DEAR EDITOR: May I suggest in these columns that our English friend, Mr. H. A. L. Fisher was a bit too kind to us in his "America After Fifteen Years"? While no one will deny the importance of the developments to which he referred, it seems that he overlooked certain latent possibilities in regard to their effect on our society. Yet it is refreshing to find a foreign writer who is not hypercritical in his treatment of us. Perhaps inherent British modesty stayed his pen. Most certainly the movies and automobiles are providing leisure for our people! But I think the writer was inclined to overvalue our need of such pastimes, and what are more vital questions: Is it the right kind of leisure? Is such leisure better for us than the variety in which our fathers indulged? It is known that the prosperity and well being of a people is a function of the stability of the family unit. All forces, then, which tend to disintegrate this unit are most fatal to the underlying fabric of a nation. Not that movies and autos have not their place in the general scheme of our lives, but the writer's emphasis on the strength of the motion picture and automobile industries testifies to our excesses. Moderate indulgence is harmless, but gross excess in anything is degrading. How many young men who call on their girl friends ever think of spending the evening by the fireside? How many are there who meet and chat with the girl's parents? When the caller arrives, the old folks move out (unless the young man happens to be a particular "friend of the family.") The very word "date" is nowadays synonymous with "step out." The auto is responsible here. Then if it's not the movies, there are always the roads and dancing at the country club. And that brings up golf. Certainly it is not lamentable that this ancient and honourable game had been made accessible to the man-in-the-street. Yet it is almost a disease when Mr. M. I. T. S. spends his every Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon on the links, and often closes his office early during the week to go in pursuit of the little elusive white pellet. Darkness alone sends him home to his family. Perhaps I have been too severe. If so, it is only because I have been so impressed with these observations. Radio, it would seem, promises to offset these tendencies. With a proper control (a hopeless thing in light of Mr. Fisher's comments on our press) of what is broadcasted, what a positive element this might become in the edification of Mr. M. I. T. S.'s mind! University, Va. EGBERT B. FREYER. FOREIGN PHRASES A school superintendent protests against provoking his inferiority complex. DEAR EDITOR: The habit of using foreign phrases in sentences or of interposing paragraphs from a foreign language in magazine articles and books is becoming rather prevalent. The February number of your magazine has a paper by Cortissoz which is as spotted as a milkmaid's apron, and looks about the same. Gavarni's reputation has suffered thereby. The introduction to the "Journal des Gens du Monde" may be untranslatable but I know it would have been more intelligible to me if an attempt to translate it had been made. I wonder if I am unique in that respect? Even my good friend, William Lyon Phelps, has hurt my feelings by using several quotations in a foreign tongue, and thus, emphasizing my inferiority. To read a present day novel or magazine is like riding over a corduroy road in an oxcart. My antipathy to using foreign phrases dates from childhood, when, as a rather busy boy who desired to learn, I was chagrined by the number of foreign phrases which crept into the books of that time. Thirty years ago French was the favorite instrument with which writers displayed their erudition and impressed those who had limited linguistic aptitude, and few opportunities to cultivate the little bent which they possessed. After the Spanish American War we were bespattered by an outpouring of mock Castilian. This was followed by an influx of hybrid Dutch from South Africa. Kipling became the idol of the hour and homeopathic doses of Hindustani were administered. This was followed by the period of German propaganda when writers affected the phrases of Luther. Just before the Great War English seemed to be discovered and, for a short period, we were comparatively free from the discourtesy of foreign phrase. Now we are back to French and, I suppose, we shall complete the circle again; though possibly Don McMillan may popularize Eskimo. Why do writers use foreign phrases? Are they afraid their scholarship and cosmopolitanism may be questioned? The custom is probably a pure affectation which is screened by "Untranslatable" or "No Equivalent English Word." Yet each word looked up usually has an English meaning. Probably no translation can preserve the shades of meaning which the original possesses. However, it is equally true that a foreign phrase conveys no meaning whatever to a person unskilled in the language used. For many years your magazine has beguiled me from the day's work by its intriguing qualities. I have read its pages with both interest and gain. Usually, I have been pleased as well as instructed by your publication. But the growing tendency to accept contributions filled with foreign phrasescrazy quilts of affectations-tends to alienate my affections. Yet for the "old sake's sake," I shall probably continue a reader of SCRIBNER'S and await the day when writers will speak to Americans in English. Excuse this rather verbose letter. But for forty years you have kept me from my duties by the excellence of your periodical. As a reprisal, I am constrained to steal some of your time to administer a gentle, little chastisement. WONDERS BY TELEGRAPH Many of our readers have descended upon us for allowing Mr. Dickenson to get away with a postscript to a telegram. Here is a sample: DEAR EDITOR: I read with much enjoyment Dickenson's story, "Jonesy Gets His Swim," in your April number, but would like to know how one adds a postscript in pencil to a telegram! I always want to say more in my telegrams than my purse allows but I am all "up in the air" as to methods. M. E. CLAY. Dallas, Texas To which Mr. Dickenson replies: DEAR EDITOR: I intended writing you before to say how sorry I was and how surprised-to see the wonders I accomplished by telegraph in the "Jonesy Gets His Swim" story. The P. S. was an afterthought and, it seems, a mighty poor one. We throw ourselves upon the mercy of the court, but, after all, it was a good story, wasn't it? Among communications which we were unable to find space for are those from Miss Sarah Crannell, Albany, N. Y.; John E. Ayer, Seattle; Reverend Ernest A. Palm, 417 Alder St., Missoula, Montana; Ruby G. Smith, Ithaca, N. Y.; F. P. S., Carlyle, Ill.; Duane E. Fox, 902 F Street, N. W., Washington; B. M. R., 2109 Buena Vista Avenue, Alameda, Cal.; W. M. Lownery, St. Louis; L. H. MacMorran, New York City. THE CLUB CORNER Suggestions for Future Programmes from Recent and Coming Numbers An exceedingly valuable and interesting point of view on race, heredity, and sex is presented in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE in articles beginning in May and running through the succeeding numbers. They come from such distinguished scholars, thinkers, and scientists as Albert Guérard, E. M. East, and Ellsworth Huntington. RACE, HEREDITY, SEX "Southern Memories"-Sidelights on the Race Problem, by Albert Guérard, May, 1925. "The Last Taboo," by Albert Guérard, June, 1925. "Heredity-the Master Riddle of Science," by E. M. East, July, 1925. "Heredity and Sex," by E. M. East, in an early number. "The Chinese Renaissance," by Ellsworth Huntington, in an early number. "Minimum Standards of Australia," by Ellsworth Huntington, in an early number. AMERICANISM As a companion piece to "An Immigrant at the Crossroads," February, 1925, Stanislaw Gutowski contributes "Through the Mill of Americanization," to the July, 1925, number. POLITICS "Some American Women and the Vote," by Katharine Fullerton Gerould, May, 1925. "Recent Strides of Federal Authority," by William Cabell Bruce, U. S. Senator from Maryland, June, 1925. "How Free Is Free Speech?" by Robert W. Winston, June, 1925. "The Dead Vote of the South," by Gerald W. Johnson, July, 1925. Mrs. Gerould states that many women do not concern themselves with the larger issues in politics. It is a stimulating paper which all club women ought to read. And one step toward taking issue with her is the reading of Senator Bruce's able presentation of a conflict which is at the very basis of our institutions. Another is the reading of Gerald Johnson's very frank statement of one of the reasons that the political parties in America lack issues for women or any one else to become interested in. Judge Winston asks a vital question and from his experience as a lawyer and judge he answers it. Here is another large issue in which women should concern themselves. This number marks the conclusion of Mrs. Wharhave mentioned in these columns before. We list ton's papers on "The Writing of Fiction," which we above a few examples of outstanding work in current writing. Captain Thomason's description has received the enthusiastic praise of critics-among them, W. C. Brownell, Laurence Stallings, and Alexander Woollcott. This, his first published work, is in the nature of a literary discovery. It is without doubt one of the few distinctive pieces of writing that the year has produced. Excellent examples of the best in current fiction are these stories by Knowlton, Miss Stuart, and those appearing in the Fiction Number. EDUCATION, COLLEGES, "The Organization Complex in Our Colleges," by Ruth Steele Brooks, May, 1925. "College and the Artist," by Henry Rood, Febru ary, 1925. "Education-A Forgotten Art," by George Sprau. "The State and Religious Teaching," by Henry Noble Sherwood, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indiana. "President Vergilius Alden Cook of Harmonia College," by Carol Park. "Boys and Poetry," by Matthew Wilson Black. "Shall We Learn Foreign Languages?" by Mitchell Bronk. "The Morals of College Journalism," by E. C. Hopwood, editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The Stuff that Dreams are Made On," by H. C. Sproul. "Youth and Peace," by George A. Coe, author of "What Ails our Youth?" July, 1925. "Colleges and War," by Oliver La Farge, Harvard, '24, July, 1925. These articles range from serious discussion by educational authorities to a satiric portrait of a college president and the dreams of a young instructor. They present many sides of the educational problem and the problems which are affecting the home. All of them are to appear in early numbers, except the articles by Mr. Rood and Mrs. Brooks, which have already been published. The numbers in which they appear, if scheduled, are listed with the article. The articles by Mr. Coe and Mr. La Farge in next month's magazine deserve the consideration