Southern Historical Association

Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Archives of the North Carolina HistoricalCommission. by North Carolina Historical Records Survey Project; Division of CommunityService Programs; WPAReview by: William J. Van SchreevenThe Journal of Southern History, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov., 1942), pp. 571-572Published by: Southern Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2192108 .

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BOOK REVIEWS 571

Appointed to the Tennessee circuit court in 1903, Hull was subsequently elected to that office and served for three years. In a three-man race for nomination to Congress this budding statesman won by 15 votes out of more than 15,500 cast. After entering Congress in December, 1907, he worked for years on plans for income and inheritance taxes before he saw those plans enacted into law.

During the early years of the First World War, Hull sought means of keep- ing the United States out of the conflict. By the end of the war he was advocat- ing practical means of tariff reduction-ideas which he was able partially to put into effect later as Secretary of State. In 1920 he was not re-elected to Congress and was defeated for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. He was given the latter office the next year and proved himself a capable party leader. In 1922 he returned to the House of Representatives where he remained until he was sent to the Senate. Since 1933, as Secretary of State, Hull has rendered his greatest service-that of an international liberal. In foresight and accomplishment he probably will rank among our half dozen best secretaries of state.

As a former member of the New York Times editorial staff, who for nine years covered the development of American foreign policy at the State Depart- ment and who attended all of Hull's Pan-American conferences, the author is well qualified to produce a book of permanent value on the Secretary of State. Major Hinton, now of the Air Corps Intelligence Section, has written in an in- teresting if not always in a scholarly manner. Naturally, perhaps, the best chap- ters are those that deal with the development of Hull's Pan-American program.

The author had a tendency to bring in irrelevant matter. For instance, in the chapter entitled "Father of the Income Tax," part or all of pages 137-39 are composed of "filler material." There are no footnotes and some omissions were noted in the index. These shortcomings, however, do not seriously mar a read- able and enlightening book.

Bob Jones College GEORGE C. OSBORN

Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Archives of the North Carolina His- torical Commission. By the North Carolina Historical Records Survey Project, Division of Community Service Programs, WPA. (Raleigh: The North Carolina Historical Commission, 1942. Pp. vi, 216. Mailing fee of 25 cents.)

This work is a guide to the manuscript collections of the North Carolina Historical Commission. Since the county records of North Carolina have already been listed in a three-volume work, there remains only the publication of a guide to the state archives to complete the listing of the holdings of the North Caro- lina Historical Commission. One difficult problem in preparing a guide to manuscripts of such an institution, which not only is the custodian of the state's archival records but also maintains a collection of other manuscript materials,

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572 THE JOURNAL OF SOUTHERN HISTORY

is one of definition. In short, what is an "archive" and what is a "manuscript" ? Assuming that an archive is an official record and a manuscript a nonofficial or private record, it may be wondered why such material as entry 243, English Records, 1663-1883, was listed in a guide to manuscript materials. Since this material was obtained from the British Public Record Office it would appear that the proper place to list these documents would be in the guide to archival material. It is in connection with this entry that the date 1883 is a typographical error and probably should read 1783. A careful study of the guide would prob- ably indicate other material which is mostly official in nature. A minor criticism could be offered in the establishing of complete entries for such items as a John Adams autograph (item 3), a typewritten copy of a Revolutionary record (item 6), as well as many others. It may have been better to group all such items as the papers become more numerous. The Library of Congress Handbook (1918) has handled this situation by grouping items from one to six pieces in a personal-miscellany class.

One is struck by the many excellent descriptive lists that were prepared by Dr. R. D. W. Connor while he was Secretary of the Historical Commission. It is apparent that useful as a guide may be for an overall picture of an institution's holdings, it is still necessary to do a great deal of analytical and descriptive listing in order to bring out the pertinent material in any extensive collection.

Virginia State Library WILLIAM J. VAN SCHREEVEN

COMMUNICATIONS

August 19, 1942

THE MANAGING EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF SOUTHERN HISTORY:

Dr. Swearingen's review of A Conscientious Turncoat: The Story of John M. Palmer, 1817-1900, by George Thomas Palmer, in the Journal of Southern His- tory for August, got under my skin.

Had Dr. Swearingen been content to damn the book as "dull and pedestrian" and "faulty in style and structure" I would have remarked-to myself-that opinions differ, but I would not have written a letter of protest. Two other fea- tures of the review impelled me to that.

One is Dr. Swearingen's repeated reference to George Thomas Palmer as the son of John M. Palmer. On pages 121 and 258 of A Conscientious Turncoat the author states explicitly that he is a grandson of his subject, and references on pages 176-77 and 283 point clearly to some relationship other than a filial one. Now, if Dr. Swearingen read the book so hurriedly that he missed these passages, I wonder if his unqualified condemnation is based on adequate familiarity?

The other pinprick is Dr. Swearingen's homily about amateur historians. His- tory writing is a craft, and those without a union card-which I take to be a Ph.D. in history-need not apply. "History writing ... is not done well except

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