Ohio History Journal

BOOK REVIEWS

THE MARIETTA AND CINCINNATI RAILROAD, 1845-1883: A CASE STUDY IN AMERICAN RAILROAD ECONOMICS. By John Pixton. The Pennsylvania State University Studies No. 17. (University Park: The Penn- sylvania State University Press, 1966. 94p.; map, appendices, and bibliogra- phical essay. $1.00.) When spread out in detail on the pages of history, the difficulties which faced the builders of Ohio's early railroads seem completely overwhelming. First place among the difficulties probably goes to inexperience. The routes most in harmony with the promoters' resources were not necessarily chosen. The cost estimates often fell woe- fully short of the mark. Available funds seldom allowed for substantial construction or appropriate rolling stock or adequate shops, stations, and warehouses. Connect- ing railroads failed to furnish the traffic on which income estimates had been based. The frustrations, in a word, were many! The history of the Marietta and Cin- cinnati Railroad, which Mr. Pixton ably gives us, has as its hero a man who quickly stood out from among the other railroad men who were associated with him. Wil- liam P. Cutler gave the best years of his life, no small part of his resources, and all his boundless energy and zeal over to building and operating a railroad that really did not come into its own until half a century after he had helped to organize it. Two logical reasons for building this road made it seem like a certain success. First, Cincinnati "clearly" needed a direct line to the East, and also the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad equally as "clearly" needed a direct line to Cincinnati, still Queen City of the West. But logic failed before the difficulties confronted by inex- perience, and misfortune added to the railroad men's share of woe. Disastrously heavy rains washed out track and trestles; large amounts of scarce capital were

poured into an unsuccessful attempt to build a link to the Pennsylvania Railroad by way of Wheeling; and the panic of 1857 took a heavy toll. The chief misfortunes, however, sprang from what Mr. Pixton calls "implacable economic developments," namely, "the rise to economic precedence of northern Ohio and the [subsequent] eclipse of Cincinnati and St. Louis by Chicago." Mr. Pixton's book shows due regard for economic factors and other aspects of Ohio history pertinent to his subject. He but- tressess his work with several useful ap- pendices and a good bibliographical essay. The number of typographical errors, how- ever, seems excessive; an illustration that is inexcusable is the appearance of "guage" for "gauge" three times in one paragraph (p. 79). The map contains at least one error, and the writing is occasionally un- clear, Nevertheless, the story of this pio- neer railroad and its guiding light is well told and adds much to an understanding of Ohio's economic history. WALTER RUMSEY MARVIN Columbus, Ohio     GENERAL GRANT. BY MATTHEW ARNOLD WITH A REJOINDER BY MARK TWAIN. Edited with an intro- duction by John Y. Simon. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1966. 58p.; $4.95.) In his introduction to this small mono- graph, Dr. Simon, executive director of the Grant Association and the editor of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, analyzes well the circumstances and conditions under which Matthew Arnold wrote his article on Grant's Memoirs. He also as- signs several reasons for Mark Twain's rebuttal, one of which was that the latter was the publisher of the popular Memoirs. When the treatise by the prominent Englishman appeared, vivid memories still

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remained of Grant's race with death to complete his writings and American mourning incident to his passing had scarcely subsided. Thus the time setting was such that any ideas expressed which might detract from the victor of Appomat- tox were sure to create resentment, and particularly so if written by a foreigner. Arnold criticized the General for going "astray" in his use of language and for comparing unfavorably European soldiers with American. He stated that Englishmen regarded Lee, not Grant, as the hero of the Civil War and explained why some of his fellow countrymen sympathized with the South during that great struggle. He took Americans to task for their high estimate of themselves. Yet, this English author bestowed much praise upon Grant. He was "a man of sterling good-sense as well as of the firmest resolution"; he was modest, free from os- tentation and charitable toward his ene- mies. Despite his criticism of the grammar used in some parts of the Memoirs, Arnold found in them "a language straightforward, nervous, firm, possessing in general the high merit of saying clearly in the fewest possible words what had to be said, and saying it, frequently, with shrewd and un- expected turns of expression" (p. 13). Mark Twain's Rejoinder, given in a speech before the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut in 1887, included not only a defense of Grant's use of grammar but a sharp attack upon Arnold's alleged de- linquency in this respect. The reply un- stintedly praised both the Memoirs and its author. This little volume, though sur- charged with an unusual number of sensi- tive factors, nevertheless, makes interest- ing reading. HENRY H. SIMMS The Ohio State University     HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA. By Elwyn B. Robinson. (Lincoln: Univer- sity of Nebraska Press, 1966. xiv??599p.; maps, illustrations, bibliographical es- say, and index. $7.95.) The author is an Ohio-born and Ohio- trained (Oberlin and Western Reserve) his- torian, who has spent his professional career of more than thirty years as a member of

