davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Mr.. Vi|Iiers Writes His Autobiography
Of a Full Life on the Hiqh Seas

Certainly if there is such a re-
vival of sail when Mr.. Villiers
writes the word he employs capital
IS" which makes it perfectly clear
which way his interest lies), you will
find him at sea again in command
of a sailing craft. He adds: "A
civilization which has survived two
world wars in a generation ought
not to neglect the use of the wind
as a propellant for ships at sea and
discard knowledge which has been
built up painfully through centuries
of brave sailing"
The author arrived on the scene
just in time to see the last of the
great ships holding a tenuous grip
on world shipping. Wisely, he chose
to go to sea at the age of Is, and
participate in the last of the grain
races from Australia to England,
aboard such fine vessels as Herzogin
Cecilie, Grace Harwar and Parma.
"The Set of the Sails" should in
troduce a new generation to those
glorious days. And perhaps, as an
outcome, set the wheels In motion
for that revival Mr.. Villiers so hopes
f0r
Evening star., 1949-01-23

called. it was in John Dos Passos
the days when a novel was no good
unless 1t measured up to the stand
ards of Dickens and Thackeray.
Now, unless it's according to Marx
and Freud, it won't do" he said
without any trace Of rancor.
A tall, balding man in his late
sos, whose round face is framed by
Ia fringe of gray hair, Mr.. Dos
Passos was conservatively dressed in
a gray suit with a corduroy waist
coat. He has long, well-shaped
hands with which he gestures slight
ly. He smokes cigars.
Mr.. Dos Passos does not believe
that his change of heart constitutes
a desertion of youthful ideals. Nor
does he attribute it so much to dis
Iillusionment as to re-education.
I'VE know so much more now than
we did in the '20s. The Russian
experiment has taught us that peo-
pie will step on other peoples faces
every time they get the chance.
think our system Of checks and bal
ances is the best way of keeping
them from doing it."
Loyal Opposition.
He said, yes, he might be called
a member of the loyal opposition.
That is, when men in the sos. were
menaced by poverty and hunger, he
attacked the social setup which
caused Niis situation. Now, how
ever, he feels that many of these ills
have been righted by the reforms of
the Roosevelt administration and
that the socialistic trend which we
are now experiencing imperils per-
sonal liberties and initiative.
II just think we can get much
further by tinkering with our own
system than by throwing the whole
thing down the DRAIN" he said.
Il feel that I am as much a
champion of the underdog and civil
liberties as I ever was" said Mr.. Dos
Passos, who was once Jailed for
participating in a demonstration for
Sacco and Vanzetti. This he main
tains in the face of denunciation
by one reviewer who accused him of
having become, in his latest novel, a
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Aging Glamour {
Stalls for Time
NO MARRIAGE IN PARADISE

NO MARRIAGE IN PARADISE
BY Myron BRING. (Rinehart &
Co.; s3J
Alex Alexander, the heroine OF
this novel, is one of those aging
glamour girls who are locked in NOR
tai combat with the calendar. Beau
tiful and promiscuous, vain and pro-
fame, she maintains a semblance of
youth by recruiting young lovers.
She also keeps the silver cord taut
between herself and her three chill
dren. She completely overshadows
her wraithlike daughter, 'snipes at
the women whom her two sons love
and states brutally and often that
her younger son Is in love with her.
The supposedly irresistible charm
she exerts over them must be taken
at their word since there is no in
trinsic evidence that her shrill per-
sonality is at all winning. Her come
uppance comes when her daughter
and her lover, bloodless artist,
elope. But it is strongly indicated
that the Scarlett O'Hara in her
makeup will rise above this setback.
The severing of unnatural ties
between mother and children has
often served well as q fictional
theme, but in this case the lack Of
any deeply sympathetic characters
makes 1t all seem rather unimpor-
tant. The settings of Hawaii and
San Francisco are effectively pre-
sented and are, in fact, much pleas
anter than the people involved. Mr..
BRING writes with ease, but Ii
metaphorical to a degree. Alexis
trivial agonies hardly ever warrant
the comparisons he manufactures
for them. M. MEG.
Evening star., 1949-01-23

