Ohio History Journal

BOOK REVIEWS

 

The French in the Mississippi Valley, 1740-1750. By Norman

Ward Caldwell. Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol.

XXVI, No. 3. (Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1941.

113p. Map, bibliography.)

The author has used for this study the rich photostatic col-

lection of documents relating to French and Indian affairs in the

Illinois country made by the Illinois Historical Survey. Most no-

table, perhaps, is his use of the expense bills of the western posts,

from the colonial records in the French Archives Nationales, to

analyze the financial basis of the French empire and trade in the

Mississippi Valley during the decade of the 1740's. The colonial

governments in both Louisiana and Canada, he shows, ran constant

deficits. Although the income from the post was usually adequate to

meet ordinary administrative expenses, presents to the Indians,

subsidies to war parties, construction of fortifications, and the

extraordinary expenses of wars (King George's) had to be met

by drawing against French exchange, and customarily overran the

annual amounts allowed by the crown. The expenses of Louisiana

were strikingly large in comparison with those of Canada, but both

were small in relation to the need.

The author's discussion of the fur trade does not alter in any

substantial way the conclusions in Innis's work of some years ago,

although the use of French archival material adds some interesting

detail. A great deal of light, for instance, is thrown on the volume

and character of the trading and mining through the use of these

materials. One wishes, however, that the author's material had

made it possible for him to study more extensively the economic

basis of the Company of the West Indies in relation to official ac-

tivities and to the licensed traders, especially after the return of

Louisiana to the crown in 1731.

The most valuable part of the book appears to be the discus-

(188)

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BOOK REVIEWS                     189

 

sion of Indian relations in Chapters IV and V. The problem of

French policy in dealing with the Hurons at Detroit is presented

clearly and the baffling question of the Jesuit, La Richardie's, re-

lation to the matter seems to be settled. There is a good analysis

of Anglo-French rivalry among the Ohio tribes, and of its con-

nections with the Chickasaw War and with the revolt of the Choc-

taw against the French during the years preceding the outbreak of

war against the English. Noteworthy, too, is the account of the

Indian uprising of 1847 which accompanied the growing British

trading activity in the Ohio country.

The author concludes that the French, in spite of Indian dif-

ficulties, were well able to hold their own with the English in the

critical beaver trade, and that they proved themselves superior to

the English in Indian relations. Yet, when he writes (p.101)

that although the French government gave much verbal encourage-

ment to the increase of population and to the development of ag-

riculture, but "practically nothing of a concrete nature was done

to meet these problems," one feels that the criticism is too sweep-

ing to be justified upon the basis of any systematic analysis of the

needs and problems of the French empire which the author may

have made.

The book is a valuable addition to the growing literature of

French and Indian history in our West in the eighteenth century,

and has particular interest for the historian of early Ohio. On

the whole it is well written, although faulty transition from one

subject to another occasionally obscures the line of thought in the

first two chapters. Occasionally, too, there is repetition, as in the

reference to a sedentary command at Detroit (p.43, p.53). Also,

selecting several topics at random, the reviewer noted a number

of omissions in the index.

Hiram College.                      HAROLD E. DAVIS.

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190   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Everyday Things in American Life. [Vol. II]  1776-1876. By

William Chauncy Langdon. (New York, Charles Scribner's

Sons, 1941. xv??398p. Illustrations, bibliography and index.

$3.00.)

The Story of Everyday Things. By Arthur Train, Jr. With il-

lustrations by Chichi Lasley. (New York and London, Har-

per & Bros., c1941. xi??⁴²⁸p. Illustrations, bibliography

and index. $3.50.)

William Chauncy Langdon continues his history of everyday

things, which was so well begun in his first volume covering the

colonial period, 1607-1776, published in 1937, with emphasis on the

home. In the present volume the emphasis is on transportation.

