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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT NEWS. SATURDAY, APRIL 27. 1»7. KEEP YOUR ROCHELLE, GA. "THE TURN OF THE BALANCE.' By Hon. Brand Whitlock. Mayor of Toledo, Ohio. (Bobbt-Merrlll Com. pony.) It l» not very often that a book <■ published three days which not only holds the Interest In the reading, but days and weeks after a perusal of the book the mind of the reader Is still lm> pressed with and recurs to the Inci dents, situations and characters por trayed. “The Turn of the Balance" Is such a book, and while, as one reviewer wrote, It “Is full of sorrows and wrongs,” It Is well to remember that matt treat boojts of this and of other days have their basts on lust such corner-stones, “The Turn of the Bat- once” is a story, Strong, impressive and thoutht-compelllnt, based upon crimi nal life. In and out of prison. Whether the author has been unlust In selecting , the “exception and not the rule,” In describing the characters In the differ ent phases of life, as Judge Andrew J. Cobb, of the supreme court of Georgia puts It, Is a question that will have to be left to the reader to determine by this reviewer at least. Judge Cobb also snys that the book "presents a vivid picture of the worse side of life, 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 are the exception and not the rule. Tho vice of the book consists In the fact that the author deals with the excep tional in such a way as to create the impression that the general rule has been followed. There Is s 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. Is animated by no other motive than ono ■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 he 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 otwerved, perhaps they, os well as 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 Buie In the administration of the criminal law." Georgians all over the state, and espe cially Atlantans, would expect Jus( such an admlrablo criticism and appli cation of the truth as he sees It, from Judge Newman. Warden William H. Moyer, of the United States prison, Atlanta, takes a decided fling at Mr, Whitlock In his letter of criticism. He says: "Perhaps the feature of the novel which mode the greatest Impression upon me was the spirit of condemnation shown by tho writer-for every Judicial and peace of fleer. • • • 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 j*eader with the feeling that he Is possessed of mors than general Infor mation. The reader wonders where he obtained his Information and expo rlence.” There la no doubt that In writing of prison life 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 have been In prison himself. Captain J. M. Nye, superintendent of the bureau of Identification 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 Is sound. “Asconite” Stands for quality and quality saves money. Use AS CONITE QUARTZ or GRAVEL ROOFING and your In vestment la secure. “You can put It on.' ATLANTA SUPPLY CO., MANUFACTURERS, 29-SI South Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga. J. C. Greenfield, Pres. C. A. Peek, 8ec. of measurements. Captain Nye said that the author's statement that It was necessary to re-measure a criminal within a year's time, on account of the criminal having become thin, “wns all dy? This Is a question which seems bosh,” and, to use his own words os recalled, "that he would be willing to post 1500 that he could make Mr. Whit lock and his arguments loAk like 30 cents, wlth-a-hole-ln-lt, In Just ten minutes.!’ 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 ddubt true, as Judgo Cobb sold, that Mr. Whitlock selected the exception and not the rule In delineating the characters, but It Is well to remember that all great stories are based gener ally on the exception. The great Bead novels, “Hard Cash" and “Never Too Late to Mend,” which revolutionised respectively the Inhuman practices of Insane asylums and the prisons of Eng land. about 1151, were no doubt based on spedal pleading, but In those esses Mr. Charles Head, when called upon, did show by actual exhibits living per sons who had been the mfu-tyrs of the vaeti swslams nnvfpnvoil Pnailhlv I# reader think and wonder can such things be, and from the opinions given by the learned gentlemen mentioned In the beginning of this review, such things do happen. What Is tho reme- very systems portrayed. 1 Possibly If called upon, Mr. Whitlock could pro duce his human exhibits. The plot of “The Turn of the Bab ance" concerns two families and their friends; one In the highest social life of Toledo, the other of the poorer, strug gling masses. The book practically opens at the time of an accident to the father of one of the principal charac ters, who loses his leg In crossing the tracks of the railroad by which he Is employed. The young son of the old German railway employee has returned from the Philippine Islands, having fin ished his enlistment In the army. Tho young lawyer who takes up the suit for damages Is the unavowed lover of the daughter et the high society family. In which Is employed as 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. The young lawyer Is always hls only help In tlmo of trouble. Gordon Marriott, the young lawyer, does not Impress the reader as being an attorney to whom he should or would apply In time of need, for the book la full of the failures