of all people, especially mothers and those who are more than casually interested in the prevention of war. Carol Park's portrait of a college president, while amusing, has serious intent. It puts up to all those who are interested in educational institutions the question of whether the present trend in the selection of executives is to go on and what the result will be. Many other articles on educational topics will appear in future numbers. Queries and communications addressed to the Editor, Club Corner, SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE, 597 Fifth Avenue, New York, will receive prompt attention. A notable array of new fiction, by prominent authors, is promised for early publication; this list includes: Edith Wharton's "The Mother's Recompense," a story of modern life; "The Painted Veil," by Somerset Maugham; Ellen Glasgow's "Barren Ground"; "The George and the Crown," by Sheila Kaye Smith; Michael Arlen's "May Fair," a sequel, more or less, to "These Charming People"; "An Affair of Honor," by Stephen McKenna; "Sea Horse," by Francis Brett Young; "High Noon," by Crosbie Garstin, author of "The Owl's House"; "Prisoners," by Franz Molnar, the celebrated playwright. Also a new volume of short stories by James Lane Allen, entitled "The Landmark." Among the new Biographies and Memoirs are: Maximilian Harden's "I The new volumes from Paris include: Gérard d'Houville's "La Vie Amoureuse de l'Impératrice Josephine"; "Le Puits de Jacob," par Pierre Benoît; Henry Bordeaux's "L'Amour et le Bonheur"; "Histoire de la Miniature Feminine Française," par Camille Mauclair; Fourreau's monograph on "Berthe Morisot "; Jules Bertaut's "Le Boulevard." Mail and telephone orders receive special attention CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, Publishers 597 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 10 10 In writing to advertisers please mention SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE THE FINANCIAL SITUATION-Changes in the Home and Foreign Position-Money Market Declines BEHIND THE SCENES WITH SCRIBNERS AUTHORS Published Monthly 673 FRONT ADVERTISING SECTION CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER, President ARTHUR H. SCRIBNER CHARLES SCRIBNER, JR. Vice-Presidents GEORGE R. D. SCHIEFFELIN, Treasurer 597-599 FIFTH AVE NEW YORK 7 BEAK STREET, LONDON, W. 1. Publishers of SCRIBNER'S and ARCHITECTVRE MAGAZINE Copyrighted In 1925 in United States, Canada, and Great Britain by Charles Scribner's Sons. Printed in New York. All rights reserved. "Thundering in the Index Is No Favor to Anybody" WE are indebted to Alexander Woollcott for this formulation of a sentiment we have always held. The rôle of the Thunderer has never appealed to us. We merely serve as a sort of index finger. Captain John W. Thomason, Jr., is responsible for our device, for it was in a letter from Mr. Woollcott to the editor anent "Fix Bayonets!" the leading article of this number, that it occurred. The dramatic critic, sometime enlisted man and member of the editorial council of The Stars and Stripes, discovered The Moved Captain Thomason through a letter the officer wrote regarding Writes.... "What Price Glory?" Woollcott read galley proofs of "Fix Bayonets!" and had this to say about it: Critic I think the story is magnificent and with the exception of "What Price Glory," I have run into nothing descriptive of the American soldier in the field which seemed to me so completely to recapture the smell and the flavor of the A. E. F. I think this man writes magnificently and if, in the Sign Post piece I shall write for the June Vanity Fair, I express that feeling mildly, it will be in the conviction that he will be best served by some one merely pointing to his article, rather than by some one who shrieks his praises in advance. Thundering in the Index is no favor to anybody. Perhaps there are those who will say that we are thundering by proxy. But let them read the article. Our little remarks will then be entirely forgotten-which is as it should be. Robert W. Winston has viewed the law at the bar and from the bench. Agitation for and against free speech is probably A Judge more violent now than at any on Judges time since the war, and the finger of the law pointing at editors is even longer than Miss Harvey has graphically suggested above. Judge Winston's "How Free Is Free Speech?" is a distinct contribution to the subject. The judge is the author of "North Carolina, a Militant Mediocracy," described as the sole optimistic note in the second volume of that interesting compilation "These United States." He is at present an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina. Albert Guérard, safe in the fold of the faculty of the University of California, Southern Branch, can with impunity put forward the result of eleven years of observation while living in the South, and in so doing "mention the unmentionable." That Jack-in-the-box won't be kept down. Doctor Guérard is French by birth and American by choice. He has become distinguished as one of the foremost liberal minds in the country. That unique race, the San Blas Indians of Panama, has been achieving the front page frequently. First, they appear as the tribe from which the "white Indian" springs, and then they revolt against Panamanian rule. Alfred F. Loomis recalls a most pleasant and interesting sojourn among them, and makes a few pointed comments regarding the part the United States may play in the dispute. |