The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-06-16
COMMENTS ON MEN AND
 MATTERS OF THE WORLD

NICE Robert Louis Stevenson HN wrote his remarkable story of N the adventures of Prince Florizel of Bohemia and the suicide club of Lon don these gruesome organizations have been popular. Indeed, they have taken a firm hold on our healthy American life and tho frequency with which they are unearthed nowadays is alarming, to say the least. As to whether the vogue of suicide clubs is due to stevenson's story, as some admirers of the novelist would have us believe, is problematical, but the fact remains that there are many such organizations fiourishing in the large cities of the United States where people of warped minds are wont to congregate- It is safe to assume that the man or wo- man who joins a suicide club is mentally unbalanced at the start. He is either afflicted with a morbid imagination or suffers from dementia in a more violent form With this supposition granted we are confronted with the fact that there must be a great many more crazy people outside of insane asylums than there are inside them. As no sane motive can in1u- ence a person to become a member of a suicide club, it is rather hard for people of healthy minds to understand how such organizations can exist and what are the practical advantages they offer. If we put these down as nihil and conclude that the suicide club merely serves to re- move burden from the fool killers shoulders we will have the situation summed up about right.
 Sam Lewis, the famous money lender of London died a short time ago, leav- ing behind him widow who is really young and handsome'' and possessed of $15,0000OO. Now rumor says that the widow is to wed young man whose sole qualification is his ability to dance and talk we'll A philosopher cannot but speculate what good it served the la mented Lewis to lay up all his wealth for another who probably never worked in his life and could not earn a shilling if he tried. It is bad enough to think of ones wife marrying another man after he is gone but the idea of saving ali your life and piling up a fortune for the suc- cessor in your wife's affections to enjoy is positively painful Perhaps after all it is best to spend all the money you get and avoid such a contingency.
 The Hawaiian resident who purchased an island so that he might escape from lawyers reveals a delightful possibility to people who are tired of the every day world and would like a change. If it were possible for every disgruntled man to buy little island how nice it would bel One could be monarch of all he sur veyed with no man to say him nay. He could eliminate automobiles, end7seat hogs, cranks, politicians and other disad- vantages of a too ripe civilization and with the exercise of good judgment he might succeed in erecting a truly Elysian resort. But it would necessarily be a lone some undertaking. The man who owned all island would have to stay by himself for If he entertained visitors or shared lis retreat with another trouble would begin immediately, so true it is that when two or more men are gathered together there will be a fuss, fight CT a frolic. neither of which is conducive to that peace of mind to be attained on desert island.
 man in Oklahoma has just spanked his mother-in-law, which strenuous amusement cost him 8. But the fine is a small matter. The temerity of this citi- zen of Oklahoma is surely ample enough to entitle him to a Carnegie award and he is already the admiration of other male animals in various parts of the country who would like to spank their mothers-in-law but from prudent reasons
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