BOOKS and BOOKMEN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17088, 17 July 1926, Page 9

BOOKS and BOOKMEN

TRUTH ABOUT WAR. GUILT. BURLY TO GEU.UAX PROPAGANDA Serajevo.— A study in the oibiins of the Great War. '.By I!.. W. SotonWatson. This is a masterly book, of the utmost political importance, written with all Dr. Scton-VVatson's moderation of statement and wide knowledge of facts. The question with with it deals—the responsibility of the (ireat War— is. as be says, "of burning importance in the Europe of to-day."

He meets and answers recent German propaganda, the object of which, is to place on other shoulders than German ones the guilt of causing the war. If that were successfully done, then Europe would promptly be confronted with a demand for the cancellation of the Treaty of Versailles and for the repudiation of the Dawes Scheme for reparation payments.

Much of the book is interesting as a detective novel—for example, the accounts of the exact circumstances in which the Archduke Francis Ferdinand

and his wile were assassinated at Serajevo and of the strange character of that Archduke. 'The Archduke's wife was shot by accident.

Princip (the assassin) tired firs I at the Archduke and then, seeing thai shot nad gone home, turned his revolver upon Potiorek (the Austrian commander in Bosnia, who was in the royal motorcar with the Archducal party). At this moment, the Duchess, realising that something had happened, rose in her seat to shelter her husband, while simultaneously someone in the crowd tried to seize the assassin's arm, wth the result that his aim was spoilt and the next siiot fatally wounded the Duchess.

The author makes it quite clear that the Serbian Government, despite the discreditable fashion in which it has neglected to answer and confute the attacks upon its conduct, had no part in the plot, A careful and minute oxaminalion of the Austrian and G.erniau documents further establishes the fact that Austria and Germany defeated even' effoit by other powers to divert, war, and from the first intended to destroy Serbia at whatever cost.

HAPPY VERSE. . / "The Southern Cross, or The World "Unseen,"' by Fairclie Thornton. In lier latest hook, "The Southern Cross, or The World Unseen," Mrs Fairelie Thornton, a Sydney lady, has written poems which breathe out the language of Faith and Hope arid Love. The old lessons of resignation, of the responsibility of choice, of the duty and dignity and blessedness of the service of man, are presented in pleasing song, which engages the heart of the reader:

When tilings go wrong. Then just a song Will help yon through the whole day

,ong; You will forget, , The care and fret And find life has some gladness yet. A song of praise, On dreariest days Will bring you through the darkest

maze; J last thou a care, Or dark, despair'' Un songs wings it will die in air

And here is another inspiring little poem :-- Jf .only j lufH. said that little word Which now, alas, can never more be

heard. It only I had done that little deed To help another in his sorest need. If only I had spoken words of cheer To bring some hope to one no longer

here. If only I had done that little deed Alas ! I did not see or understand. If only I could live the days gone by And bring some joy to those no longer nigh. K If only I could live my life to-day 'that no regrets be (nine when passed away. THE LURE OF TRAVEL. "Vanishing Trails," by Harrison Dale. Stevenson has laid if down that it is bettor to travel than to arrive; and one is sorry, after travelling with the author through the pages of this most entertaining book, when the end is reached. The lure of travel is with one all through, for Mr. Dale is a vivid and picturesque writer, who carries the reader with him, as it were, a companion on the journey. And, thought it be a long journey, it seems all too short.

These travel tales represent the recollections of incidents, places, and peoples, extending oyer a period of some ten years of a wanderer's life, and they claim to show the world as it is, rather than as it is occasionally painted. So we are given glimpses of life from the North and South, from East and West —"from all the seven seas and the four wide quarters of the earth; strange flowers gathered from distant gardens and from the highways and byways of this mad, sad, beautiful world." Yes, here are pictures of mad

ami sad tilings, as also of the beautiful things. The chapters on Grant. Road, Bombay, and on certain aspects of lite in Yokohama before the earthquake do not make pleasant reading, bu.l Mr. Dale is painting life fis it is. with all its pathos, as well as its pleasures. Among the places ho takes us to arc India, Egypt, Arabia, Ceylon, America, Franco, Greece.. Turkey, and Hawaii.

