200 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



April 1, 1913. 



ADMIRAL MAHAN ON ARBI- 

 TRATION. 



Armaments and Arbitration. By Admiral 

 A. T. Mahan. (Harper.) 



When Admiral Alfred T. jMahan dis- 

 cusses " The Place of Force in the Inter- 

 national Relations of States," the advo- 

 cates of militarism and the agitators for 

 universal peace alike do well to hearken. 

 Professor Mahan (for he is scholar by 

 the right of degrees conferred, as well 

 as Admiral m the United States 

 Navy) bases his argument in his latest 

 book on the contention, " too frequently 

 ignored, that neither arbitration in a 

 general sense, nor arbitration in the more 

 specific form of judicial decision based 

 upon a code of law, can always take the 

 place, either practically or beneficially, 

 of the processes and results obtained by 

 the free play of natural forces." Ot 

 these forces this naval writer w'ould 

 have us believe " national efficiency is a 

 chief element and arbitration being the 

 representative of the national strength 

 is the exponent." Stated in other 

 words, Admiral Mahan would have us 

 believe that all civilisation has to de- 

 pend for its supremacy on its energy. 

 When the two " essential elements " — - 

 international competition and armament 

 — fail, the end of civilisation is near at 

 hand. Particularly stimulating is the 

 Admiral's concluding chapter, entitled 

 " Was Panama a Chapter of National 

 Dishonour?" It is his opinion that 

 " not even the consummate results of the 

 American occupation, in sanitation, in 

 maintaining order, in advancing the 

 canal, with its promise to the world's 

 future, are so complete a iustification 

 for the action taken as is the miserable 

 and barren record of the former owner, 

 the Republic of Colombia." 



THE WONDERS OF WIRELESS. 



The Wireless Man: His Work and .Idven- 

 ttnes on Land and Sea. By Francis A. 

 Collins. (The Century Company, 251 pp., 

 ill.) 



It is said that there are ioo,ooo boys 



in the United .States who are actively 



employed for at least a part of their 



time as amateur wireless operators. 



This is only one indication of the rapid 



advance that has been made in recent 



years in this new held of human 



activity. Many of the wonders of this 

 fascinating business are graphically de- 

 cribed by Francis A. Collms, m " The 

 Wireless Man : His Work and Adven- 

 tures on Land and Sea." The every-day 

 happenings in the great oversea wireless 

 stations, as recorded by Mr. Collins, are 

 quite as romantic as most of the inci- 

 dents that we expect to hnd in fiction. 

 Some of the stirring rescues at sea, ac- 

 complished through the aid of wireless, 

 are described, and one chapter is devoted 

 to " Three Heroes of the Wireless." The 

 great value of the new service to the 

 army and navy is outlined. 



A little book compiled by the editor 

 of Work (London) explains the prin- 

 ciples and mechanism of wireless tele- 

 graphy, and gives definite instructions 

 for the assembling of the apparatus. 

 Both text and illustrations are said to 

 have resulted from the practical experi- 

 ence of men who thoroughly understand 

 their subject. 



THE "MOVIES." 



Moving Pictures: How They are Made arid 

 Worked. By Frederick A. Talbot. (Lippin- 

 cott.) 



The dramatic and mechanical perfec- 

 tion of the photo-play and the moving 

 picture is one of the marvels of the 

 hour. Doubtless the millions of people 

 who crowd into the countless moving 

 picture theatres have often wondered, 

 while gazing at the fascinating films 

 being unreeled before them, just how 

 these entertaining effects were produced, 

 What is back of the pictures — how are 

 they made? Mr. Talbot answers the 

 question in a most interesting and 

 comprehensive manner. The subject 

 is dealt with from the earliest experi- 

 ments with " action photography," to 

 the life-like perfection of the picture 

 play of to-day. A fascinating section 

 of the book explains in detail the pro- 

 duction of " trick " pictures — the danc- 

 ing furniture, the " fake " automobile 

 accident, the making of apparitions, 

 giants, and lilliputians, the rolling of a 

 pumpkin uphill, and all the other gro- 

 tesque happenings of the comic moving 

 picture films The volume is a veritable 

 encyclopaedia of the moving picture art, 

 and is liberally supplied with illustra- 

 tions. 