Americans, unified under the Constitution, were on the move,

building a nation. Of the sixteen chapters in this volume, eight

treat of transportation: river craft, roads, the Cumberland-Na-

tional Road in particular, natural waterways, canals, the role of

steam in transportation, and the reasons for the development of

transportation. The remaining eight chapters treat of retail trade,

newspapers, home-life upstairs and down, clothes and fabrics,

metals, agriculture and the celebration of a hundred years of prog-

ress at the exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.

While the author has done a creditable piece of work, he does

not by any means cover the broad scope of his title, for as one

reads, the number of everyday things not treated begin to multi-

ply in the mind. Why, for instance, is there no mention of churches

and schools? Then, too, the area covered is almost entirely con-

fined to the eastern United States. While many of the things of

the East and early days of the Middle West are common to the

South, the West and Far West, surely the everyday things pe-

culiar to these other sections cannot be overlooked. For instance,

there is not a word about ranch life, gold prospecting, or slavery.

They are American too!

The one-volume work by Arthur Train, Jr., The Story of

Everyday Things, similar in many ways to the work by Langdon,

achieves what Langdon fails to do. It is well organized and easily

used for reference, being divided into three parts: "The Seven-

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BOOK REVIEWS                    191

teenth Century--The Pioneers," "The Eighteenth Century--The

Colonizers," "The Nineteenth Century--The Builders." It is pre-

ceded by a Prologue, "The Day of the Red Man," and followed

by an Epilogue, "The Next Hundred Years." The first part pre-

sents in five chapters the life of "The Spanish: In the Wake of

the Conquistadors," "The French: The Domain of the Roi Soleil,"

"The Dutch: Burghers and Bouweries," "The English: The Ca-

valiers in the Old Dominion," and "The English: Pilgrims and

Puritans in Massachusetts." The second part is in four chapters:

"New England: The Merchant Reaches Out," "The Middle Colo-

nies: The Flowering of Craftsmanship," "The South: A Crop of

Leaders," and "The Young Republic: Eagles and Lyres." The

Third part, in four chapters, describes "1825-1860: The Doom of

the Craftsman," "The Westward Movement: Cattle and Gold,"

"1860-1900: The Machine Takes Over," and "Our Days: An

Age of Transition."

Since "the story of everyday things . . . is really the story of

houses, furniture, food, clothes, transportation and commerce" and,

"to a certain extent, the story of agriculture, handicraft, and indus-

try, community life and the life of the intellect, and amusements,"

as the author states in his Introduction, each chapter, following a

short introductory essay, is segmented into these categories, or

combinations of them.

This volume is a storehouse of information which can be

Found most useful in the home library, as well as in reference

and libraries. Authors will find it a highly prized source

book. A seventeen-page topical "Reading List" adds still more

to its value. Langdon's work has a two-page bibliography. Both

books are well illustrated with full-page plates and pictures

sprinkled throughout the text, and both have adequate indexes.

C. L. W.

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192   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Prelude to Victory. By James B. Reston. (New York, Alfred

A. Knopf, 1942. xvii??238??x p. $2.00.)

The old adage that a prophet is without honor in his own

country does not apply to James Reston and his native Ohio, for

last October this prophet was given the annual Ohioana award

for his volume, Prelude to Victory. Like the prophets of old in

the land of Israel, this modern prototype does not content him-

self with pure and simple prophecy but instead specializes in

scoldings and sermons.

It all depends upon the reader's point of view. If he agrees

with the writer then he will derive great satisfaction from these

beratings and sing amen to each and every chapter. If, on the other

hand, he is disposed to think differently, he may regard Mr.

Reston as just another one of those "typewriter strategists" who

knows ever so much better how to run the war than do those in

charge of affairs. The reviewer prefers to take an objective,

middle-of-the-road stand and concludes that although the general

thesis of Mr. Reston's volume is convincing he flies off on a tan-

gent occasionally and his passionate writing is often but a blis-

tering bluster.

