PAGE EIGHT THE MICHIGAN DAILY cur _IN THE WORLD OF BOOKS NT A , O(CTOl[ fR 2Y?, 1935l Press Gets Another Lambasting This Time At Hands Of Seldes SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM, uy T. E. Lawrence. New York; Doubleday, Doran & Co. $5.00. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. By George Seldes. Bobbs, Merrill. $2.75. By FRED WARNER NEAL After the reader finishes George Seldes' Freedom of the Press, he may well ask himself: "What Freedom?" For the former newspaperman lets go with both barrels at the Fourth Estate, its sanctity, its members and its freedom. Even the conservative New York Times, about which people have come to speak of in the same awed tones as they do the United States Constitution, is lambasted for an entire chapter. And the Associat- ed Press is made to look like the antithesis of a truthful, unbiased news-gathering agency. Paper for paper, publisher for publisher, Mr. Seldes scores and scorns, and in some cases praises, them all. And with the exception of one or two instances, he does it in typical reportorial manner, giving the facts without opinion, without color, with- out comment. The book abounds with documentary evidence that backs up its author's contentions. William Al- len White, the great-uncle of Amer- ican journalism, praises it as a book "which for once tells the truth, all the truth and nothing butthe truth." If it were not so, Mr. Seldes would have, by this time, a hundred or more libel suits on his hands. The main score on which Seldes in- dicts American newspapers is that they suppress or pervert news out of a fear of advertisers and monied in- terests. "Obviously," he declares, "just as stores and corporations are the sacred cows of certain smaller newspapers,: so Big Business is the great Sacred Golden Bull of the en- tire press." He charges that the Util- ities subsidize the press and gives spe- cific examples. "No newspaper," he holds, "and very few other publica- tions have been willing to serve the public when it means the loss of money." He insists that vested in- terests make it impossible for the complete facts to be published. Continuing in the same vein, he lays much of the responsibility for the depression at the door of the press. "Instead of furnishing America with sound economic truth, it furnished the lies and buncome of the mer- chants of securities, which termed an economic .debacle a technical sit-, uation, which called it the shaking out of the bullish speculators, which blamed everything on lack of confi- dence." It is the Associated Press, "the greatest force in American public opinion," which Seldes denounces most vigorously-almost bitterly. Pointing out that despite its coopera- tive nature, the A.P. is controlled by a small group of publishers, he con- tends that its news accounts are not only frequently inaccurate, but de- liberately biased and often wholly un- true. He scores the "anti-labor pol- icy of the Associated Press," calls it "Tory, reactionary and red-bating" By WILBERT L. HINDMAN and views with alerm the great num- (Of the Politicas Science Dept.) ber of its "medium-sized fountains I daily gushing forth its filth and poison In the evident sense the subtitle, "A into the world stream of informa- Triumph," is appropriate to this book, tion." He is disgusted with its "con- for the tale is Lawrence's record of tinual kow-towing" to authority and the Arab revolt against the Turks, and sums up his opinion of the news it concludes with the entry into Da- agency with this prize sentence: "If mascus after the final rout of the the Associated Press had reported the Turkish Fourth Army. But when the Boston Tea Party, it would probably narrative is ended, the phrase appears have been an indignant stori'of Reds tinged with irony, for Lawrence defying authority and destroying pri- feared that the seven pillars of his vate property." house were erected upon sand, and Mr. Seldes, while properly enough a that his triumph had been a vehicle liberal, could not be called a radical. of betrayal. His insistence is that of all true news- At first the true position of the papermen: that the complete and un- author in relation to the revolt is not biased facts be published. He assails clear, obviously because its possibili- the press for not printing the truth ties were yet nebulous in his own about Communism as much as he as- mind. As a member of Clayton's sails it for not printing the news Arab Bureau he was detailed to seek about Fascism. Again slapping at from among the Arabs a leader great the Associated Press, he says that it is enough for the design. In Feisal, a served in Europe by news agencies son of the Sherif of Mecca, Lawrence that are controlled by the govern- found the requisite courage and ments, "-the poisoned springs of world charm and skill in the manipulation news." of native emotions, and confirmed Mr. Seldes does not come right out in this Sheik the authority to raise and say so, but you get the im- I an army from among the numerous pression that he strongly favors the desert clans, most of which were nom- Newspaper Guild and thinks, fur- inally blood-enemies. While the Arabs thermore, that its interests are one i were gathering, Lawrence acted in with those of the American Federa- liaison with the British, obtaining tion of Labor. financial backing and frustrating ef- Criticism