BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 257, 24 July 1920, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

( Aerial Transport," ' ..- In a; handsomely-produced voluroo- en- . titled "Aerial Transport" (Hqdder and .. Stoughton; per. Whitconibe. and- Tojnbs); . -Mr. O. Holt. Thomas,, who for. the past . fifteen years'has made a special' study . Of aviation, both' in its militaryand.comjneToial. aspects,. sets, forth;., the import, anco'of aerial communication' as an' adjunct to. and development, of;preserit-day V commerce;' In a, 'brief But 'interesting in- ... troduotion; Lord Northcliffei emphasises, .wifli .characteristic enthusiasm and'" en-. I'Mpyi'-flwi yitaV,necessity for. adequate re-' .' iilisation by the Gbvernment if/M moini-. . tenance. at _the, highest possible' etiin- . dard, Of British civjjl and military flying, t-..t0-day," ' says" Lord'.'Northcliffe, we must remain first for all time.''"Air, iThdmas's book' may be regarded Vis n. ... cyclopaedia of'•present-day aviation 1 and . .' . /.^tuie 'possibilities.' He examines tlio difficulties' wWich reimain to' bb' overcome -fifths organisation of "air expresses" for • th'e 'conveyance of mails and passengers, and discusses in detail such questions as the organised ; "provision ' of \ landing ■ grounds,; the'' establishment coastal'and inter-island route; the safe-- '" ''guarding'of the public against'accidents, '- the financial side'-of commercial aerial transport, the legal aspects of aviation, •' the desirableness or'otherwise' of^exteml- ■ ;ea-Government' control of aviation, • and • many other, interesting pha&es of his general subject. With regard to lons-dis-tance, aviation-it Is still doubtful; no -Eeems -to think, whether the • big rigid ... airship, capable of -carrying /'a-. fairly • largo.rnumoer of-:.pasengers,/is,'-as'yet,. . fast •:enough for -.successful commercial' ■ fcorlnng._ Ha/"writes, down"' the speed the big airship to be used on. a'long ■ trans-ocean 1 flight to about forty miles an ; -. hour. . Nominally, ■ with .engines "full 1 out" seventy; or eighty miles an hour could. be done, but an adverse weather ■: allowance] would • reduce the • speed .vVery cpnsMerably., ■. On<- a, long ■-:■ trans-' ■ ocean- fiiffnt, ;Wth, cpmpeKug... of: ..travel comparatively ,sTow, such ; an average speod as ,forty, miles an hour would,- ■ he thinks, .still give the- traveller by. air- ... a saving of time .over : .the -traveller-, by . sea, .but, adds. Mr, Thomas, "it-is an : . question .whether, 'if... high' .express fees were charged,- the aerial ..traveller ...might .consider .this . saving oiftime. 'enongET* . Fdr. 'relatively - short. : -"pas-' . Mgcs, ; tno aeroplane .tail, ho contend*;. ■ .be.nf immense service!to..the commercial - ■, woild for; purposes. • i'hov ■".■ r author enlarges upon the .yalue of ,the aeroplane in."various other' directions.; - w 0 .^'^ x P ,or Stipn and .surveying.' lord . . jvortbcliffo -mentions, by "the way. in ■ his .' . preface to; the .book,"th(it already.' "ac- '. curate ; photographs /from' 'the ! air''bavo. .• been taken-of showing the' exact " -: of the timber' therein, a fesk that . ."as . hnlierto ' and- ■ .e 'Hnstraticms, which are riumeronn - and ; beautifully'.roproduced/ are except:s""Onalte interesting; -They include reproductions of' 'aerial photograph's of .yari-' ■?. '.wis parts of London (one'of'thfc'mnstfa--miliar 'and. strikinsr being- Mtof Tfafal--•■par-;'- Square); 'Folkestone; ; 'Brighton,' • Bournemouth,'-and other' English' 'towns;---also aerial.views of Paris, ~;the- ruins of ■ ' j '' was • left of Paesohe-n-i -' \daelo ;■ and of places as far away'as. {ho - : -. mH;< 'V.M-iot» phases of military aviation are also re- ; . presented by. photographs, many, of "which , ;:- are of quite exceptional , novelty and In-. '. .torest; indeed, it.may.bo.safely.