Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

BOOKS OF THE DAY

"The. Business of Finance." Mr, Hartley Withers, whose previous books, "Oiir Money and the State," "The Meaning: of Money," 'and "Stocks and Shares,"' etc., have had such u largo sale, now. presents a new work entitled "The.Business of. .Finance" (London' John Miiivi-av, per Wlutcombe and Tombs). Mr. Wither-; contends lhattlio . "great coullagration," as he-styles Hie wan-, "has illumined with its glare many (acts about finance, which, have hitherto heen onlv'diml.V recognised." ..Finance is, he says, to be recognised in tutu re as "i'iim'x-ly 'the- humble- hand in aid. »f. .industry" The . wealth, .."the goods and stuffs thai, man .produces and the services lie renders to his fellows —tins, says Mr. Withers,, is "the really ■ important thing, in 'the world's, economic problem." Tlio first object of the new book is, "apparently, to explain the machinery of Una nee; the second' and more ■important-of the author's objects is to shew how finance should and. niudit am oiHit to become, moro directly and nowcrfnllv beneficial to the actual producers of wealth. In successive chapters Mr."Withers deals with=tho provision of currency, the credit, system, with capital and company capital, the manufacture and -marketing, of securities, with -.international.currency, and. foreign in•■vcftmentß, and with. the.relationship ,ol finance to government,. Mr. Withers hits out boldly.-'at-: the. many abuses of speculation on'the Stock Exchange, and advocates moro protection for the public.,.np■pealin" for something which- will ■' make tho future of finance cleaner, moro. comfortable,,and more profitable for; the honest people, who work dt squarely, and less profitable, for.-the, noisome..insects, that lurk in. the chinks of • the .fabric. Hut vliilst thus--. moralising- he -clearly does notdeeire.to .-witness any sacrifice of- individual- freedom:. . He is. it may seem 'to some.:readers, just..a.little.cynical m :his lemarks oil'speculative investments. ..He, says: :■: ' '--u. "' ' •

Moreover;- is speculation, naughty? It is a. very stupid-way- of losing" one's money, because the odds are evidently against the amateur in: gambling in. a. market 1 which is always .likely to be- ringed and controlled by professionals, .'who know every, .move in"tlio. same, and have access to. early information, and means 'of manufacturing it and putting it about if there ■Is ndrie to be'sot.' Nevertheless, backing ono'D'luck is a. thing'which has to bo done continually through life. Life it ecu id largely a gamble against incalculable forces. The desiro to gamble is almost universal, ''and. within reasonable 'limits, legitimate.' The more it iB, repressed ond frowned'upon by respectability the more tho public's craving'for it will bo provided for by unsQrupitlous touts ■. and tho financial eouivalent of street-corner bookmakers! Speculation, moreover, carries nith' it' is distinct economic advantage tlmt it makos a market freer and steadies the levels of prices. Those securities arc most, easily, quickly,' and cheaply dealt in, In which' a speculative account iB open, and consequently a big business iB being In the long run and on. the average the'speculator losps money. ...By So doing lie provides facilities for in- , veatorß and gives .steadiness to markets. l

The final chapter,'"Finance and. Government," is oiio which may be read with equal advantage l>y' New Zeahndors 'arid Englishmen. What, for instance, Mr. Withers has to say oil "government borrowinv," and "drafts upon posterity" is decidedlv. interesting.

