The Topeka state journal., 1911-12-04
EVENING CHAT
81 RUTH CAMERON.

The lady across the aisle from US had
on OF. a summer hat and an unusually heavy
Said my companion: well. if 1 were
gong to have one of those ridiculously
heaVy winter coats, l certainly wouldn't
wear my summer hat with it.
wouldn't she? I wonder. Suppose. for
instance, that her one summer suit got
caught in a big shower and positively
ruined, and she had to buy her winter
coat early. but simply couldn't afford &
nat Now Just what would she do in a
Why take it for granted that the lady
across the aisle liked the peculiar com
bination of a winter coat and summer
hat? Why not reckon that she was the
victim of compelling circumstances, I'M
the same thing ourselves?
How often we all say loftily. Il
wouldn't do this or that" How do we
know we wouldn't under the same cir
cumstances? We don't.
1t seems to me that one of the big les
sons of life is to realize what a differ
ence it makes what side of the fence we
are on, and not try to say what we would
or wouldn't do under circumstances OF
which we know nothing.
It is often amusing to see people sud
denly transplanted into the position OF
others, whom they have previously criti-
ciSed, and to see how very much the
same they act themselves, and what a
different point of view they get.
Some friends of mine who used to own
horse and drive good deal, have re-
they owned the horse. they could not say
anything too strong against their natural
enemies, the autOmOD1i1StS.
''This speeding is outrageous. There
ought to be Jail sentence instead of
fine automobiles ought not to be al
miles an hour. The wav some of those
chauneurs try to see just how close they
abominabie. DO 1T makes me disgusted
the way the automobiists keep on toot-
ing when you are already giving them
three o1arter- Of tbe ROAD these xva,o a
few of their structures.
They have only been in the RANKS of the
l - ,1x ,1T-- 4
ready the man of the house. who runs
The machine has been arrested for speed
pleading for a jail sentence instead of
fine.
I was out with them the other day. and
don't think we went as slowly as ten
miles an hour. even in the city streets.
Furthermore, they came SO close TO the
wheels of one carriage that my heart
came up in my mouth. Once we passed
a carriage which was giving US at least
ously. bit timorous lest he should sus-
pect sarcasm, I ventered to ask why he
footed when the. team was giving him
ample ROOM "Oh, it ism to make them
give me any more ROOM" he explained
loftily; simply to let them know am
coming they won't swerve out into the
road or start to turn round You know
so many of these drivers are absolutely
reckless that way They expect us to
/ needn't have feared his suspecting
| sarcasm.
| baker. Although he abides by It perfect
| ly. he does not approve of the law requir-
| ped in parafin paper. He says it is a
| foolish law, because the bread is coptam-
mated ouite ae much while wrapping as
1 it would be If it were left unwrapped. He
| thinks the people who agitated that law
were either short-sighted or self-inter-
| ested-
Now this man is thoroughly sincere,
/ splendidly honest man. and yet ] can't
| help wondering II he were not a baker,
| If he might not see things differently
/ What a difference it does make what
side of the fence we are on
| 1t is simply impossible that it shouldn't t..
! The human equation can't help but enter
| just of men.
But 1 do think We can remember not to
say ssI wouldn't" of anything
/ Perhaps we would twice as much il
we were on that side of the fence.