Mr. Reston writes well, at times even brilliantly and always

with force, but throughout the book he acts as if he were angry

with his readers and with this perpetual chip on the shoulder he

hits right and left and even center without so much as asking

how the other fellow feels about it. He takes it for granted that

we are complacent and unready and drugged by false con-

fidence. He gives us no credit for doing any thinking on our

own. After a bit, this attitude becomes somewhat annoying and

challenges a reader to find flaws in an argument to which he

might otherwise have agreed.  It is questionable whether the

author wants to antagonize but he certainly succeeds in doing so.

(Perhaps we have been complacent and need awakening but an

alarm clock would have worked as effectively as a pitcher of ice-

water. The latter, which is Mr. Reston's method, is more apt to

make the sleeper angry than anything else. Yet, one must admit

that it does serve as a sure "getter-upper.")

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BOOK REVIEWS                    193

 

Here are Mr. Reston's provocative chapter headings: The

Illusion that Freedom Comes Easy (not all of us share that one);

The Illusion that Wars Do Not Really Settle Anything (the ques-

tion is rather how they do settle things); The Illusion that Time

and Money Will Save Us (we could argue that one a bit); The

Illusion that this is Entirely a War of Guns, Tanks, Planes and

Ships (as if we are so naive as to leave out the human factor);

The Illusion that We can Win the War with Our Second Team

(this is also subject to debate); The Illusion that the Facts Will

Speak for Themselves (on this we agree that they will not and

do not); The Illusion that Britain and Russia Are the Enemy

(the reviewer believes that this illusion is rapidly dying and our

victories on various fronts are hurrying along the death struggle

of this vicious bit of propaganda); The Illusion that It's Always

Somebody Else's Fault (of course our author is never guilty on

this score!); The Illusion that We Are Fighting to Get Back to

Normal (that all depends on what we consider "normal"); The

Illusion that Everybody Loves Democracy (we know very

well that is not true for we need not leave our own shores to dis-

cover non-lovers); The Illusion that We Can Do Nothing about

It (that is the most dangerous illusion of all). This last is the

best chapter in the book since it is more positive and to the point

and less in the realm of direct attack.

On the whole, Prelude to Victory is worth reading and worth

arguing about. If that was the reason for its being written then

the author has achieved his aim.

B. J.

 

 

See Here, Private Hargrove.  [By] Marion Hargrove.   (New

York, Henry Holt, 1942. 211p. $2.00.)

This funny little volume is presented to the public with a

vow by Maxwell Anderson. It is said that he read the manuscript

only on the insistence of Hargrove's debtors; it was their one

hope of any remuneration for all their furlough loans to Har-

grove. "Wait until my ship comes in and gets published," he

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194   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

always said as he ran away and hid for two weeks. Maxwell

Anderson allowed himself to be presumed upon, the manuscript

was read, O.K'd by the Army authorities, and enthusiastically

presented to the reading and laughing public.

Edward Thomas Marion Lawton Hargrove cut most of his

capers at Fort Bragg and rowdied around often with Maury Sher,

a Columbus, Ohio, soldier stationed there. Civilian Hargrove was

a young newspaper man who had always proudly gotten himself

into trouble. His editor happily gave him up to the draft, and

his sergeant not so happily received him. Even after his basic

training he still clicked his heels to the non-coms and forgot to

salute the brass hats -- but he must have done it all with an air

(or else writes of it in hyperbole) for the papers have recently

carried the news of Hargrove's promotion to corporal. He is

reputed to have spent more time on K. P. than most Army in-

corrigibles ever dreamed of. The reason Private Hargrove was

so regularly gigged during rifle inspection was that his nose al-

ways itched when his turn came, and he had to twitch and scratch

instead of salute and present arms.

