The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1912-06-21
Complex
Problem


In low rocker before the fire sat
the doctors wife darning stockings.
Somewhere back in the room sat the
doctor, reading his newspaper.
The doctors wife addressed the.
fire, but the doctor answered. He.
knew 1t was useless to try to read
when his wife had something on her
mind.
Il wonder what's going to become
of u.s." said the doctors wife.
"Of whom?" asked the doctor.
"Of us Americans"
whats the matter now?" ques-
toned the doctor
"I'm wondering where our Ameri-
can housekeepers are coming from.
This afternoon, just as / passed big
office building, three girls came out
and walked ahead of me. You should
have seen how they were dressed and
how they acted"
Young girls?"
"Of course"
"Well, how were they dressed?"
you know, it was the usual way
hair puffed out, short skirts, low
necks. / don't object to all of that.
You don't want them to dress like
back numbers. But you should have
seen their shoes and stockings"
Don't / know? You needn't tell
me about the astonishing lack Of
sense that some women display"
"And men, too"
"Oh, well, men, too, suppose. But
you started the conversation about
girls"
Eyes, / was going to tell you. Those
three girls were dressed as thin as
could be- Not one of them had on
wrap, and you know how cold and
damp it's been today. But that wasn't
the worst. Two had on velvet shoes
and the other girl had on satin ones
that were all run down at the heels
and. the satin torn. All of the three
had on such short skirts that you
could see their thin, fiimsy silk stock
ings, In fact. | thought one had on
black and white stockings till l no.
ticed that the white spots were places
where the stitches had given OUT
well, what about all that"
Il walked back of them to the cor
ner of the next street. They crossed
the muddy, dirty pavement, and I
know they must have got their feet
wet. watched them for a few min
utes and saw them go into cheap
ice cream parlor, and then"
"And then what
"Well, I've been thinking. How can
such girls keep house and have homes
that give a man a chance to make
something of HIMSELF"
They can't"
"Then what's going to become of us
Americans?"
ASK the university professors. I'm
only doctor"
'"Oh, / know what the university
professors say. They tell you that
our hope lies in the immigrants, the
people from the country, and all that.
But, ten to one, these were daughters
of immigrants or country girls them
selves"
do you know, madam, that I sat
down here to read my newspaper"
Yes, 1 know. But I'm thinking.
Anyway, l didn't ask you to answer.
You don't have to answer If you don't
want to. You see, don't believe In
darning and mending as much as my
mother did. We don't have to. Times
are different and things don't have to
last so long; but girls should be
taught to take care of things to rea-
sonable extent"
The man laid down his newspaper.
"I'm surprised at YOU" he said.
"Why?"
Don't you know that the majority
of people are abnormal?"
~ really never thought about that.
Maybe you're right. People are kind
of crazy nowadays, l believe. It's
very unstylish to dress warm and COM
! Portable when the weather's cold, and
women surely are crazy about their
hats and shoes-from their heads to
their feet"
IL tell you it's a fact" said the doc
tor, I'm not joking. Don't see 1t In
my business every day."
II suppose you do. Doctors ought,
to understand people, IL anybody does.
But If we think most persons are alb
normal, what are we?"
Don't know"
II think we're normal.
Maybe"
Then If everybody else is abnormal
and we are the only ones who are nor
NAL, suppose all the others think
we're crazy"
Maybe we are"
WELL" said the doctors wife, slow
ly, after thinking 1t over, you may
be, but I know I'm not."-Chicago
Daily News.
Dangerous Reptiles.
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