com

HAVIN

bits of information "out of the débris of the morning."

ment and does vari

ous odds and ends about the shop.

S

We find ourselves having an ever grow

This shop is a rather pleasant place to be, and from our point of vantage we are able to observe much that goes on. When Edward Bok comes in with two of those attractive girls from the Fifth Avenue Section with whom he has been out on a shopping tour, when Royal Cortissoz comes in with his copy for next month, or when the budding young artist tries to sell the art director a set of drawings, we see them all. The only drawback to our observatory is that we cannot escape the hunting eye of the insurance agent or other person who stops in because he was struck with the altruistic idea that he might be of service to us.

ing respect and admiration for the Senator from Idaho. His new position as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to which he succeeds by the death of Senator Lodge, gives him increased power and prestige. His article, "The Republican Victory-What Shall We Do With It?" is a clear outline of what the Republican party must do to retain liberal support, and stands out as a document which is sure to affect administration policies.

From politics we turn to literature, and from Senator Borah to Joseph Conrad.

Mr. Galsworthy's reminis- From Borah cences are among the finest to Conrad things we have read in the great mass of material that Conrad's death called forth. And since we take no small pleasure in Mr. Galsworthy's own writings, you can see that we are liking this number of SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE pretty well. One particular delight is a vindication of an opinion of ours by Conrad himself. When, on the way to our observatory one morning, we saw the morning papers headlining the death of Joseph Conrad we experienced a distinct sinking feeling, and almost the first

thought that flashed through our mind was: What a pity that his last book was "The Rover"! And now we find in one of Conrad's letters that, to use his phrase, "The Rover is a mere interlude" in the search for another novel which eluded him. He died without achieving We shall always regret that lost novel. Mr. Galsworthy's intimacy with Conrad makes his reminiscences reveal a man who was naturally reticent in revealing himself save through his work. And we like his estimate of Conrad's work because it is also our own.

his desire.

New

for the Puzzlers

Albert Guérard adds a new word to our vocabulary by his title. Mesocracy is a good word. We're glad to Ammunition make its acquaintance. Dr. Guérard tells us that he has already received two excellent letters from historians regarding "The New History: H. G. Wells and Voltaire" in the November number. One from a modern, Carl Becker, and the other from William Milligan Sloane. Dr. Guérard says of the latter: "Although we belong to a different generation and a different school, I have great respect for him and was glad to have his good word. My! But he lets loose on the new historians! One is a 'smattering polymath'; another a 'professional charlatan." "

You readers who are good at crossword puzzles may be able to divine to

whom Dr. Sloane refers.

Dr. Guérard is now at the Southern Branch of the University of California. He has recently been delivering a number

of lectures on Anatole France.

ferred to as Capitalism. . . . So it occurred to me that if some one ventured to say something for the under dog, the poor old corporations and capitalists, it might be considered a contribution to the cause of justice.

John Weathers seems to us a good scout of a father rather than a representative capitalist. It is not often that one finds a capitalist (we mean a professional one who takes every opportunity to shout about socialists and bolsheviks) who is as tolerant as John Weathers. Many such fathers would prefer that their sons should not think. If the boys should ever have the desire to write for a radical journal published in Greenwich. Village, the parents would think of them as attacked by some dread disease, as having gone out of their senses, but never as thinking. The story stands on its own feet as an amusing tale, and is a good presentation of a tolerant view.

And here Mr. Edmund A. Whitman puts in a voice from his Boston law office where he has made a special Well, study of the railroad ownership question.

Who Do?

We won't steal his thunder by giving you his answer here to the question which he asks in his title.

We wrote to Mr. Whitman after the election and asked him what the prospects were with regard to the railroads in the next few years. He answered: "The rôle of prophet is never a fortunate one, but it is fairly clear that the recent election indicated that a wave of conservatism has swept over the country and that the Coolidge brand of 'common sense' is likely to prevail in the next Congress, with the result that that body will continue to 'muddle along'—to use the English phrase-without any important change in railroad legislation."

This magazine is becoming a source of information on how to live. Last month tire. Now Harrison Rhodes Judge Winston told how to re

tells how to be ill. These are

The Way

to Be Ill

actually two very difficult problems, because they involve mental decision. The philosophy of sickness is an odd subject and Mr. Rhodes has discussed it in an unexpected fashion. Mr. Rhodes has been spending the fall months in Venice, which is our idea of an ideal spot in which

several novels; he collaborated with Anthony Hope in the play, "Captain Dieppe," and is the person who dramatized "Ruggles of Red Gap" and, with Benrimo, "The Willow Tree." It is essays like this one by Mr. Rhodes that give one some faith in optimism, shaken as it has been for many years by Pollyanna. We have always felt that we had no dread of old age because there are so many books to read. And, if one could be comfortably ill, the same would apply to sickness.

"Old Farm" shows that Johnnie Weaver writes in English as well as "in American."

Howard is a product of the famous Harvard 47 Workshop course and is only thirty-two years old.