of poor Gor don, but he evidently does hls 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 Koemer, the son of the old German. Is sent for one year to the state prison, for theft of n revolver. Mr. Whitlock exposes, or at least he states plainly the alleged cruelty to states plainly the alleged cruelty to convicts, practiced In prison. The "wa ter cure," the thumb screws and pad- beyond the publicists and legal lights of today, If even only Just such cases os Mr. Whitlock undoubtedly knows have happened aro true. A criminal sent to prison Is surely not entitled to an electric bell, with Incidental bell boy and Ice water, still one must ad mit that a criminal Is a human being and entitled to humans treatment. It Mr. Whitlock has made only one point Impressive In hls strong book, namely, that the struggles for work and help by a convict released from prison (the fact of hls once having been In prison being the bane of hls free life), the book Is worthy of perusal. It Is afflrmod that a released convict has a fair chance. If he wishes one. But does he! Is thero any employer of labor, say, of bookkeepers and accountants, In Atlan ta who would retain In hls employ a man of whom he had Just learned that he had been In the state prison? How many of your business friends would give a helping hand, that Is to say, employment—not alms—to a released convict here In Atlanta? Can you not count such men on one finger? This reviewer has not had for many a day a book sent to this department whfrh has caused more thought, painful as It Is at times, than “The Turn of the Balance.'' . “CAN 8UCH THINGS BE?" by Am brose Bierce. (Neale Publishing Com pany.) One of the most thoroughly entertaining and thought-compelling collection of short stories Is that vol ume Issued by the Neale Publishing Company, Washington, D. C, and de> llghtfully written by Mr. Ambrose Bierce. It may be rather a strong thing to say. and worse to put It In print, but this reviewer believes that Mr. Bierce Is one of the best. If not the very best, short story writers using the English language today. It Is to be hoped that the statement that Mr. Bierce's stories remind one strongly of that master spirit, author of “The House of Usher," In hls weird delinea tions, will not be Considered a literary heresy. There Is really nothing like Mr. Bierce's handling of words, phrases and thoughts, published today. Mr. Bierce tells a clean-cut, direct, strongly balanced story, pointedly log ical and more than candid, and the beauty of hls work Is,,when Mr. Bierce Is done, he quits. 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 sees for a continuance of Its pages Is a possible desire to work In a certain number of thousand words. Some of the stories In Mr. Bierce’s collection "Can Such ThlngB Be?” are delightful—all aro good. Mr. Bierce has a series devoted to "Mysterious Disappearances”—wonderful possibili ties there!—and the author handles the latter with the pen of a genius. In one of the stories of mysterious disappear ances Mr. Bierce tells of an old farm er, happy In hls home and work, who walks across a field in front of hls house one bright day, and In sight of hls family he disappears forever. Just such a basis for a story to a casual reader of this review no doubt seems slight plot for a short story, but one must see how Mr. Bierce handles a scheme such as suggested to appre ciate hls rare literary qualities. Most people are Interested In tho newspaper accounts of mysterious disappearances, and It Is the opinion of this reviewer that the present sale of a certain pop- very catchy name of Missing Men,” whereas “missing men' has nothing whatever to do with the plot of the novel in question. It tho novel was not Interesting In other ways, the reader might have $ust cause 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 Such Things Be7" are laid around those thrilling times of the Civil war. All together, the book Is a gem, and a better collection of entertaining sto ries has not been written in many years. POSITIONS Secured or Money Back Contract given, backed by $300,000.00 capital and 18 years' success DRAUGHON’S 1’RA.CTICAL^s COLLEGES 28 Colleges In 18 States. Indora ed by business men. No vacation LEARN BY MAIL Penmanship, law, Letter Writing. Eogllih. Drawing, II- lutratlcg. ate. Meaey bark If Dot astlafled after completing coarse. For "Catalogue U." on Uuaae study or "Catalogue P." on attending College, phone M (Ball phonal, nr call on or nddrees Manager Uraughoe a Practical Bualaeea College: Peachtree. Piedmont not «l Block: or Jackaonvllle or Montgomery. I Brenau Summer School and Chautauqua, isle end Oratory tesehera Course* In KagUst. St, ingnsgos. Location among foothills of Ilia- Ridge Mountains, besutl- . ligtitful summer climate, mluera! waters. Boating, gahlng. mountain eacuraloaa. College donaltoriee open. Chautauqua held under course teat sear the Sort of Lake TVaraer. Camping oetflt sad privileges provided. Expense Very Moderata Write For Prospectus eouia< die, make the reader’s blood boll many times. After a year In prison Arthur Is released, comes back to Toledo, Is locked up by tho detectives on suspi cion the very day ho arrives, simply, as tho author states, for being on the streets. The Judge discharges Arthur, but gives him a few hours In which to leave town. Meeting one of hie old friends, Arthur doesn't leave town for few ’ days, during which period horrible murder la committed on on tho outskirts of Toledo. The eagle-eyed detectives put the crime on Arthur at once, when he ta entirely Innocent, as shown by Mr. Whitlock. Ha la puraued. gets 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 wraye, continually brings In tho murder on the outskirts of fhe city, thereby prejudicing the Jury—result a first degree murder verdict The latter part of the book Is taken up In Gor don Marriott's unsuccessful attempts through tho supremo court and appeal to the governor to aava 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 tho supreme court: of the young daughter of the old German, whose life had been ruined 5 r the degenerate Dick Ward; Oordon arriott's long delayed avowal of love for Elisabeth; the electrocution of Ar thur Koemer and old Koemer'e slaugh ter of hls remaining family and suicide of himself. Of course; the story la sad—no great work of this character could be other wise. The book certainly make* the One hundred end ninety Vehicle*. son neting of Burgles, Surreys end Runabouts. Can farnlth any of tho sbors In steel ot rabbet tires. Also n Urge line of Deliv ery end Term Wagons and Harness. Special prices far the next ten days oily. Remember, our motto Is quick isles sm) smell profits. We can bits yon meney on Vehicles. Farmers’ Supply Co., 40-42 W. Alabama St. Atlantay Ga. "HOW DOTH THE 8IMPLE 8PELLING BEE.” By Owen WUter. (Macmillan A Co.). Mr. Owen Wleter has written a little skit, making hilarious fun of tho pro posed reformed spelling of President Roosevelt's three-hundred-wordF, and evidently of the Laird of Bklbo. This little skit was originally published In the Saturday Evening Post, but Is now Issued In an attractive book form by Macmillan & Co. Mr, Wleter evidently bellevea that the cardinal virtue (?), most sought after by preSent-doy philanthropists, Is publicity. Masticator B. Fellows, head of a big trust, baa established an unlveralty at ‘‘Arkansopolts,'’ with capacity for two million students. Students are not com ing In as they should to the university, neither Is the product of Fellows' trust selling as it le desired. So Fellows decides to hold a convention at hla ex pence, to reform the English language by college professors. The little tale le laid around the gathering of these learned men of many mlnda and opinions as to the desired result. " Mr. Wleter evidently has made composite picture of the benefactor of the University ot Chicago, and the Laird of Sklbo. The llluetratlona ot the book lean strongly to the former person, with the bald head, akull cap and sanctimonious meanner of speech. The book le light reading; good for a short pleasant half-hour, but the reader will sincerely regret that the author of that delightful novel “Lady Baltimore,” and even "The Virginian.” let himself down, or shall It be said raised himself not one bit, by sending forth "How Doth the 8troplo Spelling Bee.” When an author can write a gem like “Lady Baltimore,” hls 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 sny time. years ago knew Charlie and, while hls stories are not quoted In this little book, a good many of them certainly have Charlie's hall mark on them. Charlie Abbott Is the son of Colonel B. F. Abbott, of Atlanta, and hls old friends here remember with moro 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 aro very funny and told for Just what they are—the dlavy of a drummer. There are many, many old friends of Charlie Abbott here In At lanta who will want this book to learn of hls present success In Boston, and that Charlie Is thought to be In that city as he undoubtedly was here—"the original human ace." CINOERS, The Diary of s Drummer, By Wright Bsucr. (Q. W. Dillingham & Co.) The author of "Cinders," the Diary of a Drummer, itatee that he made a wager with Charlie Abbott (good old Charlie, who used to lire In Atlahta) that he could and would remember all the Jokee, “gaga" and stories thrown at him. on hls next trip out on the road. To win this bet, end as an evi dence of good faith, we have "Cinders." The book, with all together too few pages. Is filled with clean Jokes and stories, which Mr. 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 exchangee does not detract from the retelling, for most of them are new. The chief Interest tor Atlantans of the little volume will naturally be the appearance therein of Charlie Ab - bolt. Everybody In Atlanta of a few A Decided Novelty. A Pleasing and Acceptable Present, Highly Appreciated by the Little Maidens. The Exercise Deemed by Eminent Medical Author ity as Beneficial. thbQUEENWIRE JUMPING ROPE Sure never yet wts Antelope Cunl.l eklp so lightly by: Steml off, or oils my Jumping Rope Will bit you tn Made In bright coppered wire colled over strong cord, with polished hard wood handles. Each Bope placed tn pasteboard carton. A Beautiful Toy which nils the mind of a child with supreme delight, and the possession of which atones for the discovery that dolls are stuffed with saw dust Every little girl can be the proud possessor of one of these Jumping Hopes by saving 12 coupons, of differ ent numbers, and bringing them to The Atlanta Geor gian office. Queen Wir6 Jumping Rope Coupon. COUPON NUMBER 3 Twelve coupons of different numbers will entitle the holder of same to one Queen Wife 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. I