davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Steinbeck Packs
ToIein
ALittIe Book
THE PEARL
BY John Steinbeck. (Vikin
Press, 81

11I L
BY John steinbeck. Viking
Press; S2.)
Versatile, unpredictable Mr.. Stein
beck has turned out in the space
of 122 small pages a story as flaw
less in its detail as the great pearl
that gives it title.
He showed us in "Of Mice and
Men" and in "Tortilla Flat" and
"Cannery Row" that he could COM
press within short space memorable
portraits, laughter and pathos,
scenes and moods that long nnger
in the mind.
THE Pearl" is not like any of
those brief books Like "Of Mice
and Men" it is tragic tale, but as
different as sea from desert. The
characters of The Pearl are Mex
leans, like those of "Tortilla Flat"
but there the similarity ends. The
people of The Pearl are Mexican
Indians, living in brushhouses on
the edge of the Gulf of California,
wrestling thin living from its
waters, despised and cheated by the
great of the town who live In houses
of stone and plaster.
Kino, his wife Juana and their
tiny son Coyotito and their neigh
bors are of that ragged, ill-fed,
somehow hopeful, but not unhappy,
clan that Mr.. Stelnbeck always has
loved and understood. The story is
from Mexican folklore. Mr.. Stein
beck has made his own adaptation
of the tale. 1t describes how Kino
dives and comes up with "the pearl
of the world how it brings a curse
on his little family and what hap
pens at last to Kino and Juana and
to the pearl.
Mr.. Steinbeck has told the story
with a flowing simplicity that has
the beauty of a nocturne. THE
Pearl" deserves to be remembered,
and no doubt will be, long after
the entertaining trivialities of THE
Wayward Bus" the full-length
novel he brought out this year, have
been forgotten. The little book is
illustrated with superb sketches by
the artist Jose Clemente Orozoco
&C. 3. j,
Evening star., 1947-11-23

that as editor Of the Lisbon Enter
prise (s2 the year postpaid, he COM
municates freely with outsiders.
Like all Yankees, John Gould bal
ances an ingrained respect for tradi-
ton with nice concern for his own
comfort. These two qualities are
evident in this account of how he
rebuilt the house which was built by
his great-grandfather in 1880 and
burned down In 1910, the night his
son was born. He rightly saw 1t as
his duty to keep the old home so the
Evening star., 1947-11-23
SuspensefuI Novel
OF Modern China
IsPoetic, Timely
THE INDEFINITE RIVER

l.
BY Preston schoyer. (Dodd
Mead; So
Here is a novel of China which
partakes literally of the contradlc-
tions of that elusive country. 1t is
at once an atmospheric rendering
OF It's ancient beauty and shrewd
appraisal of the factions which hold
II still in the grip of civil war. 1t
b . poignant romance OF East and
West. woven into story OF intrigue
and espionage, which has for It's
hard core the characterization OF a
decent man who, in the midst OF
corruption and dissension, strives to
live as closely as possible to the
dictates of his own conscience.
Like Capt. Davis Russell, the hero
of The indefinite River" Preston
schoyer, who proved himself an
eminently sensitive observer OF the
Chinese scene in his previous novel,
The Foreigners" served with Army
Intelligence behind the lines In East
China, expediting the escape OF cap
tured Allied personnel. One such
incident of liberation serves to bring
into focus all the conflicts of Capt.
Russell-his refusal to knuckle un-
der to glory-seeking high brass; his
constant undeclared war to keep his
agents free of the clutches of the
local military; and his Illicit love
for Nina Lee, q beautiful Western
lied Chinese, whose motives he sus-
poets, but whose fresh charm he
cannot resist
The arrival of the brisk and
sreedy Maj. Crump from Chung
hing comedies with the news that
an American pilot is being held to
the north by Communist forces, who
refuse to deal with Chinese govern
n1ent troops. Capt. Russell dis
patches Nina as his agent. while
Mai Crump sets OF on his own,
bringing back a garbled report that
Is to win him ribbons and hysterical
alarms about Japanese -Commu-
mist plot. Against the growing men
ace OF the Communist advance and
the knowledge that his incorrupti-
bility has antagonized the major
Capt. Russell, through his love affair
With Nina, is drawn deeply into
sympathy with her country and its
people. His new loyalties lead the
captain into totally compromising
s3tuation which results in his appar-
eat removal and disgrace. 1t is the
one weakness of an otherwise ar
tistic novel that this crucial test OF
the captains character occurs sc
carly that his further trials seem al
most anticlimactic by comparison.
Elm the panorama Of contemporary
China which forms the background
fir this suspenseful novel, Mr.
aehoyer takes note of the rope
bound conscripts of the Chinese
Sfmy, the fatalistic old soldiers, the
mnic- stricken refugees who clog the
reads, the unctuously patriotic young
mtriots and the professional mill
TRY who "are secretly pleased al
tie Jap advances" and the enduring
kasantry who suffer but do not
@mplain. His lovely descriptions OF
te unchanging beauty Of the coun-
tFyside are skillfully woven into the
narrative as they reflect the emo
ions of his characters.
SBoth as; study of a man who
hnfds fast to his threatened integ-
lily, and Of country which Is de-
H{sd unity, THE Indefinite River
Issubtle and satisfying. timely and
tnialesg. M. MEG.
Evening star., 1947-11-23
The Art of Reodino
THE READING OF ROCKS