The author gathered his material - in the course of his travels on various vessels on which he was employed as a wireless operator. During the Üboat campaign his ship, the MarghJn, was torpedoed, and. with the captain and the gunner, he was captured and kept on the German submarine for four weeks, before being taken Jo the Brandenburg camp as a prisoner. The shocking treatment of the prisoners is graphically described. But at this camp the author fell in with an Aus-

tralian, for whom lie has ever since entertained feelings of iho highest regard. In the description thai is given of him, that particular Austiaiian should have no difficulty la recognising - h'iniselt\

Elsewhere l in the hook certain claims .which, the author heard certain Americans make regarding the winning of the war lead to one of the finest tributes to the Australian soldiers that have yet been penned. The two chapters dealing with the United States contain a good deal of hard, biting sittire. "1; is God's Own Country, and the Devil's Own Comedy," and New Yoik "contains more prudes, and crams more vice to the square inch than any other community." And again: "The principal imports are aliens and whisky, the former being, at the present time, strictly limited. . . The abuse of alcohol is a terrible thing, but it is difficult to conceive of a worse evil in any civilised community than compulsory prohibition."

FROM THE NEW NOVELS. "The world is full of people thristing to put other people right." —The Thousand Hands. Bruce Norman. "Woman in the abstract should always be a mystery."—Johnny Jones, Guttersnipe. J. M. Stuart-Young.

"Most men are slaves as lovers and tyrants as husbands." —First Love, Last Love. C. G. L. Du (.'arm.

"A girl with auburn hair, who knows how to use cinnamon-brown, can get her Iprsband into Parliament whenever she chooses. "—Ships That Pass in the Night Club).-.-. Gumoy SJade.

"When girls are fifteen men always think them pretty."—The Mills of Man. Marcollc Vioux.

"To a young man only partially in love the [appearance of his almostsweetheart can be very 'trying."—

Unresting Year. Alice Mnssio. "To foolish women thvra is no difference between an Opera .tenor and a ctemi-god." —Nets nncLGngos. .J. Morgan de Groot.

"DOLLARS COs'lAY* Edward IT. Bock, whose life story published a. short time ago proved ,„so fascinating to many r.-aders, has beer persuaded to write another book, which is issued under the title of "Hollars Only'," by the Cornstalk Publishing"'.Co. The' book belies its title, the whole force of the author's powerful argument going to show that it is not dollars but service which is becoming predominant today. Here are some extracts to prove

"It may sometimes seem as if the cold hand of money controlled the wprjd and ruled its mighty movements. But never has such an impression become uppermost but that a counter-current invariably proved that there are a great many persons in the world who think otherwise and care for other things. Thrift, a higlisr standard of honor, the keeping of a man's word, sobriety, a recognition of honorable dealings—all these virtues are becoming recognised as essential to social well-being. "Honesty exists in business in larger measure than ever. Welfare agencies have been introduced into business industry is not as hard and grinding as it was before. More and more emphasis is being placed not upon how much men are worth but what men really are.

"The wisest forms of wealth," says Emerson, are in expeditions that develop character and enable its'possessors to be of best service in the world." "On every hand we find men of affairs in increasing numbers in Hie ranks of movements tending to make life better. Tin; man totally immersed in business to the exclusion of any liner interests is beginning to be marked and criticised. in other words, there is a growing distinct comprehension that the business of a man's life is more than business. Mere possession is not counting quite so largely with some iwi\ as is did.

i "The ■ greatest word in the English language," says Bok, "is service. Not the service that serves self, but service in the true and intended meaning of the word—service that labors for the interests of others. The critic says 'ldealis--4,ic. '\ Not at all. True service to others is the only seryico, that is most profitable to ourselves. Take the man in the humblest position; let him fill the needs of that position simply with his eye on the clock and to his wage, and how far does ho go in the final analysis? But Jet him serve that position with an idea single to what can be done with that position, and for his employer, irrespective of clock and wage, and almost from the moment- that he begins such service; his head rises above those of his fellow men. It is always the employee who works for his employer rather than for himself who becomes in the end the employer himself. Service pays. 'He profits most who serves best.' Service seems thankless, yet nothing in (he lives of men is so fruitful of the largest returns to the server.

"f have only the greatest pity.'' says das. Lagan, an American philanthropist, for the man who reaches old age and has only to look back upon the things that lie did for himself and his own. Nothing in life matters much except tlit opportunity to be of service to others. "Another man says: That which affords a greatest, satisfaction as ho looks back over the course he has run and makes him feel that pel haps, short ;is it is, life is well worth while, is service. It is thfl most solid satisfaction in life' "

"Business li.iumphs make poor mem orials of men."

Similar thoughts are given in Mr

; Stanley Baldwin's book "Cti England," There have always been and, still are, 'he says, thousands of Englishmen ready to serve their country without hope of ; profit and reward. One of the sources of the* great strength of our country in ! every part, of the Kingdom is that there are men who have no personal ambition for themselves to get where Ih.i lime- ' light is brightest and publicity is greatest. And as long as our country can go on producing that type—which I. am j thankful to say it is producing from all j classes of the community —so long as ,' that is the case I should never despair ! of England;"