Evening star., 1951-12-09

was one of the Hitler gang whose
recantation and participation in
the abortive plot to aSsaSsinate
the leader came only after bloody
years.
The outstanding editing and
publishing projects in progress are
The Papers of Thomas jefferson
tPrinceton) edited by Julian p.
Boyd. and The Letters of Theo-
dore Roosevelt" (Harvard), edited
oy Elting E. Morrison.
The Monumental Jefferson
Work Moves Forward
The extraordinary jefferson
Nork-extraordinary i'll concep-
ton and execution has now
reached the fourth volume of the
so or more planned. The latest
covers the period of Jeffersons
governorship of Virginia.
Four of eight volumes of Roose-
velt letters have been published SO
far, spanning the years from boy
hood to 1905. The relative re-
centnesS of the events and the
character of the man make the
letters particularly interesting.
They disclose Mr.. Roosevelt's skill
in political affairs and also that
his virility was not matched by
profundity.
Douglas Southall Freeman has
added the third and fourth VOL
umeS to the George Washington;
A Biography" (Scribner's) he is
engaged on. taking WASHINGTON
from 1853. when he married, to
1778, when he was in command of
the Army. In this section of his
great work Mr.. Freeman success
fully traces the sources Of WASH
ington's qualities of leadership.
On the subject of jefferson
again is Jefferson and the Rights
Of Man" Little. Brown, the Sec
ond volume of Prof. Dumas Ma
lone's work on Jefferson and His
Times" This is chiefly concerned
with Jefferson in France. It is
even more absorbing than the first
volume on Jefferson the Virginian,
Bridging the period from Theo-
dore Roosevelt to Franklin Roose-
velt was Charles Evans Hughes.
the man OF four distinguished ca
reers-as a lawyer, as governor of
New York, as Secretary of State
and In the Supreme Court, first as
an Associate Justice, later as Chief
Justice. His biography (Macmil-
lan) has been written ably and
sympathetically by Merlo j. Pusey.
associate editor OF the Washing
ton Post.
1t Is Mr.. Pusey's judgment that
IN the fight over President Frank
I'm Roosevelts court packing plan
the court did not surrender to the
New Deal. Rather, he says, it was
plloted through its dark days" by
the restraint. courage and ten
acity to principle" Of the Chief
Justice.
The Forrestal Diaries" (Vik-
ingo. edited by Walter Mills,
with the collaboration of E. S.
Duffield, make an important and
extremely interesting book, but
at the same time a tantaliz-
ing one which should be q
challenge to biographers. Mr..
Mills did a skillful job of
editing the records left by
James Forrestal. But they are
primarily records, set down with
out the Interpretation Mr.. For
restal presumably planned for
later on. The mans service and
his stature entitle him to the best
that biographers can do.
Almost contemporary in scene is
Fifty Billion Dollars: My Thir-
teen Years With the r. F.. c."
CMacmillan by Jesse H. Jones.
Mr.. Jones pays off some old scores
with revelations Of F.. d. r. as a
total politician" Mr.. Jones
should recognize one; he is no
slouch in that field himself.
Work of an Enthusiastic
Convert to F. ID. II.
On the other side of the Roose-
welt picture is Franklin d. Roose-
velt's Own Story" Uittle, Brown),
which is composed of selections of
the late Presidents papers by
Donald Day. Mr.. Day, originally
in opposition, became a convert to