Evening star., 1936-08-01

ture and social regimentation in fac
tory hands, 1t is still not satire. 1t
is, as has been said. a pure adventure
tale. And 1t Is first rate as that
Until somebody writes another Land
Under England" the reviewer will
recommend They Found Atlantis. I"
1t is great fun.
PRESIDENTS AND FIRST LADIES.
BY Mary Randolph. New York: D.
Appleton Century Co.
THIS book by former White House
secretary should have considera-
Bile interest for Washingtonians. 1t
deals with the authors memories Of
her work in the Executive Mansion
during the Coolidge and Hoover ad-
ministrations and also with her memo
ries Of the Theodore Roosevelt, Taft,
Wilson and Harding administrations.
1t opens with a chapter in which Miss
Randolph more or less harangues her
readers with a description Of the great
responsibility of her position, and ends
with one setting forth her impressions
OF the present regime. 1t furnishes.
unQueStionably, good view of White
House existence as White House sec
retary sees 1t. Miss Randolph seems
to have found that existence exciting.
and In writing of 1t breathes excite
ment into her simplest episodes.
Whether or not the reader will share
the feeling will depend on individual
taste.
Her chapter dealing with the present
administration will perhaps be Of
greatest interest to readers just now.
She observes many changes in pro-
cedure, but speaks kindly Of them,
being most outspoken in her praise of
Mrs Roosevelt. OF her she writes:
She has great courage, and she
needs it; she asks for responsibility
goes out after it-and has it to an I'M
precedented degree. Mrs. Hoover's
feverish activity pales-Mrs. Coolidge's
busy life seems almost dull and idle
by comparison-capable and indus
trious as those two First Ladies were"
Yet, with all her kindness toward
change, Miss Randolph plainly has
her affection fixed on the older ways
In the main the book is anecdotal.
Miss Randolph makes her points by
telling stories. Some of them would
not rate very highly just as stories. 1t
is to be feared. but since they all deal
with illustrious names, that deficiency
will not be counted against them by
many readers. And some Of them are
really good.
Not unnaturally, the episodes extend
beyond the Executive Mansion and
into the realm of Washington society.
Famous g. hoSteSses, famous parties,
famous visitors-Miss Randolph gives
her recollections of them all-some-
times crisp and official, sometimes
friendly and even sentimental. Wash
ingtonians undoubtedly will enjoy her
work. 1t can take respectable place
among the many volumes already
written about our official leaders.
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS. BY Mason
Woolford. New York: Thomas =
Crowell Co.
THIS is harmless, not particularly
gifted little novel, marked with
that quality which is known as home
ly interest" 1t tells the story of a
modern family, children of a white
collar worker, living in present day
New York. 1t is deemed worthy of re-
view because, unlike so many works on
no IL
class characters as possessing aspi-
rationS and gifts somewhat above the
dull obvious. Every one has read the
novel of the New York family where
in the young daughter longs to be a
famous movie queen" and the boy is
either a heartless "go-getter" or a wit
less drugstore cowboy. Such works
have become type; they are ground
out by two kinds of hacks-the plain
hack who knows a salable article
when he sees it, and the artier left
wing hack who uses the genre to de-
monstrate how despicable all non-
proletarian workers are.
Mr.. Woolford, without achieving
anything of lasting merit, and still
without sentimentaity, has managed
to write into life normal recogniZa-
BILE family-not ridden with COM
pleXes, not "claSs-consciouS" and not
any happier than people usually are.
His is good study of the average.
1t probably will not gain a wide public,
but it would seem to this reviewer at
least to have a mild sort of promise.
In that sense it Is an interesting work.
HEROD. BY Jacob S. Minkin. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
THIS is a history of Herod the
Great, told in the romantic and
intimate manner. Obviously the
author has done his book out of a
strong personal feeling for his sub
ject. The result is readable mar
rative. but not one that holds much
conviction of its accuracy outside of
the bare historical facts. Indeed, this
work is very close to the type known
as the historical romance" It seems.
somehow, a futile performance,
neither one thing nor the other. But
for those who like history in the per-
sonal vein, it can be recommended.
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AT THE
NATIONS CAPITAL. By Rufus
Washington Weaver. Philadelphia:
The Judson Press.
FEW observers see the relation be-
tween church and state with a
clearer eye than DR.. Weaver, who has
just resigned as pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Washington and
who has been leader in the South
ern Baptist Convention for many
years. This is collection of sermons
given originally in the pulpit of the
local church and dealing, mainly,
with the church's role in present-day
society.
To DR.. Weaver, Washington is a
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