OLYMPICGAMES

the mod- ern revival of the olympic games of ancient greece is due to a frenchman, baron picrre de coubertin, whose personal admira- tion of the english public school and english ideals of sport de- termined him to impart those ideals both to france and to the rest of the world by organising an amateur meeting of all nations in athletic rivalry every four years. the baron succeeded in his efforts so far that by the fourth celebration of games in 1908 he saw collected in london the representatives of 20 different na- tions competing in 20 different forms of sport, involving more than 100 separate events, with a complete illustrated code of a ae rules for each of them, accepted by more than 2,000 athletes. in 1924 he saw in paris an even longer programme, in which 45 different nations contributed a total of competitors three times as large as that of 1908. as it is therefore clear that the modern olympic games have become, in all human probability, a permanent feature in the world’s calendar of sport, it would serve no good purpose to say more concerning rece1t developments than that they appear to be more warmly welcomed by the americans and by other nations in europe and elsewhere than by the population of great britain as a whole, which has been for long accustomed to an annual round of organised competitive sport quite unfamiliar to any other country. early meetings.—it was by the british olympic committee, headed by lord desborough and the rev. r. s. de c. laffan, that the first real organisation of these games was sucessfully carried through in 1908 in london. previous meetings, though recorded, were neither representative nor properly organised. the third celebration at st. louis in 1904 had attracted hardly any competitors from outside the united states. the second, in paris in 1900, had suffered from inadequate preparation and con- trol. the first of the revival, appropriately held in athens in 1896, where the famous marathon race was standardised, was made possible by the munificence of a private citizen (m. aver- off); but the marble stadium built at his expense, though splen- didly adapted to local festivals, did not permit of a running-track suitable for the athletic championships of the world. after the success of the london meeting in 1908, that of stock- holm in 1912 carried on the movement with all the enthusiasm to be expected from the compatriots of sir viktor balck; and their wonderful stadium combined with thoroughly skilful or- ganisation in all directions to make the future of these games still more firmly assured. the meeting of 1916, originally fixed for berlin, was impossible owing to the world war; and it was the opinion of many that neither belgium nor the rest of the world were ready for the games of 1920 in antwerp. the bel- gians were unable to produce the usual official report, and there- fore certain details about the games of 1920 cannot here be given; but both in the total of entries and in the standard of achievement these games maintained an unexpectedly high level. the games of 1924 were again celebrated in paris. organisation.—of the international olympic committee baron pierre de coubertin was for many years president, being succeeded by count baillet-latour. it is the central body by which the general policy of the olympic movement is (or should be) controlled. in 1910 the representatives of the united king- dom were lord desborough, the rev. r. 8. de courcy laffan and sir theodore a. cook. in 1924 they were lord cadogan, the rev. r. s. de courcy laffan and brigadier-general r. kentish, c.m.g., d.s.o. the american members in 1924 were professor sloane, mr. w. m. garland, general charles shernill and dr. david kinley. forty-four nations are represented by one or more delegates each. it is hoped that by degrees this in- fluential committee will crystallise such ideals as a world-wide amateur definition which will cover every sport; an olympic programme restricted to those first-rate forms of sport in which at least half the competing nations have personal experience; 2 prize schedule of permanent medals and certificates alone, with an official list of properly constituted challenge cups; a univer- sally accepted code of laws to govern every competition in the games; and a body which will appoint juries and officials with power to inflict penalties that cannot be evaded. besides this central committee, on which all nations are repre- sented, each nation has its own olympic association and its own olympic council. the british olympic council, which may be taken as typical of the rest, contains one or more representa- tives of every association governing every sport in great brit- ain, and a few other co-opted members chosen for their special knowledge or experience in organisation. through this committee the association controlling each sport selects the best representa- tives in that sport. by this committee the funds necessary for british participation in olympic meetings are collected. 1114 finance.-—the olympic games in great britain are not as- sisted by any grant of public money, as is the case with nearly every other competing nation. it was necessary in 1908, for in- stance, to build a stadium in london that would hold 70,000 spectators, and would contain a first-class cinder track with three laps to the mile, a cement cycle track outside it, a swimming bath inside it roo metres long by 50 [t. broad and 12 ft. 6 in. deep; and a central oval of turf 7oo ft. by 300, suitably laid out for all the different contests arranged in it. in this stadium 27 ath- letic events were decided; and six other forms of sport, archery, fencing, cycling, gymnastics, swimming and wrestling, also took place. the cost of this stadium was over {60,000 in 1908. the marble erection in athens may have cost more. the permanent stone stadium in stockholm cannot have cost much less. as an indication of the rise in expenses since the war, it may be added that the huge stadium built at wembley in 1924 cost over £500,- 000. the games were planned to be held in holland in 1928 and in the united states in 1932, and these two countries had thus to incur this particular expense. but there is gradually ris- ing throughout europe a series of permanent buildings, fitted for olympic games, which will by degrees greatly reduce this item of expenditure in the organising country. those countries, however, which are not obliged to build a stadium have always before them the expense of sending teams, totalling from about 50 to as many as soo, to the country in which the games are being held. the problem of these expenses has not been satisfactorily solved, but the shortening of the pro- gramme has been suggested as one solution. there were 109 first prizes in 1908, 102 in 1912, 100 in 1920 and iit in 1924. in addition to the sports mentioned as taking place in the london stadium in 19¢8, there are such events as lawn tennis, shooting of every kind, rowing, yachting, football and boxing. this by no means exhausts any possible list. in 1924 a whole series of winter sports was added to the paris programme of rir events. clearly the games should not be confined to track and field events in athletics alone. it is equally clear that some standard pro- gramme must be laid down for the future by the international committee. records —a comparison of the events to which most impor- tance is popularly attached in the various olympic games from 1896 to 1924 will show the following olympic records, (table i.) to which the, world’s records have been added in a separate list (table ii.) for purposes of comparison :— olympic gamis table ii. world records. race date winner ‘time or distance (1) roo metres 192t | c. w. paddock 102 sec. (2) 200 metres 19g2t | c. w. paddock 2114 sec. (3) 400 metres 1924 | e. liddell! 