Evening star., 1935-04-21


Yet there is work crying
to be done. No wonder that the peo-
pie of America do not understand,
are puzzled Mr.. Anderson, talking
to men and women wherever he went,
chiefly in the South and Middle West,
found little bitterness, but every
where longing for a belief, a faith
faith In themselves, in the traditional
opportunity of their country, in their
Government. But there are the poll
ticians; if they are the Government,
what hope? 1T may even happen
that presently they will get lost"
What is wrong? Why can't we do
it? The capitalists? Is it not true
that there will always be strong men?
What is the real difference between
Stain of Russia and, let us say, the
elder Morgan? If we really got a new
set-up here, would not exactly the
same sort of men be in power? Who
cares?'
interviewing in their homes, in the
streets. on the country roads, real in
dividuals probably gives truer idea
of what the people of country are
thinking, Of how puzzled they are.
than hundreds of identical letters or
kilograms dictated by some propa-
ganda organization. The laws of in
ductive reasoning demand, however.
that not a few, but many. cases be
considered before conclusions be
drawn. Sherwood Anderson talked
with many people, miners, factory
workers, both men and women,
tramps and panhandlers. farmers
and farm hands, people on relief and
others wol king on Government jobs.
including many C. C. c. men, old
men and young ones, professional
men, men who have lost everything
during the depression and men who
have lost practically nothing Each
of his sketches contains a number
of personal puzzles. Southern miners,
asked about the N. R. A., we're likely
to reply. Not so swell" Among them.
and in other localities, he heard
"curses thrown at the heads of local
relief agencies, cries of politics, of
graft, graft, graft" He found the
most cause for hope among the men
in the c. C. C. camps. The depres-
sion has given them their chance
'Hurrah for the depression' one of
them said to me. They are making
new kind of American man out of
the city boy in the woods, and they
are planning at least to begin to make
a new land with the help of such
boys" Mr.. Anderson's conclusion
from his experiences is a spiritual
one. THE outstanding, dominant
thing now in almost all of the Ameri-
cans I have been seeing is this new
thing. this cry out of their hearts for
new birth of belief" Mr.. Ander-
sons book will seem to the ordinary
human being worth dozens of statisti-
cal reports.
TIME OUT OF MIND. BY Rachel
Field. New York: The Macmil-
Ian Co.
REGINNING with children's story
~ of a travelled doll. "Hitty. Her
First Hundred Years." which took
the Newbery prize, and following that
with novelette, about a Maine clip
per ship family, Gods Pocket" deli
cately written in a style suggesting
Sarah Orne Jewett, Rachel Field
has now very successfully achieved
a full-sized novel in Time Out of
Mind" 1t is the story of the For
tune family. the major and his two
children. Nat and Rissa. and of Kate
Fernald, who came to Fortunes Folly
as a child and could never bear to
leave it. Gladys Hasty Carroll lays
her scenes in farming Maine; Rachel
Field, along the Maine coast. Both
know the Maine people.
The Fortunes had been Maine
for three generations.
Their big house, Fortunes Folly, with
the white columns, rose above the
harbor and village of Little Prospect.
At the time of Maj. Fortune sails
were yielding to steam, but he could
not believe that what had made his
family's prosperity had almost passed.
So the success of the Fortunes
crashed, but the result would prob
ably have been the same had the
major been ever so far-seeing.. The
story is told by Kate Fernald, daugh-
ter OF the majors housekeeper, and
begins about 1880. Like many faith
ers with fine business in the family,
the major wanted his son Nat to
carry on the shipbuilding. but Nat
cared only for music. Rissa and
Kate schemed to secure for him the
music lessons his father denied and
in the end Rissa and Nat escaped
from Little Prospect and Nat won
his triumph when his symphony was
played at a great concert.
With the launching of the Rainbow,
in order to build which the major
sold much valuable property, the final
phase of the downfall of the For
tunes set in. The Rainbow had no
luck from the start, more and more
of the majors lands had to be sold
to detested Summer people, and in
his old age the major was wretched
man, with property and children gone.
1t is a sad tale, which not even Mats
success redeems, for he married un-
happily and came home a derelict
to Kate, who sacrificed her reputa-
tion in the village for his sake. Be-
tween Kate and Rissa friendship was
replaced by conflict, whose psyche
logical working out is delicately ham
died by Miss Field. The whole novel
is a mature piece of work, with ex-
cellent character portrayal and de-
lightful descriptions of the Maine
coast in all seasons, done in prose
which gives pleasure in itself.
CLAUDIUS THE GOD. BY Robert
Graves. New York: Harrison
Smith and Robert Haas.
MR.. GRAVES earlier novel, 81
Claudius," left the spectacular
Roman Emperor in midcareer. He
now finishes his story with, of course,
all the license permitted the historical
novelist, and includes his able if not
charming or safe consort, Messalina
Claudius was acclaimed Emperor in
AID. Al, at the assassination Of his
mad nephew Caligula. Claudius was
many degrees better than the aver
age Roman Emperor. He was a lib
eral and something Of scholar, an6
was so reluctant to leave the peace
of ,,rSx,o f, 1ifa bn Ar~% r.f,,roS