Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-10-02
WISHING AND WAITING.

Marshalltown TimesIRepublican-
A young fellow spoke to another of
| his type the other day as an elderly
I man went past on the street. Il
wish he couldn't breathe until he
| gave me half his money" said he.
Then they talked. One would be
satisfied with half million. The
other, more modest, could get along
with 100000. I'D just like to be
| fixed so | wouldn't have to do anoth-
er days work all my life" announc
| ed one of them. The other agreed.
Then they rolled couple of fresh
cigarettes and melted back into the
pool hall to wait supper time at the
parental homestead and dream about
what they would do were any way
provided to stop rich mans breath
until he split up with them. They
weren't so badly off after all. There
were rests for the feet on the pool
room chairs, the mechanical musical
box was playing ragtime and they
had the 'makins. So far as ease
and lack of any sense of personal re-
sponsibility to themselves or anyone
else they had the edge on any rich
man in the world The only thing
they realized that they lacked was
money. They didn't have much of
that. To be sure they could get it
at twenty cents an hour but it's ac-
QUESTION entailed certain discomfort
and broke into the day at the pool
hall. There are some things that
money can't buy of some people.
These were of the type of wishers
and walters. There are more of them
than ought to be permitted at large.
They stick around and wish. If they
see suit of clothes which strikes
their fancy they wish they might
have one like it. They wish they
could have an automobile like the
jackass whose father did
more hard work than wishing and
whose biggest failure had been in
raising a worthless child. They wish
and keep on wishing. They wish
they could marry rich girl. They
wish they could take it away from
somebody without too much trouble.
And they wait, and keep on waiting.
When they get little older and
there is no table ready set and no
shelter provided they wonder why i'll
luck has pursued them from child
hood. Other men have things; they
haven't. They feel abused and for
saken Things have always been
against them. Things always will
be against this type until some plan
and process is devised whereby the
rich mans wind may safely be shut
off until he comes across with div
Wy.
Marry, sure they marry. Every
Jack has his JILL They find their
mates among the girls who conduct
the The said" conversations on the
street cars, who swagger up and
down the street of nights casting
corner eyed glances at the crowd in
front of the nickleodeons and the
bunch in front of the cigar stores.
These are the Jills who get home
long after careless fathers and moth
ers are asleep and get up when they
are pried out for breakfast or stay
in bed until nine and nag mother be-
cause she hasn't kept things hot.
Jack and Jill go down the hill togeth-
err. They don't get far before one
falls down and crowns are cracked
and the water split. Sometimes they
stick. There are the elements of
manhood and womanhood in many of
these Jacks and Jills and sometimes
the dynamite of trouble and respons-
Utility breaks up the subsoil of hard
pan and they flourish. But mind you,
their jills do not stay out OF nights
nor their jacks wish and wait in the
pool halls. There's something doing
in family government on the part of
the jacks and jills who shaved the
ragged edge OF the gulf which awaits
the wilmer and waiter.
Hang on fellows. Stick around
wishing that some way something
that you don deserve will turn up
to put you on easy street. Stick
around and wish and wait You'll
be moving lawns in summer and cut
ting ice i'm winter for the price OF a
sack of -four before you die unless
you're in the pen or poor house. Stick
around wishing and waiting. Maybe
you'll get chance to stop rich
man'c hraatb soma day