The Spring Drive" of Books (Continued) Fiction." After citing the names of American novelists who have done memorable work, Professor Canby asks: "Is there finer workmanship in American painting or American music or American architecture than can be found in American novels by the reader willing to search and discriminate? A contemporary poet confessed that he would have rather written a certain sonnet (which accompanied the confession) than have built Brooklyn Bridge. One may doubt the special case, yet uphold the principle. Because a novel is meant to give pleasure, because it deals with imagination. rather than with facts and appeals to the generality rather than to the merely literary man or the specialist, because, in short, a novel is a novel, and a modern American novel, is no excuse for priggish reserves in our praise or blame. If there is anything worth criticising in contemporary American literature, it is our fiction." If fiction is, as we believe, truly an art, then it must have diverse modes of expression. The old battle between realist and romanticist had only one reasonable conclusion that there was a place for each, and even a place for a combination of the two, the unities to the contrary notwithstanding. No one has expressed this better than De Maupassant, a marvelous short-story writer but a weak novelist. In a preface to one of his not very successful attempts at a novel he wrote: The public is composed of numerous groups that ery out to us: "Comfort me; "Amuse me;" "Touch my sympathies;" "Make me sad;" "Make me dream;" "Make me laugh;" Make me shiver;" "Make me weep;" "Make me think." 66 Some chosen spirits alone ask of the artist: "Make something beautiful, in the form which suits you best, according to your temperament." The artist essays, succeeds or fails. The critic ought to judge of the result only by the nature of the effort: he has no right to take account of tendencies. Thus after the literary schools which have sought to give us a deformed, superhuman, poetic, tender, charming, or superb vision of life there has come a realistic, or naturalistic, school, which professes to show us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. These different schools of art must be accepted with equal interest, and the works that they produce must be judged solely from the point of view of their artistic value, admitting a priori the general ideas which gave birth to them. To deny the right of an author to compose a poetic work, or a realistic work, is to seek to force him to modify his temperament, to reject his originality, and not to allow him the eye and the intelligence which nature has bestowed on him. This is a true view of an art which has largely taken the place of the epic and the printed drama. Its cruder days in America have disappeared. If at the moment we have no effulgent geniuses, we have a great deal of honest, conscientious effort to portray life, to study motive, to create characters. To quote Professor Canby again, "We cannot afford to patronize these novelists as our ancestors did.” As the stir of this spring book season blossoms out in announcements, reviews, and teeming book-shelves, that most uncertain but most powerful of critics, Mr. General Reader, will find much to please his fancy and not a little also (we hope and, from present indications, are, indeed, confident) that is worthy because its literary quality is abreast with its subject-matter. The meretricious and the flashy pass quickly; but of next year's ten thousand books many will become literature and abide with us. THE ABINGDON PRESS GOOD BOOKS HILE spring still slumbers beneath winter's cloak there is ample time to find pleasure and intellectual profit in the genial philosophy, the kindly humor, the stimulating fiction of the printed page. A catalog of THE ABINGDON PRESS will help you choose the most select of its recent publications. Here are a few of them. GIANT HOURS WITH POET-PREACHERS By WILLIAM L. STIDGER Brief, suggestive and inspirational studies of nine modern poets-four American and five English. The author's purpose is to interest his readers in those of whom he writes and in their ethical and spiritual messages. Mr. Stidger writes con amore. He knows and loves these Poet-Preachers, and would have others know and love them too. A book wholesome and tonic in quality. 12mo. 129 pages. Cloth, gold top. THE PSALMS AND OTHER SACRED WRITINGS By FREDERICK CARL EISELEN A finely balanced and very valuable discussion, with all sides of the question stated, and the various schools of thought fairly and equitably represented. The book will be warmly welcomed by those who would understand the circumstances in which these books were written, their underlying theme and content, and their spiritual message. Crown 8vo. 348 pages. Cloth. Net, $1.75, postpaid. THE CONFESSIONS OF A BROWNING LOVER A fine interpretation of the message of Browning to our time. Believing that Browning is primarily an artist, the author holds that both by intuition and inspiration he is a philosopher and a theologian and that his teachings are of the highest order. Agnosticism and materialism are met and answered. Dr. Powell's chapter on Immortality is unusually helpful. Crown 8vo. 248 pages. Cloth. Net, $1.00, postpaid THE MAYFLOWER PILGRIMS DR. CARPENTER has given a popular and highly interesting account of early New England days. True to history, the rugged and heroic life of the Pilgrims takes new beauty and power under the author's skilful handling. In view of the Tercentenary of the landing of the Pilgrims, this volume is most timely and will surely help to an understanding of the spirit and purpose of the sturdy pioneers to whom the nation owes so much. 12mo. Illustrated. Cloth. 