FLAGG'S FLATS. By Jared Flagg. New York City.

The author went to Gotham, as many other men have done, to do business and make money. He is a man of ideas, independence and fortitude. Therefore, his great venture that of operating several hundred flats, all. furnished elegantly— proved a success; and when the police demanded a share of his profits, he firmly refused.

That was in 1894. At that time he held $600,000 worth of "flat property for which he was paying in monthly installments. Had he been left unmolested, he would soon have become a millionaire.

But Captain J. J. Donohue, of West 20th St. police station, demanded $100 a month from Flagg, as the price of police "protection." As Flagg's business was legitimate, he saw no reason why he should allow the police to blackmail him.

Then his troubles started. The book gives an unvarnished relation of them. The story is one that would be incredible, had not the putridity and savagery of city administrations become so familiar to us.

The New York police determined to ruin Flagg. They raided his establishments, demolished his furniture, held drunken orgies in his apartments, terrorized his tenants, brough vile women to his flats, arrested and handcuffed him, repeatedly; had him indicted on manufactured evidence, and in every way sought to crush him. They ruined his business and virtually destroyed his property, but did not break his spirit.

He turned to the business of supplying theatrical companies with actors and actresses. Here, again, his business grew rapidly and profitably. But, again, he ran on the reef of rotten officialdom, and was wrecked. This time, as before, his enemies endeavored to take away his good name. He was accused of procuring women and girls for immoral purposes. For a time,

his life was in danger, so intense was the feeling of the relatives of young women for whom he had obtained engagements in theatres and opera houses.

Finally, he decided to quit the fight, the odds against him being so great. But he graphically described his experience, and

put it in book form. He gives all the facts and he names all the persons concerned.

As three editions of "Flagg's Flats" have already been sold, I hope that he is getting back some of the money he lost.

T. E. W.

"WATERLOO," by Thomas E. Watson.

The Neal Publishing Co., New York. Waterloo, by Thomas E. Watson, is a magnetic brochure on the three days' struggle that ended the Napoleonic era. The writer is the brilliant author and erratic statesman whose capacities as a historian have seldom been doubted, however his party vagaries have enfeebled his prestige. This is a superb essay on the decisive battle upon whose fate hung the destinies of Europe, and it is a new edition rewritten to have inserted some new material only available at this late date. The Hobhouse-Lord Broughton-memoirs are used wherever needed as correctives of former impressions. The Victor Hugo delirium over Waterloo in his "Les Miserables" may be a wilder dervish dance of composition, but for historical accuracy we would frankly prefer this little volume by Mr. Watson. Its opening paragraph furnishes some suggestion of his style:

"The Warder of the Tower has his bout with the citizen on the green; Sir Walter Raleigh looks on from above, and the lieutenant's wife from below; and neither of the three, warder, lieutenant's wife nor the prisoners, Sir Walter, can agree with either of the other two as to what took place. Inside the tower, three different tales are told. It is reasonably certain that still another version was given when the citizen got back to town and began to talk."

In other words, "History is solid, narration is linear," as Carlyle puts it. It is now 96 years, come next June, since the battle, but still the strategists and annalists dispute over many points. He admits the conflict of testimony is utterly irreconcilable. But still he pursues an attempt to trace cause and effect, and introduces all the thrilling episodes. We learn about Blucher, Grouchy, Ney, as well as Napoleon and Wellington. Mr. Watson proffers as his largest conclusion that Waterloo was not a British vistory but an Anglo-Prus

sian one. It is now known that Wellington's official report was wrong. Napoleon saw but little of the battle. This is neither new, nor startling, but it is still interesting, and he adduces much proof.-The Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post.

"ROOSEVELTIAN FACT AND FABLE." By Mrs. Anne Riley Hale. Published by the author, 519 W. 121st St., New York.

This unique and piquant study of Theodore, is dedicated, most appropriately, to "The Galleries, to whom my hero has played so long and so successfully."

In her preface, Mrs. Hale remarked, when Roosevelt was at the zenith of his popularity:

"But there are straw indications here and there that many of them (Roosevelt Admirers) are emerging from the Roosevelt spell." Written three years ago, this statement proves that Mrs. Hale possesses a true insight into the trend of popular opinion.

But he By the

When Mr. Roosevelt returned from his African trip, he seemed to enjoy the unlimited confidence and good will of the American people. No one, except himself. could have dimmed his aureole. did it, and was not long about it. time he had stumped the West as a Radical; and the East as a Conservative; and . had endorsed the Payne-Aldrich tariff, in the Saratoga platform; and had condoned all the flagrant offenses of the Taft administration, he was a sadly diminished quantity. Even Jacob Riis must have sighed wearily, and Dr. Lyman Abbott may have repented him of that Outlook contract.

In the adulatory biographies of Mr. Roosevelt he is given the credit for the civil service law of New York, which they claim to have been the model of the national law.