'V . . . When a Government borrows for any purpose that is not going to increase tho power of .tho .'community, to produce and transport goods it Is mailing a wrong use of the machinery of finance, and when a ■ Government burrows abroad', tho effect upon tho national welfare is clearly worso than if it raißed the . money at homo. If it borrows abroad and puts tho money to gnod'oconomic r.sn which increases tho productive power of the. country, then it will have' available the licces-. sary'supply of goods and services'to send abroad ih redemption'of the dobt and a balanco over. ■ If tlio borrowing process does not have this beneficial -effect tho goods and' services that liavo to bo sent abroad will be a direct reduction of the nation's poweivto consume them. If tho Government borrows at home and makes a bad or unproductive use of the'money, tho only result is that there .is a distortion of 1 tho distribution of tho national wealth. It is not 'necessarily diminished a.s a-, whole—though' it is clearly not increased as it would have .been if the money had beon • fruitfully invested—but those who have lent tho money which has been put to a bad use arc thereby tiven a hold, until tho'debt is repaid, • ever a certain proportion of the national output, and if this process Ib carried too far there will bo ovil political. and social results. > Tho hook is one which mnkos a strong appeal of financial and economic questions. Its outstaliding merit is its 'clear and vigorbus style. (Price, 7s. lid.) ... The Human Touch. . A now liook by "Sapper/' the author of "No Man's Land," "Men, Women and Guns." and other vigorously-written sketches and stories of .the .war, is "entitled "The Human Touch" (Hodder and Stoi;ghton) "Sapper" is a realist, ami does not ignore the drafnatic, tragic, and pathot'.; side of war. But perhaps more Urn anv other writer who has seen life as it was on the Western front, a grim and dreadful, at times, he em'Puastaen the wonderful cheerfulness, tho marvellous patience,"'and the fervent appreciation ofsrough humour which combined to" mako the British soldier what all tlio world now knows him to he—a fighter-whose''stalwart; genuine manliness is dictated and actuated by tho spirit of "true and natural ' nobility of soul." It is liard to study some of these brilliantly impressionistic sketches whitfh lla/e been drawn-for us-with such vigour by "Sapper's" pen and not have wet eyes. In some, too, there is a feelinjr of sheer disgust and horror that men ' in tho iniago of' God should" have been doomt.r to undergo svich pangs of body and foul as fell to the lot of so many thousands Of gallant fellows who liavs foil,'lit in tho great Cause. But superior to all- -mclrfeeling rises a sense of- pride mist intense •thai these men who 'fought fiO'nobh,Who suffered so patiently, were of -oi'ir kin ,«nd inca-and blood.' nisi:ia that-even "war. has ih lighter side, - tho author is.' generous in his supply oi .wholesome,, hearly humour. What n ■ 'baffling■ Combination of tragedy and com. edv mir can be is realised nt'once.upor tho perusal of such sketches as "Tin Awakening of John Walters" and "Tin Passing of tlio Sea-Sick Cow." Drama tense, grimly realistic drama is the dnm inant note in tho title story. "Till ■Human' Touch" is.one of the finest, niosl vivid, ipo.it compelling, yet grimly fas cinahng war pictures "Sapper"-has i'voi givi'H u-, which ■ is saying, not a. little There-.is liot a dull page in all the book

"Slaves of the Huns." "Cursed bs your race, your wives, your children.!"- wis the despairing malediction of a Lille' woman whose husbiind, son, and daughter Jhad been dragged away into .■slavery by the lLuns. Of tho disgusting, yet studied and deliberated cruelty practised by the (.loniums at. Jiille and Hoiibai'x we may natv read a lull and terribly realistic .accusation iu a litlle book entitled "Slaves of' the Huns!' (Cassell and Co., per S. and W. Jlackuy). 'I'lie book consists, " in the main, of extracts from the dinrv of two girl victims of the linns, the narrative bp'niK-.edited b.v Madame Ile'nrietlo Celarie, antl translated by' Jlrs. Maude M. C. J''foulkes. The' two young .French ladies wlu@o terrible experiences are here set forth belong to one of the must respectable middle-class families of Lille. The narrative of the awful (rials through which these two well.-educated, dnfply religious girls were doomed to pass lire set' down with all the simplicity of air official report. To some' readers of the book it may 6eem almost incredible that "within seven hours of London,"' as the translator asks us to note, two respectablo young women could have liDcn' subjected personal humiliation, studied insult, and • downright cruelty by the "soldiers and officials of a so-called civilised State. Here wo lmvc German Kultur exposed ms I,ho vile and disgusting thing it is. Would that (his book could bo rend .by every ''pacifist" and "conscientious objcclor" iu llio

country. It would surely give them furiously to think, as the I 1 rench say. Poems by Eva Campbell.