256 pages. Net, $1.50, postpaid. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL AND HOME AGAIN By F. W. BOREHAM A most suggestible person is this Tasmanian essayist. To him every event and object is suggestive; wherever his glance strikes it ricochets to something else. For suggestive, original and striking ideas and putting of ideas there is nothing better than The Other Side of the Hill. 12mo. Cloth. 274 pages. Net, $1.25, postpaid. OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS Charming, intimate, and true to life are these descriptions, for the author has lived in close proximity to birds and animals, and shares their secrets. The stories he tells are vivid and fascinating, and many unusual photographs add to the value of this unique nature book. Crown 8vo. Illustrated. 210 pages. His Daughter. By Gouverneur Morris. Charles In this volume of the handsome edition of Pinero's plays the two dramas by which he is best known to the public are presented. In reading them one realizes why Sir Arthur has often been called "the play KANSAS CITY SAN FRANCISCO PORTLAND, ore. wrights' playwright," for the deftness of their construction and the balance between action and dialogue are even more evident than on the stage Lost Naval Papers (The). A Story of the Secret Service. By Bennet Copplestone. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. $1.50. As the title indicates, these short stories tell of the tracing of spies who infested the British naval service. In Dawson, the Scotland Yard spy-hunter, the author has invented a worthy successor to Sherlock Holmes. Tree of Heaven (The). By May Sinclair.. The Macmillan Company, New York. $1.60. In literary workmanship Miss Sinclair's new novel is on a high level. It has evidently at once attracted the attention of those readers of fiction who distinguish 66 The New Books (Continued) between the ephemeral and careless tale Contact!" is the Cry made to sell and the carefully wrought out that sends them droning up to the roof of the world to face the wicked tut, tut, tut," of the machine-guns of the Hun flyers. Capt. Alan Bott ("Contact") has written no technical description of aeronautics but the true story of the amazing day-to-day lives of the airmen of the Allies. It lifts the heart to read novel of character and situation. The book Spies and Submarines the book is dull or doleful, but one would like to see a little more of courageous incen- HISTORY, POLITICAL ECONOMY, AND POLITICS The collected addresses and state papers of the two new volumes is made up of Mr. Short History of Rome (A). By Guglielmo This book, Dr. Ferrero says, has been vanced students. Its leading ideas are those ESSAYS AND CRITICISM RABBITS Confessions of a Browning Lover (The). A PROFITABLE SIDE-LINE OCCUPATION Tells how to provide for the shortage in meat. Our book: The Rabbit; How to Select, Breed and Manage the Rabbit and Belgian Hare for Pleasure or Profit," by breeders of long experience with rabbits. Eighth edition, nicely illustrated, enlarged and much improved. Price 25 cents with sample copy of the AMERICAN POULTRY ADVOCATE containing Rabbit and Pet Stock Department. POULTRY ADVOCATE, Dept. 314, Syracuse, N. Y. By John Walker Powell. The Abingdon Press, Some Modern Novelists. Appreciations and The Novelists of Yesterday here included The New Books (Continued) and Henry James. The Novelists of ToDay are Howells, Phillpotts, Bennett, Galsworthy, Conrad, and Edith Wharton. The unity of the book is remarkable in view of the fact that the chapters, or most of them, originally appeared as review articles. This unity shows that the authors have really been successful in describing each writer "in terms of what is most central and essential in him," and in showing "how that in turn is integral with modern living and thinking." The introductory essay about the general tendency of the novel in English is capital. TRAVEL AND DESCRIPTION Desert (The). Further Studies in Natural Appearances. By John C. Van Dyke. Illustrated. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. $2. "One begins by admiring the Hudson River landscape and ends by loving the desolation of Sahara." So says the author in his preface. His following chapters tell of the wonderful color, form, and life that the real lover of the desert finds amid this "desolation "-particularly in the American Desert, which the book describes. Professor Van Dyke sees the beauty, the fascination, the solemnity of the desert with the eye of a poet and tells of them with a graphic charm that makes his reader long to share his experiences. Virgin Islands of the United States of America (The). Historical and Descriptive Commercial and Industrial Facts, Figures, and Resources. By Luther K. Zabriskie. Illustrated. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. $4. Our new Caribbean possessions, consisting of about fifty islands formerly designated as the Danish West Indies, are interestingly described and illustrated in this book, which will take its place as an authoritative account of the islands. It will rouse the interest of the tourist, give valuable information to the business man, and be of practical use to the historian or statistical investigator. WAR BOOKS At the Serbian Front in Macedonia. By E. P. Stebbing. Illustrated. The John Lane Company, New York. $1.50. This valuable volume unfortunately lacks an index. It is of moment to students of current war history, for it describes in informative detail the Allies' operations in Macedonia. The author went to Salonika as Transport Officer to a unit of the Scottish Women's Hospital, and in that capacity saw much actual fighting. His tribute to the work of the women to whose unit he was attached is certainly well-merited. His descriptions are vivid. In particular he brings out the fact, not always realized, that, good as has been the British, French, and Italian work in Macedonia, the capture of Monastir was primarily due to the Serbian troops. Collapse of Superman (The). By William Roscoe Thayer. 'Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 60c. This little book of seventy-five pages is a case of much wisdom in a small space. Mr. Thayer punctures the myth of German superiority, and shows that even in the war the German army has proved itself inferior to the arms of England and France, both in military generalship and in fighting qualities. The victories it has won are almost wholly due to the fact that it spent in preparing for this war the forty years which its neighbors were spending in peaceful development. We recommend the book as a tract to be given to any pro-German who is not yet disabused of the idea that German Kultur ought to rule the world. Tare HE Pullman car employees are in a distinctive sense the representatives of the Company. They are continually on dress parade; their conduct is a matter of supreme importance. Each Pullman car has its porter, and on every train is a Pullman conductor, in charge of all porters on the train. Either is at your service throughout the journey for information or to supply any special wants within his power. Courtesy and thoughtful attention are among the most important things that the Pullman Company has to sell; and they must be of high quality. A careful record is kept of the manner in which each employee does his work; and rewards of extra pay are given for perfect records. It is noteworthy that twenty-five per cent of the eight thousand porters in the Pullman employ have been for over ten years in the service of the Company; and some have been in its employ for forty years. Pensions are provided for men retired from active service and provision is also made for sick relief for all car employees. There are no rules for passengers save those which conduce to the comfort of all travelers; but the rules for employees, made in the interest of the passengers, are many and minute. THE PULLMAN COMPANY Chicago THE NATION'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS Believing that the advance of business is a subject of vital interest and importance, The Outlook will present under the above heading frequent articles treating some phase of the country's commercial development. These articles will be educational in character and will set forth in a comprehensive way the industrial upbuilding of the Nation. They are designed to be of service to readers of The Outlook, and inquiries in regard to industrial subjects will be answered by letter or in these pages. All letters of inquiry should be addressed to the Industrial Editor of The Outlook, 381 Fourth Ave., New York. WAR-TIME BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING E VEN in normal peace times the question has been frequently asked, "Is advertising justifiable as an economic factor?" or, conversely, "Does not advertising represent an economic waste?" Advertising has been attacked by many otherwise well-informed business men as a selling expense which frequently brings about a higher selling cost and resulting higher prices to middleman, dealer, and ultimate consumer. If such a condition could be proved in peace times, much, if not all, of the current advertising expenditures would be open to condemnation. And under war conditions, with the everpresent necessity of rigid economy and saving and the demand for a careful scrutiny of all sources of expenditure, advertising must clearly prove its case or be quickly eliminated as a factor in the distribution of goods. Stripped of all verbiage and defined in the simplest terms, what is advertising? It is frequently regarded as a mysterious force which may be employed to revive suddenly a sick business or to increase magically the profits of a going one; or, on the other hand, it may represent a large expenditure for "copy" prepared by a self-styled "expert," which is inserted in large space in the newspapers and magazines with an appalling lack of results. But there should be nothing strange or mysterious about advertising. Proper advertising is nothing more or less than "news" told in a straightforward and convincing manner. It is based on a practical application of the most obvious traits of human nature. People demand and must have news. The head of the household eagerly reaches for his morning paper at the breakfast table. His first thought is for interesting, up-to-the-minute news. The mistress of the house looks over the paper a little later, first scanning the headlines perhaps, and then turning to the daily advertisements of the leading stores. These announcements are as much news to her as a headline telling of the sinking of another steamer or a fresh air raid on London. She finds that one store is conducting a sale of table linen, that another has certain bargains in dress goods, and each advertisement, if properly prepared, carries a distinct news message to the readers of the paper. In the evening the husband may pick up his favorite magazine and read the news of a new motor car, or a new cord tire for his old one; or he may turn the page and find his memory suddenly refreshed concerning the pressing need of a new hat or a pair of garters. All this is truly news told simply and convincingly and serving to bring different N.B.C.GRAHAM