Evening star., 1935-09-08

TURNS WITH THE BOOKWORM
Some of Sir Isaac Newton Errors Are Pointed Out in New
Bioeraphy-The Theory of Genes Set Forth
by Prof. H. S. Jennings.

the American Indians, the theme Of
the book. He remarked that the
prevalent belief that human life can
be subjected to a rational order is one
OF the recurrent phenomena which
marks period Of transition, a down.
swing or time Of decay, before the new
forms become visible. All the
planning" of the world now is reac-
ton, no matter what it is labeled: it is
'deathward impulse, for the rieidity
OF forms Is the preliminary to their
breaking. Organic form is not
rigid; 1t adapts itself instead TO re-
quiring the living content to become
set in a mold. plans" are indis-
spensable for dealing with purely ma
terial objects, but that is their sole
use; when they are confused with
principles they are deadly. ...
Well, we have decided not to worry
about the future. =. 1t seems a little
silly TO take on the future when we
can't cope any more effectively with
the present. -. We can't even manage
the past. =. DR. Carrel Just wipes it
out. but we've tried that. too, and
there is always somebody else who in
conveniently remembers
The New Masses and John Day Co.
announce that their proletarian prize
novel contest has been won by Clara
'Weatherwax of Oakland, Calf.
Her novel is entitled Marching,
Marching" -. It's the authors first
novel. The scene is Washington
State, where she was born, and the
material comes out of her experience
as a working woman on the West
Coast.
HERE'S a book on THE Achieve
ment of Happiness" by Boris
Sokoloff. who has been through war.
revolution and all the everyday human
griefs, and thinks it was worth while
-. We can't accept his axiom: Man
is born to be happy" but if it helps
him to believe that, then he will be-
neve it. &. Man is born to be both
happy and unhappy-we do not state
this as an ethical precept, but as a
matter Of fact, since that's what hap
pens to everybody. {. If one gets a
$3.50 break, that's pretty good.
We like the courage Of the heroine in
Ellen Glasgow's vein of Iron" but
in our opinion she should have in
sisted on getting a little more happi-
ness. The defect of the Puritan
philosophy is that it makes a virtue
OF putting up with some things that
one doesn't need TO put up with.
Sometimes we get indignant letters
from readers who think we have such
a good time We can't sympathize with
the woes of others. The truth is
that We are least sympathetic when
we are brooding over our own troubles.
At such moments we feel that
no one else really knows the meaning
of trouble. But when We have a
little fun, or even remember having
a little fun, We feel kindly and sym
pathetic and willing to help any one
have a good time.
WE DON'T even care to be cheered
w up when we feel blue. May
Lamberton Becker cheered us up the
other day, and we didn't get over it
for hours-and only then by thinking
up nice insult by way of reply.
So she said she was living in a nest
of alligators, meaning us, and the
phrase gave US such Joy that we de-
cided to go on a while longer.
All the above tends to prove that
there is no recipe for happiness.
If it took a war and a Russian revo-
luton to teach DR.. Sokolof to be
happy-incidentally. he was anti-Bol-
shevik and was very nearly shot for
1.-THE cure is too drastic for con-
been shot. would that have been a
lesson to him?
Our artists have gone off to give
themselves good time on a cruise,
and they haven't sent our pictures:
so if they get seasick, we hope some
one tells them to cheer up.
P. S.-Pictures arrived by last mail,
with note from our young artists,
Margaret Van Doren and Tom Bevan,
explaining that, as they don't know
what We are doing, they illustrate
their own activities-peeling potatoes
against heavy ground swell, While
rebuffing the attentions of a group
of sea-going flies and observing the
carefree antics of a 40-foot black
fish.
Monday, September 2, going to
press. Labor day to us is Just
Labor day.