BY Holbrook Jackson. (Scribners, :,
49,
The reading of books is as much
an art as the writing of them, Mr..
Jackson believes, since the reader is
able to appreciate the authors work
only in terms of his own experience.
In his study of the relationship of
the reader as artist to the author,
he analyses many of the major
figures of English and American lit
erature, but he never lets us forget
that the end of reading is living, not
reading even the best of books.
b F.
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Critical DAYS
Education.
OUR CHILDREN ARE CHEATED
BY Benjamin Fine. (Holt, $3J
Reviewed by
COLT HENDLEY, Jr.

The subtitle of this book is The
Crisis in American Education" and
Mr.. Fine goes ahead to prove there
is just that.
AS education editor of the New
York Times, Mr.. Fine made a swing
around the country earlier this year
and published a series of IL articles
in his paper on what he discovered
about public school education. This
book is based on his total findings
and cites problems which are not
news to the average citizen-reader
of newspapers over the country.
In a thorough manner, he cites
one thing after another which is
wrong with the education offered
in the United States, proving points
which educators, the Nations lead
ers and the press have been ham
mering at continually. Among them
are-the teacher shortage, low sal
aries. poor teacher morale, over
crowded schools, empty teachers
colleges, educational inequalities be-
tween States, between rural and city
schools, between races, and many
others.
D. C. Fares Pretty Well.
The District, incidentally, comes
off pretty we'll in the comparisons,
being one of the three or four lead
ers on all counts.
The book is not completely mega
tive, however. DR.. Fine. a Pulitzer
Award winner in 1943 for his educa-
tional articles, shows what is being
done and points out what has to
be done.
ITO make democracy work, it is
necessary that we maintain strong
system of free public Schools" he
says. Nothing less will do"
Evening star., 1947-11-23

her, but because she's obviously In
love with him, which makes it easier
for him to marry this daughter OF a
great shipowner. Afterward David
is tempted. He finds he actually is
In love with the little Rennie girl
whom he knew on the farm. She has
returned from London in triumph as
q concert singer. But David tears
himself away from her in time to
do the honorable thing by Grace and
the best thing for his own future.
Glasgow of the '70s.
Phoebe. the little half-sister
comes nearer to iconoclasm than
any of the family. She is orphaned
when her parents are killed in an
accident or the farm. Arthur, the
brother who most personifles sta
hility, who is rising in the world as
q cheese merchant in Glasgow, and
his socially ambitious wife Bel give
Phoebe home.
Phoebe crosses up the family by
engaging herself to the younger
son Of q widow whose fortune is
lost in the crash of a bank and a
business. Phoebe couldn't see the
young man when he had money.
But her Henry is something of
mechanical genius. and he lands an
industrial job in Vienna-of all
places. Henry goes astray while
he and his bride are apart for some
months. But Phoebe, after some
misgivings when she learns the
truth, forgives him, and they re-
turn to Scotland united.
The author, although he under
stands why the Moorhouses do the
shallow, expedient things they often
do, also mas many a quiet laugh
ut the starchy rectitude and the
empty formality of the Victorian
respectability they represent. His
irony Is none the less searching be-
cause 1t is gentle. Mr.. McCrone.
incidentally, has given us sharply
detailed picture of the Glasgow of
70 to 30 years ago.
"Red Plush" really is three novels
in one, although the books-"Ihe
City" "The Philistines" and "The
Puritans'-form a single narrative.
None is too long. Yet there are
50 many pages when nothing much
happens that the leisurely story Is
apt to seem longer than 1t Is. 1t
is more in the objective tradition
of Arnold Bennett than In that OF
<ha rare socially critical Gals
worthy. The Book Of -the-Month
Club has made Red Plush" its De-
cember choice. MIR. McCrone plans
later books bringing the family story
,,r We nf,rreyf ffnoeS
Evening star., 1947-11-23

ington, has just
b e e n formally
! a u n C h e d in
business.
Mr.. Acher eX-
pl a / n e d here
that the new
p u b ! i S h i n g
house hoped to
put out chill
d en- s stories
which not only
entertained, but
satisfied the nat
ural curiosity of
little folk, the
hunger to know
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Mercy and Justice
A MASQUE OF MERCY

