LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3160, 11 August 1917, Page 11

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

"The Menace of Peace." In his Menace of Peace" (Cleorgo Allen and Unwin), Mr. George D. Hcrvon provides a crushing and conclusive answer to those foolish and mischiovoite folk, the pacifists. Himself, I should imagine, a strong anti-militarist in principle, ■at ony rate, before tlio •war, his purpose now is to show that the war is but the outward expression of a human conflict that is spiritual, and tho issuo of which will decide destiny for manv centuries to come, the world is at the cross-roads of history, •uid is there summoned to decme between the democratic principle represented however unconsciously, by Iho Allies, and tho autocratic principle, consciously represented by the Central Powers, ill-. Herron says:

The pacifists arc working unconsciously as the servants-of tho Prussian military purpose and power. They prate o pity: hut they know not thc ! moral content of. the pity that is true and triumphant. They babble of brotherly ovo: but they sec W that the love that, ib creative and redemptive includes botli flame and granite and steel among Us elements. The true lovers o, man .ire the. relentless haters ol lies, and thev have blood in their veins, and hones in their bodies, and weapons 11 their hands. II is not love, but the lack of love, the lack of spiritual brain ami nerve, that evades .iudEmcut, avoids .uislicc, and seeks compromise. And the cv.upromiso the pacifist plotters pronosc would not he peace, but perpetual war. There, is no peace without .justice, no justice without truth, and no truth that is not the achievement of tho love that takes sides and conquers-takes sideß passionately and coaauors definitely..

Mr. Herron's book is a nobly conceived and most eloquently expressed plea for stern determination in, and persistence with, the struggle until - triumph crowns the cause of the Allies. As to what that cause actually represents, Iho author has no doubt; J quote tho-sen-tences of a very remarkable book: Ours is the time of the real Crusades, compared as with which tho Crusades of old were but nursery parades. The Allies are lighting, though they -.know it not, for a universal rescue of the good that is in Christ. The Central Powers, with the Jiulgar and the Turk, arc fighting to destroy that good and supplant it with tho palaeolithic good of i'russiau philosophy and practice. It is indeed no fantasy or fanaticism to which I thus Rive utterance. It is for no less than the enthronement, of the anti-Christ principle that Germany has made war upon humanity. She incarnates, and she is, in her divination of physical and moral violence,, the veritable anti-Christ of the early Christian seers. Our choice is between Germanism and Christ—that, nor else than precisely that at least, is 'the matchless reasoning of the war, and the choice wc make will be irrevocable and eternal. On one point 11 r. IJcrron is specially insistent, and that is the grave dangers whic'h may ensue to tho world should a. "compromise peace" leave the Huns in possession of the road lo Asia. Minor. Thero aro many foolish people who ask what interests have Franco and Great Britain in the Balkans? Let. them read ,Mr. Herron's book, and they will soon do enlightened. It is essentially ~a thought-compelling production, and should 1)0 read by everyone who would fain ' perqeive tho true, inwardness and meaning "of tho conflict in which wo aro engaged. (N.Z. price. 3s. 6d.) The Prevention, of War, "Proposals for the Prevention of Future Wars" (George'Allen and Unwin) is the title of a booklet, in which aro set forth the views of Viscount Bryce "and others" upon tho possibility of providing international machinery by which futuro wars may bo prevented. Tho editor states that the "draft scheme," which is detailed and explained in the pamphlet, is almost identical with a similar project supported by tho "American League to Enforce- Peace." The publication,, of which space limits f orbid a detailed review, includes > the opinions, on war prevention, of several leading British and American statesmen. ■ No doubt the objects of Viscount Bryce and his friends aro distinctly laudable, but after what lias occurred in connection with The Hague.and other international agreements, some scepticism as to the practical value of a League of Peace | scheme is quite pardonable. (Price la. 6d.)

"Business Organisation." , "Business Organisation," by H. B. Morgan (London: Eveleigh Nash, per Whitcombe and Tombs), is the title of a collection of short essays and articles (some of wlu'ek appeared in the London Daily Telegraph") suggesting the introduction of a greater alertness and efficiency in British mercantile and manufacturing. In successive chapters tho author deals with national organisation, the organisation of tho factory and the worker, office staff arrangement and management, and the "art of selling.'" The author is rather too apt to deal in generalisations, and some of his advice is surely not seeded by business men of fanaverage intelligence. On the whole, 'however, ho writes sonsibly and well, and the book should be of both interest and value to young business men.

A French Classic, From Greening and Co., London, comes a copy of the most recent addition to the noi; well-known and deservedly popular ".Lotus Library,", a. selection of translations of the greatest French, German, Kussian, and Italian novels, otherwise unobtainable in English. "The Lady with the Camelias," by Dumas the Younger,, is well known in its dramatised form. The story of the unhappy Marguerite Gautier and her devoted and much-tried lover, Armand, must necessarily, by the very fact that it is the life history of a' demi-mondane, he somewhat repellant in certain of its episodes. But Dumas Kls, though a realist, never affected the brutalities of Zola. As a story the "Lady with the Camelias" must always remain an admitted masterpiece of modern French fiction, and in its new and tasteful dress will doubtless attract many new readers. (N.Z. price, 2s. Gd.) The Soldier's Life. General Sir H. L. Smith-Dorrieu contributes a brief preface to Mr. Charles Gribble's collection' of sketches of military life, ".Regimental Silhouettes" (T. Werner Ltd.), describing tho book as "both' delightful and valuable, delightful because it depicts with a. lightness of touch and humour and a freedom from -malice characters of the very type to bo frequently met with in our army, and valuable on account of the. twbuje to the old.Regular Army." Mr. Gsribble's sketches are eminently readable, and under an all-pervading veil of humour convey much useful information as to the soldier's life, in the training camps and on actual service. (Price, Is. 6d.)

Another excellent attraction of military sketches is "Odd Shots," by "One of the Jocks" (Hodder and Stoughton, per Whitcombe and Tombs). Most of tho sketches describe the exploits, in fighting—and in various other directions—of men who come from beyond the Tweed, and convey the impression that the lads from Glasgow and Edinburgh, "fra Paisley" and Dundee, can take the rough<ind-tumble of campaigning, even in muddiest Flanders, quite as light-heartedly as their southern cousins from Cockayne. The author has a decided knack.for .story-tell-ing,, and there is not a dnll page in his book. . Sometimes, too, ".like the immortal' Mr. Silas Wegg, he "drops into verse," and in a few homely, but telling, lines, hits off. very successfully the comedy as well as the drama and tragedy of war. "Kaiser Willie's Prayer" is distinctly amusing as .a latter-day variant of the famous Burns poem. (i\./i. price, Is. (id.) .