Mrs. Hale asserts that there were 85 Democrats, to 48 Republicans, in the New York Assembly which passed the first civil service law of that state. Roosevelt was recorded as "not voting." The author of the bill was Michael C. Murphy, of New York City. Grover Cleveland was Governor. This law was enacted five months after Congress, in Jan., 1883, had passed and the President had approved, a national civil service law.

How the biographers-Leupp, Riis, Stratemeyer, &c.-could have made such a thundering mistake in this matter, is a puzzle.

Next, Mrs. Hale punctures the San Juan Hill bubble. After relating the tragic incident of the ambush into which Wood and Roosevelt led the Rough Riders, at the battle of Las Guasimas-sustaining a loss of 68 men, including Capt. Allyn Capron, and owing their rescue to the negro troops -Mrs. Hale proves, from official reports, and from Roosevelt's own book, that the

Rough Riders took no part in the charge up San Juan.

In his "Rough Riders"-the book-Mr. Roosevelt says:

"No sooner were we on the crest of Kettle Hill than the Spaniards, &c." "On the top of the hill was a huge iron kettle, &c." "We had a splendid view of the charge on San Juan block-house to our left and a third of a mile to the front, where the infantry of Kent, led by Hawkins, were climbing the hill."

Yet the blood-stirring description of how Roosevelt, sword in hand, led that charge, appeared in the New York papers, appeared in some books (including one of mine, Alas!) appeared in Roosevelt's campaigns, appeared in election majorities; and appeared in a painting which the great Russian artist, Vereschagin, worked out under Roosevelt's supervision.

With much justice, Mr. Dooley said that Roosevelt's book should have been named, "Alone in Cuba." In the painting of Vereschagin, Roosevelt and his horse came mighty near being the entire cheese. The Colonel is pictured as half-turned in his saddle, with sword-arm outstretched, wildly shaking his falchion, his trusty blade, evidently ahead of his men and cheering them to "Follow me!" The San Juan block-house is shown, on the crest of the hill.

As a matter of fact, the top of the hill. which Roosevelt charged was crowned by a huge iron pot. This pot did not lend itself very well to artistic use, so as Roosevelt couldn't transfer the block house to Kettle Hill, he transferred himself to San Juan Hill-a swap that was immensely profitable to him.

After the San Juan story had made its hero governor of New York, he was in position to do some effective work as reformer. Mrs. Hale is unsparing in her analysis of the Roosevelt record.

"He dismissed Lou Payn, whose administration of the office of Insurance had been notoriously scandalous, permitted him to go unpunished and permitted Platt to name his successor." He suppressed the report which disclosed the rottenness and criminality of the New York State Trust Co., because the persons guilty were "Elihu Root, then Secretary of War, Jno. W. Griggs, then Attorney-General of the U. S., nomas F. Ryan, William C. Whitney, et al."

Practically, Mrs. Hale charges that Roosevelt is one thing, in his public utter ances and posturing, and quite another, in his private conferences and official conduct.

There is a spicy chapter on Roosevelt's "Court Favorites." The last of the list was W. B. Dulaney, the negro barber, who was carried on the government pay-roll as "an expert accountant" at $1,600 per year.

Another chapter is devoted to the brutal ejection of Mrs. Minor Morris from the

White House. That was a grewsome inIcident and is a disagreeable memory.

Perhaps the most important revelation in the book is the chapter entitled "Roosevelt and the Catholic Church."

Beginning with President Cleveland, the Roman hierarchy has secretly controlled our Federal Government to a fearful extent; and under Roosevelt and Taft that control has gradually become more and more open. Therefore, this part of Mrs. Hale's captivating book posseses historical value, of permanent interest. The stealthiness and the duplicity which have marked the relation between the Pope and our Presidents is exposed thoroughly.

the

The contrast drawn-Roosevelt, preacher to Roosevelt the "practical"—is at once diverting and convincing for it just so happened that Theodore always got found out. The Whitney quarrel, the Storer episode, the Harriman letter, the fix-up for "the Morgan interests who have been so friendly to us," to gobble up the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, the protection given to the Sugar Trust, &c., &c.left the country in no doubt that while the Colonel was a most virtuous Noise, he could "play the game" just as other professionals do.

While Mrs. Hale gave her book the modest title already quoted, she might fairly have called it: "Seven Years of Federal Government; Corruption and Hypocrisy Exposed."

Four editions have already been sold. It is to be hoped that the facts which Mrs. Hale has collected will become generally known-not that it materially matters whether the readers adopt the authoress' opinion of Roosevelt, but because it would be a valuable lesson to the people if they were "put wise" to the manner in which things are done in Federal Administrations.

If the taxpayers of this country do not pay more attention to their public business, their private business will yied no profits. The relation between Government and prosperity, is a question that few understand. Those few band together and run the govenment-big and little-in their own interests. T. E. W.

MARRIAGE AND RACE DEATH; The Foundations of an Intelligent System of Marriage. Morrison J. Swift. Price fifty cents. The Morrison J. Swift Press. New York.