BY Robert Frost. Henry Holt &
Co., Neto York; 80 pp.; $780,
A metropolitan book store Is the
setting of this disquisition by our
leading poet on the contradiction
between mercy and justice. 1t is in
his best mood, mellow, witty and
perhaps q bit more sardonic than
usual. e. T.
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Witty Corieotures
OF Literary Types
LIONS AND SHADOWS
BY Christopher sherwood. Neu
Directions; $3J
Reviewed Dy
NINA PEMBERTON.


NINA PEMBERTON.
Christopher Isherwood's Lions
and Shadows" is very cleverly
assembled jigsaw puzzle of the
mental turmoil and strife under
gone by the author. It is also an
expose of various types" their
effect upon the author and upon
each other.
Wit and q sense of caricature
dominate this novel, which is writ
ten in the form of an autobiography.
The plot, If any, is a sequence Of
conversational memoirs. the whole
leading up to the time when the
author manages to unravel himself
from all Illustrations and become a
competent writer. Many of the
sketches are about men who today
are famous authors.
London in the middle '20s Is the
scene of Lions and Shadows"
which was first published in Eng
land in 1888 and was very popular.
Other books written by Mr.. Isher-
wood are The Memorial" and the
Berlin stories, comprising two nov
els, Goodbye to Berlin" and THE
Last of Mr.. Norris" The author
has done q great deal Of travelling
In Germany and lived there during
the period Of Hitler's rise TO power.
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Lauds Churchill, Roosevelt.
LETHAL LADY
BY Rufus King.
doubleday &

BY Rufus King. (Donoteddy q
Co., Inc; S2J
Little did Tennyson realize what
high crimes he was inspiring when
he wrote "Enoch Arden" The prob
lem of the late returning husband
came into Clara Davis life just at
the time she had decided to stop
being bored and start collecting on
her investment in a wealthy mar
riage. If husband could disappear
and return, she asked herself, why
not wife?
Discovering a girl who looked al
most exactly like her was providen-
tailor Clara, not her unfortunate
double. But the best-laid plans OF
people like Clara can go awry-as
Mr. King demonstrates in this art
fully contrived story of blackmail
plan that backfred.
THE sUGARPLUM STAIRCASE
BY Richard English. (Simon &
Schuster, Inc; $2J
If there was one thing Charley
Trent didn't want to be, 1t was an
average man. He wanted power over
his fellow men, at least enough
power to sell insurance and win his
girl. That Charley should fall vic
tim to a quack hypnotist was one
of those things that shouldn't hap
pen to a harmless young fellow
particularly when this Prof. zenda
had murder on his mind.
So Charley was accused OF muir
der, a murder he might have COM
mitted under hypnosis. And there
was somebody looking for him be-
sides the police. And his girl got
marriage on her mind at the worst
possible moment. How Mr.. Engllsh
resolves the muddle Of his not-so-
average man makes lively reading.
BLACK RAIN
BY Georges Simenon. (Reynal
& Hitchcock; $780,
Jerome is a small boy who likes
to look out Of the window, particu-
larly when It's raining. Jerome gets
fixed idea that an escaped an
archtst is hiding out behind the
drawn pink curtains Of the house
across the way. Jerome Is right.
That's the story, told with a
wealth of irrelevant detail and re-
plete with characters who have no
discernible place in the story. Occa-
sionally, the French story teller con-
veys an atmosphere of impending
doom but he strays into SO many
by-ways that the thread OF sus-
pense is snapped every time.
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Washington Writer
Is sHeod of New
Publishing House

With the publication of THE
Chicken With Crooked Eyes" a
different" book for children, Story
Book House, Inc, headed by Don
Evening star., 1947-11-23
John GouIds Witty, FIovorsome Account
1Of Maine Life Is Pure Pleasure to Read
THE HOUSE THAT JACOB BUILT
BY John Gould William MorroU; $2.75)
Reviewed by MARY McGRORY

Down Maine they're apt not to have much especially
farmer everything including
they explain OF
expaners going Could
Falls neghbors only
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Personal Feeling for All War Sufferers
Reflected in Winont's Posthumous Book