Corporal Hargrove has written a healthy, honest book. The

civilian laughs at it because he is a civilian, and clumsy Army

situations are always funny. (That's why perhaps, Abbott and

Costello never look for a new plot. The audience always laughs

when the General is hit with a rifle butt.) The soldier laughs

because he is a soldier and the situations are so close to him

that he lives his trials all over again -- and he laughs this time,

instead of griping. Hargrove's story is a heartening reminder

that every cloud -- even a war cloud -- has its silver lining (and

Hargrove would add: "And all is gold that glitters -- especially

when worn by superior officers.") This book is a great morale

builder and should have found its way into many Christmas khaki

stockings.

A. H. W.

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BOOK REVIEWS                     195

Until the Day Break. Louis Bromfield. (New York, Harper &

Bros., 1942. ³²5p. $2.50.)

Mr. Bromfield's reputation, happily, rests on other books.

Perhaps a man of his literary stature can afford to turn out an

occasional "quickie" of a book, and enjoy movie reputation for

it rather than literary reputation. At best, Until the Day Break

is shallow action reading-well set, potentially powerful, but

weakly wrought.

Mr. Bromfield does know his France, and his picture of Paris

after the German occupation --  from what we can know -- is

actual and well corroborated. His people are colorful: Roxanne,

the American feather dancer; Nicky, her Rabelaisian Russian

lover; the Levantine D'Abrizzi, Roxanne's manager, who, with

Nicky, sets in operation a counter movement underground; Major

von Wessellhoft, the perverted Nazi -- and others; all these by

Bromfield's intention, should make rousing, inspiring reading, but,

somehow, the heart seems to have gone out of the story. Perhaps

the author seized on the setting before he had lived with his

people long enough. However it was, the effort is clumsy.

Bromfield's evaluation of the German is pretty dead-set and

generalized. To him, all Germans are -- and always have been --

dull, mechanical, empty-hearted. Every German is thoroughly a

Nazi; none of them has any natural humanity left about him. The

eunuch field marshal, caricatured as a "rouged pig" is made much

of. Even the love young Major von Wessellhoft bears for Rox-

anne is a sublimation of his warped passion for his governess

twenty-five years before.

It is interesting that Mr. Bromfield pictures the old France

not so much as a decadent nation as an outwitted, bewildered one.

This is respectful comment since the author lived in France for

many years and observed, first hand, French national character.

With the powers Mr. Bromfield has, his large and admiring

??eading public, the immense resources in experience and oppor-

unity that are his, it is especially disappointing that he writes

here so effortlessly. We have come to expect much, and usually

he gives it. This book is still romance, drama, adventure -- al-

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196   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

most another "Cask of Amontillado" in story -- but in extremely

short measure.

A. H. W.

 

 

Cheeah-luta of Balsam Grove. By Charles N. Willard. (Wash-

ington, D. C., The Author, c1941. 145p. Illus.)

This is a legend of southern Indiana, the story about a white

girl who grew up with the Indians. Her father and mother had

been killed by the Mingos under Chief Logan in revenge for the

massacre of some of their people. Tamianche, chief of another

tribe, had discovered her back of her home during the killing. He

took her with him to his own tribe and named her Cheeah-luta,

Dancing Sunshine. His love for her compelled him to move

down the Ohio River to escape any law that might make him give

her up. He found a small tribe at a place known as Balsam

Grove, on land which later was to be part of Indiana. Here

Cheeah-luta grew up with other Indian maidens. On his death

bed, Tamianche told her that she was a white girl. A soldier,

who chanced to stop at Balsam Grove, married her.

This story interested me in the simplicity of Indian life, and

I liked the descriptions of the country along the beautiful Ohio.

The story itself moved along very interestingly.

Columbus, Ohio.                      JANET WEAVER.

 

 

Blue Ridge Country. Jean Thomas. (New York, Duell, Sloan

Pearce, 1942. 338p. $3.00.)

