BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 199, 17 May 1919, Page 11

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

(By Liber.)

BOOKS OF HIE DAY

Economic Statesmanship. 111'. J. EUis Barker is nn admitted authority on economic questions ami' international politico as they affect the industrial and linancial position ofvari-, Otis States. He is a keen student' and clever analyser of statistics, and has, in several of his works, proved lumself possessed of exceptional powers of foresight, lii his latest book, "Economic Statesmanship; The Lireat Industrial and financial . Arising from the War" (John Murray; per Whitcombe and Tombs),' the autlibr of "Modem Germany" considers the great economic questions of the future irom the statesman's point of view. He is specially insistent, lipon the urgent and serious necessity for increasing the voluble of British manufacturing production, and what he gays on tho subject carries with it many useful lessons for the industrialists and producer:} generally of New Zealand. Mr. Marker proves by authentic statistics that American production per worker in not only manufacturing, but minim:, asriculture, and transport sorvices is three times as great as British production, and contends that .England could easily treble her production, wealth, and income by Americanising v 'lier industrial methods. He shows, also, that coal and ij-on are bases of national power and prosperity, and maintains that, oiving to her great wealth in minerals, Germany can nay in kind, thnusli not in cash, for all the damage she lias done. What Mr. Barker lias to say (in British industrial conditions is not without its moral for New Zealanders, employers and. workers alike.' . The workers of a nation cannot bo expected to do their, best 'unless they, are satisfied, and they cannot be expectcd to be Hatisfled unless they are prosperous. Underpaid labour 'is inefficient labour. Nothing is more wasteful on the part of an industrial nation than to allow its workers'to live iii poverty. Beforo'tho war millions of liritish workers, especially the ' unskilled and the agricultural labourers, lived not merely in poverty but in want. Unfortunately, the 1 British .worker's have hitherto, owing to Socialistic tpaehers, Been in the directors of industry and in the capitalists not a useful and nocessary class, but an enemy, arid their leaders havo laupht the extraordinary doctrine that tho workers can lieneflt themselves by insisting upon the highest possible wage for the lowest possible production. Wishing "to malie tlie 'wofk. go round," British workers have systematically restriptcd their output, and have opposed tho introduction of the most perfect labour-saving machinery, wiioreas tlie American workers. have' insisted ' upon largo wages, but have willingly worked tho most powerful and the mpst modern machinery at its full speed. The result has been, as I havo shown by exact and reliable figures, that the putprit of the American workers haß beon three time 3 as" great as the output of the British workers engaged in identipal callings. In other words, a single American worker has produced as large a quantity of goods lis thrco English workers employed in the corresponding industry.

Mr. Barker's chapters on "Education an.dJScouqmic' Success " and "Labour and Capital after tho " aro specially, deserving 'of"attention, bill, indeed, tho whole book is full of "useful information and liolpful .suggestions. Many statistical' tables and diagrams are ; - to, emphasise the' author's' arguments,._aud there is a, specially fu|l and good index. Strange Tales from the Fleet, 1

In "Strango Tales from the Fleet" (Methuen and Co.), a writer who veils his identity under tho pseudonym of "Etiemfp" gives us seventeen -capital stories of British naval life during the 'Great War. ■ It limy "be Said at onco that "Etienne's" - work is Iquito on a level wi.tli that of the well-known ''Bartinieus."',' Ha has <v vigorous, pithy stylo which eschews all would-be literary airs /and graces and is emphatically orisp and effective, as indeed befits tho often very. dramatic character of tlio (subjects dealt with. These include many audacious- and gallant feats by the officers and men of His Majesty's warvessels, from tho biggest dreadnought down to tho humblo but essentially useful motor patrol boat. There is a distinctly Iviplingesf(ue touch in the realism, of the dialogue, and the author's dry and quiet humour is one qf )|is most valuable assets. A certain Grand Fleet order, "No liquor is to bo served on boqard prior to 10.4.5 a.m. cxcept where tlie . entertainment of distinguished foreign officers is in question," is mado the text for an account of some admirable fooling with which certain' junior officers on board QI.M.g. Rampageous 'beguiled the monotony of their existence whilst waiting and watching for tho Huns. As 'MStienjib" says:

