Evening star., 1934-03-10
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMAN.

and the Lawyer. by carter Ooo-
win Woodson, Washington, D. c.:
The Association for the Study Of
Negro Life and History, Inc.
The program of the Association for
the Study of Negro Life and History
is to investigate and interpret social
and economic conditions affecting
Negroes in the United States since
the Civil War. In pursuing this pro-
gram two books have already been
published, THE Rural Negro" and
THE Negro Wage Garner" The
present volume Is the third in the
series. DR.. Woodson, who is director
and editor Of the Journal of Negro
History, has we'll ordered plan in his
/ study of the Negro in the professions
and follows his discussion with a
| number of statistical tables, show
| ing the number of Negroes in various
professions in different large cities
and copy of the QUESTIONABLE used
in securing data about the profess
sional men and women and the COM
munities in which they work. Other
| important tables are inserted in the
text.
The background of the Negro in
Africa and in pre-Civil War America,
as regards professional classes, is first
thoroughly analyzed. Following this
chapters based on specific facts are
given to the development and pres
ent status of the Negro in a num-
Der of professions, teaching preach
ing, medicine, nursing, pharmacy,
danfictrU 1oU ha
authorship and editorship, social
welfare. The relation of all these
professional classes to the community
is stressed, the degree of usefulness
to the community rather than the
amount of law or medicine acquired
The general and professional educa-
ton of all cases was, however, in
vestigated. The professional man
lives from his fees; how does he
spend those fees in his community?
Does he cooperate, or hold aloof
or work antagonistically? These are
important considerations.
DR.. Woodsons conclusions, certainly
derived from very thorough taking
OF evidence, are clearly and concisely
| stated. First. he considers it demon
strated that Negroes can and do serve
in the professions, that they have
the ability. II they usually have a
smaller number of professional men
of a given kind for a certain popu-
lation than is common with a white
clientele, that number may still, owing
to economic and social conditions, be
larger than the Negroes can support
Rapid strides have been made by
Negroes in the professions since 1865.
but these professional classes are still
very much undeveloped." Reasons for
this are that Cd the great majority
OF Negroes are unable to pay ade-
quately for professional services, CD
engaged in the struggle for a liveli-
hood Negro professionals have been
unable to follow advanced courses
and to contribute to professional
literature and procedure, 90 as
result Of the foregoing Negroes have
not secured the regulations which
bring great professional success, "a
cooperation among members of diff
ferent professions has not been as
good as it should be. For example,
physicians do not always direct
lawyers Of their own race DR.. Wood
son considers that Negro education
Is not failure. as some have held
but that it has been misdirected
About year ago he published a book
! on The Miseducation Of the Negro"
He says, finally, that taken as a
whole, the Negroes in the professions
| cannot yet be considered successful
when viewed from the white mans
point of view," and that the reason
for this is that they have not been
whole heartedly supported by their
own race. The valuable material con-
tained in this book. its scholarly
! method and clarity of style make it
an important contribution to an i'm
portant social and economic subject.
4 + X
OLD LADY ESTEROY. BY Edith
Everett Taylor. New York: E. P.
Dutton & Co.
Because Edward MARITIME, a sus-
ceptible but cautious lawyer of the
town Of ST. Acacius, Fla, in 1885,
changed his mind about desertlng his
wife and child and clipping with
Valera Esteroy, and treated her to
a moral lecture instead of the ardent
love-making she had expected. Valera
became an embittered woman, and
from that time attempted to revenge
herself on life. But life is an alb
stract thing upon which to take ven-
geance. Mrs. Esteroy's family was
| more concrete. She was 40 at the
time of her humiliation, which was
made more CALLING when she returned
to her home by the sight of her hus-
band, elderly Gen. Esteroy, sprawling
disheveled on his bed sleeping of in
toxlcation. She lived to be over 80, to
the regret of all her relatives, for she
became terrible old woman, cynical,
domineering, cruel. In her old age
she created tradition, which she
almost came to believe in herself, of
the greatness and nobility of her de-
ceased husband. She even insisted,
except in moments of extreme hon
esty with herself, that his vices of
gambling, cock-fighting, infidelity and
drunkenness were aristocratic. She
added to the legend a warm friend
ship with Gen. Robert E. Lee, the
nearest approach to whom on the
part Of Gen. Esteroy had been a meet
ing on the street with the Lee body
servant.
The malice of the old woman ex-
tended to the children of her desert
ing lover. Edward MARITIME, especially
to his daughter, Flora Winfrey, whose
unhappiness she was determined to
compass. Her own granddaughter,
Alicia, defeated her and left her to
die alone with her bitterness. Retri-
button often comes through dilution
| of ones own blood in a descendant.
The closing scene, brief and dramatic,
| shows insight into possible human
torment. Old Lady Esteroy, with her
pompous gown, her stays and her wig
laid aside, a small, shrunken creature,
lay in her large bed and faced terror
To keep at bay the thought of death
she was accustomed to force her mind
to practical, immediate things-the
stock of provisions In her larder, next
weeks meals, the possibility of re-
making her old silk dresses-but the