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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1907. KEEP YOUR ON ROCHELLE, GA. ARTHUR PENDENNIS, JR:, PRESENTS FOUR ENTERTAINING BOOKS ‘THE TURN OF THE BALANCE.' By Hon. Brand Whitlock. Mayor of Toledo, Ohio. (Bobba-Merrlll Com. pany.) It la not very often that a book la publlahed the.* days which not only Jiold* the Intdteat In the readlnr, but days and weeka after a perueal of the book the mind of the reader la etlll Im- preised’ with and recura to the Incl denta, altuatlona and cbaractera por trayed. "The Turn of the Balance" le aucb a book, and while, aa one reviewer wrote. It "la full of aorrowa and . wrong*,” It la well to remember that moat great booka of thla and of other daya have their baate on Juat auch comcr-atonea. ‘‘The Turn of the Bal ance” la a story, strong. Impressive and ' Thought-compelling, baaed upon crlml no1 life. In and out of prison. Whether tha author has been unjust In selecting tho “exception and not the rule," In describing the cbaractera In the differ ent phases of life, aa Judge Andrew J. Cobb, of the supreme court of Georgia puts It, la a question that will have to be left to the reader to determine by this reviewer at least. Judge Cobb also says that the book “presents a vivid picture of the worse side of Ufe, social, business, professional and official. That there are such characters In the differ ent phases of life therein described can not admit of question, but they aro 'the exception and not the rule. The vice of the book consists In the fact that the author deals with the excep tional In such a way as to crests the Impression that the general nils has twen followed. There Is a character drawn from nearly every relation of life —private and public—and they are so dealt with In the plot of the story as to create the Impression that any person, no matter where he may be found, la animated by no other motive than one which Is unworthy.” Judge William T. Newman, of the United States court, Atlanta, Is not quite so harsh In his criticism of the book nor of the author’s motives, for ho says ‘The Turn of the Balance’ Is an unusually strong book and well writ ten. While Mr. Whitlock's Instances of Judicial^ administration are not such as I have' observed, perhaps they, ns well ns the Instances of prison admin istration, aid him to point the moral of the book, which evidently Is, that there should be more of the Golden Rule In the administration of tlib criminal law.” Georgians alt over the state, and espe cially Atlantans, would expect Just such an admirable criticism and appli cation of the truth as he sees It, from Judge Newman. Warden William H. Moyer, of the United Stales prison, Atlanta, takes A decided fling at Mr. Whitlock In his letter of criticism. He says: "Perhaps the feature of the novel which made the greatest Impression upon mo was the spirit of condemnation shown by tho writer for every Judicial and peace of ficer. • • • The spirit evidenced by the writer, together with his knowledge of the habits and methods of crooks and criminals, can not help but Impress the reader with the feeling that he Is possessed of more than general Infor mation. The reader wonders where he obtained his Information and expe ilence." There Is no doubt that In writing of prison Ilfs Mr. Whitlock, as it appears to the uninitiated, seems to speak with authority, but It doesn’t appear exactly fair to Imply’as Mr. Moyer may, that the author might hava been In prison htmself. Captain J. M. Nye, superintendent of the bureau of Identlllcatlon at the Fed. eral prison, Atlanta, In speaking of the book to the writer of this review, ridi cule that part of Mr. Whitlock's book which dealt with the Bertlllon system WE LEAD Others follow. That others Imitate our habits shows that our policy la sound. Stands for.quality #nd quality saves money. Use AS- CONITE QUARTZ or GRAVEL ROOFING and your In vestment Is secure. “You can put It on." ATLANTA SUPPLY CO. MANUFACTURERS, 29-31 South Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga. J. C. Greenfield, Pres. C. A. Peek, 8ec. POSITIONS Secured or Money Back Contract given, backed by $300J00.00 capital and 18 years' success practical /"vSi i rrre business LULLLuLo DRAUGHON’S 28 Colleges In 16 States. Indera ed by buatneaa men. No vacation LEARN BY MAIL Feamaoshlp, Lew. letter Writing. Engtlah. Drawing. Il lustrating, etc. Money beck If sot sat I .fled after completing course. For “Cetalognc U.” on Home tttudy or “Cetelogne l’.” on ettemllng College, phone tSS tBell phonei, or call on or adilreei Manager Draughon’a Practice! Butlnrn College: Pledmopt.lb”..! Block: n^ i J«rjieonvlll^w - Moot£>mer2 ;< Brenau Summer School and Chautauqua, hCMMEIt St come 1BOOL vvnl Illicit.