' A wise Admiralty ha 3 laid down that nt or about 10.45 the sailor. shall be given ten minutes "stand easy." The average Naval officer, equally wise, cmploys this period in fortifying himself with a small cocktail for the further labours of the day. . . . We have sound historical evidence for stating that tile cußtom was initiated by Noah, who may bo claimed as the father of all navigation. After a week of abstinence at 1U.46 tlie fleet surgeon prevailed on the Commander to try a Bubßtituto for that daily cocktail which had been his tonic for years. Medicated brandy was its basiß, but unfortunately the temporary surgeon forgot' one important powder. The result was Bevere disarrangement of the Commander'B liver. The diseaso reacted on the lieutenants. ' I, moi Qui parle, am a lieutenant—so I know. There wero 110 more medical cocktails, arid the parson was requested to insert a prayer into the Sunday Litany on these lines; beseech theo to send, ub a foreign officer." How the desired "foreign officer" duly arrived on H.M.S. liampageous and what were the results ot' liis advent, you .must rend for yourselves in "EtienneV amusing book, in which a dull page would be as difficult to find as,' well—say, a modest German! For Agriculturists. ' A recent addition to Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs's series, "New Zealand Practical Handbooks" (Wellington: Whitcombe and Tombs), is entitled "Soils and Manures in New Zealand." The iiutlior is Mr. L. .1. Wild, M.A., B.Sc. (N.Z.;, KG.S. (Loudon), who acts as Lecturer ill Chemistry at the Canterbury Agricultural College. Mr. Wild tells ub that his littlo bpok has been written for the practical farmer, hence the.. use of unfamiliar technical terms has been avoided as much as possible. .Jio attempt hus been made to lay do«n rules for ,tho 'management of soils or for the use pf manures. What lias been attempted is to acquaint tho reader with the more important truths and general principles regarding tlieso things, in the nope that if'these are assimilated, the farmer, who is on tho spot and knows tho local conditions, will be able to determine for himself the proper procedure in his own individual case. In successive chapters tho author deals with the "abode of the plant," with plant nutriments in tho soil, soil fertility and the principles of manuring, tho improvement of fertility, and the soils of New Zealand generally. Tnstructiom; are given as to finding the mamirial requirements of a soil, and a ppeeial chapter is devoted to tho use of manures, first as' soil improvers, and secondly as fertilisers. In tho final chapters the author discusses miscellaneous fertilisers, tho valuation of manures, and tho mamirial requirements of certain crops. Tho practical utility of the information mid advice set forth in tho book .is enhanced by a series of well-chosen illustrations. References to other more comprehensive works are given at the end of each seel ion, and there is an excellent index. (I'rico 2s. Gd.) "Tho Round Table." By far tho most'timely and valuable feature in tho latest (March) issue of "The Hound Table," a copy of ..which reaches' me from tho local representative," is'an exhaustive account of tho Bolshevik movement, its objects, leaders, and probable future, both in Russia and throughout Europo gonerally. In Bolshevism, tho writer of the article sees

trive a man a pipe he can smoke, Give « man a book he can read; And his home is bright with a calm delight Though the room be poor indeed.

r-jAMBia THOM3OH,

the gravest menace to tho success of the League of .Nations nnd the peuco of the world, incidentally lie asserts that "the Bolshovik Foreign Office has an infinitely. hotter knowliMfgo o$ labour in nil foreign countries than any other Foreign (lllice." 'J'lie article should be read by every public man, and by all who desiro to liavo an oxtended' knowledge of ft propaganda which, vile though some of its methods, .is. undoubtedly planned with grout ingenuity and carried out with great determination. Under tlio heading of "The Practical Organisation of l'oncs," (lie League of Nations is discussed very fully. One of the posfiiblo advantages of the scheme is the introduction of a wisely co-ordinated system of immigration. The summaries of. political and . industrial .movements in various parts of tho Empire, are, as usual, very ably written, and most usefully informative. No other periodical Eeryes and fulfils exactly the same purpose as that tvhicli is ever before -tlio conductors of this excellent periodical, a copy of which should be found in every household where an intelligent interest is tak'en in Impcj'ial politics and the world's progress generally. LIBER'S NOTE BOOK The New Heaven. The lion. U. W. Russell's book, "The New Heaven," to which I alluded a few we«ks ago, is getting what tho' French call "a very good press" in tho Home, papers. Tlio "Times Literary Supplement" gives a condensed advance notice, in which complimentary r.eferenija is inado" io tho author's literary style. "Tho Scotsman," too, warmly praises tho book as a "message of hope" to all who have suffered bereavement by tho war. Stocks of Mr- liussell's hook havo not yet reached the Dominion, and I am therefore withholding for tho present iny review of the advanco copy kindly sent mo by the/author. •

