Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-08
Peculiarities of People

ness. Sometimes the westerner displays
an amount of curiosity that would shake
the nerve of even the New Englander.
| In my western rambles l have met
women. and men, too, who will put you
thru a catechism concerning your an
cestry and personal affairs which, If
you answered direct and truthfully
would leave nothing concealed in your
past, present or future.
The sensations of a sucked lemon but
feebly describe the exhaustion one feels
when one of these self-appointed char
acter detectives has finished you to his
entire satisfaction.
Have you ever been thru the sort of
catechism which probed into your am
lily affairs in way that made you
SILVER, not because you were guilty of
anything disgraceful, but from the fear
that in your effort to answer truthfully
you might overstate, or disclose mat
ters relative ito others near and dear to
you. that you felt strangers had no right
to know? And yet. for the life of you,
you could not evade them without APP
pearing to be guilty Of something of
which you knew yourself to be perfectly
innocent.
Anent this sort OF inquisition, asked
a friend the other day:
"Do you think one is justified in lying
when people ask you questions concern
ing yourself simply to satisfy an aim
less curiosity?"
II don't know anything about the
moral phase of the question" was the
answer given me, but I'll tell you
what do in my own case very success
fully, and you may have the benefit of
my experience. When I am asked a
question / do not wish to answer, and
which no one has right to put to me.
l simply answer it by exaggerating the
truth. I make the truth SO immense
that it is Impossible for any one in his
right senses to believe 1t, and what is
more, feel perfectly justified in doing
So
pondered my friends reply, and
concluded he was right. When you re-
fleet seriously over the subject. people
really do not deserve any truth what
yer in return for idle curiosity. In
act, question whether one is not I'M
Ter q moral obligation to do bit of ly
ing The Bible says "a fool should be
answered according to his folly" why
not presuming person according to his
presumption? No acquaintanceship.
nor even friendship. should be presumed
upon in this manner, yet there are
scores of people-well-mea folks Of
the frank outspoken type-who are do
ing it every day Of their lives. If they
find your answers do not jibe. they cay:
II have no further use for that person;
he Cor she) is untruthful." Strange to
say. 1t never occurs to them that the
fault is wholly their own; they hase re-
ceived simply what they deserved. No
friendship, no intimacy with another.
justifies impertinence, and an unsolicit-
ed question concerning another's af-
fairs, family or otherwise, is an unpar-
donable impertinence.
l have in mind woman-a perfect
lady who has nothing to hide about her
life. She is fine type of what Is clean
and wholesome and true. Yet this
woman / have heard make so many
evasive and misleading replies to in
quisitive people as to perplex my moral
sense, and when taken to task, she re-
piled. laughingly:
I feel the keenest delight in lying to
such folks The liberty some people
take in trying to get information of
your personal affairs, not voluntarily
offered, is extremely distasteful to me,
and so long as they persist in it, / am
forced to the use of fiction" I glory in
that woman's spunk and have decided
that hereafter, when I am asked i'm
pertinent questions. too will try my
hand at fiction.
Another kind of interrogation more
justifiable perhaps than the former, but
equally rude and offensive, is the sort
that greets you in strange city, when
on the hunt for house or rooms.
l recently had occasion to bump up
against one of this sort. the owner OF
a house on whose front was displayed
huge placard of Furnished Rooms"
Ringing the bell brought the landlady
enough to admit my glance but not my
person. Placing her head in this oper
ing the woman fired at me vollsy OF
questions that knocked me GREATNESS
and speeches.. "What-you-want?
What-your-name? Where-you- from?
what-your- How-iong-you-
stay? Married or-any-children?"
Poor children. They are worse feared
than the bubonic plague. And most
houses draw the line at them. Those
of you who are so unfortunate as to
possess children, If you ever so in
search of rooms or house, advise you
to kill EN- off. before you start. It's
your only chance. You may have COM
mitted every sin In the decalogue-there
is hope for you SO long as you have not
committed the objectionable blunder
of having children.
/ never hear that question asked.
without recalling to mind the witty
ruse adopted by one bright woman who
happened to own children. After tramp
ing the city for nearly week In search
of house, and being everywhere turn
ed down by reason of her children, she
determined to have house in spite OF
these rnpediments. So hustling her
family off to the cemetery. she started
out to renew her search. When the us-
ual question was put, placing her hand
kerchief to her eyes, she replied in fall
tering tones and with great emotion,
Yes she had husband and five chill
dren but they We're all in the cemetery
The landlord, delighted with the pros
pect of good rent from single occu-
pant, ciinched the bargain at once-she
insisting on a written contract, and
leasing the house for two years. Tri-
umphant, she then marched out to the
cemetery and brought back her family.
them to the astounded
landlord who owned himself beaten and
gave In.