Evening star., 1935-06-16

said, undoubtedly a serious contribu-
ton to contemporary literature. It's
worst fault, it would seem to this re-
viewer, Is q certain arbitrary stage
managing of incident, together with
youthful satisfaction in violent ex-
preston. But the book has both
humor and tenderness; consequently
its stage-managing cannot make 1t
artificial nor its youth immature. 1t
should be read by any one interested
in the development of the serious con-
tmporary novel.
THE CITIZEN AND HIS GOVERN
MENT. By Alfred e. Smith. New
/, York: Harper & Bros.
THIS book is advertised on its jacket
as one which tells the citizen "all
about" the practical workings of his
government-"how 1t works from the
bottom up; how to get into politics;
how to Judge political and party is
sues" These phrases, however, are
no more accurate than jacket blurbs
usually are. Mr.. Smith has not written
a full text on the business Of govern
ment as it exists in this country today
by any manner of means. What he
has done, however, Is to write clearly
and forcefully out of his own political
experience and to set forth certain con-
clusions which he has drawn from
this experience.
Mr.. Smith, as the world knows. Is
q New Yorker. His book, therefore,
being out of his own political past, Is
almost exclusively a New York work.
In so far as 1t deals with political
organization, New York organizations
are used as the models. Successive
chapters in the first part deal with
political clubs as the unit Of organiza-
ton, the needs Of the present charter
Of New York City for modernization,
the State New York; Legislature and
how it works, the duties of the Gov
ernor of New York and the manage
ment of a national campaign.
Except for the first and last of these,
it will be seen that they are all dis
tinctly marked as the product of Mr..
Smiths own well-known battle-ground.
Even the last, the chapter on presi-
Dental campaigns. Is frankly drawn
from the authors own experience.
But, as there is small reason to be-
lieve that one campaign differs very
radically from another, this chapter
may be taken to have some general
significance.
The second half OF the book Is like
wise pretty well limited to Mr.. Smiths
political territory. It's chapters have
more general headings; they are, sue
cessively, THE Government and Per-
sonal Welfare" The Law of the Land
and Its Observance" "The Public
Purse" and "Our Antiduated Machine
of Government" The subject matter,
however, is all drawn from New York
State. Its laws and institutions are
used as examples, but the reader Is
not informed as to how far these laws
and institutions coincide with those of
other States, and so the applicability
Of the example Is left unelucidated.
Unless one be pretty well informed on
this point in advance, the book be-
comes, therefore. chiefly o treatise on
State government as it il practiced in
New York.
Granted this limitation, however,
the book has O. value. For one thing,
If Mr. Smith is to be regarded as still
O vital personality in politics, here are
certain unmistakable statements of po-
liticai conviction. To be sure, he at
no point touches upon current issues
in national, affairs, but he does set
down forcefully what he believes to
be badly needed reforms In State and
local governments, and goes on record
repeatedly as believing that, whatever
the issues, they would be better
handled If the actual machinery Of
governmental procedure were revised
and brought up to date. The wasteful
overhead, the loss Of time, the dupii-
cation OF effort and service resulting
from the present governmental forms
are all objects of his analysis and