of William Randolph forts to mix Anglo-French forces with Hearst is conspicuous by reason of its the natives. He knew that the Arabs Harsityis.conspiousbyteasonoftS must be allowed to work alone; dis- Sim eon is painted as anything but trustful of Christians, they would re- a saint, Hearst is given credit for sent any effort to combine forces work done in his more creditable days. and would leave the field completely But Seldes criticizes him for the mal- or prove openly hostile. practices about which everyone talks After making it possible for Feisal and points to him as "the most not- to gather an army, Lawrence provided able sample of that considerable body activity best adapted to the char- of publishers who do business by pre- acter of the force. He could not eas- udice or predilection, by emotion in- ily convince the orthodox military stead of reason, by whim instead of that "our men, being irregulars, were intelligence. He is economically illit- not formations, but individuals," but erate and he has no social conscience." his enterprises in the field finally rae andhe ehassoias conience carried the point with his Allied su- Mr. Seldes emphasizes the fact that periors. Particularly were the full there are newspapers and newspapers, potentialities of the revolt demon- He gives much praise to those which strated in the six hundred mile turn- he feels deserve it. Included among ing movement leading to the taking them are the St. Louis Post-Dis- of Akaba, depriving the Turks of their patch, the Philadelphia Record, the last post on the Red Sea. The turn- Scripps-Howard papers, the New York ing-point in the revolt came soon Post; and he tosses bouquets at the after, with the perfection of Law- United Press. rence's amazing technique in raiding In general you get the idea that a the railway which gave the Turks a majority of American newspapers are long finger of military base down the corrupters of the public mind; that interior as far as Medina. there are a few which are truthful, In the efforts against the railway, unbiased and liberal; that publishers Lawrence became the inspirational for the most part are ogres who make spearhead of the Arab forces, justify- "prostitutes of able young men" (re- ing himself to his superiors, to the na- porters); and that probably the best tives, and to his own troubled spirit. solution for the whole problem "would The last was important, for though be to let real newspapermen run the in action this man was sure enough, newspapers." in moments of leisure, of pain, of ill- 1 ' Leg J .Epi Arab forces. At best the army was a fluid union, drawn together by vague interest in the movement and by more immediate incentives of ac- tion, pay, and plunder. But alle- giance wavered, and as new clans came in, others would leave. An at- tempt to enforce military discipline would have dissolved the ranks, and the casualness of army relationships blocked the adoption of formal schemes of warfare and resulted con- tinually in whimsical defections that made it necessary to follow a harry- ing campaign, with careful avoidance of decisive conflict. The situation was amusingly illustrated during an en- counter near Akaba, when the en- gagement was lost because of the sudden wavering retreat of the Ju- heina tribe from a critical position they had apparently been maintain- ing with ease. Treason was suspected, but the men returned to camp later and smilingly explained that they had merely decided to retire tem- porarily to get a cup of coffee. Yet at times the Arabs could be brilliant, with a keen delight in at- tack that was entirely lacking in their stolid Turkish foes. The unworthi- ness of the opposition often shadowed the achievements of the Arabs, who for the most part fought as did their leader Feisal, "with the unthinking directness of a fencer . . . " The.Turks, unimaginative, with no formations to annihilate, found that "war upon re- bellion was messy and slow, like eat- ing soup with a knife." Despite Lawrence's persistent self- denunciation as a servant of two mas- HEMI NG WAY Death In The Afternoon Comes This Time For Game By JOHN SELBY GREEN HILLS OF AFRICA, by Ernest Hemingway: Scribners. ERNEST HEMINGWAY is at it, again. This book is titled Green Hills of Africa, but it is mostly about shooting the animals of Africa, and is about half full of typical Heming- way dialog. The odd thing about the dialog is that when it is written about com- plete strangers it sounds like Hem- ingway, but when it is supposed to be spoken by Hemingway, his wife. and assorted bearers and gun boys, it sounds for all the world' like a mas- querade. This in spite of the fact that in one place Hemingway accuses an unnamed female writer of learn- ing to write dialog from him, and I then turning against him. One expects books about African hunting trips, of which there have been quite a few, to describe the ter- rain ,the animals, the hunters, the odd things which come up, the kills. Green Hills of Africa does that. But it does a good deal more. It describes the author's resentment because another hunter did more and bigger and better killing, for one thing. This seems unimportant, and the fact that the author recovered from his peeve seems unimportant also. It describes how a wounded hy- ena, desperately struggling, devoured certain parts of itself in agony. The word "funny" is