The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-19
EVENING CHAT
BY RUTH CAMERON.


She is bright She is pretty She
is an eminently likable person in many
ways. BUT she has one decided "out."
1 think it wins her many enemies
as her good qualities bring her friends.
And the out is that she is always
saying flat things.
OF course you know what 1 mean by
| that. For instance, we are discussing
the difficulty of getting a seat on the
trolley cars at rush hours, and she
| says, Somehow [ always seem to have
| a seat given me. I don't know why it
| is | hope I don't look SO old as all
| that" She attempts to appear most
puzzled and ingenious as she says it
The attempt is a complete failure. We
all know she thinks the reason is quite
| obvious.
Again she processes herself most iri-
dignant because people are always
staring at me. I think it's perfectly
Perhaps we fooIishly assure her that
she can't blame them, and thereby give
her an incentive to say more flat
! things.
Perhaps we are sensible enough to
maintain silence. In either case we
are inwardly registering a doubt as to
the sincerity of her Indignation
met most yirulent example OF
this type of girl at an afternoon tea
the other day. sac was a bride and
the tea was given in her honor.
Twice during the afternoon her hus-
band called her up on the telephone.
The instrument was in the hall. and
by lowering her voice she could have
talked without being heard. But that
was evidently the last thing that she
| desired. for instead of lowering her
| voice, she raised it, and fragments like
this fioated in to us; BE patient, dear.
only one hour longer" yes, dear. if
you can't wait for me to come home
you may come for me- We'll you
can look 1t my picture, then, darling"
The second time she came away
from the phone she announced with
a sweet shipper isn't he funny? He
says he can't wait to see me. He says
he's hungry"
Did you ever eat anything so cloy-
ingly sweet that the sweetness choked
you all UP of sudden?
Well, that's the way my mind felt
after that dose.
Of course everybody says flat things
once in a While. But wise people try
to make that once in a while synony-
nous with seldom or hardly ever.
Also, of course it's hard to tell when
you are saying them But here's a
pretty good way to tell. Whenever
you catch yourself planning to say
something simply because YOU think it
2 or popularity or some other desirable
quality, don't say it. Ten to one they
will see right through you and it will
Y sound flat.
I'm going to promulgate one of my
e queer schemes today.
People who don't like queer
= schemes are respectfully warned to
, keep off the premises. Trespassers
prosecuted to the full extent of bore
e dom.
, The queer scheme is this-the es-
= Enlistment of an Introduction bureau
in every town and city of any size in
f the country.
2 woman I was sent, one no. night, to
. the weather bureau to get a. list of the
n hottest cities all over the country and
a sundry other details-you know the
kind of hot weather story all papers
s occasionally print The full reports
from the different cities had not yet
l., come in and while I was waiting for
e them I conversed with the assistant
e clerk of the weather. a very pleasant
we'll hammered young man.
In the course of the conversation he
| confided to me that he had come to
the city only a few weeks ago and had
t found it a very homesick place.
= Said he, I'D like to meet some nice
. girls. 1 ike girls and I'c like to have
q someone [ could take to the theatre
= occasionally and things like that. But
how's a fellow going to meet them il
- he doesn't know anybody in the city
OF course, I could pick up a girl on the
a street any time, or 1 suppose I could
= make friends with telephone cir
over the wire. but that isn't the kind
of girl I want. I want to meet some
Q nice girls
t Just then the fact that it had beer
- 102 in the shade in Tacoma, which
= was the last of the bulletins I had
D been waiting for. arrived. and I had
/. to hurry back to my paper, so wasn't
r able to hear any more of the young
e mans tale of woe
But with me, along with the bulle-
q tins, I took a new born idea-the in
: PRODUCTION bureau
Y There must be other young men IL
the big cities all over the country sit
uated as this one was.
4. There undoubtedly are myriads o.
t. young girls in the same position.
3 Now why can't each city have al
: introduction bureau, whose purposs
/ should be to bring these young people
% together and introduce them in a per
:, fectly respectable way?
The bureau could be made up of re