- ni.*l Ilrrit. , !.■ .- - end Modern I ful scenery, .leligtitf' •scnrslon.. < abort of Lsk.- Expene- Very Moderate OAlNCaVILLC. CCOKGIA Lineittea among foothills of Blue Hid re Mountains betstll r climate, mineral waters. Boating, Betting, mountain iiJzVtl'iraltorie* open. 'Hants uqoa held under canvas teat user the it'.......r i-nrnping outfit ssd privileges provided. Write Fcr Prospectus of measurements. Captain Nye said that the author’s statement that It was necessary to re-meaaure a criminal within a year’s time, on account of the criminal having become thin, “was all bosh." and, to use his own words aa recalled, "that he would be willing to post $500 that he could make Mr. Whit- flick and hie argumenta look like 30 cents. wlth-a-hole-ln-lt, In Juat ten mlnutei.” The above opinions should be of In terest to readers of this review, be cause of the high positions, personal and official, held by those quoted. It Is no doubt true, as Judgo Cobb sold, that Mr. Whitlock selected the exception and not the rule In delineating the cbaractera, but It Is Well to remember that all great stories are baaed gener ally on the exception. The great Read novels, ‘‘Hard Cash” and ‘‘Never Too Late to Mend," which .revolutionised respectively the Inhuman practices ot Insane asylums and the prisons of Eng land. about 1851, were no doubt based on special pleading, but In those esses Mr. Charles Head, when called upon, did show by actual exhibits living per sons who had been the martyrs of the very systems portrayed. Possibly If called upnn, Mr. Whitlock could pro duce his human exhibits. Tho plot of “The Turn of tho Bal ance" concerns two families and their friends: one In the highest social llfo of Toledo, the other of the poorer, Strug, gllng masses. The book practically opena at the time of an accident to the father ot one of the principal charac ters, who loses hit leg In crossing tho tracks of the railroad by which he la employed. The young son of the old German railway employee has returned from the Philippine Islands, having fin ished his enlistment In the army. The young lawyer who takes up the suit for damages Is tho unavowed lover of tho daughter ef the high society family, In which Is employed aa a maid a daugh ter of the old crippled German. The son of the old German drifts Into bad company and from one crime or sus picion of crime to another. Tho young lawyer Is always hie only help In time ot trouble. Gordon Marriott, the young lawyer, tloee not Impreee the reader ae being an attorney to whom he should or would apply In time of need, for the book le full ot the failures of poor Gor don, but he evidently does hie best, with very little hope of reward beyond the commendation of Elisabeth Ward, the rich man’s daughter. Elisabeth has a brother, who ought to have been taken out In a quiet, lonely spot and knocked In the head with an ax. In the hands of a strong manipulator. Very often, too, the reader thinks the aforesaid ax might have been used on Marriott at least to trim him up a bit. Arthur Koerner, the eon of the old German. Is sent for one year to the Mato prison, far theft of a revolver. Mr. Whitlock exposes, or at least he states plainly the alleged cruelty to convicts, practiced In prlaon. The "wa. ter cure,” the thumb screws and pad dle, make the reader's blood boll many tlmei. After a year In prison Arthur Is released, comes back to Toledo, Is locked up by the detectives on suspi cion the very day ha arrives, simply, aa the author states, for being on the street*. The Judge discharges Arthur, but gives him a few hours In which to leave town. Meeting one of hit old friends, Arthur doesn’t leave town for n few days, during which period a horrible murder le committed on the outskirts of Toledo. The eagle-eyed detectives put the crime on Arthur At once, when he le entirely Innocent, aa shown by Mr. Whitlock. He is pursued, gett partly away, Is surrounded and kills a detective before being disarmed. He la tried and convicted, of course, and while tried for the murder of the detective, the district attorney. In de vious ways, continually brings In the murder on the outskirts of the city, thereby prejudicing the Jury—result a first degree murder verdict. The latter part of the book le taken up In Gor don Marriott's unsuccessful attempts through the supreme court and appeal to the governor to save Arthur's life; the appeal of the railroads of the old German's suit, which the latter won In a lower court and lost In the supreme court: of the young daughter of the old German, whose life had been ruined by the degenerate Dick Ward; Gordon Marriott's long delayed avowal of