BY John Gilbert Winant (Houghton- -Mit1in Co.; $3J
Reviewed by GARNETT HORNER.
Wnant who felt things deeply. He suffered with
bombs their homes Nazl
filled him with despair For him there
be of detachment personal thing.
intensely document of his Letter From
Ambas
Evening star., 1947-11-23
Gentle, Searching Irony Marks Record
OfGIosqow Progress During the 70s
RED PLUSH: THE STORY OF THE MoORHOUSE FAM
By C,uv McCrone (Farrar, Straus & Co.; $780,
FAMILY

BY McCrone. 1FdTTdT SudNS CO. S35UJ
Reviewed by CARTER BROOKE JONES.
The saga family
penetrating left farm
better themselves
both sympathetic
established position all their
little trumphs the podding journey.
On the Moorhouses well themselves girls
make adequate not brilliant Mungo the
life
David the unlike
be trivial pleasueseeking
MAJ richest family of all
Of Moorhouses tempaons-tnes
what Glasgow
Evening star., 1947-11-23
THE SUNDAY STAR, Washington, D. G..
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 73 sz.
Fur Trade and History Are Closely Knit
In This Story of Westward Expansion
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI

ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI
BY Bernard De voto. (Houghton-Mt6n Co; s1oJ
Reviewed by FRANCIS DOUGLAS.
Mr. De voo this time picks period than that of his The
of Decision fabulous mountain men who won
Ihey
the blazed trails for the wagon
trains of the Nations westward expansion
themselves
Evening star., 1947-11-23

~2R2B2R2%&R1<
Evening star., 1947-09-11
ON TIVE AIR ToAl6HT.

On IHE AIR ICNI6hl.
WT0P, 8:00-MithseI 0Shea in The Twist"
WINK, S:t5-Ths Princess Aohraf Pahlevi Of
Iran is interviewed.
W0P, q:00-A new Dick Haynes show
debuis. Vocalist Lima Romay and Comedian
Evening star., 1947-04-23
Dr. Chew to Give ToIk
At Folqer Librory

DR.. Samuel G. Chew. author and
q professor Of English Literature
at Bryn Mawr College. will speak
tonight at Folger Library. 2o1 East
Capitol street, in a program mark
ing the 383rd anniversary Of the
birth of William Shakespeare.
This Strange, Eyentful History
will be the title of DR.. Chew's ad-
dress, at $50 O'Clock in the Hbrary's
Elizabethan theater. The talk is q
discussion of the Seven Ages of
Man as presented in the play "As
You Like It." and will be illustrated
by lantern slides of medieval and
renaissance paintings and pictures.
Admission, because of limited seat
ing capacity. will be BY invitation
only.
Evening star., 1947-04-23
How Dr: Edwards heIps
F, Constipated Folks!

For years Dr. Edwards relieved
patients bothered by constipation
with his famous DR.. Edwards Olive
Tablets-now sold by all drugstores.
Olive Tablets are mild, gentle but oh
so thorough! Olive Tablets act on
BOTH upper and lower bowels to pro-
duce more ndtural-like movements.
No gripping. Just complete salts faction.
Follow label directions. 15e, 30e.
Evening star., 1947-04-23

ADVERTISEMENT.
Evening star., 1947-04-23
Thomas 10 RequesfAid
I0f Truman in Fight 10
Prosecute U. 5. Reds
by the Assoeiofed Press

Chairman Thomas of the
House Committee on Un-Amer-
lean Activities said today he is
taking straight to President
Truman his fight for prosecution
of Communists.
Mr.. Thomas told reporters three
letters to Attorney General Clark
failed to produce results. Now, he
said, he is by-passing Mr.. Clark and
drafting letter to the President.
"In view of his great interest In
|eradicating Communists from the
Government" the chairman said,
he should use his authority to OBJ
tain proper action from the Attor-
ney General, a member Of his
cabinet.
"The time has come for him to
step In and take a hand"
Mr.. Thomas said many House
members showed dissatisfaction yes
terday with the lack Of prosecu-
ton" of Communists.
Mr.. Clark's Office said in response
to reporters inquiries that the At
torney General has mo comment at
this time"
Impeachment Suggested.
Representative Kunkel, Republic
an, of Pennsylvania raised aues-
ton whether impeachment of the
Attorney General might not have a
"salutary effect" Representative
Smith, Republican, of Ohio said that
Is "the only proceeding we have to
compel the Attorney General to do
his duty"
Those remarks were made during
the debate which led to almost
unanimous House approval of con-
tempt actions against two men iden-
tilted as top Communists. They are
Eugene Dennis, Communist Party
secretary, and Leon Josephson, who
was described as head of ring
that forged American passports for
Russian secret agents.
There was only one vote against
holding Dennis in contempt of the
House and only two against similar
treatment for Josephson. Both
Dennis and Josephson had refused
to testify freely to Mr.. Thomas
committee.
Law Breaking Charged.
The cases now go to the United
States attorney here for prosecution.
A conviction for contempt can be
punished by year in prison and
1000 fine.
Various committee members in
sisted Communists have been break
ing laws with impunity for years
and that the Justice Department
could have prosecuted them long
ago for falling to register as agents
of foreign interests.
In addition, the committee says
the department can charge Dennis,
Josephson and others with Con-
spiracy to commit contempt"
Mundt Sees Master Plan"
Representative Mundt, Republi-
can, of South Dakota, told the House
they had followed a master plan"
of Communist headquarters in New
York and Moscow in defying the
committee.
Conviction of conspiring to COM
NIT contempt is punishable by a.
fine of $4,000 and two years In
prison.
Representative MO,
of New York, who
voted against the contempt actions,
said they sprang from "hysterical
persecution
One contempt citation against
Josephson was approved by a voice
vote, the other by a 357 to 2 roll
call ballot. Mr.. Marcantonio and
Representative Powell, Democrat, of
New York were listed in opposition.
The vote against Dennis was 1856 to
/, with members not recorded by
name.
The people's voice., 1947-01-17

The Montana senator pointed out
that all legislation affecting social Sc
curity measures, education, labor re-
lations, and welfare of miners and
railroadmen, would be under the juris-
diction of the labor and public well
fare committee. He also pointed out
that Legislative matters vital1y af-
fecting the future of irrigation and
reclamation the development of min
eral resources, assistance to the min
ing industry, administration of graz
ing lands, Indian affairs, the territory
of Alaska and the development of the
West generally would be passed upon
by the Public Lands committee.
"Over the years." Senator Murray
stated, 1--WE have made genuine pro-
sress in the field of labor relations.
The reforms instituted under the
The people's voice., 1947-01-17
Fergus Teacher
Continued from Page Three)

Continued from Page Three)
consider the shoes, the form of which
was never intended for the well-being
or comfort of any human foot. Liquor
and tobacco ads in leading magazines
and on main highway sign boards
demonstrate the goals of modern art
Where are the fine results of this So
called modern education that rele-
gates the time-tested three RS to the
horse and buggy days; and substitutes
for the some passing fad?
We have a well staffed personnel
and elaborate health program oper-
ating in our schools, but as far as its
main objectives are concerned, these
important features are still in the
blueprint. AS any mother of high
school children knows, the CLOSING
over of the use of both tobacco and
alcohol is practiced by city educators
(The school nurse visits the schools
reeking with tobacco smoke.) Gentle
men of the Governors committee, if
the foregoing are some Of the accomp-
lishments our rural school children
are missing, I recommend that we
move still farther into the wilderness
to escape them.
We could go Indefinitely presenting
valid arguments on the other side
of the sweeping reorganization plan,
but enough has been said to alert
parents TO the seriousness of the is
sue now at our very door
In conclusion, I wish to emphasize
that rural mothers of grade children
stand in the front ranks Of those pro-
testing the trucking of rural children |
into cities and towns, to be later roll |
ed off the assembly lines of regi- |
mented schools their minds well con-
ditioned to sanction the mandates of
bureaucratic government, and to add
to the present menace of juvenile de-
linquency engendered by contact with
centers of population.-NORA BERG
IN LORITZ, Lewistown, Fergus Coun-
ty. Montana.
The people's voice., 1947-01-17
Surplus Property:

CONTINUED from Page One)
further stated that the RFC, which
purchases under a priority for resale
to small business, has tentatively
agreed to send a representative to
each of the scheduled meetings to ex-
plain certification procedure.
Local Groups To Arrange Meetings
AS tentatively scheduled these
meetings will be arranged by local
chambers of commerce in the cities
listed on the itinerary Open to all in
terested, they will deal specifically
with small business and veteran pur-
chases, and are being held in advance
of the arrival of quantities of surplus
items from coast areas, recently ord
cred into Montana.
Colonel Rutten, zone administrator,
has instructed the zone small business
representative to make up want list
to fulfill the requirements of small
business and veterans in the state,
and these will be relayed to the San
Francisco office, through the Helena
office Colonel Rutten has promised
that every effort will be made to furn
ish the inventory if available in the
sixth zone, which includes Washing
ton, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho,
Nevada and Montana
A complete itinerary with scheduled
dates will be announced in the near
future by the Helena WAA office.