Book Review
UBAXf REVIEWS
THE ABLE M'LAUGHLINB,
by Margaret Wilson (Harper*).
, By JAMES W. IJBA V
KEW YORK, Oct. 9.—The significant
note In new literature is the change
In attitude of author* toward inland
America.
Our cousins irt Minnesota, Ohio and
Iowa need no longer hang their heads
because of the ridicule poked at them
In "Main Street" and its contempora
ries.
es. ,
Authors hare ti.irn.ed the time of ac
tion back a generation or two and are
picturing the heroic careers of those
iV}10 carried civilization beyond the Al
leghenies. The provincial attitude of
authors toward the provinces has
changed to one of reverence.
Three of the six books of recent
months are "A Lost Lady, “r e
“Hawkeye" and "The Able MeLaugn
iins " In each of them pioneer charac
ters of the mid-west are molded in he
roic size.
Margaret Wilson won first prize In
the Harper prize novel contest and was
awarded J2.000 for "The Abie Mc
Laughlins." She competed against <50
other novelists.
The able McLaughlins were Scot im
migrants who settled 60 miles beyond
the end of a railroad in Iowa, a father
and mother and 10 children. Wully
and Allen, the oldest of the boys
fought with the Union army in tne
civil. Allen was killed. After that 1
was the brave Isobel McLaughlin who
sent. Wuily back into battle.
Isobel and her husband w-ere Scotch
Covenanters. Their day* began and
ended with scripture reading and psalm
MAK'JAKLT VVIL^UN
s’nglng, the smaller children often!
Jailing to sleep during the evening:
ceremony, thus being ready for bed. |
If Isobel were prouder of one child I
than another It was Wully. When!
Wully came back from the war he
married Christie McNair, a neighbor
lass.
The early arrival of a son dealt
Wully’s mother a heart-breaking blow.
"She was a woman who had sympathy
with the mother of Zebedee’s sons. If
she had been there with Christ, she
would have asked unashamed for four
places on his right, and for four on his
left, the nearest eight seats for her
eight sons. What dreams she had
dreamed for them! • * • Wully was a
man now, and a man who brought wo
men to ruin."
Later she learned from Christie that
Wully had not been unhonorable, that
Wully had driven the seducer from |
the countryside and had Insisted on
marrying the girl he loved. Wully’s
- molhed had to Idealize her son again.
! She could see that, he had done a gen
erous thing. And she would see that
the world saw that. She could run to
meet Christie’s mother, now, across the
floor of heaven, unashamed.
The story goes on with the bleak
ness of prairie winters and the rich
ness of prairie summers, with the pride
of the McLaughlins, their home build-j
lag and their up-stream struggle. It
end* with Wully and Christie coming
face to face again with Christie's early
betrayer. They drove him home in
their wagon, to die.
Christie turned her smiling face to
Wully. "And almost before Wully
could smile in return he stopped. He
turned around. He thought he heard
a groan from his load. He couldn't
even smile at her with that man possi
bly spying upon them. He looked—and
from the end of the wamon that man
had lifted his head a little, like, a
snake." and had seen the smile that
Christie had turned upon her husband.
At the terrible sight of that face he
pitied his enemy. That coward. In his
damned way, had loved Christie. And
In his tormented sunken dying he had
seen all the sweet intimacy from which
he had been shut out and had sunk
back again, felled by the blow of that
revelation. Wully had foregone re
venge. He had forborne running a
sword less sharp through his faliett
enemy than Christie's wifely smile had
been."
• • •
Wully McLaughlin is one of the most
rugged heroes of contemporary fiction.
Creation of such a character alone
would ha-% entitled Miss Wilson to the
prize her novel brought her.
Best sellers during the past month,
as compiled for The Bookman by
Frank Parker Stockbridge are:
FICTION—“Black Oxen.” "One of
3urs," "His Children's Children," "The
Dim Lantern," "The Cathedral," “The
Enchanted April," "The Middle of the
Road," "Faint Perfume," "The Covered
wagon" and "Babbitt.’
GENERAL—"Life of Christ," Life
and Letters of Walter H. Page," "The
Mind in the Making," "Etiquette,’ The
Outlines of History," “Tim American,
cation of Edward Bok," "A Man From
Maine," "The Goose Step,” "Up Stream
and "Damaged Souls."