A tastefully printed -booklet, simply untitled, "Poems," by Eva Campbell,, reaches me from Messrs, AVhitciinibe and Tombs. The.poems are in three sections, entitled 'respectively, "WlnU' Wings, "Other Poems," and "Songs." The author has a- keen appreciation of the mystery and beauty of Nature, and many of her poems also reflect a highly devotional spirit/ It is, however, in the poems which ileal with chiid fancies, child dreams, and, child character generally that- Miss Campbell is-'most successful. •Some of file little ."eliiliUongs," 'grouped together as "A. Cycle of the Shies/' liayo much of that engaging naivete and delicate charm which. ytevonsan displayed in his "Child's Garden of Vevscs." Note the truly child-like-spirit of. "questioning"'in the verses entitled "The .Moon' : The Moon, you know', is tlie Golden Hall 111, which nil the. Nails are sioreil, II BwiiiEß in andoout among.the btare, ■ Held up by a Blender cord. When filled up well with a eoMen store, . It looks like a crent round ball. When almost empty it shrinks awn.y "Pill we scarcely see it at all. •I wonder if ever as Time goes-by, Tlie Ball will lie empty unite?- . For then it .would dwindle tfo nothing at And' what wotiM to do in Ihe night? And the Angels' Floor would, como tumbling down '. As the Nails got rusty and old; So I hope that some will be always left .-:In the -/Hair of Shilling Gold. As a picture of quiet happy domesticity '"Home—From- a/Man's- Point of View" is pleasantly convincing:' 'A. log fire, crackling oil the hearth. ' A table set for tea, . A woman listening for a- well-known step And Smiling tenderly. . A broken-dolly lying on a chair, A baby fast asleep— ; Wliat. earthly pieture .could.be more-fair. . So in I Softly,creep,. Take the woman in my tired arms. Ami'know that love is true, and strong, and deep. Miss Campbell's verses are at limes a little .weak a.hd 'wobblingin rhythm, but the author's heart is in "the, right place, • and When she studies poetic form a Jittlo more'carefully she should fulfil tho excellent'promise her work now affords.'

Those-Wonderful'Airmen; "Over the German Lines," by "Wings" (Hodder arid Stoughton), is one of the best-written books we have yet had—and of tllis particular, class of war literature the provision has Tieen very liberal—on war aviation.- .The author, like most of tho British and French airmen, was only just out-of his teens when.the war broke out. Ifc left ono of the great English public schools for Sandhurst in June, .1915, and in tho following April, "passed ov.t," being gazetted, so says "Another Hand," in his preface to the book,."to a very famous infantry rcgi-' .mcnt, but was "seconded - ' for service with the R.F.C.. ,He obtained his pilot's wings at the end of June, 191G, and wont to France in July of that year. > Ho was attached to a certain artillery squadron, and served with it until May, 1917, when ono Sunday morning his flyfng career came to an abrupt end. Engaged with an observer in "doing a shoot," their machine was attacked by six or seven Huns, and in the course of tko fight which ensued the pilot was so badly .wounded in the'right arm that it was found necessary lo amputate it above the elbow within half a hour of their return. Notwithstanding this disablement, they fought tho enemy off, and "Wings" was able to take his machine home to , its . aerodrome. .In a series of spiritedly-rwritten skotches entitled "The Daily Bound" the author provides a verbal kinematograph show of the experiences and adventures which fall to tho lot of the airman. Tho sketch entitled "Waking Up Fritz" gives a dramatic picture of if desperate encounter which takes place when a squadron of British, airmen set forth to attack a German munition works, an encounter which lasts but a brief quarter of an hour, but is accompanied by'serious loss on both sides, Tho contrast between the author's detailed description _of the conflict and tho concise but significant final paragraph of the official coinmiiiiiqueVThrce of our machines failed to return"—is curiously exemplificative of I the vast difference between an actual fight in tlio air and tlie public impression thereof. As-a piece of well-restrained but essentially dramatic description . of the numberless difficulties and dangers iVitli which tho airmen have, at times, to contend, tho sketch entitled "Driven Down" is 0110 of'the best of tho author's many illumining pictures of air . fighting. Tragedy is ever perilously near at hand to jostle the comedy in an airman's life, but the young Englishmen who. have done such splendid.service in air fighting for the great and noble cause in which they engaged seem to be endowed with unfailing high spirits. Just as it is the man behind the gun that counts in artillery work, the cliceriliess of the average . British airman has been almost as valuable an asset as his undaunted courage. There is not a dull page in "Wings book, which I wnnnly commend to the attention of my rcn'ders. (Price 7s. 6d.)