4736 sec (4) 400 metres relay | metri'’c world’s record niot available. (5) 800 metres 1917 | j. e. meredith | 1 min. 51°/osec. (6) 1,500 metres 1924 { p. nurmi 3 min. 52 34 sec. (7) 1,600 metres metriic world’s record njot available. (8) 3,000 metres 9 min. 33 34 sec. i924 | w. ritola 8 min. 32 sec. 1924 | finland (p. nurmi 1st) 1924 | p. nurmi i4 min. 28 }¥sec. 1924 | p. nurmi 30min.6 — sec. metrijc world’s record njot available. steeplechase . 3,000 metres team, 5,000 metres 10,000 mctres 10,000 metres walk. [sec.] (13) marathon . 1924 | c. de mar 2 hr. 29min.4o!4 (14) hurdles 1920 | e. j. thomson! 1445 sec. (110 metres) (15) hurdles . | 1924 | f. m. taylor 5236 sec. (400 metres) (16) high jump 1925 | h. m. osborne 6 ft. 8} in. (17) long jump 1925 | de hart hubbard] 25 ft. ro in. (18) pole jump . | 1925 | c. hoff 13 ft. 10} in (19) weight : . | 1909 | r. rose brit, (20) hammer (16 lbs.)} 1913 | p. ryan 189 ft. 64 in. (21) javelin . | 1924 | h. lindstrom 218 ft. 7} in. (22) discus ; . | 1925 | g. hartranft 157 ft. 12% in. (23) hop, step, and jump 1924 | a. w. winter 50 ft. 11} in. 1jtn 1920 e. thomson set up a world’s record of 142§ sec. for 120 yards over 10 flights of 3 ft. 6 in. hurdles. the division of victories, as opposed to records, in the 23 events given above since 1896, has been as follows:—(1) u.s. a. 1896, 1900, 1904, igt2, 1920. great britain 1924. south africa 1908. (2) l.s. a. 1900, 1904, 1912, 1920, 1924. canada 1908. (3) u.s. a, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1912; great britain 1908, i924. south africa 1920, (4) great britain 1896, 1900, 1920, 1924. u.s. a. 1904, 1908, 1912. (5) great britain 1896, r900, 1912, 1920. u.s. a. i904, 1908; fin- fland 1924. (6) finland 1912, 1924. france 1920. (7) inland 1920 1924. u.s, a. 1904, 1908. greece 1896. south africa 1912. , (8) u.s. a. 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, i912, 1924. canada 1920. (9) u. s. a. 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920, 1924. (10) u.s, a. every year. (11) u.s, a. every year except 1920, sweden. (12) u.s. a. every year. (13) u.s. a. every year except 1920, finland. (14) u.s. a. every year. (15) u.s. a. every year except 1896 and i900, no con- test. (16) u.s. a. every year. (17) u.s. a. every year except 1920, sweden. (18) u.s. a. every year. (19) u.s. a. every year except table i. olympic records. race date place winner country time or distance igi2 stockholm d. f. lippincott u.s.a 10 3 sec. (1) 100 metres . ey paris h. m. abrahams great britain 1036 sec. f 1904 st. louis a. hahn us, 2136 sec (2) 200 metres . \ 1924 paris j. v. scholz usa | 214 sec (3) 400 metres... se 1924 paris fe. liddell great britain 47 3§ sec (4) 400 metres relay ‘ 1924 paris usa. u.s.a, _ 41 sec. (5) 800 metres . igi2 stockholm j. e. meredith u.s.a, i min. 51/10 sec (6) 1,500 metres 1924 el p. nurmi c meee 3 min. 53 26 sec. (7) 1,600 metres relay 1924 aris meth. ud 3 min. 16 sec. (8) 3,000 metres steeplechase 1924 paris w. ritola finland 9 min. 33 34 sec (9) 3,000 metres team 1924 paris finland finland 8 min. 32 sec. {10) 5,000 metres 1924. paris p. nurmi finland 14 min. 31 }4 sec (11) 10,000 metres f 1924 paris w. ritola finland 30 min, 23 4 sec (12) 10,000 metres walk . 1912 stockholm g. h. goulding canada 46 min. 28 26 sec. (13) marathon . . , : ‘ 1920 antwerp h. kolehmainen finland 2 hr. 32 min. 35 44sec. (14) hurdles (110). : wt 1920 antwerp e. j. thomson canada 1446 sec (15) hurdles (400) . 2 1924 paris f, m. taylor bee 52 3% sec (16) hligh jump . 1924 paris | hi. m. osborne | uvs.a 6 ft. 5-95 in. (17) long jump 1912 stockholm gutterson us 24 ft. 117 in, (18) pole jump . 1920 antwerp f. k. foss lsa. i3ft. 5 tm. (19) weight ; gra iets iqi2 stockholm macdonald voi soft. 4 in. (20) hammer (16 ib.) 1gi2 stockholm m. ]. mcgrath lo. sage 7. ats (21) javelin : 1920 antwerp j. myrra finland 215ft. of in. (22) discus bai teh = 1924 paris | c. houser sag, 151 ft. 5d in (23) hop, step and jump 192. paris a. w. winter australia 50 ft. 11335 in it should be noted that 100 metres=109-3 yards; 200 metres= 218-7 yards; 400 metres=2-6 yards less than a quarter of a mile; 1,500 metres =119-6 yards less than a mile. 110 metres (hurdles) is nearly 11 inches over 120 yards. the marathon race is 42-263 kilometres or 26 miles 385 yards. 1920, finland. (20) u.s, a. every year except 1896, no contest. (21) sweden 1908, 1912, finland 1920, 1924. no contest in 1896, 1900, 1904. (22) u.s. a. 1896, 1904, 1908, 1924, finland 1912, 1920. hungary 1900. (23) u.s. a. 1896, 1900, 1904. great britain 1908, sweden 1912. finland 1920, australia 1924. omaha—oman these 23 events all occur in the department of athletics, which is only one division of the games. in 1908, the united kingdom, with 839 entries, scored 57 first prizes and five more went to the dominions; the united states, with 160 entries, scored 22 first prizes. the remaining 22 first prizes went to the 1,529 entries from all other nations. in 1912, the united kingdom, with 526 entries, scored ten first prizes and eight more went to the domin- ions; the united states, with 572 entries, scored 24 first prizes; sweden, the organising country, with 881 entries scored 24 first prizes; the remaining 36 first prizes went to the 3,651 entries from all other nations. suflicient records were not kept of the next two games to continue the comparison in full. but in 1920 the united states won 22 first prizes; great britain took eight; the dominions four; belgium, the organising country, one; and the remaining 65 first prizes were divided among all the other na- tions. in 1924, with 424 entries, the united states won 27 first prizes; great britain, with 443 entries, won six; and the domin- ions, four; france, the organising country, won four. the re- maining 69 first prizes (without counting winter sports, in which norway won easily with finland second) were divided among all the other nations. these figures are not taken from victories in the athletic sections only; but from the full programme. some reflections.—on these statistics a few words of explana- tion are necessary. there is not supposed to be a winning nation of any particular olympic year. but human nature insists on classification of results, and this may be roughly obtained by scoring ten for a first prize, five for a second and four for a third. even then, it is clear that the marathon race is really worth more than the roo metres; or a sculling-race than a miniature rifle. the americans have done wonderfully well by specialising in athletics, and their all-round ability is shown by the fact that at paris in 1924 h. m. osborne won the decathlon comprising ten events, and also set up a new world’s record for this particu- lar competition. but the country that has made the most extraordinary pro- gress of all is finland. in estimating the percentage of victories to entries it must be remembered: (1) that not all athletes entered were actually competing, (2) that gymnastic and other teams absorb a large number, (3) that women have entered, since 1912, for certain events like swimming and lawn tennis, (4) that some (though few) athletes compete in two or more events, (5) that the organising country in which the games are held can invaria- bly count on producing, if she desires, the full number of com- petitors legally permitted to enter for every event. the art competitions have not been considered in these sta- tistics. but it may be noted that in 1920 the silver medal in literature was awarded to sir theodore cook (great britain) for his poem on “ pindar and the olympic games,” and in 1924 the same prize was won by miss d. margaret stuart (great britain) for her “‘ sword songs.” for the guidance of future organisers, it may be added that out of £27,183 available for the expenses of the british team of 1924, a surplus of £1,458 was lelt in hand on dec. 31 of that year for the purposes of the british olympic association. the games in i1924.