Frances Wright.

By WILLIAM RANDALL WATERMAN. Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law. Longmans.

Persons who have kept in touch with recent progress in the field of historical writing must Have been impressed by the increasing emPhasis upon the study of social and intellectual development. There is probably no phase in the a people, however, which pre- sents greater difficulties from the point of view of the student, owing to the more or less intangible character of the material which must be used. A great deal of preliminary work m the form of monographs and special studies will be necessary before anything in the way of broad generalization can be safely attempted. The volume under consideration represents a definite contribution to the fund of information which will some day serve as the basis for a social and intellectual history of the nineteenth century. One of the most convenient methods of approach to this sub- ject is by way of biographical studies of the great leaders of reform, and this represents the viewpoint of Mr. Waterman's study of Frances Wright. Whether one chooses tegard Miss Wright as a great driving force in the movement for reform, or as a product of her age and environment, a consideration of her life and work yields results of the greatest interest and value.

Of Scotch parentage, Miss Wright was born in Dundee in the year 1795. During the fifty- seven years of her life she became widely known, both in Europe and America, as a champion of political liberty, social reform, and free thought." While she was unquestionably born with the temperament of the reformer, yet her opinions were to a very large degree determined by the fact that the contemporary political and social institutions which came under her early observations were tinged by the reactionary spirit of post-Napoleonic Europe.

As is true of many leaders of reform, particularly those of a philosophical turn of mmd, Miss Wright conducted her crusade along somewhat general lines. She became convinced that the surest means of effecting the regeneration of society was by educating the masses in the principles of rational thinking! If this end could be accomplished, specific reforms would come of themselves. It is true that she participated in an experiment to effect gradual emancipation of negro slaves in the United States; that she. attempted to organize a community embodying her social views; and that she lent her support, along with Robert Dale Owen, to the American labor movement of the late twenties. Still, she devoted the best of her talents, and a large share of her most remarkable energies, to the lecture platform, from which she expounded her doctrine of rationalistic thought, upon the basis of which a social Utopia should some day arise.

Although dealing in generalities to a very large extent, Miss Wright nevertheless did give a very decided impetus to the movement for securing women's rights. In this connection it should be said that her personal exempt? was probably even more important than were the opinions which she voiced from the lecture platform. Her whole life and career were a demonstration of the fact that women possessed both the ability and the courage to share in the solution of the great public questions of the day and that sooner or later their voice must be heard.

The volume contains a great deal of interest to the general student of American history. From her youth, Frances Wright was intensely interested in the United States ase a land where political liberty actually existed, and where there was a field for the development of institutions based upon rationalistic principles. The author has quoted freely from her writings and her observations concerning the United States, its people and its institutions, are among the most interesting parts of the volume. One is particularly impressed by the friendliness of her attitude during a time when hostile foreign critics were all too common. Compare, for example, her impression of the Congress of the United States at work, with the ribald comments which occur rather frequently in the newspapers of today. Referring to a visit to the national house of representaives about 1820, she says: "Never shall I forget the feelings with which I first looked down from the gallery of the hall upon the assembled representatives of a free and sovereign nation. Is there, in the whole range of this peopled earth, a sight more sublime." One might cite further quotations to the same purpose.

Mr. Waterman's study is based upon a thorough and conscientious study of the available sources for the period. Newspapers and pamphlets have been extensively used and the writer has also succeeded in unearthing a good deal of indispensable manuscript material. The notes which accompany the text, while entirely adequate, are not overwhelming, as is too likely to be the case in a doctoral dissertation. If one were to venture a suggestion,: it would be in order to express a wish that the writer might have attempted a little something more in the way of an analysis of the extremely interesting but somewhat puzzling personality and character of Miss Wright. The reviewer has always had a somewhat objective interest in the psychology of the "reformer type." It may be, however, that this kind of thing does not properly fall within the scope of a scientific historical monograph. In any event, it is probably much safer to leave generalization of this sort to one's readers.

The November issue of the Forum contains an article by Mr. A. C. White entitled "An American Facismo."

The issue of the Historical Outlook for October contains an article "Books for Historical Reading in Schools; a report by Joint Committees of the New England History Teachers' Association, the History Teachers' Association of the Middle States and Maryland, and the Teachers' Section of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association" by Professor Herbert D. Foster, Chairman.

The Journal of Social Forces for September contains an article "Education for Citizenship" by Professor Malcolm Willey.

There has recently appeared from the press of Henry Holt and Company "Essays toward Truth—Studies in Orientation" by Professors Kenneth Allan Robinson, William Benfield Pressey and James Dow McCallum, of the Department of English.

"Contemporary Short Stories" by Professor Kenneth Allan Robinson, has just been published by Houghton MifHin Company. This volume contains an eight-page preface by the author and twenty-one representative short stories by present day writers.

The Journal of Applied Psychology for October contains an article by former Professor A. R. Gilliland and Professor H. T. Moore "Immediate and Long-Time Effects of Classical and Popular Music."

"Farmers and Workers in American Politics" by Professor Steuart A. Rice, Ph.D., has just appeared as number 2 of volume 113 of the Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law. This book will be reviewed in a later issue of the MAGAZINE. Professor Rice is also the author of an article Prohibition and Statistics" reprinted from the Journal of Social Forces for September, 1924.

Delta Alpha initiates between the halves