-.said that. in>no : . other, book on aviation ryet pub- - has sorich-.and interesting a 'gnlr : lery of .aerial-photography been present- : ed. ■_ Quito, apart .from the.', practical -.value of.. Jfr.- Thomas's- examination of-'K-.-thpr-fuhire oi.:aerl,al transport, .-his boolf' sbould find .a.'place, in public ll-brary-as being the,best'-popular work on aviation eenfcraUy.thnt; has y.ot been pub-,A;-.:lished." (Price 375. Gd.) ..'■ ; 4

.''The .Threefold. State."., ' : v ,• "Tho -Threefold"-State: the Trua Asnect of this Social Question" (Georga Allen and Unwin),- Dr. Rudolf Steiner'j ■h well-known, German; writer who has '4 long list- of philosophical .-and; sociologi'- 1 . oal studies - to his ; .cre<Jit, r contends/thatthe. real .cause 6f..the .preserit-day, .social ' unrest' is ' to" W found Lin! Cthe lack • >of any "spiritual*' tradition and emrit in the modern proletariat, which he says is purely "scientific"--, by >which ;Dj\"Stteiner would : seeni to iniply materialistic, in its . aims arid- objects. It is -tOo" much with what are styled "economic", considerations. To view the" problems' of' Society from the economic * standpoint is. llie- Contends. 'eminently iinJ sound harmful. In "The Threefold State,"., social life ■ would be i composed ' : :iot ■ only. of the. :economio. ; element: 'but'' '■the political (thflvcivicor "equity").state, '' . and - •the": spiritual -,element wonld,' also I'be represented/:,'. When 'the author; uses the"Word 'spintual; he, does not; .so 'tho translator reminds'us. Tnean "the vaeue-. ly emotional and' transcendental," but " rather "intellect,"'the. "intellectual life of the mind'- and • spirit"—Geistleben is the' German terra—or. personal ; Dr; Steiiier-argues against.the treatment "•of labour -as a commodity, holdinu this to" be'-'a purely- economic ; theory,.' butj .. on the other-. hanil, - he' advocates tho "liberation of capital." " He "declares tliat'"the equity state" that ist the ijolitical or civic" state:" "must'not prevent ■ tho fortaition'and'control-of private property in capital go long as"tho' conjiecv tion' between 'the 'capital' bases*, and the individual ability remains such that theprivate control implies a service- to the whole'body social;" 'He wishes to see' a ", complete.. '"break-up •of . wage rela*;tion&," 1 and' the -siisbtitution 'of' ''tf new ." contractual' relation between.' the' Head ;of 'the.b i usiness' i and the 1 worker,'ili con .junction Willithe' whole* Organisation ;of< 1 the community." ' Not 1 the least interesting. chapter in a. book, '• which; though /scarcely; to be considered' easy ■ reading-,- ' is a most ffiongjiiftil'' anfl' thdught-inspir. v rot; .survey of present-day -social'problems, is that .in which tho author' deals . with the possibilities, under "The Tliree- ■ fold State" of, if not a general' pacili- ■ cation Of.' the .lyorld, at least a marked advance in and saner set•rtlement of .international ; disputes!; Dh ' Steiner's work,'., which' has' been translated into several European' langu'age*-' ; over. 100,000 copies .liaviiigV it is*claimv ed, been sold, on the Continent—is bound '.to .create -much interesting - discussion'.-: It is-important' that all who read this ■ peculiarly,; stimulating and in i -many ways very 'remarkable. book, should carefully pelru3e ..the translator's'' remarks / upon- the.,differences, between, English ' and German meanings of various-terms" employed in the original arid in tho English version hore | presented. (Price, Gs. ' 6d.) -