love for Elisabeth; the electrocution of Ar thur Koerner and old Koerner’s slaugh ter of his remaining family and suicide of himself. of course, the story Is sad—no great work of this character could be other wise. The book certainly makes the reader think and wonder con such pages Is a possible desire to work In a things be, and from the opinions given, certain number of thousand words. by the learned gentlemen mentioned In the beginning of thla review, auch things do happen. What Is the reme dy? This is a question which seems beyond the publicists and legal lights of today. If even only Just such cases as Mr. Whitlock undoubtedly knows have happened are true. A criminal sent to prison Is surely not entitled to an electric bell, with Incidental bell boy and ice water, etlll one must ad mit that a criminal Is a human being and entitled to humane treatmenL If Mr. Whitlock has made only one point Impressive tn hie strong book, namely, that the struggles for work and help by a convict released from prlaon (the fact of his once having been In prison being the bane of bis tree life), the book Is worthy of perusal. It Is affirmed that a released, convict has a fair chance. If he wishes one. But does he? Is there any employer of labor, lay, ot bookkeepers and accountants. In Atlan ta who would retain In hie employ a man of whom he had Just learned that he had been tn the state prison? How many of your business friends would give .a helping hind, that la to say, employment—not alma—to a released convict here In Atlanta? Can you not count such men on one finger? This reviewer hat not had for many a day a book sent to this department which has caused more thought, painful aa It Is at times, than "The Turn of the Balance.” “CAN 8UCH THING3 BE?” by Am broie Bierce. (Neale Publishing Com pany.) One ot the most thoroughly entertaining and thought-compelling collection of short stories la that vol umo Issued by the Neale Publishing Company, Washington, D. C, and de lightfully written by Mr. Ambrose Bierce. It may be rather a strong thing to say, and worse to put it tn print, but this reviewer believe* that Mr. Bierce la one of the beet. It not the very be»L short atory writer* using the English language today. It I* to be hoped that the statement that Mr. Bierce's stories remind one strongly ot that master spirit, author of "The House of Usher,” In his weird dellnea tions, will not be considered a literary heresy. There le really nothing like Mr. Blerce'e handling of words, phrase* and thought^ published today. Mr. Bierce tells a clean-cut, direct, strongly balanced atory, pointedly log leal and more than candid, and the beauty of his work Is, when Mr. Bierce Is done, he quite. The terminal facili ties of the average and above-the-aver- age short and long story writer Is un deniably poor. Many books of this day should be cut off right In the mid dle of the volume, and the only excuse the reader tees for a continuance ot Its Some of the stories In Mr. Bierce’s collection "Can Such Things Be?” are delightful—all are good. Mr. Bierce has a series devoted to ''Mysterious Disappearances”—wonderful possibili ties there!—and tha author handles the latter with tho pen ot a genius. In one of the stories of mysterious disappear ances Mr. Bierce tells of an old farm' er. happy In Ills homo and work, who walks across a field In front of his house one bright day, and In sight of his family he disappears forever. Just such a basis for a story to a casual reader of this review no doubt seems •light plot for a short story, but one must see how Mr. Bierce handles a scheme such aa suggested to appre ciate hie rare literary qualities. Most people are Interested In the newspaper accounts of myaterlpus disappearances, and It is the opinion of this reviewer One httodred and ninety Vehicle*, con- •tsttng of Bcggles, Snrreys and Rnaabouts. Can fnrnlah any of the above In eteel ot rubber tire*. Also a large line of Deliv ery end firm Wagons end name**. Special prices for tho next ten days oaly. Remember, our motto I* quick ealca snd ■mail profits. Wo eta save you money on Vehicle*. that the present talo of a certain pop ular novel Is baaed largely upon the very catchy name of "The Port of Missing Men.” whereas “missing men” has nothing whatever to do with the plot ot the novel In question. It the novel was not Interesting In other ways, the reader might have Just causo against the author for obtaining the price of the book under false pro< tenses. Mr. Bierce has been a soldier—a real soldier—and many of the stories In “Can Buch Things Be?” are laid around those thrilling time* of the Civil war. All together, the book le a gem, and a better collection of