The San Francisco call., 1906-03-25

forgets how 10 swim
Take some captain of industry who re-
sides in a large city Of the Middle west
At home he IS unquestionably IT. Every
ore knows the size of his bank account
and when-he rides down TO business III
the morning the conductor OF the uoiley
holds the car for him His fellow pas
sengers are delighted TO get faVorlng
nod from him. When he sails into the
new Office building the elevator captain
gives him CHEEKY but deferenual gooo
morning" In his private office he sits at
q $500 roll top desk from Grand Rapids
surrounded by push buttons. and when
be gives the word some one is expected
to hop At noon he goes to his club for
luncheon. The head waiter jumps over
two chairs to get at him 70 relieve MIN
of his hat and then leads him to the
most desirable table and hoVers over MIN
even as a mother hen broods over her
first born.
This Distinguished Citizen, director of
the First National Bank, trustee OF the
Cemetery Association. member OF the Ad-
visory Committee Of the Y. NJ c. A.
president Of the Saturday Night Poker
Club, head OF the Commercial Club and
founder Of the Wilson County Irotung
Association, is q whale when ne Is seated
on his private throne In the corn belt. he
rides the whirlwind and commands the
etorn. The local paper speaks OF him IN
batsd capital letters, and he would be
more or less than human II he failed to
believe that he was a very large gun.
Take this same Business Behemoth and
set him down in Paris or Rome or Naples.
with a red guide book clutched helplessly
"A his left hand and his right hand free'
40 that be can dig UP the currency OF the
realm every thirty seconds. he sets forth
20 become acquainted with medieval
architecture and the work or the ola
masters. He Is just as helpless ana ap-
prehensive as a country boy al Coney
Island. The guides and cabmen bullyrag
him. Newsboys and beggars pester MIN
with trnpunity. Children In the street
etop 10 laugh at his Kansas CITY feoora-
When he goes into shop the poii1e
brigand behind the showcase charges him
two prices and gives aim bad money Tor
change.
Vyhv2 Because he is in strange mans
town stripped Of his local Importance
and battling with a foreign language
The man who cannot talk back imme-
diately becomes a weakling.
What is the chief terror to travelg 1t
IS the lonesomeness Of feeling that one
cannot adapt himself to the unfamiliar
background and therefore is sure TO at
tract more or less attention as curio.
And in what city does this feeling of
lonesomeness become most overwhelm-
ing? In London.
The American must go to England in
of-7fxy faf
ne Goes NOT speak the English language.
on the Continent if he kicks on the
charges and carries a great deal Of hand
luggage and his clothes do not At him
any too well he may be mistaken for an
EngIishman This great JOY never awaits
him in London.
] DO not wish to talk about myself, yet
] can say IN trutafuiness that I have
been working for years to enrich the
English language. Most Of the time l
have been years ahead OF the dictionaries.
] have been SO far ahead Of the diction-
aries that sometimes I fear they will
never catch Up. It has bee2 my priv
Mege to use words that are unknown TO
Lindley Murray Andrew Lang once
started TO read my works and then sank
with a bubbIing cry and did not come up
for three days.
It seems that in my efforts to enrich
the English language made it too rich.
and the result was mental gastritis. In
one Of my fables. written in pure and
undehled chicagoese, reference was made