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tjjiIN THE WORLD OF BOOKSTftit* Irarlet Emplrf.uThe Scarlet Empire,” by David M. Tarry i Bobbs, Merrill Co.), with itlustrations by Herman ( . Wull, ftsone of the latest books lo come to our table.One hardly expect# a story of the kind from Its author, who is the president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and tin* been brought into greatprominence during the last few year* by his uncompromising attitude toward organized labor and his advocacy of the“open shop/* Probably no man in the i niled States is more thoroughly bated by trades’ unionists, and yet as lie has taken pains publicly to atttrui, he is infavor of legitimate trades unionism and only opposed to its illegal method* and tn its exploitations by demagogues and leaders of the Sum Parks type.There is no reason, however, why this man should not writ** a novel to show what his ideas of that style of socialism, when reduced to its logical conclusion, would produce.The scene of this novel is laid in the lost city of Atlantis, which is discovered by a despondent man who attempts suicide by throwing himself into the water, but is rescued and restored lo consciousness by a surgeon who is a member ofthe fishery department of that city,is also as The Scarlet Empire. 11 isrescuer explain* to him that The Scarlet Empire is a social democracy, the mostadvanced form of government in history and a land of many laws. The first law which is brought to his attention is one Hunting the number of words which a man may speak in a day, and every cii i-zen is compelled to carry a verbometer which is inspected daily by the inspector of speech. On expressing his astonishment at such a law, he is informed that it is dangerous even to hint at a doubt as to the righteousness of any law. The majority rules in Atlantis, and the individual must obey implicitly, further, an unrestrained tongue leads frequently to crime and conspiracy, and moreover, it is n ot in con sona nee wit h t he f untlamen t a I idea of universal equality, which theDemocracy seeks to enforce, for one individual to talk more than another. People have no names in Atlantis, but are known by number*The initiation of this new member of Atlantis society into the social Democracy(a form of government, by the way, otwhich he had always been a most strenuous advocate), his experience with the grinding routine of universal equality, and his final escape from what had become a most unpleasant experience, air the framework upon which the author has built up a very clever satire upon the teachings of socialism. When one considers the purpose for which the book was evident ly written, the story, in spite of some crudities and in spite of its employment of many melodramatic devices, is one of great int« rest and will, nodoubt, cause a great deal of discussion. It is as nearly as possible the direct antithesis of “Looking Backward,” and many people will believe that it presents a much truer and more convincing picture of the(dead level toward which these teachings tend.rTThf «lrl lit Wit I Hug-.“The Girl in Waiting,” by ArchibaldEyre (John \V. Luce lt;3fc Co.), is an unusually bright and sparkling story ofEnglish life. It opens with a somewhatunusual scene, wherein a beaut iful young lady is discovered sometime after midnight seated on the doorsteps of a house in Mayfair, carefully attending her aged father, who has evidently taken too much liquid refreshment. They have apparently been locked out of the house andare unable to arouse the servants, and their * veniug dress makes tin* situation somewhat amusing to passers-by. One of these a young man, stops and ofVers to assist them to get into the house, which otVer the young lady scornfully spurns. He, however, persists and examining the surroundings, tells her how easy it would be to let himself down into the area, break a window and get in,and thus open the door for the stranded revellers. Somewhat amused by his persistency, she accepts this otter,and just as she hears the crash of the glass, one of her own servants rushes up with the key which has been left at the fathers club. Their house, however, is on the opposite side of the street, and tbit her they tie take themselves with nil convenient speed, and from her chamber window she watches the kind-hearted young man as lie i- inarched down the street by twopolice others on the way 10 be lockedup on the charge of burglary.This is a sufficiently startling introduction to hang any kind of a sequel upon. Of course the rules of fiction if not ot real life, require that the hard-heartui young lady should eventually marry thekind youth and live happily ever after, and presumably we can trust the author to bring about such a comfortable result; but, of course,complications must defer that to a considerably later period, and Lhese complication? arise from the fact that the father marries the owner ofthe hou**‘ which was burglariously entered, believing that she alone has the firmness of character to wean him from his one weakness of over-indulgence indrink. She is a reformer from the centre of Itefonuvillc, and not satisfied with the job which she has undertaken with the father, she decides to reform the daughter and every one else upon whom she may lay her hands. The kind-hearted young man, loo, is unfortunately I he only son of his mother, and she has undertaken to bringhitn up in the straight and narrow path, and his visit to London, where he was arrested, W;is almost the first time t hat he had been away from the protecting parental apron strings.But it is by no means our part to introduce the rentier in this article to the varied and multiform complications aforementioned, and we advise him to get the hook just as soon as he can and read it carefully. If is especially bright in its conversation, and, in fact, there is not a dull moment for the reader in it.
Newspaper Details
Pinehurst Outlook
Pinehurst, North Carolina, US
Sat, Apr 21, 1906
Page 11
Full Page
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Anonymous
SC, USA 28 May 2020
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