This book gives a vivid description of the life of the mountain

people occupying the region extending from northern Virginia

through West Virginia, Kentucky, east Tennessee, western North

Carolina and the foothills of South Carolina, Georgia and Ala-

bama. Probably no more capable person could be found to handle

the subject than the author who has known and mingled with

these people for many years. She not only knows these people

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BOOK REVIEWS                     197

 

and their environment, but she has gained their love and con-

fidence, and has thus been able to interpret their life in a re-

markable manner. The book tells of mountain feuds, religious

customs, superstitions, legends, singing, social life. The book

closes with a chapter telling of the great changes which have come

about in recent years, with the building of roads, park areas,

T. V. A. development and the bringing of the outside world into

this region which has maintained its originality for generations.

The author is the originator of the American Song Festival,

held annually in northeastern Kentucky, some twenty miles south

of Ashland, the author's home. She has collected a vast amount

of original material invaluable for a study of this unique con-

tribution to American life.

Blue Ridge Country is one of the volumes of the American

Folkways series, edited by Erskine Caldwell.

 

 

 

Songs of Yesterday.   Philip D. Jordan and Lillian Kessler.

(Garden City, Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc., 1942. 392p.

Illus. $3.00.)

This book will be of interest to our readers both because of

its content and its authorship. The authors are both Ohio people--

Dr. Jordan being a member of the History Department of Miami

University, and Miss Kessler, one-time director of the His-

torical Records Survey of the Ohio W. P. A.

The sub-title of the book is "A Song Anthology of American

Life." In it there is reflected the history of America in the over

ninety popular songs of the day which are grouped under nine-

teen headings and portray social, economic and political conditions,

rural and urban life, tragedies, manners, juvenile life, the west-

ward movement and American patriotism. Each song is repro-

duced in facsimile of original editions, and each group is preceded

by an historical introduction in addition to the general introduc-

tion to the volume as a whole.

Some may wonder what served as the basis for the selection

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198   OHIO ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

and be inclined to take issue with it. It is likely, however, that

it would be impossible to make a selection satisfying to everyone,

and after the efforts expended by the authors, the reader should

be thankful that such a selection has been made and so ably pre-

sented by the editors.

The book has a place in the library, in the school and in the

home.

 

 

The C. and 0. Mounds at Paintsville, Sites Jo 2 and Jo 9, John-

son County, Kentucky. By Wm. S. Webb. With chapters on

Pottery by Wm. G. Haag, and Physical Anthropology by

Charles E. Snow. Reports in Anthropology and Archaeology.

Vol. V, No. 4. (Lexington, Ky., The University of Ken-

tucky, 1942. 75p. Illus.)

This report describes the exploration of two Indian mounds

of the Adena Culture which were located at Paintsville in eastern

Kentucky. It is of particular interest to the archaeologist for the

new light it throws on the customs of these prehistoric peoples.

Excavations revealed that the Adena peoples had built the mounds

on one of their own village sites and that only the portions of the

village covered by the mounds had been preserved. Thus the

opportunity was afforded to study the village life of this group as

well as the burial complexes of the mounds proper.

Circular patterns of paired post-molds were found under both

mounds indicating that houses once stood on the site. There were

also small circular fire-places or basins which apparently were used

for cooking purposes. In the shallow midden under mound Jo 9

were found twenty-one cremated burials. These burials were made

in the village refuse and had no direct connection with the mound.

Dr. Webb concludes, therefore, that ordinary members of the

Adena community were cremated and that only individuals of con-

siderable rank or importance were buried in log-tombs on the

mounds. The apparent scarcity of Adena village sites is explained

by their destruction due to cultivation and erosion. The shallow-

ness of the village debris, which indicates relatively short periods

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BOOK REVIEWS                     199

 

of occupation, would mean the complete destruction of such sites

by plowing.