It is interesting to note that ‘The
■overed Wagon," which ran serially in
he Saturday Evening Post several
ears ago, is now a best sel er in book
orm There can be no doubt that this
s directly attributable to the Influence
f motion pictures on literature T
;overed Wagon" was transferred to the
creen several months ago. This has
roused the interest of the public in the
^s situation also proves that the mo
,on picture public is the reading pub
ic and that producers who have been
iimine out photodramas to meet
aoron^intelllgence have been shooting
onsiderably below their target.
Sorority Elects
Officers for Year
TRINITY COLLEGE. DURHAM, OcL
13—The local chapter of Phi Beta
Kappa national scholarship fraternity,
ha/ dieted members of the present
senior class to be taken Into the dis
tinguished order at the feS]11®* No
vember Initiation. The following
seniors were honored by th*lr Partic
ular qualifications In being invited to
membership: Marie Couch, Durham;
Margaret Frank, Mt. Airy; Robert
Crabtree, East Durham; William
Make, Seaboard; Agnes Judd, Varlna;
James Secrest, Canton; James Keech,
Tarboro; Edgar Fisher, Elm City,
Alice Newcomb, Henderson; George
Allen, Durham.
BOOM IN OLD STAMPS
The boom In stamp collecting con
tinues and today the number of people
who collect the little revenue raisers
is believed to exceed that of all other
collectors together. There are 23,000
varieties of stamps *nd when varia
tions and other differences are recog
nized- the total would be nearly 40,
000.
BOY SPANKBIl IS SUGGESTED
Use of a spanking machine equipped
with broad paddles so arranged and
geared as to administer varying de
grees of punishment, according to the
needs of the offender was advocated
at the conference of the Canadian Asso
ciation of Child Protection Officers.
The “spanker'' Is to be used in place
of Jail sentences for first offenders.
1,009 FUR FARMS IN CANADA
The total number of fur farms In
Canada last year was 1,009. Of this
number 960 were fox farms, 17 rac
coon, 13 inlnk, three skunk, one marten,
one fisher, four karakul sheep. Thero
was an Increase over 1921 of 185 fox
farms, and 12 miscellaneous fur-bear
ing animal farms.
State Of Nirayatt, Mexico
Is Hidden by Map of World
“The state of Nayarlt, Mexico, where
a battle Is reported between a band of j
agrarans and Mexican troops, will b«
looked for In vain if one depends on
maps or reference books printed more
than six years ago," says a bulletin
from the Washington, D. C., head- •
quarters of the National Geographic
society.
‘‘This tropical, Pacific coast 'region
of Mexico was until a few years ago
the Territory of Teplc, continues the
bulletin, "But Mexico, like the United i
States, has been steadily revamping j
her territories Into States, and old1
Teplc, rich In memories of the Spanish
regime, was the latest to undergo the
transformation. When It was ad
vanced in 1917 to the status of state
hood It took as Its name that of the
Nayarlt Mountains which extend Into
the region from the north.
Mexico’s Longest Mver.
In a communication to the Society,
Hebert Corey, who recently traveled
through Nayarlt, describes as follows j
the valley of the Santiago, Mexico’s I
longest river, the leading agricultural
seetlorf of the new state:
"One does not often hear of the San
tiago river, and yet It Is the longest In
Mexico. Rising In the state at More
los. It flows through Lake Chapala and |
on to the sea near San Bias. Cortex ■
sailed It for some distance with bis
little barks. At Intervals It roars
through barrancas which are some
times 2,000 feet below the level of the
surrounding plain, and In which the
Indian farmers find a super-trople cli
mate that foroes vegetation as might
an equatorial hothouse. During the I
rainy season the river spreads 2,5 miles
wide through the flat, Jungle-grown
lower lands.
"It runs through farming land that
could feed two or three of our own
states, If the farmers were only given
a chance to farm and not compelled at
the muzzles of rifles to drop the plow
and bo patriots every little while.