Four Plays. From Messrs. W. C. Pcnfolil anil Co., Sydney, also comes (per S. and W. Maek'ay) a volume containing four, play?, by Lieutenant Adrian Consett Stephen, M.C., tho rccoril of whoso experiences with a battery of tho R.F.A. was alluded to in a a recent review. Stephen, was, so Mr. E. R- Holms, of the University of Sydney, siiys in a preface to the .plays, "the only graduate of Sydney University who lias seemed born to add greatly to the literature of Australia on its dramatic. side," Two of the plays, "Anchored" and "Echoes," were staged by.tho .University Dramatic Society in lflll! and 1914 respectively. The work of so young a playwright would naturally be.expected ,lo lie, to.pine.extent, imitative. Riitwnh the exception of "Echoes." which is a study-of a conflict between youthful desires and ambitions • and parental an-| thorily, and which clearly owes something to Stanley Houghton's "The Younger Generation," the plays are strikingly original both in plot, and delightfully fresh, and even vivid, in their dialogue. For a writer who shows not only in his plays but in his war letters and diaries such gifts of humour and kindly satire as does Stephen, the dramatic motifs lie affpctpd were curiously dreary. In "Futurity" there is a quite Jbsenish touch; and the purely comedy side comes as n welcome t'.-licf. As <i pnliric nict.iire of collrgp life, "Anchored." Stuiilmn's firstpiny, is .full of promise, despite some palpable crudities. All the plays are much more than merely readable. Whether, had lie lived. 'Adrian Stephen would have developed .into a ..second John Galsworthy—in his work as/'a playwright —if is hard to say, but it is clear lie had a very liiith conception of the drama as a channel for satire and effective presentation of life's little—and big—ironies, Tl i« a great pitv thai; such a trifled mil 'promising young Australian could ne-l. huve live! In del', a>-a l'lavwi'iolil.. with r "ine of the complicated social problems which must be the outcome of the war. -But, like so- many litho!' soldier licls. pl::y----v.righK philosophers, ami artists, it was lik- fn'o I" pi'il.-e c.imilM"" sa rt,, '/lep. He wa« killed at.7lillehel;e, near Ypres, after Iwo years -and -eve" months of aetiv.; service with , the R.l'.A.

"Cnsssll's Work Handbooks." Two repent addition" to !hnf ndmirnl)li> s-vics, "(Wll's Work Handbooks" (Oa«ell and Co.. nor Wliiloambe nunTonih.^, 'lirp "Clildins. Silvering, und liroir/.in;.:" und "C-iinepr W-rlrins." Unr'i nrc edited bv Afr. lie-ranl Jones, randnel:iT of "Work," a periodical devoted to homo erafls and lobbies, hi caeli eas.o the pililor .has liad the assistance of experts, and as with previous volumes of this excellent series, Ilia information

and advice given is of a thoroughly- ■ practical value. Each volume is most liberally illustrated with .diagrams and working plans, etc. Price, 2s, For the Kiddies. From Cassell and. Co., pea- S. and W. Mackay, conies « copy of "Tiny Tots," a picture book for very little folk. Lucky indeed are tho children of today that they have ei) many clever writers and artists, catering so zealously for their entertainment.. Assuredly the art of' colour printing should.be held one of the best friends that the kiddies have had. There is bewiloering variety of pictures, some.in colours, others in black and white, in the voluniu under notice, and the literary fare they assist in making so palatable is equally . varied and well chosen.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190322.2.105.1

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 11

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,765

BOOKS OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 11

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert