Arizona republican., 1903-03-30
A HUMORIST TALKS SENSE
Opie Reid On the Handicap Which
Most Surely Counts Against Success

The conversation had taken turn
upon economics when an elderly man,
who had the appearance of a philoso-
phel, remarked:
.Oi course, it is nothing more than
natural for an old-timer to believe that
it is getting harder and harder to make
1 living. The fact is, I don't believe
that any one can prove that it isn't.
l aGl ee that in the main the WorlG is
letter off than ever-in the past. ana 1
MY he stiffened and slow sens" of /
.daptabilit.y in us cid ones. Seasoned to
the ilabits of Il day that is passing-It /
may be this that renders us 'unavail- |
able when we apply for a position.
at is distressful to contemplate the
ag.s at which men in the different
trades are told to take a back seat, I
some of them at the prime age of 81 |
Why, when l was 80 1 was hoy; had
just begun to chip in when men We're
talking. Thirty, Why at so, 1 WAS
breaking colts. Yes. all old men cast
the eye of endearment upon the past;
0ur grandfathers did, and cur grand
children will in their turn, but aside
from the considcr2 ton of eyes dimmeI
by fondness-times have changed, ana
I must confess, mainly for the better.
Take the commercial traveller, for in
stance. Thirty years ago he was a sort
of trade troubadOur. Into rural COM
munities he brought new songs. Upon
arriving in town his first duty was to
go about among his acquaintance tel
ing the stories he had heard since his
latest visit. During all this time he YVES
buying whiskey. No one thought OF
supposing that he was drinking too
much; it was u part of his business. His
customers drank: the local candidate.
| making a speech on the public square.
was also drunk, or at least under the
| influence of liquor; and l have known
4 staggering town marshal to conduct
I reeling Grunkard 20 the lookup. This
| condition of affairs found its most pro-
bounced emphasis in the south, and it
| is mainly of that section of the country
| l am speaking.
over our entire national domain
| printers roamed from one spree to an
| other. sometimes looking for work, but
| just as often lodging it: and the shoe
maker who didn't get drunk was usual
| ly put down as perhaps a remarkable
| citizen, but as an inferior workman.
And the newspaper man, Hah, the co
| itorial writer's Inspiration was thought
| to have arisen not from a profound
| study Of his subject, but cut Of the
| 'umes of the brandy bottle. Old DR..
| Johnson. who drank nothing but te;.
| declared with a burst of more bombast
| than good sense that if you wish to b.
| hero you must drink brandy; and the
| editorial writer was & hero. His edi-
| torials We're red-eyed with debauchery:
| the enunciation OF his political faith
TGs a drunken shout. He wrote during
| many years. and not one single line of
| his output serves as Il true mark of
| folmer generation. 1t is more like the
track of some wild beast. l am speak
ing now of the average editorial writ
er. OF course, there We're a few, Horace
| Greeley among them, whose sober and
well-considered observations passed
into literature and are alive today.
And the lawyer-think of him, 1t -
| said Of the great orator. Tom Marshall,
that sometimes they had to prop him up
| to keep him from falling over on the
| wrong side of the question. Law did not
| COUNT; what the jury wanted and what
the judge demanded were flights of im-
p2ssioned oratory. The lawyer that
made the best speech won his case.
| Justice was all mouth. And though tho
bandage remains over her eyes, her
mouth is still loose. Temperance ora
tors there were denouncng rum be-
tween sprees: and the expert bunk
keeper was allowed time for his bout
| with Barleycorn
But note the difference today. There
Is no place for the man who drinks tn
excess, and the young man with the
scent Of liquor on his breath is turned
away The editorial writer is q stud
ent CT conditions and the reporter is
Keen and observant man of affairs.
Inc new lawyer is business men. An
grafton cannot win his case and; the
commercial traveller IS a moralst COM
pared with what he was. His word
must be above question and his conduct
must have absolute faith
A great change we must all of US
ADMIT, nor can we truthfully say that it
was the enactment of laws that work ed
TINS resolution. Practically the same
J laws existed then. 1t is growing intel