‘‘This land would grow any sort of
a tropical drop if It were given a
chance. One can In season ride
through miles of wild limes and lemons
rotting on tbeg round. The thought
of cultivating oranges has never yet
come to the peon. It has not even oc
curred to him to fight the black scale
or whatever other enemy may attack
the trees. The cocorlte palm Is res
ponsible for a local soap-making mo
nopoly, for Its kernels are 66 per cent
oil.
“There are fields of sugar-cane, and
bananas flourish wherever planted.
The best coffee In the world—at least
as good coffee as there Is In the world
—comes from this district. Rice and
tobacco the vanilla bean Is found.
"Through Nayarlt, from Its ancient
Pacific port of San Bias, runs the re
mains of the old Spanish Road east
ward to Mexico City and down through
the lowlands beyond to Vera Cruz on
the Atlantic. Thanks to The Road, the
east-bound convoys from the Philip
pines were spared the perilous tra
verse around Cape Horn.
"The main highway was defended
by forts \ir by minor outposts at
strategic points, and from It lesser
trails were driven Into the hills or the
more Inviting valleys, for the conven
ience of priest and miner.
‘‘Not until Porflrlo Dla* began to
build the net of Mexican railroad did
the Road begin to fall Into disuse, and
even today there are wide stretches of
country which can only be reached by
It. In these back blocks one sees the
Mexico that appeared to the eyes of
Baron Humboldt and Madam Caldeon
do la Barca."
Digest of Week's
Biggest News
br chahi.es p. stewaht j;
Chancellor Streesman is making (
frantic efforts to keep Germany from
breaking into a number of separate
states, such as existed before Bismarck
! united them, about half a century ago,
into the empire the kaiser ruled. j
Defeat in the world war shook this*
union badly. j
The present republican government s j
surrender to France in the Ruhr, nat- j
uraliy a terrible blow to the peoples:
faith in today's regime, threatens to ]
drive some, at least, of the states into j
deciding to "go it alone” again. ,
What France Wants |
Indications are that this Is what;
France wants, since she* would have ,
little to fear from a group of weak.)
separate states, compared with_a unit- (
ed Germany. However, undoubtedly it j
would mean Indefinitely prolonged con
fusion in Central Europe, which would .
not suit the rest of the world. Eng-j
land especially would be displeased, for i
both business and political reasons. In;
the end it might not be a good thing j
for France, but she seems to think so)
now.
JTew German Cabinet
Stressemann resigned as chancellor,
or premier, but immediately accepted
a reappointment and began forming a.
new cabinet. His idea appears to have :
been, not to quit, but to make a ffresh j
start, with a group of ministers he was.
more in harmony with. Probably he 1
I really wanted to make himself dicta- j
I tor. so as to fight the separation move- j
j ment more vigorously, but this plan
was abandoned temporarily. It may be
tried later.
1 IVa Decision Yet
Rival forces are still struggling in
Oklahoma.
Governor Wqlton declared martial
law as an antl-Ku Klux Klan measure.
On the ground that he had violated the
constitution, a majority of the mem- j
bers of the house of representatives I
tried to meet to impeach him. Wal-1
ton said he hadn't called a special ses
sion, so, at his order, state troops scat
tered them. Then an election was held,
to change the law so that a session
could be held even without the gov
; ernor’s call. The proposition won by a
large majority. But Walton denies the
election's legality. He has a court In
junction to back him.
However, he himself has called a
special session now, "for the purpose”,
he says, "of the enactment of a law to
protect the people from masked and
lawless marauders”—no especial or
ganization mentioned. His idea appears
j to be to get his own complaint before
I the house ahead of impeachment pro
! ceedings.
Wet* and flry»
Bishop Schrembs, addressing the Na
tional Council of Catholic Women’s
Convention In Washington, referred to
prohibition as “a law the people ad
mit can’t be enforced."
Figures compiled by the United
Press account for 2000 known deaths
from polsbn liquor thus far In 1923.
Federal prohibition headquarters
statistics show 480,000 Americans
drinking whiskey daily on doctors’
prescriptions, as medicine.
The Federal Council of Churches has
been called Into conference In Wash
ington, Oct., 14, on the subject of pro
hibition, the summons saying viola
tions are Increasing and that mob
rule threatens the country.”