used' in connection with this, and this seems just sad. The book also takes several wal- lops at other writers, discusses writing a little pontifically ,tells a good deal about the camp liquor arrangements, and just talks. Mr. Hemingway was out to kill kudu, those handsome beasts with the spiraled horns. He describes in detail innumerable at- tempts, going deeply into the matter of doing nothing whatever while waiting for the animals to walk un- suspectingly into the trap. It must be added, regretfully, that the ani- mals finally did. ..11 fend Of The East Is C In The West . . . ters, he maintained a relationship between the two that enabled each to become a tool of the other's for a common victory. This "little bare- footed silk-shirted man," holding a position as delicate as any in the his- tory of war, proved himself uncon- querable and therefore became im- mortal. The book is riot strictly a military record, as it might well have been if penned by others in the campaign. The same seeking mind which achieved an understanding of Arabs and English sufficient to mold them both to a single purpose, and which imagined or perceived flaws contin- ually appearing in the structure of the leader's personality, has created (a word Lawrence was shy of) a book vivid with the glory of the Ara- bian desert and fascinating with its reality. After all, the essential difference between this book and its abridg- ment, Rzivolt in the Desert, is a mat- ter of perspective. In this fuller vol- ume the elaboration of perspective adds richness to the body of the work and provides a satisfying depth of understanding of the Arab revolt and of Lawrence, so far as his strange nature is susceptible of rational ap- preciation. The proud figures of all Arabia are in these pages, described with the perception of an Arab eye and the aptness of an Arab tongue and the memory evoked in gather- ings around Arab hearthfires. And in the telling there is a broader beauty provided ley the physical setting. Lawrence's descriptions of the etched reaches of the rocky mountain desert lack the sustained lucidity of Doughty, but at times achieve similar adequacy.I Lawrence was of a disparaging turn of mind. and occasionally he slyly mocked the ambitious among the mil- itary, as when, remarking upon the awarding of certain medals for valor, he observed "We should have more bright breasts in the Army if each man was able without witnesses, to write out hjs own despatch." Yet he bitterly criticized himself because he possessed "a craving to be famous; and a horror of being known to like being known .. . "Among the peoples with whom he lived and reached sublimity, he will find that wish fulfilled. As Newcombe was credited by the natives with only being able to sleep on rails, and Hornby was reputed to worry the metal with his teeth when powder failed doring a railway raid, so Lawrence's fame will grow before the hearthfires of Arabia in endless legend. This published record will establish his fame enduringly in the Western world, however, and stand witness that his exploits can become in re- membrance no greater than they were in the doing. 1 Jensen's Curious Novel Traces Gropings Of Amnesia Victim SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN by Carl1 Christian Jensen. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co. $2.50. By FLORENCE HARPER Seventy-Times Seven, the second novel from the pen of Carl Christian Jensen, is a tragic novel, tragic not so much because its relates the ex- periences of an inmate of one of our worst penal institutions or because it ends with the death of the hero in the electric chair, but in that it por- trays the groping of a victim of am- nesia after his lost personality. The sufferings of the convict in the chain gang and of the condemned as he awaits execution are incidental to the anguish of the individual who has lost his individuality, of the conscious soul which lacks complete conscious- ness. Duke, the convict whose journal Jensen presents in this book, is one of many victims of the Great War who find their way into this south- ern prison. His crime is unknown as is his whole background, and he is set before us as an isolated person- ality, without past or future. The journal is primarily a psychological study, full of symbolism, of incom- plete memories, obscure philosophies, and garbled theologies. As a story of prison life it is com- plete enough. Not a detail is lacking that would give the entire picture, the sights, the smells, and sounds of the prison camp and the portraits of the human beings whose lives are bound up in it. As a character study it is as incomplete as the personality1 it portrays, as incomplete as life it- self and as full of unpleasant inci- dent. It is written entirely as stream of consciousness, which alone makes for a disconnected style that disturbs many readers, but when in addition, that stream is an interrupted one, the result is disturbing indeed. But the style is admirably suited to the subject in hand and has a certain pleasing lyric quality. Duke, although we know nothing of his former life, reveals himself in kris journal as a person of some edu- cation. His mental wanderings have the consistency lent them by a cul- tural background and his allusions, historical and literary, are many and varied. "HANDS" By CHARLES G. NORRIS "UNUSUAL