—the winter sports began at chamonix on jan. 25 1924, and 39 entries represented great britain. there were 14 events in all, in skating (speed and figure), ice hockey, curling, bobsleighing and ski-racing. the programme in [paris was opened at colombes on july 5 1924 and consisted oi athletics (27 events), swimming (ten events for men and seven for women), boxing (eight events), cycling (six-events), wrestling (two styles, 13 events), shooting (eight events), lawn tennis (five events, in- cluding ladies), gymnastics (two events), fencing (four events), rowing (seven events), weight lifting (five events), the modern pentathlo and polo. association football was held in paris from may rs to juneg 1924, uruguay beating switzerland by three goals to nil in the final. rugby football was held in paris from may 3 to 18, the united states defeating france in the final by 17 points to three. neither baseball nor cricket has been included in the games. in 1924, in polo, argentina won four games, the united states three, great britain two, spain one and france none. many other sports were omitted. the programme was very iii5 much too long for practical purposes, and a standardisation of the games, in this and other directions, became a pressing neces- sity for the olympiad of 1928 in holland. the games of 10932 will be held in the united states (see athletics). breriograriy.—t. a. cook, international sport (being a history of the athens (;ames of 1906 and the olympic games of 1908 in london); official record of the fourth olympiad, london, 1908, issued by the british olympic council; “ olympic games" from the times,"etc. (1913); official report of olympic games of stock- holm ror2 (1913); olympic games antwerp 1920 (1920); american olympic committee, report of seventh olympic games, antwerp, belgiunt (1920); olympic games antwerp 1920, containing records of all olympic games to 1924 and world’s records (1924); f. a. m, webster, the evolution of the olympte games, (london 1925). (t. co.) omaha, neb., u.s.a. (see 20.98), 34th city in size in the united states, and the principal retail trading centre between chicago and denver, ranked first (1924) in the production of dairy butter and of pig lead, first as a primary grain market and disputed with kansas city for second place in packing-house products and as a live stock market. south omaha, the site of the union stock yards (see 25.514), which had a population of 26,259 in i9to, was annexed in 1915; benson, florence and clon- tarf in 1917; thus increasing the area to 37 square miles. the population was 191,601 in 1920, of whom 35,381 were negroes and 35,645 foreign-born; and the census bureau estimate in 1925 was 211,768. the products manufactured within the city limits were valued at $60,854,000 in 1909; $452,237,000 in ror9 (when south omaha was included); $315,971,430 in 1923; and, according to a local compilation, $388,018,541 in 1924. the 550 wholesale and retail houses distributed merchandise valued at nearly $500,000,000. the packing industry, employing 14,000 persons, dealt with 70% of the 8,697,600 head of live stock received in the city in 1924, producing an output valued at $198,392,582. industries next in importance were smelting, principally of lead and silver (value of products, $42,708,485); butter and other dairy products ($24,331,395); automobiles, trucks and accessories ($19,007,475); flour and grist-mill products ($11,180,808). omaha is the headquarters of the union pacific system, central station of the transcontinental air-mail route, and national headquarters of the air-mail branch of the postal service. it is an important centre for insurance. the percentage of homes owned is high and increasing: (1910) 39°8% 3 (1920) 48-4%9; (1925) 55%. the public schools included 58 “ grade” and five high schools in 1925, representing an investment of $20,000,000 and an annual expenditure of $4,c00,0c00. the combined budget of the philan- thropic institutions financed by joint appeal was about $400,- 000. with the completion of projects under way in 1926, the parks will comprise over 2,000 ac. and the city will have 50 m. of boulevards. a new “ home rule ” charter was granted by the nebraska legislature in 1923. oman, sir charles william chadwick (1860- ), british historian, was born at mozufferpore, india, the son of a tea planter, jan. 12 1860. educated at winchester and new college, oxford, he distinguished himself at both seats of learn- ing, and in 1883 was made a fellow of all souls college. in 1905 he became chichcle professor of modern history at oxford and he was chosen a fellow of the british academy in the same year. jie was president of the royal historical society 1917-21. in 191g he was elected m.p. for the university of oxford and in 1920 he was knighted. as a historian oman won his spurs by his studies on the art of war, the result being his [7istory of the art of war in the [fiddle ages (1898, new ed. 1924). his other works include a ffisfory of greece (1890); a short history of england (1895, new ed. 1920); and six volumes of a history of the peninsular war. sir charles is an authority on coins, on which subject he writes in this encvclopxdia. oman (sce 20.99) roughly comprises the extensive and moun- tainous promontory which forms the eastern extremity of arabia, extending from ras musandam on the gulf of oman to the eastern limits of hadhramaut at ras sajar (/a/. 16° 8” n.) on the indian ocean. its capital, muscat (see 19.43), was before the 1116 war an important centre of the traffic in arms, which wasin 1912 subjected to control by the establishment of a warehouse at the instance of the british government. the sultan of muscat, saiyid taimur, who succeeded his father, saiyid faisal ibn turki, in 1913, enjoyed a nominal authority over the whole of oman, but his rule is effective only on the coast. the tribes of the interior are practically independent under the loose control of an imam of the ‘ibadi sect, whose centre is at rustag. a rising of the “ibadis in 1913-4 against the sultan resulted in the occupation of bait al falj near muscat by a british indian force, which remained there throughout the war, defeating the rebels in 1915. since the war the sultan’s adminis- tration has given rise to much dissatisfaction and in 1920-1 the british govt. intervened to patch up an understanding between him and the ‘ibadi imam. shortly afterwards the sultan had to agree to the creation of a sort of council of regency for the administration of the state and since then he has taken no active part in the government of his dominions, residing partly in india and partly on his personal estates. the administra- tion is controlled by the govt. of india. (see arabia.) o’neill, eugene gladstone (1888- ), american dram- atist, was born in new york city oct. 16 1888. his early education was received at roman catholic schoolsand at the betts academy, whence he proceeded to princeton university, remain- ing for one year. at different times he worked as sailor before the mast, actor and reporter. in 1914-5 he attended harvard university. he rapidly became the most conspicuous of the younger american dramatists, and twice was awarded the pulitzer prize: in 1920 for his play, beyoud the itorizon, and in 1922 for anna christie. he finds his dramatic material among simple people, often sailors, and he deals in terms of tragedy with their conflicting passions and dreams and inner questionings. among his works are: thirst and other plays (1914); the moon of the caribbees and other plays of the sea (1919); emperor jones (1921); straw (1921); gold (1921); the hairy ape (1922); welded (1924); all god’s chillun’s got wings (1924); desire under the elms (1924). a complete edition of his plays in two vol. was published in 1924. his fountain and the great god brown were produced in 1926. onnes, heike kamerlingh (1853-1926), dutch physicist, was born in groningen sept. 21 1853. he studied mathematics and physics in his native town, where in 1879 he took his doctor’s degree on presenting a dissertation entitled new proofs of the earth’s rotation. we became professor of experimental physics at leyden in 1882, and devoted himself especially to the study of properties of matter at low temperatures. as director of the cryogenic laboratory, founded by him at leyden, he succeeded, in 1908, in liquefying helium. he later carried out important investigations on the influence of low temperatures on nickel and manganesc iron alloys. he also demonstrated that the resistance of electric conductors disappeared suddenly at a certain temperature and that electric current could exist without o’neill—ontario electromotive force. in 1913 the nobel prize for physics was conferred on him. he became a foreign member of the royal society in 1916 and a corresponding member of the prussian academy of sciences at berlin in 1923, the year in which he resigned his chair at leyden. his published work includes algemeine theorie der vloeistoffen (general theory of the fluids, 1881). he died at leyden feb. 21 1926. see j. p. kuenen, de toekenning van deux nobelprys aan ht. kamerlingh onnes (chemisch weekblad, 1913). ontario (see 20.113), a province of the dominion of canada. through the addition in ro12 of patricia, formerly part of the northwest territories, the area of ontario was increased to 407,262 sq. m., of which 41,382 sq. m. are water. in 1921 the population was 2,933,662, an increase of 16-08° > in the preceding decade. sex distribution showed an excess of 30,118 males over females: 77% of the population were of british, 8-4% of french and 4° of german origin. the number of indians in the province in 1921 was 26,654. the chief towns and their populations in 1921 are toronto, the capital of the province, 521,893; hamilton, an important manufacturing centre, 114,151; ottawa, the federal capital, 107,843; and london, 60,939. the government consists of a lieutenant-governor and a legislative assembly with a single chamber, the term for members being four years. the province is represented in the federal parliament by 24 senators, and by 82 members of the house of commons. women may vote, and are eligible for election to the legislature. education.—the increased range of compulsory attendance and the more efficient enforcement of the law provided for in the provincial education act of roto led to increased numbers of pupils, especially in the secondary schools. the school age having been raised from 14 to 16, increased attention was de- voted to technical education, which has shown considerable progress. in 1924 there were 7,022 elementary schools, with an enrolment of 610,322, an increase of nearly 10,000 over the pre- ceding vear, 189 continuation schools, and 183 high schools and collegiate institutes, with an aggregate enrolment of 66,784. the university of toronto and its afhliated colleges had a total staff of 583 in 1924. agriculture —ontario is the chief mixed farming province in the dominion. the value of all field crops in 1918 was $363,- 909,778, but by 1924 tt had fallen to $260,534,000. the table below shows the yield in thousands of bushels and value in thousands of dollars of the principal field crops in 1922-5. dairy farming has steadily increased in importance, the gross revenue of dairy products reaching a value of $71,000,000 in 1918 and $95,005,000 in 1924. an intensive programme of agricultural education has been carried on by the provincial government. live stock in 1924 included 2,917,c00 cattle, 1,807,903 swine and 870,279 sheep; horses numbered 673,371 in 1923. forests and lumber.—the total area of forests in ontario in 1924 was estimated at 240,000 sq. m., the chief timber being spruce, pine and poplar. the production of lumber, laths, and ontario. yield of principal field crops (ooo's of bushels) rr a | | er 1922 1923 crop : yield value yield wheat 19,893 20,131 18,537 oats . 116,034 46,404 103,485 barley 13,972 71932 13,52 rye 2,500 1 ,goo 2,011 peas . 2/077 2,907 2.031 buckwheat ,266 2,993 5,012 mixed grains . : 21,270 12,255 23,881 corn for husking 12,306 9,599 12,861 potatoes ; : 12,216' 10,989 11,479! turnips, mangolds, ctc. ; ‘ ‘ 23,381! 8,885 21,126! hay and clover 5,568? 69,049 5,799 alfalfa 629% 7,26 788" fodder corn 4,413? 19,197 3,651" sugar beet 190" 1,500 316? 'cwts. 2 tons 1924 1925 value yield value yield value 17,789 23,346 29,711 25,205 30,649 45,3850 114,249 58,794 118,100 51,288 8,063 14,570 11,287 14,917 10,070 1,592 2,300 2,331 1,784 1,445 2,912 2,456 3,771 2,607 3,592 3:727 6,449 5.401 5,579 4,098 13,971 26,403 18,149 28,246 17,696 11,318 11,141 12,92 9,736 8,763 14,560 14,980% 13,278 9,429! 15,652 10,047 24,283) 7g 72 21,611" 8,644 62,671 5,618" 60,803 5,233" 62,013 8,980 i ,0687 12,119 1,392? 17,706 16,284 3.077" 19,527 3,61 13,228 1,401 bre 2,268 417? 2,549 opera shingles in 1922 was valued at $25,687,380. pulp production in 1923 was 877,921 tons, valued at $33,481,035; the manufacture of paper is increasing in importance. fur and fisheries —the fur trade of ontario is the most im- portant in the dominion. in 1922-3, 838,249 pelts were pur- chased by traders at a value of $3,616,692. the fisheries of ontario, due to its wealth of lake shoreline and inland waters, were valued at $3,159,427, which was just $1,000,000 greater in value than the fisheries of quebec. mining.—northern ontario has become increasingly notable as one of the world’s great mining areas. the production of petroleum fell from 226,165 bar. in 1913 to 154,317 bar. in 1924. construction materials, including portland cement, and stone, 1117 both poetry and music give precedence to some far-fetched idea of scenic presentation. the change cannot be ascribed to the war. the most famous modern composer before 1914, richard strauss, never found one form of composition more congenial than another; he turned from the sonata to the symphonic poem, from symphonic poem to biblical and classical opera, from opera to ballet, and from ballet to comedy. but this rest- lessness, like the innovations of strauss, pales by comparison with the impatience and the boldness of the post-war generation. the war, naturally, exercised a disastrous effect on opera. in great britain operatic enterprise was, during these years, entirely in the hands of sir thomas beecham, who did much to raise the standard of opera in english. beecham and the british ontario, quantity and value of the chief minerals produced in 1013 and 1924 se se rr 1913 product quantity gold 220,837 02. silver ; 29,724,931 copper and ‘a opper sulphate ; ~ cobalt (metallic, oxides and salts) . 1,188,526 lb. nickel (metallic and oxide) 232,255 arsenic, white 2,450,758 natural gas 15,558,400 cu. ft. increased in value from $5,866,775 in 1913 to $10,833,670 in 1924. manufactures —ontario is the leading manufacturing province of canada, 9,174 establishments in 1g22 employing 237,319 persons with an annual production of $1,274,424,000. the lead- ing manufactures are pulp and paper, textiles, iron and steel, boots and shoes, and sugar refining. the rapid expansion of the industrial activity of ontario has been greatly stimulated by the development of hydroelectric power, chicfly at niagara falls. the queenston-chippawa development, begun in 1917, was completed in 1925 at a cost of over $60,000,000; there are eight units, totalling 440,000 horse-power. on feb. 1 1924 the avail- able 24-hour power at 80% efficiency at ordinary minimum flow was 18,225,316 h.p.: the developed water power was 1,445,480 horse-power. communications —the province is well provided with railways for internal communication and for connecting all the leading industrial centres with neighbouring provinces and with the united states. there were 10,956 m. of steam railways in operation on dec. 31 1923; several electric railways were also in operation. the greater part of the 117-2 m. of canals of can- ada are situated in ontario, the most important system being that which connects port arthur with montreal through the great lakes. while the number of canadian vessels using this system has shown a steady increase since 1917, the number of american vessels has declined proportionately, as also has the freight originating in the united states. ontario possesses the best road system in the dominion. of its 64,258 m. of highway in 1924, 22,127 were of gravel, 11,446 were macadamised, and 185 were of concrete (see canada). (sle) opera (sce 20.121).—in spite of the world war, the first quarter of the 2zoth century was fruitful in the production of new operas. but there is a distinct cleavage between the works of the pre-war period and those written after the war. before the war restlessness and impatience with the old methods were the exception. they became the rule after 1919. opera which conforms to the commonly accepted rules and standards is found only in the case of composers who belong more properly to the preceding era, like boito, puccini and stanford. ‘the gen- eral tendency is towards innovation and experiment—innova- tions of a radical nature affecting not only the technique of musi- cal composition but also the whole conception of opera, and exper- iments in which the relation between the component parts, their worth and usefulness are questioned. there are examples of opera in which music appears to have resigned all claims in favour of poetry, and examples in which value quantity \ ie 4,558,518 1,241,725 oz: 25,669,303 16,579,094 10,699,684 7,233,078 24 17,422,888 ib. 2,275,597 420,386 686,295 1,421,826 13,326 37574, 414 7,379,260 64,146 3.596, 165 309,308 2,362,021 7,370,914 cu. ft. 4,076,014 national opera company (formed on his retirement) are mainly responsible for the production of the new british operas—dame ethel smyth’s the boatswatn’s afate, gustav holst’s the per- fect fool and at the boar’s ifcad, and vaughan williams’s tu gh the drover. these ventures attracted considerable attention, and various schemes were suggested for establishing british opera on a less precarious footing. the full international season was resumed at covent garden in 1924, when a german com- pany was readmitted for the first time since the war. opera in germany strauss.—richard strauss’s first essays in opera came when he was at the height of his fame, and audiences were ready to accept and to welcome anything he chose to give them. the remarkable success of salome and of elektra, however, does not secm likely to stand the test of more critical days. certainly neither of these, nor ariadne auf naxos (revised version in 1916), has increased his reputation. der rosenkavalier (1911) based on a libretto by hugo von hofmannsthal, is more likely to stand the test of time. that certain scenes are coarse rather than immoral cannot be doubted, but the skill shown in the drawing of characters is beyond question. the lhbrettist has provided a comedy of manners which gives strauss every oppor- tunity to display his special] genius for portraying comic and pathetic situations. although he has evolved no new theories, strauss has given us in der rosenkavalter a whole gallery of characters every one of which is drawn with extraordinary felicity, varying from the sketch of a negro page boy to that of the provincial baron—the gross and material ochs von lerchenau; from the full length portrait of the heroine to the caricature of the adventurers who seek her patronage. light comedy has induced him to adopt a frankly melodic style, often in waltz rhythm, which stands at the opposite pole to the declamatory style of flekira. the dance melodies are as fluent as those of johann strauss, and much more subtle. it is strauss’s greatest asset that he can turn from laugh- ter to tears, revealing at once the pathos that underlies laughter and the oddities and whimsicalities of a quasi-dramatic situation. the librettist may not convince us that the sorrows of a heroine who has resigned her lover to a younger rival and who trembles at the thought of a lonely old age are very deep or undeserved. the musician, however, is perfectly convincing, and just as in his symphonic poems he asked us to sigh for as well as to laugh at don quixote, so in der roserkavalier, he depicts humanity in its pathetic and its ludicrous aspects. t he scene which describes ii1i8 the arrival of the rosenkavalier bearing the token of betrothal to the bride, like the ensemble of the third act, isan admirable example of his power to describe different emotions at the same time. die frau ohne schatten (1919) tempted both composer and li- brettist (hofmannsthal) into obscure symbolism, which, per- haps, cannot be expressed effectively in terms of music. while making the fullest use of his great skill in instrumentation, strauss sought here as in ariadne and in the ballet joseph’s legende to make use of broad, diatonic melodies. these, owing to their gorgeous orchestral colour, may seem impressive at first, but soon betray inherent weakness and artificiality. some success attended the performance in germany of two operas by hans pfitzner, das christelflein and palestrina—both produced in 1917. these, like the operas of erich wolfgang korngold—der ring des polykratcs, comedy in one act; violanta, opera in one act (1917); and die tote stade (1920), and of franz schreker, der ferne klang (1912), das spiclwerk und die prin- zessin (1913), die gezeichneten (1918) and der schatzgraber (1920) leave the main problems of opera untouched. more originality was shown by walter braunfels in his adaptation of the ‘‘ birds ”’ of aristophanes (1920). . busoni.—the contributions to opera of ferruccio busoni are intended for the german stage, and must be taken in conjunc- tion with the art of germany rather than with that of busoni’s countrymen the italians. this remarkable artist was 46 years of age when he first turned his attention to the theatre. two short operas—turandot, founded on gozzi’s fairy play, and arlecchino, based on a libretto written by himself—added con- siderably to his reputation as composer. but his most remark- able contribution is doctor faust, the libretto of which, dealing with the legend from an entirely new point of view, was first published in 1921. the music unfortunately was not finished at the time cf his death in 1924, but the score was skilfully com- pleted by philipp jarnach, and performed in dresden in may 1925. it made a deep impression, both on account of the ideas embodied in the play and of the manner in which they were presented. : busoni’s faust differs from goethe’s, as it differs from mar- lowe’s, in that the central idea is not the strife between good and evil, but the continuity of the human effort towards a goal which, hidden from our knowledge, is embodied in a divine will in- compatible with the traditional conception of god and the devil. this idea is presented in a set of scenes derived from an old puppet play, and connected by unity of style and a single purpose. the music is not a symphony on which the action has been imposed, but it springs from the same source as the words and the action. considered apart from the play, it reveals an instinct for classic dignity combined with the freedom of a modern. although he never falls into extravagance, busoni’s power of suggesting atmosphere, mood and emotion is as considerable as the variety and resource of his orchestration. his profound knowledge of the classics gives breadth and depth to a style which is never heavy or unduly complex, but alert, elastic and free from the influence of prevalent schools. whether in time dector faust will rank with the acknowledged masterpieces, or whether its finer points must escape the average theatre audience, may be doubted, but busoni is certainly the musicians’ musician. opera in italy the composer who in some ways most nearly approaches busoni, is arrigo boito, whose nerone, first begun when the com- poser was a young man, was left unfinished at his death in 1918. it was completed under the supervision of arturo toscanini, and performed at la scala, milan, in may 1924. there is one important point of divergence between busoni and boito. busoni was first and foremost a musician who wrote his own libretto because of the obvious advantages to be gained by unity of control. boito was equally pledged to both poetry and music. ‘the profound learning found in busoni’s music and in boito’s poetry resulted in an entirely different conception of music drama. in nerone boito attempted to place on the same level all the opera arts which constitute opera. he meant it to be spectacular enough to please the audience by a striking stage picture; he devoted great care, skill and an extraordinary wealth of informa- tion to the writing of the libretto, so that poetry should be duly honoured; he restrained the lyrical impulse in music with the double object of allowing complete freedom to scenic and poetic art and of giving prominence to the dramatic effects of a musical accompaniment which was in the main descriptive. it may be questioned whether the idea of perfect equality between sister arts originated in boito’s mind, or whether he arrived at it after balancing the claims of other systems. he was a close observer of artistic movements, and it is possible that he became early acquainted with moussorgsky’s boris god- stov, which is the best example of this theory. but while mous- sorgsky adopted it because it seemed the only possible form for a musician of his temperament, boito’s lyrical reticence may have been the outcome of deliberate choice. it is not surprising, however, that opera based on the equality of the arts should have some of the faults of the ideal state based on the equality of men. however admirable, logical and just the theory, the practice is likely to result in a weakening of power and interest. so far, the greatest operas have been those in which music predominates. the musical value of nerone is far from negligible. the scene in which the early christians learn the doctrine from the lips of their leader fanuel has a delicate beauty that is very rare in italian music, and there is a poignant pathos in the death scene of rubria. on the other hand, in almost the whole of the first and second acts there is little genuine musical interest, apart from the adaptability of the music for the stage. the libretto has many lines of good poetry, and the historical learning amassed in its few pages constitutes probably a record of compression. unfortunately, much of this is inevitably lost when put to the test of the theatre. the demands made on stage appliances make it impossible to contemplate a performance in any theatre not equipped with modern resources. if the system has proved far from flawless, the opera leaves us in no doubt as to the genius of a composer whose chief failing was the inability to choose between the claims of two arts he loved with equally deep devo- tion—music and poetry. puccinit.—a less thoughtful and more popular composer, puccini, after the early successes, touched the lowest point of his career with a comic opera la rondine (1917), and rose to the highest with the comedy gianni schicchi (1919), which revealed a freshness and humour hitherto unsuspected in his music. neither the failure nor the success owes anything, however, to a development of artistic ideals. granni schicchi marks if any- thing a return to the old system, and contains a typical aria or two of the old pattern which won the warmest approval of his admirers. his technique shows a great advance on his previous work. pizzettii—from the point of view of the development of music drama, the work of ildebrando pizzetti is more interesting. he began by accepting the criterion of his italian contemporaries, and then, dissatisfied with what he conceived to be the dramatic ineptitude of lyricism, evolved a style which seeks to give to the melody of the singer beauty, but consistent with greater freedom than is possible in music which aims entirely at lyrical expres- sion. in this he comes near to pel/eas et alelisande, but with the important reservation that while debussy envelops the drama in an atmosphere of mystery and shadows, pizzetti expresses himself with absolute directness, and asks of music only that it should have the pliability, if not the swiftness, of words. these theories are exemplified in fedra (1915) and perfected in debora e jaele (1922). malipicro.—more daring but also more questionable are the theories advanced by g. francesco malipiero, and exploited in works representing a complete reaction from all accepted ideas of opera. in paniea the singers are not seen, and the action is expressed in the movement and gesture of a dancer whose mim- icry 1s stressed by the music. sete canzont consist of episodes unconnected by anything like a plot, and relying for their appeal not in any development of events but in the contrast between opera the characters or between the moods of each picture. greater prominence is given to the musical elements in le baruffe chi- ozzotte, a free adaptation in one act of goldoni’s comedy for which malipiero has evolved a ‘‘ spoken ”’ recitative, while the duty of the orchestra is to provide mood and atmosphere. orfeo is satire, uncompromising in its music and in the action. the value of such works is negative, but it shows clearly enough the trend of musical ideas in italy. wolf-ferravi.quite traditional, on the other hand, are the operas of ermanno wolf-ferrari, whose best work is comedy. a lurid melodrama, i gioielli della afadonna, has made wollf- ferrari known beyond italy and germany; it is not equal to ii segreto di susanna, or to the charming arrangements of gol- dini’s comedies, le donne curiose and i rusteghi. wolf-ferrari combines some of the virtues of the germans, such as solid, well-balanced workmanship, with an italian bias for lyrical expression. this combination is not without its drawbacks, and is inclined to blunt the individuality of his music. the english revival the general revival of interest in music in great britain has had a remarkable effect on opera, and operas by native composers written and performed in the first quarter of the zoth century exceed in number and in interest those of any other period in the history of english music. although the greatest musician of the time, sir edward elgar, has never written for the theatre, a group of gifted musicians has sprung up not only willing to devote themselves to a form which still offers scant chances of performance and reward, but also, in some cases, determined to make it the-wehicle of new and individual expression. stanford and ethel smyih—sir charles stanford belongs on the whole to an older generation, yet his last work (which he did not live to see performed) was an opera, the travelling com- panton (1914: produced at liverpool, 1925), in whose fantastic adventures some trace may perhaps be seen of the influence of the russians. dame ethel smyth, devoted to opera from the early days of her career, was writing for the theatre at the be- ginning of the century. but it was only with the comic opcra the boatswain's mate (based on a story of w. w. jacobs, per- formed by the beecham company during the war) that she made her mark. it has been pointed out that her music lacks unity of style, and the charge cannot be easily brushed aside. but, whatever its defects, the opera has the rare merits of speedy action, a whimsical story, and music which, however indebted it may be to other sources, has intense vitality and comic verve. another work, fete galante, had a favourable reception when first performed at covent garden in 1923. boughton.—high hopes were aroused by mr. rutland bough- ton’s the immortal hour, which, performed first at the glaston- bury festival in 1914, did not come into its own till eight years later, when it was given in london with considerable success— first at the “ old vic.” theatre, and later at the regent and kingsway theatres. the unusual story, steeped in celtic roman- ticism, the easy flow of the melodic themes, the genuine, glowing passion of the love scenes, the well-built choric sections, made a deep impression, and jed some to expect even better things from mr. boughton. these expectations, however, were not realised in the imme- diate future. mr. boughton’s next essay was more ambitious, for it meant nothing less than the translation into opera of the alcestis of euripides in the english version of professor gilbert murray. it is much to the composer’s credit that he refused to be bound by archaeological considerations, and aimed rather at music which could bring home to a modern public the rich pathos and humanity of the euripidean drama. in this he partly succeeded. the chorus is treated with skill and sympathy, and many scenes have great beauty. there is a delicate tender- ness in the account given by the handmaid of the grief and resignation of the dying queen; the funeral procession moves to a strain that is at once expressive and dignified; and the music of herakles lacks neither vigour nor originality. yet on its performance at covent garden (1924) the work was found, on hs the whole, disappointing. an inadequate performance, and, still more, the barrenness of the orchestral setting, may be held partly responsible for this impression. but the revival of a greek play in a modern theatre is apt to show to disadvantage the vaunted resources of the modern stage. the intimate rela- tion possible between spectator and performer in an amphi- theatre becomes impossible as soon as the modern stage sets up its barrier. this becomes all the more evident when music in- evitably retards the course of the action and the speed of the words. no doubt for this reason a/cestis was found much more impressive accompanied by the piano in a small hall at glaston- bury than at covent garden, where the composer had at his service a vast stage and a large orchestra. a somewhat riper dramatic style was shown by mr. boughton in the queen of cornwall, a musical version of a play by mr. thomas hardy. perhaps greater musical accomplishments are to be found in mr. granville bantock’s the seal woman (birmingham, 1914), a “ celtic’ opera which unfortunately suffers from a libretto which is neither convincing nor well constructed. holst.—the greatest interest was aroused by the performance of mr. gustav holst’s one-act opera the perfect fool at covent garden (1923), soon after the composer had made a great reputation with the symphonic suite “ the planets.” the libretto (written by mr. holst) is highly fantastic. the value of the perfect fool, however, lies not in the text or in the story, both of which reveal obvious inexperience, but in music which lacks neither ingenuity nor dramatic expression. the choral writing is exceedingly effective, and thus well in keeping with the high traditions of british choral music. such a chorus as that of the peasants flying the country ravaged by the magician and his imps compares not unfavourably with the great choruses of boris godunov. mr. holst’s mastery of instrumentation, the marked individuality of his orchestral colour, stand him in good stead and give considerable point to every bar of the score, irre- spective of the action which takes place on the stage. the libretto, were it to be extended to three or four acts, would be wholly inadmissible, and even in its present form it is not free from errors of construction as well as instances of verbal infelicity. but the music bears evidence to a dramatic talent which, directed to a more worthy purpose might, in the end, produce something more important than the perfect fool. originality is evident in both text and music. but the originality of the music is easy; it is part of a temperament; its influence permeates every component element—harmony, counterpoint, orchestration. the originality of the story is purely negative, and contributes nothing to the success of the opera. if the weakness of the perfect fool is a libtetto unworthy of its music, the weakness of mr. holst’s next opera, af fhe bour’s head (1925), is a libretto to which music can add little or noth- ing. «tthe boar’s head consists of various scenes from shake- speare’s king henry iv., with falstaff as the central character. mr. holst, out of reverence for the poet, has adopted every word without alteration or excision, and also without allowing sufficient latitude for the inevitable retarding effect of music applied to words. perhaps he hoped to neutralise this defect by the adoption of folk melodies, most of them derived from chap- pell’s #istory of popular music in england, or from country dance tunes and morris dance tunes (edited by cecil sharp), and the folk song collection of g. b. gardiner. he has also deliberately given music a less important part than has been the custom of the great opera composers and, with considerable ingenuily, made the words bear the very lightest of musical burdens. in conformity with this purpose, the orchestra has been reduced in numbers, and there are not a few pages in which the vocal] part proceeds unaccompanied or is reduced to a reci- tative, enabling the singer 1o pronounce his words with the greatest speed. of actual action there is practically none, and the dramatic interest is limited to such traits of characterisation as these brief scenes reveal. 7 the value of at the boar’s head lies for us in the extraordinary skill with which mr. holst has woven together some forty folk- tunes and in the novelty of an opera where the usual relation t120 between words and music is reversed. in spite of care and clever- ness, there are moments when the listener cannot but feel that the notes are holding back the pace of the dialogue. when one good joke caps another, or when a period of prose makes for a definite climax, even the lightest music becomes an impediment. mr. holst’s stimulating and vigorous freshness and ingenuity are never absent from his music. but they are the gifts of the musician in general rather than of the composer of opera in particular. vaughan williams.