many were already dead" The liv.
ing were driven out, to expire out
doors. Public hangings became
commonplace. A Ukrainian boy
who had taken some leather fol
shoe soles was lashed so times
then hanged! The f1ogging must
have been an outcome of the purest
sadism"
Mr.. Nansen has illustrated the
volume with some remarkable
sketches. He never intended the
diary for publication. 1t was writ
ten, mostly on thin drawing paper
in such fine script that the printers
had to use a magnifying glass. II
was smuggled out in various ingen-
ious ways to his wife. The diary
could have been cut more than il
was before publication, for much o1
it is repetitious, even trivial. But
much, too, is dramatic and tragic
and deserves a permanent place ir
the archives of the most terrible
war in history.
In The Sorcerers," DR.. Kieve
draws on his boyhood and young
manhood in Germany to show in
some measure how the ideas of anti
Semitism and "aryan" arrogance
that Hitler capitalized were current
before the First World War. These
were indeed ancient prejudices. and
yet the author ties in such ideas In
the peaceful. normal years directly
with the beginning of the Nazi move
ment at the close of the first war
Emanuel Sulzberger, an old-fash-
ioned, devout Jew, became associated
with Schuck, a Prussian, in a part.
herShip to- revive an old estate
Evening star., 1949-01-23

weary, cynical defender of the
vested interests"
He thinks that "cliquey," "foggy
liberal" Manhattan critics "are still
repeating slogans that were very
good in 1882 ana 1896. Such a
state of mind, has really become
another vested interest in his
opinion.
Another aspect of THE Grand
Design" which may have irritated
them he believes, was his emphasis
on the farm problem. They think
the world ends with the Hudson,
you know Farming, incidentally,
has become a major enthusiasm Of
his since he moved from Province
town. He plans to run his fathers
farm in Westmoreland County, Va.s
where he wants to settle down.
He has just recently returned
from a tour of South America, about
which he will write a series Of
articles for Life Magazine. He
seemed amused, rather than indig-
nant, over the activities of the
Perons, who, he said, evidently think
Of themselves as kind of Franklin
and Eleanor Roosevelt team.
He found the Un-American Com
mittee hearings interesting and
useful, because they shed light ON
"the kind OF thinking that was
going on in the State Department
at that time and which led to the
Unnecessary and disastrous conces-
sions at Yalta and Potsdam."
Anything which ventilated that
was good" he added.
Not a Marxist.
The report of his own early en-.
thusiasm for Marxism is complete
ly untrue" He was never a men,
Der of the Communist Party, al
though he worked with them on
several issues in the '30s. They
took him for a ride, ne said.
MY real sympathy lay with the
IWW here and with the Anarcho-
syndicalists in Europe"
He was much interested in the
| 1Cdlk 1dA1Sdl 11IOtClA1C14O d140
once voted for Eugene Debs. His
most recent, "unenthusiastic"
choice: Thomas E. Dewey.
His present project, which has
occupied him intermittently for
many years, is a study of Thomas
Jefferson's ideals, their origin and
effect. He also has a novel cooking
dimly" in the back of his mind.
He's doing fair amount of travel
ing these days, as he always does
after finishing novel. He finds 1t
refreshing to go around and talk to
people and has enjoyed recent con-
versations with farmers.
AS he walked through the crowds
in the lobby of the Willard. and
watched the hustle, which at the
moment included an incipient dog
fight between two mascots, he smiled
little wistfully and said, II wish !
could stay. I love parades, and
crowds fascinate me"
Evening star., 1949-01-23

others And so it is pertinent fol
students of history and psycnoiosS
to try to discover how and why;
Both of these divergent DOCKS
furnish evidence which may oe
helpful to the investigator, though
neither author can answer the
question. One is factual-an &C
count of a Norwegian's three ano
q half years in Nazi concentration
camps. The other is a novel by an
Americanized German, ana II
probes back into the years looking
for the roots of Hitlerism.
Odd Nansen, the Norwegian, Is
an architect, son of the late FrldtJoi
Nansen, a famous Arctic explorer;
From Day to Day" is Odds diary
of the years he endured in Nazl
custody. It is the clear, penetrat-
ing record of an intellectual, artistic
man under an incredible imprison-
ment that was inflicted on him 1or
no reason except that he was a
prominent Norwegian arrested as
"court hostage" Yet there have
been by this time many such per-
sonal stories of German prisons,
some by men as outstanding as Mr.
Nansen. What gives his narrative
distinction, it seems to me, is the
description of his captors which
emerges from his voluminous diary
In telling what they did day after
day, what they said. how they re-
acted on various occasions-off1clals
in charge of prisons, their lieuten-
ants and aides, the humblest guards
the author has compiled a cross
section of the Nazi mentality, sure
ly a valuable source for historians
and psychologists.
Not all these custodians were
cruel. Some meant we'll and tried
to be kind. And yet it was strange
how, except for few radicals who
hardly dared whisper their beliefs
Na1 doctrines had permeated men
representing nearly every peacetime
occupation and amount of educa-
ton. For there must have been
hundreds of these wardens that Mr..
Nansen came to know casually,
scores quite well, in the course of
his detention in a number of camps
in Norway and Germany and aboard
ships.
Mr.. Nansen is always fair. The
Norwegians, he explains, were
treated better than many other
classes of prisoners. They seldom
had enough to eat, yet there was no
deliberate policy of starving them.
Only the Jews among them and
others caught breaking rules felt
the full measure of Nazi cruelty.
Even in Germany the Norwegians
were not sent to the worst camps.
And yet Mr.. Nansen saw enough
of the death camps" enough saw
agery and bestianty to haunt him
to his last day. Once his contin-
gent replaced men, nothing but
Skeletons" piled five and six to a
bed. They were there to die, and
Evening star., 1949-01-23
New David Davidson
Novel Wins Rousinq
Cheers for Author
IE HOUR OF TRUTH

