Books: Crude

THE KEYS OF THE CITY—Elmer H. Davis—McBride ($2.00). Splay-jawed, hawk-nosed St. Elmo Pence stands for pep, punch and prosperity in Hollisburg, Hollis County, Ind. He has all the best property, none of the better instincts. Colonel Oliver Perry Morton Hollis and his dark, haughty daughter, Ruth, represent the town’s historical background. They have the better instincts, but their property is bred out. A nice, crude, straightforward narrative is contrived by dragging in a hero-tramp with a fraternity pin, two trig scoundrels right out of Horatio Alger, a sleepy attorney who makes small-town small talk, a Chicago magnate who turns out to be a detective. Fists fly, autos are stolen, the big dam gets dynamited, ruining fat Pence. The Hollises ride the flood back to prestige. For variety’s sake, the hero’s grandfather leaves him a million and a half. Still, it can be read.