Phillips Oppenheim as Prophet Innumerable admirers of the stories of Mr. E. Phillips Oppenhelm will be interested in an article which he has contributed to the "New York Times Book Review and Magazine" under the title "Fiction and Propheey."' it has been noticed by many of his readers that in some of his earlier novels Mr- Oppenheim. predicted world events. Thus, in "The My-serious-Mr. Sabin" he foreshadowed the Boer War, and in three other novels. "The Mischief-Maker," "The Great Secret," and "The Maker of History," he based his plots on the growing menace of Germany. He now tells us that in his next novel. "The Great Prince Shan," we shall find him picturing the consequences that are likely to result if Great Britain abolishes her international secret service, yveduces greatly her armed forces, and relies for peace on the existence of the League of Nations.
"The Great Prince Shan," says Mr. Oppenheim, "will be taken in some quarters as an attack on an associa' of nations It 1s, so for as I am concerned. It. is not in broad agreements to disarm that universal accord will be secured. If I were asked for my idea of tha finest thing that could happen to promote world peace I should say a treaty, of offence and defence between the United States and Great Britain. with France possibly as a third member. The. Yellow Peril is much in the air at present, and, although my Prince Shan 1s an example of the Oriental who pos. sesses unlimited power, I hardly think that the Occident has much to fear from the East. Even my Prince declares, 'Eurof® for the Europeans, Asia for us.'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.