Evening star., 1937-08-21

q translation OF his most i'm
>portant nopel, "The Song OF
| the World' Viking Press.
like the situation and are looking
everywhere for something tnat will
change it. But they. like himself, seem
to be scanning the horizon in vain.
There is nothing to do at pres ant but
decorously admit it. Sir Philip ad-
mlts it-decorously, too.
I is only when he writes of the alb
dlcation that this good man steps
little out of character and exhibits
some human quality, a perceptible hy-
pocrisy, evaporation and embarrass-
ment. Obviously the remuneration Of
the throne by Edward got under his
skin, and it is a highly encouraging
sign, the reviewer thinks, to learn that
when you prick An Englishman you do
find a human being. Ostensibly Sir
Philip takes the splendid tone of hurt
too-deep-for -reproach, of pity for the
defaulting sovereign too noble and too
RrIeved for scorn, but between his lines
there is very fury of annoyance. He
remarks in decorous pain that Edward
let his people down. What the reader
will feel, however, is that Sir Philip
believes that Edward. by his deter
mlnation to marry honorably and his
refusal to put the lady of his choice
into nice little house" and paw her
a friendly visit from time to time"
tthe admirable alternative which Sir
! Philip quotes from the words of a
moral British shop assistanp, and by
sticking to his determinati ton publicly
| and with logic, has shown England up
before the world for which he cannot
be forgiven. but must be positively
hated. While as for Sir Philips feel
ing toward the former Mrs Simpson
one gathers that he would not only
like to see her whipped with scorpions,
but would dearly love to take a (dec-
orous?) hand himself.
This part of the book makes richly
comic reading. The story of how the
! high-mlnded English whispered to-
! gether behind drawn shades, looking
| fearfully into one another's eyes, re-
peatlng the most inhuman gossip
eagerly (but decorously?) for weeks
before the abdlcatlon, is told with the
utmost gravity and without, appar-
entity, the slightest aWareness of the
fact that. whatever Edward may have
done toward showing his country up,
this very account will do a thousand
fold more. To read it is to laugh. Or.
undecorouslv, to spit. One does not
know exactly which impulse is the
stronger
And then the book closes with q
stirring account of George Wis corona
ton. Somehow, one feels, the two
Stories-that of the abdication and
that Of the coronation-oueht not to
be included between the same set of
covers, if that book is to accomplish
the aim of upholding British prestige
before the world
Well, there it is. 1t is, in its authors
intent, one feels, revealing record,
frank statement of ordeal" frank
admission Of danger But there are
places where it is a good deal more
revealing than this intention would
mean to be. Strange that so expert
enced a writer would not know that
words are double-edged. Strange that
he should have forgotten the maxim of
his own countryman-"Mu will
out Well, there it is. Fundamentally
1t tells nothing that has not been evi-
dent to every one, and that for long
time, too.
THE FAR EAST COMES NEARER.
BY Hessell Tiltman Philadelphia:
J. B. Lippincott
NINCE this book was written the Far
East has come a good bit nearer
even than its author meant by his title.
Developments within the last few days,
indeed, seem to have brought the
Orient very close to Washington That,
however, need not cause any one who
wants information about the Eastern
situation to hesitate to procure this
work. 1t is mine Of information and
its pertinence is demonstrated by the
very fact that its author prophesies re-
peatedly just such an incident" as
has actually taken place Those who
want to understand what forces have
been at work to bring this incident
about can find much light on the sub
ject here.
The book is history Of the de-
velopment of the present tension in
the Orient, with its emphasis on the
part played by the Japanese. Mr..
Tiltman has lived in the Orient, has
served as a correspondent out there
and has written OF what he knows
without prejudice or particular alarm
His general thesis is that the Far
East, no less than our own country. is
IN process OF getting q new deal. and
his method is to show what the aims
OF that new deal are, what means are
being employed to make them effective,
what forces are interested in opposing
them and what degree of success has
been met 10 far. He takes up japan.
China, Manchukuo, the Philippines,
Hawaii and the British base of Singa-
pore in his covering Of the situation.
AS he sees 1t, Japan is, and ought
to be, 'overiord of Asia" She is the
only country in the East, he remarks,
which has made constructive efforts
to raise its standard Of living, to in
troduce measures OF the public health,
to maintain orderly government with
honest courts and efficient police, and
he asks, if we admire these commodi-
ties in our own land, why should we
not want their blessings to descend
on the Asiatics? He emphasizes that,
as Japan takes over more OF China,
she brings the aforesaid advantages
with her-not. necessarily, from any
spirit of benevolence, but very simply
because she must have markets in the
puppet states which she sets up, and
for markets there d pst be . pcpuls-
ton which Is pros krous enough to