The reprehensible habit of looking at the last pages of a book, after a dip or two into the first pages, is a practice greatly deplored by some people and almost universally followed.

In the back pages of "Marriage and Race Death" one had to look (after a perusal of a chapter or two, beginning with the first), to see if there was any lightening of the horrible truths, the awful arraignments,

and the unspeakable conditions the author has touched on in his earlier chapters.

And the price one pays for "skipping" is, to turn to chapter thirty, under the heading "The Morality of Social Man,” and have this greet one's eyes:

"At all times morality is undergoing a change. The American rich, in the last three decades have rubbed the Ten Commandments out. By destroying the tables of stone they have taken squatter possession of the United States. But they have succeeded in this piracy only because all others thought it their duty to keep the ten commandments toward these rich. But toward a burglar and assassin ordinary rules of morality cease. For the burglar and assassin has rejected the ten command. ments as to others, and to save themselves others must treat him as the blood-thirsty beast he has chosen to be.

"The condition is this: the rich have taken up arms against the people, are making war on them, plundering, pillaging, rifling, stripping them, killing many as straight as if they were shot. In other words, they have inaugurated the morality of war. Now it is ridiculous for the people to sit still saying over the ten commandments and be robbed and shot dead with want. They must adopt war tactics towards the pirates. Schwab sleeps and makes $1,135,750 in thirty-six hours by a raise in stocks. This is damnable robbery. Schwab is a pirate. There are several hundred of these Schwabs who are pillaging the country with the cutlass of finance and the stolen pistol of law.

"Let us see the compact with hell these pirates have made. 'Is it worth while trying to save the sick children of the poor?' asked a New York minister, William R. Huntington, after visiting the latest dog show of the rich. "The man in the street syas no,' he continued. 'At the bench show I was struck with the magnificence of the thing, the vast amount of care, attention and money lavished on the dogs. One having its toilet made with a brush and comb, and another-a Chinese dogresting against a background of Chinese tapestry, the happy creature feeding out of a blue willow-patern dish, I did wonder if a fraction of the money might not have been better devoted to the care of little children. The cost of getting these admirable dogs to the Garden would run this (Post Graduate) hospital for a year.'

"While human babies of the people who make the wealth, die slowly of mal-nutrition-starvation-the rich take the wealth from them and squander it on their princely dogs. And the clergyman thinks a fraction of this wealth might perhaps be better devoted to human babies. And another clergyman, George R. Vandewater, says: "The right to make millions without labor cannot be withheld from the wealthy. We will see if it can not. There certainly

will be civil war to do it if it can be done in no other way. Piracy to pamper rich men's dogs like kings will certainly end in a revolution of extermination if the rich do not speedily cease plundering, and surrender their mountains of loot. I can assure the rich that this is fast growing to be the feeling and resolution of all classes toward them. There is a rising rage, a wonder, a stupefaction at their dizzy insolence. I forewarn these fool rich that this rage will break and grind them to atoms if they do not repent.

"The morality of these rich who have declared war on the United States is the wiping out of the Ten Commandments. Now wealth gotten by robbery belongs not to the pirate but to the robbed. The robbed are morally justified in taking this wealth where they can find it. Their duty is to take it. In a state of war the Commandment "thou shalt not steal" does not exist; and as the rich have declared and organized war against the people of this nation, the stolen property of these robbers is contraband and may be rightfully seized by any citizen who can lay his hand on it."

There are parts of the book which smack vigorously of what we have been calling "Socialism"-but there are other parts which show some conditions as we know, from daily newspaper reading, do exist, and they are shown in all their horrors.

When we read of the rotten moral standard of the rich, we are apt to puff with virtuous pride and refer to "our middleclass and our laboring-class" as the bulwark of morality, but Mr. Swift shows, in his book, too clearly and convincingly for misunderstanding, that the cancer has eaten into this part of our commonwealth,

and moral standards are just as low among our middle class.

The horrors of the white slave traffic are touched on, and it will amaze many to learn in one city at least, of the actual organized methods of the men who finance this horrible business.

The book is one to read carefully; not with a cynical criticism at the manner of handling the topics which are handled (and for verifications of which any city newspaper may be consulted), but with the care of a student who sees set forth conditions which we all know have existed in every city and hamlet of the United States, for years, and which are making the moral standard of the United States as low as any of the "decayed European powers."

The book isn't "nice," it discusses things one can't talk of before children, but it will make every parent realize that, only by learning of these things and teaching a child the lessons it should be taught, will there be a bettering of conditions and a cessation of the need for such books as "Marriage and Race Death." A. L. L.

IF YOU'RE FEELING BLUE

READ

"WHERE THE HAND O'GOD IS SEEN." A BOOK OF VERSES. AND SOME POEMS.

BY

CAPT. JACK CRAWFORD THE POET SCOUT.

PRICE $1.

THE JEFFERSONIAN, THOMSON, GA.