A Risinq-American Novelist. Tho American agents'of our New Zealand booksellers' seem to Australasian readers care only for "Wild West" fiction of tlio kinema order, or the sickly, sentimental productions of America's lady .novelists. So far none of Joseph Hergcsheimer's novels, which every hjgh'-elass literary journal in the States seems to agreo are fiction of an exceptionally high class, seem to have reached the New Zealand bookshops. HerKesheimer's latest . • story, . "Ja'ya Head," is'specially well of. It is a storv. of qld St(lem when the -oneo: famous New England .port did a big trade with the Bast Indies—sending out, too, whalers to far. away New Zealand, as has been duly set lortli in the late Dr. M'Nab's books. Hergeslteimer's .earlier stories. "The Three Blackl'ennys" has reached its fourth edition. New Zeal.inder.s ought lo be given a' chance of making acquaintance ■jvitli Hergesheimer's work. Stray Leaves. In "Tho Strong Honrs" just published by Constables, Mrs. ' Maud Diver continues. the story commenced in' that striking novel "Strange Bonds." A monuflient to Benito I'erez flaldq?, Spain's foremost living writey, lyas recently .-unveiled at Madrid. ' Two of Galdos's novels were published, in English translations, some years ago, by, I think, lieinemanns. Sir Ernest Shackleton'fj book on his last expedition to Antarctic regions is to bo published during the English .autumn. I may be wrong, but I fancy that by this timo the public lias had enough and to spare of giibh,'literature. There is iv dismal sameness' abqut'. these bo'oks.' - What is'said-to be-'the shortest- review ever written appeared recently in an American journal. After naming the title, author, the publisher, and so on, it gave judgment in one.word "Shake!" Although the price of paper lias cbmo down a little; the reduction as yet has not, it would appear, been passed on—as were all the rises!—to the book-purchas-ing public. The English price of "liveryman's Library"'is still two shillings, and the "World's' Classics" and similar series are still issued yt the highest war rate. Mr. Neil Lyons, -whose clever studies of Cockney life', "Clara," "Arthur's," "A Bagful of Sixpences" to pay nothing of those delightfully funny series of rural 6ketche3, "Moby Lane" and "Cottage Pie," has not been heard of much during the war period. Mr. Lyons, however, is comipg to tho front again with an entirely new 6tory of East End London Life in war time. The title is "London l'ride."

A few, a very few, copies of Compton M'Kenzte's "Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlet" have at Inst reached Wellington. "The novel was/published in Londoii last June or July, and yet so far thero is no colonial edition. Towards the end of March a- further instalment of Sylvia's adventures, entitled "Michael and Sylvia," was published in London. The Michael of these new stories is the Michael Fnno of "Sinister Street." "Tho. Early .Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlet" is scarcely a book for "the young person,", buf. there is no denying the astonishing fertility of its author's imagination. An English translation of Maurice Maeterlinck's sequel to "The Blue Bird," entitled "The Betrothal, or the Blue Bird Chooses," was to' be published in London at the end of March. Most of tlio. characters in the original play aro now reintroduced. The liero is again Tyltyl, grown into a stripling, who has to' choose a bride. - There seems to be no end to _ variations and imitations of Omar.Khayyam's famous "Bubaiyat." We lmvo had tho "Rnbaiyat of a Persian Kitten, end in "Tho Memoirs of Mick/', we have-inci-dentally the K-nbaiyat of a fox terrier. Here is a sample stanza:— .

Oh, some Day-tliough I know not When nor.Hovf— I'll meet, that good, kind Gentleman, " I trow

Who bit mv Baby-Tail off. When I do I bet the Biter will be bit. Bow-wow I

Mrs. Uaskell's "Life of Charlotto •Bronte," with au introduction by Clement ; Shorter," has been added to the World's Classics series, in which, bv the way, a complete set' of the Gaskel} novels, ten in 'number, can now bo obtained. Mrs. ■ Gaskell was a Victorian novelist whose work was rather overshadowed by some of her greater contemporaries. At. her best she still well worth reading. My own favourites have always been "Wives and Daughters" and "Sylvia's Lovers." John Maselield, the poet, sent a highlycharacteristic tribute to ltuskin to. the ltuskin centenary meeting in London. "All who knew ltuskin and heard him," wrote tho author of "The AVidow in Byo Street" and "The Everlasting Mercy," "were kindled. All young - spirits _aro stimulated by him. Npw that halt Europo is a filthy and-lousy rum, and half tho beautiful '(drivers . are killed or niangled, wo can see that Buskin was. a lovely human soul, who did wluit Blako said a poet has to do, that is, 'lie brought forth number, weight, and measure in ii.time of scarcity.'" . A recent happy find of an enthusiastic collector of Burnsiaua, nmnciy, the discovery of the minute book of the Loyal Dumfries Volunteers, has led to the appearance of a volume entitled "Bobprt lltirns as a Volunteer: Some fresh facte whiclr further help to confound tlio Tract's critics." The author is Mr. William Will, president of tho London Bobert Burns Club: Tho book is said to throw some very interesting sidelights on Burns and his social life. SOME RECENT FICTION.