| d 444 A4SS&S Va Avn L -
BY David Davidson. (Randon1
House; $3.)
David Davidson made an i'm
pressive debut as a novelist last
year with "The Sleeper Cliff" a
performance that brought critics
to their feet. They should re-
main standing to cheer this
second novel, which proves beyond
question that Mr.. Davidson Is not
just a conner but Is unquestionably
here to stay among our better new
American writers.
Here again he demonstrates a
political and philosophical aware
ness combined with a penetrating
but never cynical understanding of
why people act as they do. Again he
writes convincingly Of one persons
struggle ito find room in the world
picture for an individual man."
The hero of "The Hour of Truth"
William Harmon is a handsome ex-
athlete and lawyer, whose feeling of
inadequacy in a house full of women
has made him impotent. Kept out
of the war by old football injuries,
uneasy before his wife with her
inquiring eyes and his mother,
surgeon with her little knives" he
leaps at the chance to join re-
Mobilization mission to godfor-
saken South American mud-fat
named Alba.
Fugitives From Self.
Even before the mission leaves
Washington, Harmon is stung by the
jibes of Vicente Hidalgo, besotted,
broken idealist, who dubs the Amer
leans ''conquistadores of the second
class" When Harmon is told by
the icy American Ambassador that
their chief function is not to play
big brother to the wretched natives,
but to preserve a tin-horn dictator
ship because of Albas strategic mill
tary location, he is still resolved
that Hidalgo will change his opinion.
Taunted by Hidalgo's thrusts, and
touched by the misery of the people
of Alba, Harmon doggedly fights not
only the ingrained local corruption
but also the stupidity and brutality
of the members of the mission. The
director, Burling, behaves like a
ward-heeler. And the others grad
ually reveal their weaknesses. Har-
mon finds that, like himself, they
are fugitives who have long since
learned that "only alongside people
weaker and sicker than themselves
can they come to feel like men.
Against conspiracy and compromise
and snowy makeshift, against the
warning Of the Ambassador not to
put fierce moral constructions" on
everything, Harmon. fortified by the
love of Ernestina, wife of cruel
caballero, prepares himself for his
hour of truth"
Lean and tightly constructed, with
its sharply defined characters, the
pounding excitement of its situa-
tions, the novel builds to a strong
climax. And its moral lesson never
stated, but violently illustrated, that
out of disillusionment can come re-
dedication rather than despair Is a
worthy conclusion. Both as quiet.
sardonic footnote on dollar diplo-
macy" and a dramatic study of men
of principle battling expediency,
THE Hour of Truth" Is a first-rate
novel, M. Meg.
Evening star., 1949-01-23
THE SET OF THE SAILS
BY Alan Villiers. (Scribn'

THE SET OF THE SAILS
BY Alan Villiers. (Scribner's;
S3.75.)
Reviewed by
MALCOLM LAMBORNE, Jr.
Alan Villiers is back after lapse
of eight years, which for Villiers
fans is an overly long time. His
latest is an autobiography covering
As years of very full life, most Of
it afloat on a wide variety of craft
from now extinct square-riggers to
World War II landing craft. In the
interval nothing has dimmed his
love for the old sailing ships. In
fact, Mr.. Villiers, looking back on
the days when he sailed before the
mast, writes: Man is not yet so
great that he has no need Of the
simple natural things, the gifts Of
God. Already the mounting diff
culties in the supply of fuel oil and
the enormous increase in the costs
of powered vessels are causing some
owners to wonder whether they
ought to reconsider their earlier de-
cision, that the days of deep sea
sail were DONE"
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Mr.. Beirne Views
The War of 1872
From, All Sides
THE WAR OF 1912
BY Francis F. Beirne. (E. P. Dut
ton & Co.: So
Reviewed by
FRANCIS p. DOUGLAS.

LOn q Co., S0J
Reviewed by
FRANCIS p. DOUGLAS.
This is the first book in 80 years
devoted exclusively to history OF
the War of 1912. Mr.. Beirne says
it was suggested to him that he
adopt a humorous approach. Ap.
parently he was tempted to do SO
but as the work developed he found
many incidents of heroism and sac
rifice which ruled out a frivolous
treatment.
There were blunders and bizarre
developments that seem humorous
now, but it was a grim period for
the young Republic, with talk OF
secession in New England.
Mr.. Beirne points out that the
chief cause of the war, the British
orders in council setting up block
ade of France, had been withdrawn
two days before our declaration OF
hostilities. This was matched at the
end by Jackson's victory at New
orleans a week after the peace
treaty had been signed in Ghent.
Americans remember chiefly that
the British captured Washington
and burned the public buildings. We
forget that our forces earlier burned
York-now Toronto-the capital OF
Upper Canada. Nor do we like to
remember that Washington was de-
Tended by between 5000 and 1000
troops-inexperienced, it is true
against British force of $500. We
did better In the defense of Balti-
more.
The author gives clear account
of the confusing marching and
countermarching that made up a
good part Of the land campaigns as
well of the less confusing and more
impressive naval history. He pre-
sents also with clarity the events
leading up to the war and the nego-
tiations for peace.
Mr.. Beirne, a native of Ashland,
Va, Is associate editor of the Balti-
more Sun. He is also the author of
syndicated newspaper feature
under the name of Christopher
Billopp.
Evening star., 1949-01-23
The Marines
Have
CORAL AND BRASS

W @~utOSO
CORAL AND BRASS
BY Gen. Holland M. Smith and
Percy Finch. (Charles Scribner's
Sons; 49,
Reviewed by
J.. A. O'LEARY, Jr.
In which Howlin' Mad Smith,
the Marines commander for
most of the Pacific war, swings
gleefully at most of the other
"brass hats" who crossed his
path during the war without
agreeing with him.
This is not so much history of
his beloved Leathernecks in World
War II as chronicle of the pri-
vate wars Gen. Smith waged with
his Army and Navy superiors, equals
and subordinates. Many Of the
complaints Gen. Smith makes in
his memoirs against Army and Navy
chieftains seem the result of their
failure to give the Marines what
credit their general felt they
should have.
Perhaps his body blows against
the admirals and generals who at
tempted to interfere with Gen.
Smiths methods are more valid
and properly delivered. No matter
what the justice behind Gen.
Smiths blasts, he spares no one.
Spares No One.
Gen. Douglas Macarthur, Gen.
George c. Marshall, Admiral Nimitz,
Washington, the Joint Chiefs OF
Staff, and a myriad of generals and
admirals too numerous to detail
here, are roasted over the Goals.
The book itself is a comprehensive
list of the latter.
Perhaps the most interesting part
of his memoirs deals with the highly
controversial removal by Howlin'
Mad Smith of the Army's Gen.
Ralph Smith from command OF
the 9th Army Division at the
height of the Saipan battle. Howlin'
Mad apparently is much angrier,
four years after the campaign, at
the Army Smiths superior, Gen.
Robert C. Richardson, jr, than he
ever was at the 27ths commander.
Nellie Richardson, who had
nontactical command of Army
troops in the Central Pacific, is
taken to task for handing out dec
orations for the walkover Maxim
campaign in confetti fashion. Rich
ardson gave Marine 1t. Col. James
Roosevelt (son of the late President)
a Silver Star for Maxim although
he was there only as an observer.
Howlin' Mad Smith says he would
have disapproved the decoration
and indicates he doesn't think
FDR's son was too proud of it.
Explosions Backstage.
OF the removal of Ralph Smith
from command of the Army division
on Saipan, Howlin' Mad declares:
Il was responsible for the capture
of Saipan and 1t was my duty to
see that every officer and man
fought to the best of his ability. In
my judgment, the conduct Of the
9th Division was unsatisfactory
and acted accordingly"
After 278 pages of this sort of
explosive vigor and forthrightnesS
that is at least a unique and re-
freshing account of what went on
behind the scenes, Gen. Smith con-
cludes rather wistfully.
Today, he writes Il live in little
white house. by the side Of the
road and strive to be a friend to my
fellow mar" After a life of strife,
he probably could use the rest.
Evening star., 1949-01-23

which was ten
antless. Schuck
had never likeo
Jews, but he had
to admit Sulz-
berger was a
superior man,
and the Prussian
liked the Jews
son Albert so
much that he
shared the farm
with him. But
when S c h u C k
imported Polish
labor in cattle
cars, in virtual
G a " rV the
Evening star., 1949-01-23

me ar h.
criminals. so 1t
might be put
down to mere
hal nee that
Germany could
h We yielded
Goethe, Beetho-
ven, Schiller ,
Brahms, Hitler.
G ering and
Hirnnler. B u t
the tragedy Is
that the latter
three welded
vastly more in
fuence in their
lifetime than the
Evening star., 1949-01-23

no dismay what
ever.
1--we a ! W a y S
been wrong, al
ways ru b b e d
them the wrong
way" he said in
his crisp, private
S c h ool diction.
why, 'Manhat-
tan Ira n S t e r
was called an
explosion in a
sewer
When he start
ed out, he re-
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Not Negotiable, by Manning Coles
doubleday & Co.; $3.50

Crime Club
Tommy Hambledon, the Coles
peripatetic brain child, foils a ne
farious scheme to debase the cur
rency of allied countries in this
postwar counterfeiting yarn. His
adventures feature a hair-pulline
contest by two volatile continental
females, q wild chase through the
French countryside minus his trous-
ers and a struggle-to-the-death II
a smoke filled underground cell. 1r
other words, its typical Hambledor
fare, but without the insouciance Of
some of his World War I experiences
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Black Cypress, by Frances Crane.
Random House, $25OD

N1G6410OIkI 14Vlk5V1 %S'VVI
The Pat Abbotts do their detect
ing this time In lonely villa on
the California coast with too much
knife-play for comfort. The strange
Stryker clan and some peculiar
house guests all seem to know more
than they're telling about a car that
toppled off a Hawaiian cliff. Love
greed and self-preservation COM
bine to motivate a series of muir
ders and, finally, to reveal the muir
derer.
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Reading and Writing
Dos Possos Keys His Change of Heart
To Trends Which ImperiI Our Freedom
By Mory McGrory

John author the angriest novels of
me preinaugura visitor to Washington last week He
turned be of the gentlest imaginable mild
hammered, sot-spoken grave and pleasant.
His recent book "The Grand Design which signifies
full sweep of his transition from the militant radicasm Of
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Books to Help Us Understand
The German Way Of Thinking
FROM DAY TO DAY
BY Odd Nansen. (G. P. Putnam's Sons; So

BY Odd Nansen. &c. P. Putna,n's Sons; s5J
THE SORCERERS
BY Randolph Kieve. (Houghton M61in; So
Reviewed by CARTER BROOKE JONES
folly speak dogmatcally of national traits of wh
people of certain countries this that There
know people every country And when nation
dominant portion of its citizens pursues policies and act
that must recording weep she writes it
only to puzzle how many of then
in wins yWeres
Evening star., 1949-01-23

doing.
Just as America has produced
great men and benevolent men and
Evening star., 1949-01-23

IIlS yUUCII 10 pOSIIIUII CI1CI-
cal of the New Deal, has
been sharply scored by many crit
les, circumstance which causes
Mr.. Dos Passos
Evening star., 1949-01-23
Reviewing The New Book,
When Dolly Madison
Set the Capitals
Social Pace

DOLLY MADISON: HER LIFE
AND TIMES
BY Katharine Anthony. (Dou.
bleddy G. Co.; $4.5O.)
Milford chronicle., 1949-06-24

Gus dance team; Perry Steffen. q
musical novelty, and Bud and Cece
Robinson. Heading the screen pro-
gram will be Roy Rogers with Dale
Evans in Susanna Pass an ex-
citing adventure filmed in natural
color
For Sunday through Tuesday,
June 1928. the management has
been fortunate in securing for An
niversary Week the picture the
whole nation, is cheering, The
Champion" starring Kirk Doug
lass and Marilyn Maxwell. Look
magazine called it "a knockout Of
a NOVEL" The New York Daily
News gave it four stars and called
it best of the lot unforget-
able!"
AS the final program for Anni-
versary Week, the New Milford on
/ Wednesday and Thursday, June 29-
80, will offer an exceptional double
feature program consisting of "The
City Across the River" a sensa-
tional drama of wayward youths,
actually filmed in Brooklyn. The
equally important cofeature is
Make Believe Ballroom" featur-
ing such famous names as Gene
Krupa. Jimmy Dorsey, Jan CARRIER,
Charlie Barnet, and the King Cole
Trio.