CRACKERS Vary The Breakfast Menu Breakfast in the average home is a most monotonous meal-the same foods are served morning after morning, with little or no variety. Surprise your family tomorrow morning. Instead of the breakfast food you usually serve, try N. B. C. Graham Crackers with milk-perhaps some of the family will want the milk hot. N. B. C. Graham Crackers supply abundant nourishment besides being appetizing. Sweetened enough in the making they require no sugar. Already cooked, they save trouble and are easy IN ER SEAL OATMEAL CRACKERS Here is Something That Will Put New Zest Into Breakfast A few N. B. C. Oatmeal Crackers broken into a bowl and just covered with hot milk or cold, rich cream, make a breakfast food that most everyone will like. Oatmeal in its most delicious form, these N. B. C. Oatmeal Crackers also possess a flavor and goodness that is delightfully different. Sugar is saved, as the crackers are already slightly sweet. Always crisp, fresh and ready to serve, they save minutes in the morning and help you get breakfast ready on time. THE OUTLOOK SCHOOL BUREAU announces that it is prepared to give information concerning all types of schools, viz., preparatory schools, colleges and academies, schools for music, art and the drama, vocational schools, correspondence schools, special schools, etc.—and this information is furnished gratis to our readers. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of selecting the right school for your boy or girl, and a great deal of time and careful thought should be given to a perusal of school catalogues and other data relative to the schools you are especially interested in before making a definite decision. Wherever possible a representative of The Outlook, who is in charge of this work, has made a survey of the schools, and will thus give you the benefit of these personal visits. If you will let us know the type of school you are interested in, the age and sex of your child, and any other data which you think will aid us in making our suggestions, we will gladly see that complete information and literature are sent you. SCHOOL BUREAU, The Outlook Company, 381 Fourth Ave., New York War-Time Business and Advertising (Continued) commodities directly to the attention of those who need them at the moment. A successful newspaper must establish and maintain a reputation for truthfulness. Its news must be dependable, concise, and authoritative. Its news must be rendered periodically, generally every day. Advertising news must also be truthful and dependable. The best advertisement gives an immediate conviction of truththat the goods are as represented. False advertising, like false news, brings about the ultimate downfall of the institution behind it. And certain institutions, like certain newspapers, establish a firm reputation for truth and fair dealing through their "news" articles, and thus attract to themselves a steady and ever-increasing clientele. Advertising may therefore be regarded as the most direct and cheapest short cut from the producer to the consumer. But you and I and our next-door neighbor who make up that variable quantity known as "the public" are extremely fickle and forgetful. How many of us remember the incidents of the first days of the German invasion of Belgium, or even the names of those gallant Belgian towns which halted the first sweep of the German hordes towards Paris? It is said that four men out of five will stop and hesitate before naming the Vice-President of the United States. Many of us recall the character "Sunny Jim," but how many can tell what commodity he represented? Even the most important events soon slip from our immediate consciousness and are recalled only by some direct reminder. This is particularly true concerning various articles which we buy and which have many competitors for our patronage. One article will quickly supersede another unless the first one is constantly kept before our attention by regular reminders. So advertising must be constant and regular-the news of an article of merit must be told without ceasing, for this is the cheapest and surest way of holding old trade and securing new. But now we come to war-time conditions. The great problem is not to find new buyers, but to produce enough to meet existing demands of our Government and our allies. Salesmen are called off the road, every effort is made to cut down consumption, prices go soaring, and production still lags far behind demand. How, then, is advertising justified under such abnormal conditions? The answer to this lies in the spirit and purpose behind the advertising and the market conditions governing the lines which the advertiser manufactures. American manufacturers have met the war situation in the most patriotic and whole-hearted manner. They are cheerfully meeting every demand made upon them by the Government, and in numerous cases have offered their entire plants for Government use. They have not hesitated to upset existing channels of distribution or to abandon established markets for the immediate purpose of supplying the needs of the Government. But in only rare instances has the Government asked for the complete output of any individual plant. Rather, it has divided up its warorders among as many different plants as possible in order that each may maintain to some extent its permanent trade connections. The Government recognizes that a general upsetting of business would bring about disastrous results, and that the welfare of the country, and even the success of the war, depend upon the preservation of our business life in so far as possible. Ameriean business is thoroughly patriotic; it |