BRAMER, JOHN PHILIP. Parole. Pp. 99. Published by the author, 477 Madison Avenue, New York, 1926

• Author: Clair Wilcox
• DOI: 10.1177/000271622713000140
• Published date: 01 March 1927
• Date: 01 March 1927

228

Young

said,

&dquo;they

call

us

barnburners.

Thunder

and

lightning

are

barnburners

sometimes;

but

they

greatly

purify

the

whole

atmosphere,

and

that

is

what

we

propose

to

do.&dquo;

Dr.

Donovan

makes

these

distinctions

clear

and

gives

what

is

on

the

whole

a

brief,

but

satisfactory

study

of

Democratic

poli-

tics

in

New

York

during

what

he

very

properly

calls

the &dquo;eventful&dquo;

second

quarter

of

the

19th

century.

His

conclusions

are

that the

cleavage

within

the

Democratic

ranks

grew

out

of

a

difference

of

principle,

real,

not

assumed;

in

larger

fields,

the

Radi-

cals

adopted

the

more

progressive

ideals;

their

connection

with

Martin

VanBuren

(of

whom

we

have

a

pleasant

picture)

was

more

incidental

than

fundamental;

the

failure

of

the

Barnburners

to

secure

their

objects

more

fully

was

due

in

part

to

their

being

in

advance

of

their

time,

but

more

largely

to

the

political

deficiency

of their

leaders;

but

in

spite

of

the

disappointments,

the

movement

had

permanent

results

of

great

importance.

In

Dr.

Donovan’s

words:

&dquo;Its

fusion

of

three

currents-demand

for

constitutional

and

fiscal

reform,

demand

for

slavery

restriction

in

the

territories,

and

resentment

of

Southern

domination

in

the

national

politics-started

a

great

impetus

towards

the

break-up

of

the

ruling

Demo-

cratic

party

and

contributed

vitally

to

the

successful

formation

of

the

next

dominant

party,

the

Republican.&dquo;

CLINTON

ROGERS

WOODRUFF.

ELMER,

MANUEL

C.

Social

Statistics:

Sta-

tistical

Methods

Applied

to

Sociology.

Pp.

306.

Los

Angeles:

Jesse

Ray

Miller,

Publisher,

1926.

This

small

volume

has

grown

out

of

the

long

teaching

experience

of

its

author in

the

field

of

social

research.

The

strange

dread

of

quantitative

methods

of

analyzing

social

phenomena

by

social

workers,

now

happily

passing,

together

with

the

widespread

ignorance

of

the

elements

of

statistics

give

this

volume

peculiar

timeliness.

The

rudiments

of

statistics

are

covered,

avoiding

detailed

mathematical

analyses.

The

student

of

social

happenings

is

given

some

of

the

tools

he

most

urgently

needs.

Important chapter

headings include :

Sources

of

Data;

Graphic

Presentation;

Ratio

and

Index

Numbers;

Probability

and

Error;

Correlation.

The

usefulness

of

the

book

is

enhanced

by

a

table

of

logarithms

and

a

usable

index.

The

volume

is

planned

to

fill

the

needs

of

those

students

who

have

not

specialized

in

mathematics

but

who

urgently

need

a

work-

ing

grasp

of

the

basic

concepts

of

statis-

tics.

The

plan

is

admirably

carried

out.

Whether

one

desires

to

use

elementary

statistics,

or

simply

to

have

a

sound

knowl-

edge

of

them,

they

could

not

do

better

than

to

go

through

Elmer’s

Social

Statistics.

HUGH

CARTER.

BRAMER,

JOHN

PHILIP.

Parole.

Pp.

99.

Published

by

the

author,

477

Madison

Avenue,

New

York,

1926.

This

little

manual,

written

by

the

Catholic

Protective

Society’s

parole

supervisor

in

New

York

City,

presents

a

brief

outline

of

essential

parole

facts.

The

general

reader

will

find

here

a

simple

statement

of

the

nature,

purpose

and

possible

future

develop-

ment

of

parole.

Social

workers

and

parole

agents

will

find

an

outline

of

the

technique

which

should

be

applied

in

parole

supervi-

sion.

Criminologists

will

find

a

chronologi-

cal

history

of

the

development

of

parole

in

the

United

States.

The

author

also

pre-

sents

a

plan

of

organization

which

might

be

used

in

the

administration

of

parole

in

any

of

the

larger

American

states.

In

conclusion

he

says,

&dquo;No

state

wants

careless,

lifeless

and

inadequate

supervision

of

delinquents

after

release.

No

state

wishes

listless,

lazy,

rubber-stamp

parole

systems

which

release

delinquents

with

the

calendar.&dquo;

And

he

adds,

&dquo;The

development

of

technique

will

greatly

increase

the

cost

of

parole

work,

but

in

the

long

run

the

higher

quality

of

service

will

prove

a

real

social

economy

for

the

state.&dquo;

To

which

proposition,

serious

students

of

the

subject

will

add

an

&dquo;Amen.&dquo;

CLAIR

WILCOX.

FRASER,

HERBERT

F.

Foreign

Trade

and

World Politics

.

Pp. xi, 346.

Price, $2.50.

New

York:

Alfred

A.

Knopf,

1926.

This

volume

is

divided

into

two

parts.

The

first

ninety-three

pages

deal

with

economic

background,

and

the

remaining

two

hundred

pages

with

political

back-