Evening star., 1935-02-16
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMdN.

1 10 w DoU /
THE HEROIC YEARS. Fourteen
Years Of the Republic. 180l-1sl5.
BY Fletcher Pratt. New York:
Harrison Smith & Robert Haas.
In February, 1901, the House Of
Representatives balloted for Presi-
| dent, at first without result, but
finally elected Jefferson. Fletcher
Pratt, whose first book this is and
who. we gather, favors the free style
OF history not too closely bound to
| documents, reports a conversation be-
tween Mr.. Bayard of Delaware, Fed
eralist leader Of the House, and Mr.
Hamilton, as follows: (Mr. Bayard)
What do you think? Shall we ap-
proach Burr and offer him continued
! support in exchange for backing our
measures? If we hold him stoutly
out there are enough Democrats who
will eventually join us to put him in"
! (Mr. Hamilton) In Heavens name,
no! Jefferson has principles, even If
wrong-headed ones, and pretensions
to character. Burr has neither char
acter nor principles, q mere conspir-
ator. I know the rat-he would
betray you and the country as he is
now betraying Jefferson by refusing
to withdraw. Jefferson at all costs"
Mr.. Pratt's far from sedate historical
style is further illustrated by his
comments on the retiring President,
John Adams. in the chapter entitled.
Death of an Iceberg" He says:
John Adams was dead BY pardon
able oversight they neglected to inter
the corpse for another quarter of
century, and for two and a half
months bad-tempered old gentle
man remained in the half finished,
imitation renaissance Capitol, sign
ing papers John Adams with such
vlciousness that the pen was some
times driven through the parchment.
But every one knew that the stiff
| little figure was only the ghost of a
! bygone era" The period covered
by Mr.. Pratt begins with the elec-
tion OF Jefferson and closes with the
battle Of New Orleans.
WOMEN WORKERS THROUGH
THE DEPRESSION. A Study of
White-Collar Employment Made
by the American Woman's Asso-
citation. Edited by Lorine Pruette.
Pm. D. New York: The Macmillan
Co.
Relief work during the depression.
here and abroad, seems to have been
concentrated on the manual worker.
The white collar worker, whose right
TO live Is equally important, has too
often been supposed to be able to
! get along, through assumed past
savings or the aid of relatives. Often
MS need for work, for his mental
health, has been as great as his need
for money. In this study of more
than thousand women in 80 diff
erent occupations, DR.. Pruette and
; DR.. Iva Lowther Peters, director of
research, have asked and tried to
answer from their Investigations sew
eral crucial questions. What life
preserver does the self-supporting
woman find most effective in depres-
sion? Is it college education, or spe-
cial training, or both? Is it long
service and loyalty in an old Job
or adaptability in a new one? Is
youth more valuable than long serv-
ice? Is ones own business better
than salaried position? Which keep
one af1oat longer, investments or saw
ings accounts? The answers to these
questions are important not only to
the adults who have been struggling
with the present depression but also
to all the young people who are coming
| forward m R,,l
place in the scheme of things. From
the individual stories in this book
conclusions OF general significance
may be drawn.
DESTINY'S MAN. BY J. F. Tweed.
New York: Farrar g. Rinehart.
Johan Zimri, son of a Hungarian
| plumber. becomes q miracle worker
and through some mysterious power
performs wonderful cures. The peas
ants all over Danubia idolize nin,
but priests and politicians fear him
as a menace. He takes no pay for
his services and with the physical
healing he also imparts a new sense
Of values. He believes that poverty
should be abolished and thus incurs
the hostility Of those rich people who
accept the poor as necessary, even
desirable, part of society. Eventually
his influence is felt throughout Eu-
rope. Then he is betrayed and be-
comes the victim of a mob. His
friend, Groner, cries. as he falls be-
side him: Must truth always be
baptized in blood?" The situation is
one often repeated in history even
before Socrates, before Christ, before
Joan OF Arc, and many times since
The innovator is likely to be the
martyr, however much he may love
humanity. This story. full Of ale
gorical content, by the author OF
Gabriel Over the White House." is
sincere in theme and simple and
powerful in style.
ODDS ON BLUEFEATHER. BY Lau-
renee W. Meynell. Philadelphia:
J. B. Lppincott Co.
In a wild and thrilling tale of in
ternational politics, Laurence Meynell
tells of another adventure of that
clever young man George Stanhope
Berkley, friend OF the chief OF Scot
land Yard, who in some unaccount-
able way has become the only hope of
the world for peace. The nations Of
1.-The world, through their representa-
tives, are about to sign a great peace
pact, when Paul Verney, chief peace
maker, who is trusted by all nations
"a remarkable man) disappears.
Berkley goes in search of him and
finally finds him. only to realize that
difficulties have Just begun. The two
men are held captive on a small
island by a vicious madman whose
symbol is a blue feather and vhose
aide is a beautiful and dangerous
woman. When they finally escape
from the house on the island. they are
pursued by five armed desperadoes.
Paul must be in London in three days
or the pact will fail. OF course he
gets there. More than the usual
amount of suspense marks this story
of mystery and adventure and, a
pleasant variation from type, it isn't