Evening star., 1935-01-16
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
OUTWARD BOUND FROM LIVER
POOL. BY Edouard Poisson. New
York: Frederick A. Stones Co.
MargWst Cermond.

York: Frederick A. Stones Co.
The answer to this stirring tale Of
travel on the high seas is not pretty
one. 1t Is to be found In q simple
fve-letter word which represents one
of the two great deities of modern
materialism, and within the the COM
pass of It's single syllable it holds the
accusation, the indictment and the
conviction of q race Of people as dis
tinctive in temperament from every
other civilization in the world as
though it were unrelated even to the
nation from which its settlers came
and from which its founders sprang.
Speed, speed and still more speed
has been the demand of the American
people, until the passion for speed has
become an obsession. 1t Is to the
thrifty Americans OF a few decades
ago who piled up great personal wealth
that the invention Of material speed
may be properly credited, and upon
them also falls the doubtful glory of
introducing it to a world that had
for countless centuries been moving
along at a comfortable pace. with the
result that q revolutionized civiliza-
tion no longer gasps at the old story
of the first American who went
abroad with the intention Of transact
ing some business and sailing for
home within six hours after the time
Of his landing. 1t now hustles ard
bustles about to do the bidding of
the man who is always in a hurry,
and strives nightly to keep pace
with him.
It is indeed a fact that with the
birth Of the now great Republic on the
Western Hemisphere a new race came
into being. though there are still many
who hold to the theory Of origin and
ignore the possession and develop
ment Of distinctive qualities of in
dividualism unknown to the people
Of any other land. The mania for
speed is one of its outstanding char
acterlstics, and whether it be for the
happiness or unhappiness of neigh
boring or remote peoples, there is
profit to be cleaned by catering to the
passion for haste, and the demand
must be satisfied.
The story in hand is one which
brings into sharp relief one phase of
the now universal cry for speed. 1t is
an exciting, compelling and fearful
narrative Of the voyage of a palatial
ocean liner across the Atlantic. 1t
does not reflect upon any navigation
line or maritime company, nor Is it
directed toward any nation. Rather
it is warning to all of those engaged
in the race for supremacy on the high
seas that the mad rush for speed may
continue to the point where the events
which mark the voyage of the Star
Of the Seas will become highly prob
able.
Pride fills the hearts Of the owners
Of the Star of the Seas as she puts
out Of Liverpool on her maiden
voyage. She is the largest. fastest and
most luxurious liner afioat, designed
to meet the ever-increasing demand
for speed and the tastes of those af-
fluent members of society to whom
the payment for such accommodations
is but trifling item in the cost of
living. Confidence in her ability to
make q new time record in crossing
the sea and winning the supremacy of
the Atlantic is complete But unfor-
tunately for them, it is not the own
ers who drive her at unparalleled
speed through storm. ice. fog and the
1nky blackness of night in heavy seas.
1t Is upon the captain and his over
worked. under-paid crew that respons-
ibility rests. and it is upon them that
the strain of endurance in the face of
disaster falls heavily and takes its toll.
The book has enjoyed a wide pop
ularity in England and in France. 1t
is an enthralling drama OF the sea,
powerful in its import. and magnifi-
Gently told.
DEAD, STORAGE. BY Lee Thaver.
New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.
This new mystery thriller bv the
creator of Peter Clancy makes its ap-
pearance under the red badge guaran-
tee OF its publishers, and it is worthy
representative of the superior tales of
crime that pass the strict eight-point
test required for attaining the coveted
red badge imprint.
During an -theater party in a
sumptuous New York apartment a
shot believed to have been fired in an
apartment close by is heard. Shortly
afterward Peter Clancy, who had
escorted his protege from the opera to
her rooms in the same apartment
house, is about to enter the elevator
when the entire population in that
section OF the house is startled by the
terrifying screams of a woman. In
vestigation reveals the body of Robert
Rohan sprawled near the fireplace
with bullet hole in the back of the
head.
Rohan's housekeeper, a woman of
culture and refinement, had uttered
the scream upon entering the apart
ment on her return from the opera,
when she claims to have discovered
the body. His nephew, who lived on
an upper floor, is not very convincing
in his account of where he has spent
the evening, and the people of NAL
lory'S apartment frankly acknowledge
hearing the shot while their after
theater party was in full swing with
out investigating its source, and in
dividually and collectively claim to
have been together the entire evening
Clancy finds Mallory's guests an odd
assortment Of moneyed good timers,
not altogether trustworthy in appear
ance despite veneering of elegance
and luxury bespeaking culture.
The only woman in Mallory,s party
is Russian, spotted Immediately by
Clancy as user of narcotics. New
York has been suffering from the
activities of gang of dope venders
which the vigilance of the entire police
force has been unable to check. While
the confusion and excitement attend
ing a murder is in progress at the
Rohan apartment an insignificant
little half-breed, acquiring and selling
dope strictly on his own, has been
slugged and taken to a hospital, where
he babbles freely to the police and the
physicians about the source of his
supply and his methods of selling it.
The possibility of connection be-
tween the murder of a gentleman and