The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-03-24
NOTICE" SIGNS FAIL.
Mental Suggestion Kicks Backward
Refore Gt<ear Outss FsFaoou5.

Before "Keep Ont" P1acards-
From the Kansas CITY Tines
Wonderful thing, this mental sugges-
toni Everybody says so.
All OF US have heard that old story
about the athlete who was reduced TO
riding in an invalid gocart by his friends
and others who told him that his color
was bad and that he looked sick, when
he really was IN perfect condition. He
had been IN the habit Of taking of about
all the clothes that he could pass the
policeman without, and running to Lees
Summit every evening after he had .in-
ished his days work in the coal mine
but the mental suggestion business soon
stopped all OF that
You can think suggestion at a person.
or talk 1t at him. II works just the
same IN print-they say. But you can
hedge in a lawn with keep OF the
grass" signs. and right there is where
suggestion lies down on the Job and be-
gins 10 kick backward
That lawn may be the worst for
walking purposes In the neighborhood.
but Immediately that sign inspires In the
heart of everyone who SEQ it a burning
desire TO leave the sidewalk and tread
on the lawn. Life would be one long.
aching void 70 him unless he walked
there. he discovers that the vague.
haunting desire that has nagged his soul
for the last three years has come TO a
head II the reslstless longing to climb
over the fence, fight the dog, choke the
janitor. and stroll. walk. run, and amble
on that lawn.
Take the experience Of a man who owns
stone wall out in the northeast part
OF town.
Il put sign on that wall" he said.
and it read, Keep of this wall I never
had seen anyone walk on it but
wanted TO beat them to It and keep them
of for good. The day after I put that
sign up the kids from nearby school
had parade on the wall. Before the
week was gone. boys who lived out on
the South Side were walking twenty-five
blocks out of their way home 10 get
TO walk on that wall. In a month they
had the top layer Of stone worn off"
Suppose you had to station an armed
guard there TO save your wall from wear
ing outY'' suggested his friend.
Not so" answered he of the wall II
changed the sign TO Please walk on this
wall and nobody has walked there since
With a loaded gun you couldn't make
boy put his foot on top Of IT. and
before l had caught grown men in the
act Of shamefacedly climbing up TO dis
obey that notice"
So thre you are. Did you ever enter
a room that was filed solidIy with to-
haco Vapor, cough your way to wall
and discover that it was papered with
no smoking" signs? Very likely some
of the smokers had never before held
eheroot between their teeth-but they
couldn't resist resisting that sign.
And there may be hunters who can
prevent themselves from climbing for
hidden fences and shooting game from
the top of posted" signs-but if they
do they are sure afterward to be haunt
cd with the regret that they did keep
out as requested. For that notice al
ways makes you think that the farm
SO billed raises nothing except game
that would run to you and look into
your shotgun barrel with an expression
Of expectancy while it waited for you
to pull the trigger
But the greatest Of these are the
fresh paint signs" says painter-a
man who colors houses and things as
TO him who uses a palette. You
tack sign like that on a building and
people viii fight to get close enough TO
put their finger on the paint They are
inspired by mixture of love for dis
obedience and natural human skepticism.
And way down in their hearts there Is
a vague gold-brieked feeling If the paint
IS so dry that little of It doesn't come
off on their fingers. But If an examina-
ton OF the explorative finger vindieates
the sign there is a sigh OF satisfaction |
Yes. It's fresh paint all right the skep- |
tic announces to himself as he absentlv
wipes off the color on his best suit of
clothes"