COMPANION" By JOHN ERSKINE BLUE BIRD BOOK NOOK RENTAL LIBRARY 14 Nickels Arcade Jensen obviously noes not intend his book primarily as an arraignment of war. However, one who reads it feels a growing indignation at the great upheaval which has dislocated the lives of so many of these charac- ters. This indignation is not much greater than that felt against all the forces of society, which, one is con- vinced, must be in some way at fault, when the very existence of such an institution as this prison is necessary and when such men as these prisoners are created. All the circumstances portrayed give strong support to the author's theme, that "thou shalt forgive thy brother his sins against you, though they be seventy times seven." This doctrine of mercy is expounded not through expressed morals or dog- mas, but by means of what John Dewey in his foreword expresses as a "unique enlargement of imagination" on the part of the reader. One may not go all the way with Jensen in his doctrine of forgiveness, for such a document as this naturally lacks perspective. One may not like the book, for it is definitely not a pleasant one, but it can not be denied that it has force. The author is not omnipotent and his record of the mental wanderings of such a unique mental case, is of necessity, not complete or even en- tirely accurate, but, such as it is, it is convincing. Jensen has had real experience as a prison worker and one feels that here he is presenting material from life. In Seventy Times Seven he deals with a social problem as well as a psychological one, and both aretsuch as to demand the ut- most of the reader, in sympathy and understanding. PERSONALITY PHOTOGRAPHS MICHIGANENSIAN PHOTOGRAPHER Phone 4434 Mostly About Books According to Richard Halliburton, whose romanticized exploits in Ethi- opia are the subject of his soon-to-be- published Seven League Boots, Italy is so sure of annexing Abyssinia that maps have already been printed and distributed showing the landof Haile Selassie annexed to the new Roman Empire. * * * * 1 ,.1 i FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 10:45 Mr. Sayles, Minister, on "Isaiah, The Prophet Majestic" Third in a series on Israel's Pro- phets. 12:00-Mr. Howard R. Chapman, University pastor, meets students in Guild House. "Social Responsibility and Personal Religion" Mr. Umbacheconducts discussion. 6:00 -Dr. James A. Woodburne, historian, will speak on "THE PROGRESS OF PEACE."nDiscus- sion. . "Eats." Social Hours. Nathalia Crane, the child prodigy who startled blase criticscseveral years ago by the effortless charm of her verse, emerges from literary retire- ment in January with a new book of poetry, Swear By The Night. An anonymous benefactor educated Miss Crane, provided that she publish nothing until after her graduation from Barnard College. ness, frequently occurring, he becamej desolate, not daring to look beyond ultimate victory at Damascus in fear of consequences arising from Allied sources. Lawrence feared he was traitor; that his efforts would merely transfer the Arabs from one master to another; and he knew that the Semites were seeking "the indepen- dence of clans and villages, and their ideal of national union was episodic combined resistence to an intruder. Constructive politics, an organized state, an extended empire, were not so much beyond their sight as hateful in it. They were fighting to get rid of Empire, not to win it." Through the whole campaign this uncertainty was never rationally resolved, but al- ways it was thrust ruthlessly away for long periods as Lawrence found him- self inescapably and thrillingly drawn into "the oblivion of activity." Law- rence in thought was hesitant, sus- picious even of his own motives, but he always found surcease in the as- oetic beauty of driving action. It provided not justification but con- summation. At times in this chronicle the au- chor displays a forceful knowledge of tactical abstractions in the accepted military philosophies, and with this; s an awareness of the futility of con-1 ventional method as applied to the ii. BOO K S which are well worth YOUR TIME and YOUR MONEY I I U ~- . Lawrence - SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM. Rockwell Kent - SALAMINA . THE PULITZER PRIZE PLAYS 1918-1934. Lin Yutang - MY COUNTRY AND MY PEOPLE. Sigmund Freud - AUTOBIOGRAPHY . Meiklejohn - WHAT DOES AMERICA MEAN. Frederich Allen - THE LORDS OF CREATION. Eckstein (Author of Noguchi) - HOKUSAI. Nesbitt - HELL-HOLE OF CREATION (Ethiopia). Pearson - GILBERT AND SULLIVAN (A Biography) Joseph Lincoln - CAPE COD YESTERDAYS . Thomas Boyd - POOR JOHN FITCH Roy Chapman Andrews - THE BUSINESS OF EXPLORING Skariatana and Blakeslee - NEW WORLDS FOR OLD. Oscar Thompson - HOW TO UNDERSTAND MUSIC. Anne Morrow Lindbergh - NORTH TO THE ORIENT. Ted Husing - TEN YEARS BEFORE THE MIKE. A BOOK OF OLD BALLADS. ... Selected by Beverly Nichols, Illustrated by H. M. Brock $5.00 3.75 3.50 3.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 3.75 3.00 4.00 3.00 3.50 2.75 2.75 2.50 2.50 4.50 I FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND TRUST COMPANY Established 1863 Oldest National Bank In Michigan .t - T r PROMPT ATTENTION GIVEN TO SPECIAL ORDERS Every Banking Service Available Domestic - - - Foreign STUDENT ACCOUNTS INVITED Under U. S. 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