The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-05-17
Miss Sinclair's
Sociology
BY Keith Gordon
Copyright, 1904, by Frances Wilson


GEOLOGY is beyond the writer's knOwl-
edge
When the corners Of woman's
mouth turn upward and the tips of her
fingers curl e-er so slightly backward
it is safe to assume that she was in
tended for the decorative rather than
the useful purposes of life. Dame Ma
ture arranges these little matters to
suit herself.
Fate, by way of showing herself in
accord with natures intentions in re-
gard to Miss Sinclair, provided that
young lady with a bank account Of
rather astounding size. This possibly
had something to do with the depres-
sion Of mind that drove her into the
serious field of sociology, the very
rich and the very poor being in prac-
tically the same predicament. To have
every wish gratiied is in effect as
crushing as to have no wish gratified
This is as plain as a pikestaff, and it
doubtless had something to do with
Marcia SincIair's unnatural thirst for
knowledge.
In consequence she might have been
seen almost shy day that winter wend-
ing her way up to Columbia, clad in
austere tailor made gowns and carry
ing book or two, as the outward
visible sign" of her inward intensity
Sociology, she decided at the start,
should begin at home, and thereupon
she abandoned her carriage and took
to street cars, thereby seeing more Of
real life than she ever had seen before
In this wise the winter days marched
by, keeping step, it seemed to her, with
a grim, stupefying mOnOtOny. Whether
she looked backward into the past or
forward into t'le future. the view was
the samoa blur Of gray days hu1dled
together by the perspective
She was listlessly thinking some such
thoughts as these on her way to q lee
ture one day when a man in overalls
and blouse boarded the car Something
in the way he carried himself attracted
her attention
might be the Emperor William tray
cling incOg.," she unused as her aroused
glance took in tho square set shoulders,
clear cut face and crisp hair. 4 few
months earlier It would not have Oc-
Cured to her to notice a man in over
alls and klOuse at all. Seen fror0 her
carriage, 4hey had been mere shadows,
by no maans huD{an beings. Now all
was different. Though she began to
suspect that the pursuit of knowledge
was only another Of the endless make
shifts by >shich we strive to forget the
ennni Of lie, she had learned one cArdi-
nal fact Aamely, that The humblest
worker shares all the most important
things Of life with the greatest poten-
tate.
TIE young workman meantime lad
dropped ip"o corner seat, thrown one
leg over the other and, with an arm OK
tended aloay the back of the seat, turn
ed pree4'cupied glance out Of the
window, thereby presenting to his Wis
a-vt, a pr,fle that, to say the lsast.
bespoke ABSOLUTE physical integrity.
Nts hancs, she noticed with growing
wonder. though large and powerful,
wee of tb< sort most frequently seen
prctr 1dine from the sleeves Of modish
tweets or knowing tuxedOs. Emcrg- !
ing from tie sleeves Of blouse they |
were nOthtpg short of startling, and
Miss EInclkir was stirred by an INFER +
est that cegenerated into curiosity. |
What msnker Of workman could he be
who wore Ill the habiliments Of toll |
with the a.. of one descended from a !
throno for til hours masquerading?
WITH al abrupt turn Of the head, IN
cannily suggestive Of his having heard
her mute Qasry, he turned and received
her pyZEle* glance full in the face. /
For n,om.nlt they stared at each 9th |
er with .he .andisturbed frankness Of q !
pair OF chydren; then Miss Sinclair,
with an ac:te recollection of the new
ly acquired sact that the humblest of
toilers Ia person and not thing, |
withdrew IAr eyes, while the man In
overalls toek his turn at inspecting.
1t was FOL this reason that she did |
not see 81. slight witch Of the lips
that had eo.:owed the open amazement
of her glane".
When. A,sr in the day. she recalled
the little rc..ne that followed she could |
find but o.. excuse. 1t was an up
fare OF to-. madness which a certain
philosopher had long since discovered |
as lurking IN each and every human
brain.
A quick. sxsolute desire to know who |
and what ae was had seized her, and |
for twent, five years she had been &C.
customed 70 getting what she wanted. |
Was he isor by every token mere
workman, man Of the sort that |
might coms toto fix the electric wires |
or solve plumbing mysteries? Why, |
then, should she hesitate to address
him?
Lifting her eyes, she leaned forward
with the serene blandness Of a queen |
addressing a subject
Pardon me- - the voice was very
winning. but the dullest could not have
misunderstood; It was meant to put
an inferior perfectly at ease-"pardou
me, but I wonder if you would think
1t very strange If l asked you few
questions I'm interested in labor |