Evening star., 1938-07-03

Author OF the best seller Mort
IS "Trending Into Mdine." lii
attempts, too. to paint picture Of the
chieftain as q great man, as one given
to using the virtues of temperance,
forbearance and clemency. The effort
is a successful one, the book a moving
picture and a valuable historical docu-
ment.
PAHANG or THE SAGA OF A RUB
BER PLANTER. BY Willard Bush.
New York: Macmillan Co.
WHILE reading "Pahang" 1t is hard
w to realize that there are people
to whom nothing ever happens: peo-
pie so safe and comfortable that life
becomes monotonous.
The author of "Pahang" spent three
years in the Malay jungle planting
rubber. We learn all that there is to
know about planting rubber.
The Wild Yank," as Willard Bush
Is called by the other planters, is
always one jump ahead of death in
the shape Of a Bengal tiger or a herd
OF wild elephants. to say nothing of
the death that creeps and crawls and
does not announce itself. Handling
insurgent coolies. fighting disease with
inadequate weapons, hunting game
all are part of the routine OF a rub
her nlo ntar IN tho inh
There is nothing literary about Mr.
Bushs style. There is no seeking for
effect. His language has the force
that comes to the ry-teller whose
impressions are vivid. Some of the
descriptions are not for the squeam-
ish. There are not only tropical moons
and orchids in the treetops, but epi-
denies and unconquerable filth. Il
half expected the very ground to de-
velop ulcers" says the author after
the lines" where the coolies
live.
The a,lthor is pre-eminently oc-
cupied with depicting the struggle for
existence in primitive milieu And
nature. red in tooth and claw. bids
gentleness beware" comes to the mind
more than once.
Mr.. Bush presents himself as an in
trepid, straight-shooting, high mind
ed "Yank." Against the backdrop Of
the Malay jungle he paints raw,
vivid picture of sweating coolie gangs
at work. of wild night dances when
drums heat native blood.
He makes us smell the fetid breath
Of the man-eating tiger on the hunt
for meat. We are shown the daily
existence Of the lonely white planta-
ton manager. who has to fight cli-
mate. the Anopheles mosquito and
maggots in his food. as we'll as mur-
derous natives and wild animals.
All who like action stories will find
"Pahang" q thrilling example of the
type. 1t also enables one to estimate
the cost in human values which must
be paid before the milky latex can
flow from rubber trees to civilizations S
motor cars. H. C. C.
SHIPS AND SAILORS-THE STORY
OF OUR MERCHANT MARINE
BY William H. Clark. Boston:
L. c. Page g. Co.
THE departed glories Of the Ameri-
can merchant marine. once this
Nations greatest source of interna-
tional prestige and honor. and the
necessity for recapturing at least a
major portion of our lost control Of
the ocean highways of the world, are
ably treated in this. one of the Ameri-
can Cavalcade Series.
From the first American-built ves-
sci, 30-ton pinnace. laid down late
in 1907 by the fishermen trader
colonists of the Popham colony at
the mouth of the Kennebec River in
Maine. the author traces through its
various ramifications the develop
ment of our sea transport to its
fruition in the days of
the clippers and down through the
sorry days Of decline beginning with
the Civil War. He closes with a note
of hopefulness on the present efforts
of the Federal Government to expand
our woefully inadequate merchant
ship service.
Any American can feel a surge of
pride at the thought OF the Yankee
clippers, which accomplished records
for speed under sail with cargoes
which never have been equaled. These
stately vessels, as the author points
out, stand forever as the ideal
accomplishment of the sailing mer-
chant marine Of all the world"
These clippers. Mr.. Clark says with
deep, sincere feeling. were the most
beautiful things mankind has ever
made"
This is said in sober earnestness
A glory passed from creation when
the last clipper vanished" he says.
Built for merchant service. built
to make money, they were yet the
noblest creation of the American
artistic genius. Because they achieved
excellence in their ideal. that of speed
and sea strength. all else was added
to them. Their hulls were as gracious
as the most perfect statues figure.
Their spars and masts and sails. de-
signed to make the most of the wind,
accomplished ideal proportion-that
geometrical balance which is. in itself,
an eternal Joy to behold. And, under
sail-whether by night or by day,
In light airs or in storm-they walked
the sea like living things. To see
q clipper foam past was to behold
wood made conscious.
Men who. sailed the clippers are
vanished. Even children who saw
them are gone. But their beauty
fingers, preserved forever in the
worlds memory. To know that the
clippers were a Towering OF Yankee
genius will be enough to kindle Amer
ican patriotism down through endless
generations"
Here is the text for . stirring plea
for an American reassertion Of its
place on the high seas. Our coast
wise trade today in steamships. the
author finds "the very brightest fea-
ture Of our maritime Hfe." The mod