Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-05-28
SNEEZERS AND THE SNEEIE.

1t seems almost a pity 10 interfere with
the personal comfort of any gentleman
who is ENJOYING the luxury Of a snceze.
In most instances a SnccZc is 4 delight
fuI-a most delightful experience. So de
lightful in fact that in the exercise Of
it the sneezcr may become hilarious for
the moment. In some persons this &C
static telling is expressed in something
that is a combination of a warhoop with
a hallelujah, regardless of time, place.
or witnesses.
Nevertheless, just because the sneeze
is a luxury it should be taxed and regu-
lated as such. The Scncze in It's hilarious
don't-care-a-rap-f or-nothin'-no nobody
expression had become an established
institution. a custom Of the country. an
element of personal liberty long before
the discovery Of germs. Since the dis
covery of germs it has been looked upon
more and more with suspicion and nv
ersion. 4 feeling has grown up among us
that the sneeze, like the liquor traffic, IN
so far rs ii cannot be suppressed should
be regulated. To .orhid a man 70 Sncczc.
by legislative enactment would perhaps
violate magma charta, the petition of
right, the thirteenth amendment. and
the habeaS corpus. But where we cannot
prohibit we can regulate. and where we
cannot regulate we can sometimes per-
euade.
No right minded man wishes to he or
become either a nuisance or 4 danger.
let the man who Sneczes on the street
n in a room with others il apt 90 bc
regarded as beth a nuisance and Il dan
ger-a nuisance because he il a danger.
As m agent of germ propulsion and
therefore Of germ Distribution there IL
nothin2 Which can beat the sncczp-eS-
p~ecially thc sneeze OF the loud. violent.
and hilarious character. When the man
performs hat sort Of thing in cur pres
'ence we .dlnot tell how many and what
kind Of germs he thereby puts in c~ircuIa-
ton. They may be catarrhal, or they
may be germs Of grippe hay
or tuberculosis. We are only sure they
are germs. Why should any man he toll
Grated in a thing like that? Why should
he tolerate il himself, as a fair minded.
r~ight-spirited citizen? If he were to turn
loose a collection of hornets in the room
or on the streets. he would MT have the
light to complain if we took mmar
vengeance on him-after the hornets oct
through with rs. But the sting Of the
hornet is through with when it quit
hurting who shall say the same thing
of the germs? Catarrhal germs Will not
even cure rheumatism for which The hor
net sting is 4 specific.
But z man cannot help Sneezing""
You remark.
True, but long experience of SncczinG
and a frequent indulgence in the luxury.
convince the writer that a Snceze il sci
dom so sudden that there is not time to
get out a pocket handkerchief. Make il
a rule TO Sncczc into the handkerchief
covering both mouth and noStrils. Then
you can put your germs into YOUR own
pocket FIR future rcfcncc. In that WAY
YOU take care Of your own germs. and
the b~y-StanGcrS will be free to enjoy see
ing You do IL, without any fear az H.
lection. Make il 4 rule to use your hand
kerchief. In that way You insure The
safety Of the witnesses and earn the re-
putation Of 4 gentle wcll-brcd person.
who has been brought up in cultured
circles, Use the handkerchief instead DC
the c~lrcumambient atmosphere. and the
neighborS shall rise up and call YOU a
gentleman and a scholar.
All this applies to coughing as well a.
to sneezing.