Incidentally, he explains that he called his recent book "Three Flights Up" because that was where he lived when he wrote the stories. When people object that the title doesn't mean anything because there are four stories in the book, he tells them that there were also four stories in the Lexington Avenue house where he resided.

is an important document:

of a Literary Comet

Sidney Howard is emulating a comet on the literary horizon, and about a threetailed comet at that. During First Flights the past three years he has written three plays and collaborated in one, translated or adapted five more, written an historical pageant, six stories, and three series of magazines articles, each involving a long and complex investigation.

His first play to be produced was "Swords." The one in which he collaborated with Edward Sheldon, "Bewitched," appeared this year, and now the Theatre Guild is producing his "They Knew What They Wanted."

Those who have read his "Three Flights Up," recently published, will be immediately interested in "Such Women

Two well-known educators go at the same problem from different angles in this issue. Frederick E. BolSeeking ton, who raises his voice for Ideals some training in the voca- Among the College Boys occupations, in "Idealism in Education," is Dean of the College of Education at the University of Washington. He was reared on a farm and has had experience in teaching in all kinds of schools-high and normal-and in four universities. He has studied psychology under Wundt in Leipzig, under G. Stanley Hall at Clark, and Jastrow at Wisconsin. Of his "Principles of Education" published several years ago it has been said "Bolton did for education what James did for psychology."

Dr. Paul van Dyke is interested particularly in education as it is treated in France and America. He is a professor of history at Princeton, where the students sing of the "van Dyke boys-Henri and Paul." "The Provincial Universities of France" is far from being a travelogue. It is a keen comparison between university life in France and that in America. In Dr. van Dyke's opinion the French have to work too hard and the American students do not have to work hard enough, which is true, and not altogether the students' fault.

the electron apparent. But he has mastered this and the even greater difficulty of explaining them so clearly that such people as we, who are possessed of a stubbornly non-scientific mind, can understand them.

Many followers of sport take the writings of Lawrence Perry as their Bible. It was back in 1919 when he Pugilists in predicted a Harvard victory Society that we in an iconoclastic mood took especial delight in calling attention after the game to the fact that he had just published a book entitled "The Romantic Liar." We suggested that it should be changed to "The Crimson Tide." As we look at it in impartial retrospect we realize that he was not alone in his predictions, and that in fact he really did the college a service. It is only when Grantland Rice predicts victory for our alma mater in the big games that she is certain to lose. Mr. Perry is now sports writer for the Consolidated Press Association. His novel presentation of fights and fighters in this issue is a striking commentary on the changed status of the sport.

It was not until after Edward Bok had paid his visit to the Fifth Avenue Section to which we made passing refMr. Bok erence above that we learned Pays Us a Visit that his contribution, "The President," was to appear in the magazine. However, we don't recommend that as a way to break into the

contributor's class in this magazine, for we have a notion that Mr. Bok spent considerably more than he received for the article. Mr. Bok's contribution happens to have the merit. If there is a person who needs no introduction to the American public it is he, but it is a little-known fact that he was once connected with SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE. He came to Scribners in 1884. Shortly after the new Magazine was started, in 1887, he was placed in charge of the advertising department. An interesting account of his relations with the house is contained in "The Americanization of Edward Bok."

The following about two of our honored contributors is priceless: The subscription book depart- The ment sent over a request for Professors information which ran like Wax Slangy this:

One of our customers, who is greatly interested in our Memorial Edition of George Meredith,

writes:

"Was it William L. Phelps or Brander Matthews who said the eighteen months given by him to study of Meredith's works was the most profitable eighteen months of literary work he had ever spent?"

Will you kindly advise us on this point? And it came back endorsed by these learned gentry as follows:

'Taint me!

W. L. P.

Not on your life.

B. M.

We should say that settled it.

An increasing number of requests from clubs and societies engaged in the study of American life, culture, and literature has led us to devote this space to suggestions for topics of discussion for women's clubs, church forums and societies, current events classes, and other organizations.

We are always glad to answer any questions concerning articles in the Magazine and their adaptability for club study. and to give readers other sources where they can find the information they are seeking, and to be of assistance in any way we can.

SUGGESTED SUBJECTS

1. Joseph Conrad. The reminiscences of John Galsworthy in this number are indispensable for any paper on this great writer.

2. Politics. Senator Borah's "The Repub

lican Victory," Dr. Guérard's "Mesocracy in King Log" in the next; Sarah Schuyler Butler's France" in this number, and "In the Realm of "Women Who Do Not Vote" in the November number.

3. America's Share in the Future of the

Pacific. Ramsay Traquair's "The Coming

Commonwealth of the Pacific" in the November number.

4. The Advantage of Community Trust Funds. Dr. Henry S. Pritchett's "A Tale of Two Cities" (November), Walter Greenough's "The Dead Hand Harnessed" (December, 1923). 5. Current Literature. William Lyon Phelps's "As I Like It" every month, Edith Wharton's "The Writing of Fiction" (Christmas number).

6. Modern Music and Musicians. William J. Henderson's "The Emancipation of Music" (Christmas number).

7. Painting and the Allied Arts. Royal Cortissoz's "The Field of Art" every month.