4H 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



recalls one fact which should not be lost 

 sight of, and that is the danger the finances 

 of a city are sometimes exposed to, not from 

 the votes of the poorer members of the com- 

 munity, but from the machinations of the 

 richer, who have it in their power to bring 

 the most corrupting influences to bear on 

 city councils, with a view to obtaining grants 

 for improvements quite unnecessary on pub- 

 lic grounds, but eminently useful for increas- 

 ing the value of private properties. Uni- 

 versal suffrage has not been the sole fount 

 of our municipal troubles. 



" The purification of our city govern- 

 ments," says Mr. Fiske, " will never be com- 

 pleted until they are entirely divorced from 

 national party politics." This is a view 

 which a leading newspaper in this city loses 

 no opportunity to ridicule, but which we 

 think founded in good sense. The matter 

 does not admit of discussion here, further 

 than to say that this is a subject on which 

 the experience of England can be appealed 

 to. As our author observes, " The degrada- 

 tion of so many English boroughs and cities 

 during the Tudor and Stuart periods was 

 chiefly due to the encroachment of national 

 politics upon municipal politics." 



The rise of our Federal Constitution is 

 well and graphically sketched ; and in a few 

 words the distinction between the two great 

 political parties is well established. It is 

 pointed out that, whereas the tariff ques- 

 tion was formerly debated as a constitutional 

 one, the predecessors of the present Demo- 

 crats holding that Congress had no power 

 under the Constitution to impose taxes for 

 the purpose of advancing or protecting cer- 

 tain industries, it is now debated on eco- 

 nomical grounds alone. The former view of 

 the matter, however, we venture to hold, has 

 not lost its pertinence, and we are not with- 

 out hope that the citizens of this free repub- 

 lic will yet see that the tariff question is one 

 in which their liberties are at stake. Mr. 

 Fiske, as might be expected, has placed him- 

 self clearly on record as a friend and advo- 

 cate of civil-service reform. Of the his- 

 toric declaration that " to the victors belong 

 the spoils," he observes that " the man who 

 said this (W. L. Marcy) did not realize that 

 he was making one of the most shameful re- 

 marks recorded in history." 



There are appended to the volume some 



valuable and interesting historical documents, 

 such as Magna Charta, the Constitution of the 

 United States, with its amendments, etc. 

 At the end of each chapter is a set of well- 

 chosen questions, adding not a little to the 

 value of the book for educational purposes. 

 Mr. Fiske has produced a work which can 

 not fail to be widely read, and which will do 

 much to develop a spirit of intelligent and 

 high-minded American citizenship. 



"Wild Beasts and their Wats. By Sir 

 Samuel W. Baker, F. R. S., etc. Lon- 

 don and Kew York : Macmillan & Co. 

 Pp. 455. Price, $3.50. 



Sir Samuel Ba&er's last book of hunt- 

 ing adventures is a model of its class. Its 

 accounts of hunts are spirited and fascinat- 

 ing, being neither too much nor too little de- 

 tailed. Moreover, it is not made up solely of 

 the circumstances of killing certain animals 

 in specified places. It gives, in addition, the 

 results of a vast deal of highly intelligent 

 observation in regard to the nature and hab- 

 its of the creatures that have fallen to the 

 rifle of this humane and cultivated sports- 

 man, as well as of the domesticated animals 

 horse, dog, elephant, and camel which he 

 employed in different expeditions. Many 

 incidents of an amusing nature are included, 

 the telling of which affords play for the de- 

 lightful wit of the author. The greater part 

 of the volume is devoted to large game the 

 tiger, leopard, lion, bear, hippopotamus, 

 crocodile, buffalo, bison, and rhinoceros. 

 Other animals included are the boar, hyena, 

 giraffe, and various species of the deer fami- 

 ly. The opening chapter deals with the de- 

 velopment of the rifle during the past half- 

 century, embodying Sir Samuel's reasons for 

 preferring the sorts of arms and ammuni- 

 tion that he has used for different game. 

 Following this are three chapters devoted 

 to the elephant and his ways when tamed, 

 including his behavior when employed for 

 hunting tigers, etc. In all parts of the book 

 appear traits of the animals described which 

 will be new to many even who are well read in 

 zoology. It appears that the elephant, who 

 is generally thought of as a slow and lumber- 

 ing, bulky body, can kick with extreme quick- 

 ness and naturally with great force. " This 

 is a peculiar action," says our author. "As 

 the elephant is devoid of hocks, and it uses 