—in the libretto of hugh the drover dr. vaughan williams was more fortunate, for mr. harold child has provided him with a story which possesses human interest, moves swiftly and logically to an appointed end, and is told in words which are never too sublime or too homely for musical treatment. it was produced in 1924 by the british national opera company, and made an immediate appeal. it is based, hike the music of mr. holst’s a? the boar’s head, on folk tunes. dr. vaughan williams has used them very deftly to emphasise the simple and direct nature of the story. it may be said here that the use of folk songs in opcra by these british composers owes more to the researches of mr. cecil sharp than to the example of continental musicians. abroad the general tendency has been to add splendour and brilliancy to a folk-tune used in opera. mr. holst and dr. vaughan williams appear to be mainly concerned with keeping fresh the fragrant flavour of these native wood notes wild. the question of the fitness of a subject has to be considered afresh when the musician means to draw his raw material largely from the vast wealth of folklore. it is obvious, for instance, that such a play as “‘ othello ” would gain nothing if it were set to music derived from popular melodies. hugh the drover, on the other hand, is admirably adapted for such treatment. mention must yet be made of the graceful light work of mr. nicholas gatty, whose prince ferelon, first produced at the “old vic.” theatre in 1921, has been repeatedly performed since with conspicuous success by the carl rosa company. revivals.—characteristic of this period is the number of re- vivals. j. s. bach’s phoebus and pan has been revived and pre- pared for stage presentation by the company of sir thomas beecham. later the same composer’s coffee cantata was put on the stage by the british national opera company. cam- bridge witnessed a revival of handel’s semele in the form of opera, and to oxford must be given the credit for the first per- formance in england in modern times of monteverde’s orfeo. most fortunate of all was the revival of gay’s the beggar’s opera, which had a run of three and a half years in london, dur- ing which 1,453 performances were given. its sequel, polly, has also been produced, though not with the same good fortune. opera in other countries france—apart from debussy’s pelleas et melisande, which remains an isolated example of individual genius, french con- tributions to modern opera are, generally speaking, copious rather than notable. the promise of gustave charpentier’s louise was not maintained in the sequel ju/iex. the operas of alfred bruneau, of charles marie widor and gabriel faure are little known abroad, where massenet and thomas remain the representative composers of french music drama. a far more brilliant achievement is maurice ravel’s one-act opera l’ heure es pagnole, the orchestral score of which may be described with- out exaggeration a marvel of wit and skill. indeed, its worth is mainly in the felicity and deftness of the scoring. the plot and the scenic action are nothing more than a 7ex d’esprit of typical parisian flavour. at the opposite pole stands vincent d’indy, who attempted a new compromise between opera and oratorio in la legende de st. christophe (1920). in this a narrator is made to tell the story of st. christopher, who is shown in various scenes, embodying, at first, pleasure, then repentance and ending with death. d’indy’s music, like his text, offers the strongest possible contrast to ravel’s. while the former is severe and restrained the other is wordy and whimsical; vincent d’indy stands for the classics and, in particular, for the traditions of opera cesar franck, while ravel is the apostle of modernity, intolerant of restrictions and of scholastic canons. both in france and out of france ravel has the larger following. of the novelties produced later at the opera in paris the most notable is perhaps albert roussel’s la naissance de la lyre (1925), the music of which has a certain distinction, not how- ever without artificiality. russia.—the only important addition to russian opera since the death of rimsky-korsakov has been igor stravinsky’s nightingale (1914), which is described as a “ lyrical tale.’? there is, however, as little ‘‘ lyricism ” in the music as there is in the story, which is derived from hans andersen’s well-known tale. it belongs to the kind of opera of which the finest example is rimsky-korsakov’s golden cockercl. the dramutis personae are no more than puppets, and the purpose of the musician is not so much to bring home the pathos or wit of a dramatic or comic situation as to emphasise the artificial nature of the story, and in this the highly sophisticated music of stravinsky succeeds admirably. the atmosphere is cold and unemotional, the play appears to evolve at considerable distance from the spectator, who is asked not to follow in sympathy the adventures of the characters, but to admire the artistry and the aptness of the performance. the action is reduced to a minimum. stage pageantry takes the place of stage action, and the nightingale may be placed, as an entertainment, half way between opera and ballet. it is true that the actors sing and do not dance. but if the action were to be presented by mimes or marionettes and the singers used as a complement to the orchestra the loss would be trifling. the opera aroused at first keen interest on account of its music and of the novelty of its scenic presentation. however much we may doubt the real value of innovations which tend to deprive opera of its surest means of appeal—that is, dramatic action—there is no questioning the extraordinary skill and inge- nuity of stravinsky in the domain of harmony and orchestration. united states—america has made so far no contribution to international opera, nor can it be said that a school of national opera is already firmly established, even though some original works have been produced with fair success. the conditions are undoubtedly favourable. the nation as a whole appears to be passionately devoted to its music; musical institutions are supported with a generosity which has no parallel in europe, and every effort is made to keep the public constantly in touch with the best that the old world produces. if the results have not fully justified the hopes of the patrons who more than once have offered valuable prizes for american operas, the reason probably is to be found in the fact that the absence of a tradition or of national schools adds considerably to the difficulties of the com- poser. having nothing of this nature to guide him in the choice of model or style, even the comprehensive knowledge of other schools which may otherwise nourish his mind and individuality is apt to leave him perplexed, and to suggest a hopeless attempt to balance their virtues and combine them in himself. such, for instance, is the case of mr. de koven’s, in many ways, able opera the canterbury pilgrims (pub. new york, 1917), the style of which owes something—on the composer’s own admission— to verdi, to wagner and to massenet. genius, no doubt, is not to be hired, and the inducements which it is in the power of patrons to offer are, at best, a poor substitute for friendly rivalry and example. but if there are no american operas of the first rank, works have been produced which deserve attention and are of good omen for the future. the accomplished conductor of the new york symphony society, mr. walter damrosch, has written a musical version of rostand’s cyrano de bergerac which was received on its first production (new york, 1913) with every mark of favour. horatio william parker aroused unusual expec- tations with jfona (new york, 1912) and fairyland (los angeles, 1915). other composers have produced operas of some merit, amongst them c. w. cadman (shanewis new york, 1918); j. a. hugo (the temple dancer, new york, 1919) and v. herbert (nutomah, philadelphia, 1915). (if. bo.) ophthalmology