entertaining sto ries has not been written In many years, "HOW DOTH THE SIMPLE 8PELLING BEE.” By Owen Wlster. (Macmillan & Co.). Mr. Owen Wlster hoe written a little skit, making hllarloue fun of the pro posed reformed spelling of President Roosevelt's three-hundred-words, and evidently of the Laird of Sklbo. This little aklt was originally published In the Saturday Evening Poet, but Is now lesued lu an attractive book form by Macmillan & Co. Mr. Wlster evidently believes that the cardinal virtue (?), most sought after by present-day philanthropists. Is publicity. Masticator B. Fellows, head of a big trust, has established an university at ‘‘Arkaneopoils.'' with capacity for two million students. Students are not com ing In as they should to the university, neither le the product of Fellows' trust selling as It Is desired. So Fellows decides to hold a convention at hla ex pense, td reform the English language by college professors. The little tale -la laid around the gathering of these learned men of many minds and opinions as to the desired result. Mr. Wlster evidently has made composite picture of the benefactor of tho University of Chicago, and the Laird of Bklbo. The Illustrations of the book lean strongly to the former person, with the bald head, skull cap and sanctimonious meanner of speech. The book la light reading; good for a short pleasant halt-hour, but the reader will sincerely regret that the author ot that delightful novel "Lady Baltimore,” and even "The Virginian.” let himself down, or shall It be said ralaed himself not one bit, by sending forth “How Doth the Simple Spelling Bee.” When an author can write a gem like “Lady Baltimore," his read ing public necessarily holds him up to a very high standard, and It Is not pleasing to find him leaving hla pedes tal at any time. years ago knew Charlie and, while his stories are not quoted In this little book, a good many of them certainly have Charlie’s he.!! mark on them. Charlie Abbott Is the son of Colonel B. F. Abbott, of Atlanta, and hi* old friends here remember with more than pleasure many times when Charlie would “get wound-up” and keep a crowd In continual laughter, from sup per time until Clarence, the door keeper at the club, served notice that the club was about to be closed. The stories are very funny and told for Just “what they are—the diary of a drummer. There are many, many old friends of Charlie Abbott here In At lanta who will want this book to learn of his present success In Boston, and that Charlie-is thought to be In that city as he undoubtedly wa* here—“the original human ace.” Farmers’ Supply Co., 40*42 W. Alabama St. Atlanta* Ga. CINDERS, The Diary of a Drummer. By Wright Bauer. (G. W. Dillingham Co.) The author of “Cinders,” the Diary of a Drummer, state* that he made a wager with Charlie Abbott (good old Charlie, who ueed to live In Atlanta) that he could and would remember all the Joke*, "gage” and etortes thrown at him, on hla next trip out on the road. To win this bet, and a* an evi dence of good faith, we have “Cinders.” The book, with all together too few pages, le filled with clean Jokes and stories, which Hr- Bauer says were worked off on him on a trip between Boston. Baltimore. Chicago and Buf falo. The fact that a few of the stories have appeared In different exchanges does not detract from th» retelling, for most ot thorn are new. The chief Interest for Atlantans of the little volume wilt naturally be the appearance therein ot Charlie Ab • botL Everybody In Atlanta of a few GIRLS! SOMETHING NEW GIRLS! A Decided Novelty. A Pleasing and Acceptable Present, Hi " by the Litl Present, Highly Appreciated • • ttle Maidf The Exercise Deemed by Eminent Medical Author ity as Beneficial. T-e QUEEN WIRE JUMPING ROPE __ never J Could rtlp «o lightly by: St.nd off, or elM my Jumping Rope Will hit you tn the .j. —TEXNY80N. Made In bright coppered wire colled over strong cord, with polished hard wood handle*. Each Rope placed In pasteboard carton. A Beautiful Toy which fill* the mind of a child with auprame delight, and the posieselon of which atone* for th* dl»cov*ry that don* are stuffed with saw dust Every little girl can be the proud possessor of one of these Jumping Ropes by saving 12 coupons, of differ ent numbers, and bringing them to The Atlanta Geor gian office. Queen Wire Jumping Rope Coupon. | COUPON NUMBER 3 Twelve coupons of different numbers will entitle the holder of same to one Queen Wire Jumping Rope. Name Address The Jumping Rope will be presented FREE to any one paying a month’s subscription to The Atlanta Georgian in advance. Sent by mail to any address for 12 coupons of dif ferent numbers and 5c in stamps to pay postage. L mi ■ i