More Adena potsherds (almost six thousand) were found

than ever have been reported previously, hence, Mr. Haag has been

able to describe more fully the characteristics of the several Adena

pottery types. Mr. Snow has described the fragmentary skeletal

remains and gives detailed measurements on one well-preserved

skull. His studies indicate that artificial skull deformation was

practiced and that two of the skulls may be classed as belonging

to the Centralid physical type.

This publication contributes a great deal to a better under-

standing of one of the important prehistoric Indian cultures of the

area.

R. G. M.

 

 

"Old Canal Days." By Burton P. Porter. (Columbus, The Heer

Printing Co., 1942. 471p. Illus.)

Burton P. Porter, "lawyer and retired entrepreneur," as his

prefacer, Miss Grace Goulder, characterizes him, writes of the

old Ohio canal days in and adjacent to Canal Fulton, Stark

County, where the author spent his boyhood days. That Author

Porter is fortunate in having a photographic memory is obvious in

the wealth of homely narrative which he records for that interest-

ing period of Ohio history.

In achieving outstanding success in his profession, Burton

Porter found time through the years to revisit the home of his

youth and to add to his amazing fund of reminiscence everything

which might be gleaned from old-time "canalers" who had had an

actual part in the epic of canal transportation.

The author of "Old Canal Days" makes no pretense of writ-

ing history. His objective has been solely to record a wealth of

homely, human interest scenes of the canal boat drama as he saw

and remembered it, and to supplement these with the recollections

of others while there was yet time.

"Old Canal Days" will appeal to those readers who are con-

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200   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

scious of the importance and the appeal of this phase of the de-

velopment of the Buckeye State.

H. C. S.

 

 

The Free Labor Movement, A Quaker Protest Against Slavery.

By Ruth Ketring Nuermberger. Historical Papers of the

Trinity College Historical Society. (Durham, N. C., Duke

University Press, 1942. 147p. $1.00.)

This history of the Free Produce movement is the result of

a study begun by the author in her college years, the first outcome

of which was a history of Charles Osborn who was one of the

leaders in the movement. The movement was originally supported

largely by the Quakers although never officially recognized by

them.  Others opposed to slavery joined in the work of the

organization.

This book will be of interest to Ohioans because of the

activities in the State. Mount Pleasant was the center of the

activities in Ohio, and the Ohio State Museum has the original

sign used in marking the Free Labor store in that community.

Mrs. Nuermberger traces the development of the movement

from its beginning in the early eighteenth century (although it did

not reach the stage of an organization until 1826). A chapter is

given to the beginnings of organization followed by one on "Free

Produce Becomes a Quaker Movement." She describes the search

made for free labor products and traces in particular the work

of George W. Taylor. The last chapter is devoted to "Propa-

ganda and the Press."

There is an appendix which gives a chronological list of Free

Produce societies, with date and place of founding and date when

last known. There is also a list of Free Produce stores, giving

place, proprietor and date of opening and closing. An excellent

bibliography arranged under subject headings is included with a

well-prepared index.

Mrs. Nuermberger has rendered a real service to those in-

terested in the antislavery movement and has given a history of

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BOOK REVIEWS                     201

 

one method of protest used by the abolitionists which has not been

well enough known in the past.

H. L.

 

 

Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan. Collected and edited

by Emelyn Elizabeth Gardner and Geraldine Jencks Chicker-

ing.  (Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press;

London, Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1939.

[xx] ??501p. incl. front., illus., music. $3.50.)

Miss Gardner's interest in traditional songs has extended

over a number of years during which, as a teacher in the Michigan

State Normal College at Ypsilanti, she secured the cooperation of

the students there to recall and record the songs they had heard

in their childhood. From this beginning a number of the students

(with several from Wayne University, Detroit) became enthusi-

astic fieldworkers who gathered singing games, songs and ballads

among their neighbors and friends. Among the students from

Wayne was Mrs. Geraldine Chickering who alone collected about

400 songs, which served as the basis for her master's thesis in

1933. Since that time Mrs. Chickering and Miss Gardner have

continued with the work which resulted in this well-presented

and very fine volume. Their collecting experiences are interest-

ingly related in the Introduction.

