen a group OF
representatives of the various nations
participating in the conference have
been invited, for diplomatic reasons
to be house guests of Percy Frick,
wealthy counselor Of the American
delegation and proprietor of Chateau
de Venus, on the outskirts of Geneva.
Those present are not particularly
congenial, nor are they overly delight
I'd to be obliged to entertain each othel
for an indefinite number Of days.
One reason for a recess in the con-
ference is the absence of Moxley
| Cadwallader, q career diplomat serving
as envoy at large and head Of the
American delegation at Geneva. He
has been on q mission to Russia, which
nobody understands, and inasmuch as
his movements and his declarations
on any occasion are conducted with
out instructions, it seems unlikely that
the reasons for the trip will be ex-
planned.
| On his return on a hot Summer