|
Thus writes Allan Dale in his preface to his | father's (George Dale's) account of Labor struggles | on the Barrier. To a great extent he is right, but we | are tempted to remark that, all the same, Shelley was | as great a rebel as any living today, yet the |
But one cannot say that the volume is devoid of
| style. Listen to this:~~
|
etc.,
| etc.
Probably few will be found with sufficient
| temerity to call that literature, but that is has
| style no one can deny. It is a classic sample of
| moboratory, and possesses just that force and
| assurance that compels one to listen
Unlike Shaw's notorious attempt to popularise the
| use of the classic and sanguinary curse
| characteristic of the bullock-driver
|
only startles. Dale's poetic and
| picturesque invective carries conviction.
Still it is not exactly literary, and leaves one | with a feeling that though the book will achieve | popularity, it will fail to gain immortality.
| A history, however, must first and foremost be
| judged by scientific standards, not by literary ones.
| A reliable history must present a clear and
| systematic view of the facts of the case; of events
| and their interrelations. Does Dale's book do this?
| The answer is, undoubtedly, yes. It deals in a
| particularly lucid manner with the great strikes
|
Many, no doubt, will read the volume with a shade | of disappointment arising from the fact that the | author has not developed at length the lessons that | the victories, and more especially the defeats, that | marked the turning points in the history of the | Barrier. But perhaps, after all, he did better to | confine himself to a relation of facts. Breezy | narrative is his strong point, and it is not | improbable that more books have been spoiled through | their authors venturing flights into regions that are | not their own, than through any other cause. Be it | understood, however, that Dale's history is no | dry-as-dust, matter-of-fact chronicle. No room is left | for doubt concerning either the author's views, or | his enthusiasm in their cause, and his frequent | little excursions into argument and denunciation are, | as we have already hinted, forceful and entertaining, | if not elegant. No doubt a need exists for the | carefully written treatise, which will analyse the | underlying causes and deduce the conclusions relative | to this and that phase of the Labor Movement, and | without doubt the talent capable of producing such a | work is latent in the movement, and should be spurred | into action. But when that author sets himself to his | task, he will find the need of many another book such | as Dale's. The history of industrial warfare at | Newcastle, the story of the Great Strike of 1917, and | a chronicle of the doings of Labor in power are | matters that call for urgent attention on lines | similar to those adopted by Dale.
| Very interesting, at the present time, are the
| incidents related in connection with names that stand
| today as by-words for apostasy. Joe Cook, for
| example, is recalled as having said
|
One feature necessary to any volume designed for
| use as a book of reference is wanting in Dale's book
|
Miscellaneous.
|
| while Professor Dakin throws light upon the ship worm | (teredo navilia) The city beautiful does not escape | the notice of the league, and in this connection Mr. | Alfred Carson writes on
|and recalls some of Perth's success as | well as of its failures in this matter. Mr. Catton | Grasby has something to say on forestry and | journalism, and Mr. Kingsley Fairbridge talks about |
while Mr. W. C. Thomas | deals with log-hauling. In our view the production | would be none the less serviceable if it were | decidedly less technical. |
This is another periodical which is of recent | origin. It deals with matters connected with the | grocery trade from the standpoint of the employers. | Maybe the employees will discover the need for | newspaper activity also.