After making her study of the old songs, Miss Gardner

comes to 13 conclusions. One of these shows the importance of

a collection of this kind to the local historian. She says, "A study

of the songs and ballads of the present collection. . .shows that

they unmistakably reflect the historical background and the tra-

ditions of the people who have created and re-created them, and

in this way throw an interesting sidelight on the history of the

Southern Peninsula of Michigan."

The songs are classified under the following headings: "Un-

happy Love," "Happy Love," "War," "Occupations," "Disasters,"

"Crimes," "Religion," "Humor," and "Nursery."    A  number

of them have two or more texts, or versions. The volume closes

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202   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

with several useful lists: "Other Songs Sung in Michigan,"

"List of Informants," "Bibliography," "Index of Tunes" and

"Index of Ballads and Songs."

C. L. W.

 

 

Mrs. Parkington. By Louis Bromfield. (New York, Harper &

Bros., 1942. 330p. $2.75.)

The author has given a vivid picture of many happenings in

our land during the last century, by reviewing the life of Mrs.

Parkington. We see her first in her boudoir, arranging her hair,

and dressed in a black evening dress, ready for a family Christ-

mas Eve party. This perfect Christmas Eve with its big, fluffy

snow-flakes, helped make Mrs. Parkington reminiscent as she

went from flower to flower in her drawing room -- a room so

beautiful that she could not help being proud of it.

Her life had passed through many cycles during the past 83

years; she had much to remember. Her early life in a boarding

house, in the Grand Hotel, Leaping Rock, Nevada, was quite

different from the mammoth, gaudy home in the center of New

York to which one of the wealthy boarders, Major Augustus

Parkington, took her. With very little education, she had to pass

through many periods of change and development, but God had

endowed her with qualities which enabled her to become a cultured

woman, to speak good French and German, and to learn how to

use the wealth her husband, Gus, had left her.

One naturally wonders where the characters in the book

come from, for it is essentially a story of changing America from

the conditions of the economic and industrial world of the great

magnates and "big business" to the conditions of the past decade.

The story is typical of the American life of this period and

serves as a background to a better relationship between the former

standards of living and the present "New Deal."

Columbus, Ohio                 OLIVE ROGERS LINDLEY

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BOOK REVIEWS                     203

 

East Is East and West Is West; Some Observations on the World's

Fairs of 1939 by One Whose Main Interest Is in Museums,

Dr. Carlos E. Cummings. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of

Natural Sciences. Vol. XX. (Buffalo, Buffalo Museum of

Science, 1940. xviii??385p. Illus.)

This is a belated notice of an extremely intriguing book.

Under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Cummings,

outstanding American museums authority, undertook a detailed

study of the two great World's Fairs of 1939 in order to learn

what these might contribute to museum methods and techniques.

Assisted by a corps of museum workers drawn from every quarter

of the world, the author virtually dissected and analyzed a vast

array of exhibits in the New York and San Francisco exhibitions.

From the standpoint of museum directors and curators, Dr.

Cummings' volume needs no extended comment here. Every

alert museum person already knows and has profited by its con-

tents. It might be said, however, that the unbiased discussion of

the many mooted museum problems, most of which were left right

where they were prior to the author's contribution, is sufficient

evidence of the fairness of the investigation.

From the viewpoint of the lay reader and scholar, East Is

East and West Is West is not so easily disposed of. These are the

words of not only one of the foremost authorities on the subject

of museums, but a classical scholar who does not hesitate to make

free use of current phraseology (slang to you and me) and who

injects a liberal measure of humor into his altogether delightful

text.

Aside from its value to museum workers, this is a book for

the connoisseur who prizes beautiful style, format, binding, paper

and type. The liberal use of excellent photographs and humorous

drawings does not detract in the least from this appraisal.

H. C. S.

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