HEART IS BURIED IN AFRICA
The heart of Davla Livingstone the
famous Scotch explorer of Africa lies
burled beneath an obelisk In the "Dark
Continent,” but his bones have been
placed In Westminister Abbey. The
obelisk Is a big forest and the British
authorities felt It proper that his heart
should femaln In the continent for
which he died.
And Arms. Very Large
and Red. Cuticura Heals.
“ My bee and arms began to
break out with pimples that were
hard, very large and red
L looking. They werv
1 scattered about my bee,
).) which was badly dis
** figured. The pimples
Itched and burned,cans*
k lng me to scratch and
irritate my lace.
i sent lor a tree sample oi v*un
cura Soap and Ointment and it
helped me. I purchased more, and
after using one cake of Cuticura
Soap and one box of Cuticura Oint
ment I stas completely healed."
(Signed) Miss Ara Belle Cottcn,
Walling, Tenn. /
Use Cuticura for all skin troubles.
SaartUa fra# by Mall. Address: "Cottcara Laber
atenes, Dspt. H, Maids n 41, If am." Sold every
where. 8oap 26c. Ointment 22 and 60c.Talcum 26c.
■■ST*Cuticura Soapshares without mug.
1
DON’T LET YOUR NICE
WIFE
work so hard in this waathsr. Bring
tbs olotbM to ths lauriflrr. ut bar
hava a not Short notion ploaao
rott.
Opposite Wtlmiaarton Hotel
CALIFORNIA LAUNDRY
■
ion, sir w. mat
OMm ati
on RJBD CROSS BTRBBT ■'
Shirts . Uo
Onion Suits 14%o
Dollars ....>«.»•*jfcs
Ovoralls . 200
1
Miss Estelle Cox Miss Nell Caulder
IT WILL PAY YOtJ TO GET ACQUAINTED
WITH COX & CAULDER’S HAT
SHOP
MAXIMUM IN STYLE, . QUALITY AND IN
DIVIDUALITY. MODERATE
PRICES
COX & CAULDEJ
MILLINERY
North Front Street
Vigorous
OlULGLg&
WHY separate youth and oH ag*
with a deep and ever-widea,
ing abyss?
The bloom of youth and the hardy]
ruddy glow of Old Age—sixteen anf
sixty—should be Separated only by
the span of years and not by Tarring
differences of physical wholesome
ness.
Vigorous old age is within the grasp
of all. S. S. S. brings that hale and
hearty feeling bach with a rush. Rich
red bipod is the greatest enemy c(
weakening; health undermining Old
Age. S. S. S. builds Red Blood Cells;
Rich, red blood coursing through
your Terns sweeps away impurities
that retard the proper functioning
of your system. Old Age—once \
dreaded agony becomes a vigorous
enjoyable, car© free time of life.
S. S. S. is made of carefully ^
lected herbs and barks—scientiScail;
prepared and proportioned. Welcomt
Old Age when it comes. Be read)
to withstand the attacks of disease;
that follow in its wake. Meet Old
Age with a hearty handshake. J
handshake that speaks of well bein:
—of a vigorous, clear thinking, re,
blooded constitution. S. S. S. is yo;j
best friend when Old Age is see;
rounding the comer. Get a botft
and drive care and worry away. Ai!
leading drag stores carry ii
The large size is the mori
economical.
'CC ^TVfakes You Feel
(Yourself Agai]
PHICH ESTER S PILLS
THE DIAMO.Nl> BRAND.
Ltdies! Aak jroor Drurriit for
I Chi-ehea-ter • Diamond Brandy
k Pills in Bed and Gold metallic'
N boxes, sealed with Bine Ribbon,
i Take no other. Boy of jroqr v .
f Dmevi^t. Ask for CI1I-CIIES-TEB (
9 DIAMOND BRAND PILLS, for ti
years known as Best* Safest, Always RelUif
S0L9 BY DRUGGISTS EfERMf
USE STAR WANT 1
T HE UN I VERS AL CAR
FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
*
✓
We are now in position to make delivery on all models,
f
except the Coupe ,
No matter where you live—come and we will sell
you a Ford
CASH OR TERMS
Authorised Sales and Service
Third and Market Streets
Wilmington, North Carolina