"The Altruists." "The Altrusists," '>.v Captain C. G. (London: Gcorßu Allen and Unwin. Ltd.), is a well-told story, mainly of adventure in 'Morocco, where the hero, a young lieutenant in the ltoynl Navy, wiio has Been dismissed the service for losing a most important Foreign Ollice cypher entrusted to his care, engages for a time in the profitable but

exciting pursuit of guii-riumiiig. _ Ho is engaged.to a pretty Yorkshire girl, who 'remains t'ailhl'ul to him, despite the implied stain upon his honour. With this voiuiK lady there falls in love a middleRRed African. explorer, Major Worsley, who has known tho lieutenant as ti lad, and refuses to lielieve he could have behaved ilishoimurabjy. Rejected as the fiirl's lover, (he major chivalrously Pets himself tho task of proving the absent man's innocence, and engages in some very exciting but perilous adventures in Morocco. Eventually the ex-lieuteqapt 16 foiiu'd, and his innocence having beon established by. tho discovery that 1 lie missing document had been stolen by a German' secret service agent, lie is restored in honour .to his old position, and the fidelity of his lovely Joan is duly rewarded. 'J'iie real hero of thc'slory is, however, the taciturn, resourceful, and (iplendidly chivalrous explorer, a character who reminds me not a little of certain ijgnreS in tlio Lite Henry Seton Murriiiijiu's oncc very popular novels. Tho author evidently knows Morocco at first hand, and introduces some vivid and picturesque local colour. A very readable story.

"Minnifllen." Anno Joscelyn, the lieroine of Mr. and Mrs. Egerlon C'astlo's lutest novel, "Minnigltm" (John Murray, per Wliitcombo and Tombs), is a yoiinij 'lady of aristocratic birth, whose family has, however, fallen from its former high state. Visiting friends in the Highlands she loses her way oil the hills in ono of tlio dense mists which occasionally afflict those regions, and is rescued by'a yopng Scots shepherd, who talks to lier ajxmt his soul—and hers—but notwithstanding his verbosity wins her sympathy, and almost something stronger. She has only seen his face by the flicker of a match, and when, later on, she meets in London town the handsome young laird of Minniglen she imagines him to bo the mysterious man of tho mist. So Anno and her laird are married, much to the joy of the letter's aunt, Lady Qrizell, an eccentric mannered, but completely delightful old lady. Arrived i)t Jlinniglen for tlieir honeymoon the husband discovers the trutli as to his wife's sclf-deccptioii, and, wounded in his pride, leaves her, a wife only in name. And then, after an interval of misery for both, tho war conies, and Allan goes off to tho front, where, of course, he displays the utmost gallantry, as does also his shepherd double. The latter, alas, is killed, but tho wounded husband returns—and, well, you c(\n guess tho rest. Cleverly written as are all Mr. and Mrs. Castle's novels, "Minmglpn" is hotablp for its excellent character drawing. Tlio authors are specially happy in tlieir amusing satirical description of Lord Weyford, a nouveau riche, his vulgar, but good-natured wife, and their st\ipid, but well-meaning, sou, who is such faithful, if unsuccessful, suitor for the fair lieroine.

"A Daring Daughter." Tn his preface to his latest-novel, "A Daring Daughter" (Stanloy Paul and Co.), Mr. Cyrus 'Townshcnd Brady, a popular and prolilic American novelist, tolls us that he has tired writing problem novels, and tuvnpd "with keen relish" to "the romanco of tlio highway." The result is a full-flavoured, well-writ-tcn 6tory, which, if not professedly historical, contains yuite a number of wellknown historical characters. Tho period is' that qf tlio Stuart times, " tlio plot qf the story centering round tlio plucky enterpriso of a high-born young Scotswoman, Lady Katherino Ohmranajfj. who sets • off, iiK male attiro, to secure' tho release of her fatjier, condemned to death by King James tho Second and his infamous minion, Judge Jeffreys, for complicity in tho Monmouth llobelliou. There is a satisfying pleuitudo of BWorc)-play, plus some.-' very pretty and properly 'romantic' lovemaking, in' Mi'. Brady's story, winch nevei~.fiags in its grip upon tho reader, and must be adjudged an exceptionally good oxample of a class of fiction latterly somewhat out of ypgno, lint jvhich' wnl always havo its faithful admirers.