the history department of the University of North Dakota. Since the population of the whole state today does not equal that of the metropolitan area of Dayton, Ohio, the volume displays a sense of community and of intimacy which a work dealing with a more populous state could scarcely do. Geographers will applaud the author's efforts to show how the physical environ- ment, with the long winters, the hot sum- mers, and, for many years, the engulfing isolation, made an indelible imprint upon the people. The pioneer fur trade along the Missouri River, the organization of Dakota Territory in 1861, and the boom following the coming of the railroads in the 1870's are all a part of the story. The coming of many thousands of Scandinav- ians and others of foreign birth is also emphasized. Inevitably the plight of the farmer dur- ing the depression of the 1890's and then during the 1920's linked large numbers in the state with the Farmers' Alliance, Progressivism, Populism, and the Non- partisan League. Bitter experience had persuaded the people that they were being exploited by outside interests. The at- tempts at an answer, implemented by means of the Nonpartisan League, are carefully discussed in two chapters, "The Great Socialist Experiment" and "A So- cialist State in the First World War." The drought and depression of the 1930's and the vigorous leadership of men such as William Langer, Gerald P. Nye, and Wil- liam Lemke are vividly presented. Cultural factors associated with educa- tion, medicine, libraries, newspapers, and churches are also dealt with in consider- able detail. By 1960, Catholics made up 34 percent, Lutherans 48 percent, and other denominations only 18 percent of the church members. North Dakota had be- come, on a percentage basis, the most Lutheran state in the nation. In the development of the North Dakota character the author finds that ruralism and the large percentage of immigrants, as well as geography, were important fac- tors. In 1920, 20.4 percent of the people were foreign-born and 86.4 percent were rural. The book is remarkably free from errors, but J. Fred Essay (p. 533) should be J.

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Fred Essary. On the whole the volume contributes significantly to our knowledge of an important state of the agrarian West. FRANCIS P. WEISENBURGER The Ohio State University   THE   FIRST FIFTY     YEARS. THE CLEVELAND      MUSEUM OF ART, 1916-1966. By Carl Wittke. (Cleveland: John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust and the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. xiv+161p.; illustrations and index. $7.00.) With this volume the Cleveland Museum of Art joins the surprisingly small list of American art museums whose histories have been recorded in book-length studies. In the past neither art historians nor his- torians of philanthropy have displayed much interest in recording the annals of individual galleries. It is fortunate that the Cleveland Museum chose an accomplished social historian, Carl Wittke, to prepare a monograph which may serve as a model for other museum histories. As the title indicates, the book is a salute to the museum on the fiftieth anni- versary of its founding. Quite aside from this happy occasion, the Cleveland Muse- um deserves a history both for the im- portance of the treasures it has assembled and because of its significance as a living monument to American philanthropy. Al- though one of the few major art museums in this or any country which does not obtain direct support for operating ex- penses from public funds, the Cleveland Museum has long been famous for artistic and educational programs which have stimulated and attracted broad popular participation and support. As a building and collection, the Cleve- land Museum of Art dates only from 1916, but the fortunes which created it and the interest which inspired it reach back to the 1880's. Dean Wittke begins by sketch- ing the development of artistic activity in Cleveland during the nineteenth century and by outlining the financial and cultural backgrounds of the founders of the muse- um. The bulk of his text deals with the personalities and programs of the three directors, Frederic Alien Whiting, Wil- liam Mathewson Milliken, and Sherman Emery Lee, who guided the institution

through its first half-century. The closing pages pay tribute to Leonard C. Hanna whose gifts made the Cleveland Museum one of the most richly endowed of all American art museums. As is to be expected in an anniversary volume, the tone of the book is respectful. Controversies and differences of opinion and policy, however, are not slighted, but dealt with in a frank and seemly fashion. The chapter on Museum Management is particularly informative. The whole book is a useful addition to the still scanty lit- erature dealing with the progression of American cities from commercial and in- dustrial might to cultural eminence. ROBERT H. BREMNER The Ohio State University   GEORGE W. NORRIS: GENTLE KNIGHT OF AMERICAN DEMOC- RACY. By Norman L. Zucker. (Ur- bana: University of Illinois Press, 1966. x+186p.; bibliography and index. $5.00.) This is a good little book. It is not a biography although Chapter One does constitute a biographical sketch of the Senator. Rather, it is a thorough-going analysis of the Nebraskan liberal's views on six subjects: the party system, regula- tion of business, agriculture, labor, con- servation, and foreign affairs. On all of these matters the opinions of Norris were shaped by his unflinching belief in the ultimate wisdom of the "common man." He felt any attempt to abridge the freedom of the people must be resolutely opposed. The list of the statesman's contributions to the democratizing of American society is a long one: TVA, the Twentieth Amend- ment, the Norris-LaGuardia Act, and uni- cameralism in Nebraska. He fought for public ownership of public utilities and railroad companies, for public regulation of the business community, and for the conservation of natural resources. He was not out to "get" the special interest groups, but instead he sought to guarantee to the people rights, privileges, and opportunities which were naturally theirs. Few public figures in our history have touched the lives of so many Americans in so many places for so many years. Perhaps Norris was not an intellectual giant, and occasionally he may have either

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acted right for the wrong reasons or acted wrong for no good reasons. And maybe his nineteenth-century philosophy, which stressed the simple virtues, became out- dated in the mid-twentieth century. Yet, his public life remains a bright beacon to those who might falter in their democratic faith and serves to remind us that demo- cratic government can work even in this present day of doubt. Professor Zucker, who teaches political science in Tufts University, has put to-

gether a most useful account of the "Gen- tle Knight's" political philosophy. It is admiring in tone, but certainly not un- critical. In fact, one can confidently expect to learn, at the close of each chapter, that Norris made at least one mistake in every- thing he undertook. The literary style leaves a bit to be desired; but as a pene- trating study of the legislator's thought, this probably is the best book yet available. EUGENE C. MURDOCK Marietta College

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