Omaha daily bee., 1914-07-19

NN home. strained and creaked into the
w slip in the North River and looked
down into the hundreds Of mems faces up
turned In greeting returning families, saw
there q welcome simplicity after bewildering
oomplexity. What struck me most bewildor'
ingly was the look Of honesty in the faces aS
II they we're saying:
"of course am occupied with all sorts OF
strenuous business, for which ! am entirely In
adequate but, in the main. am just kind and
funny"
Renewed acquaintance with my countrymen
has deepened that impression into conviction.
Despite the business mask which they wear
during Guinness hours, and which Ats badly and
has perverse trick of slipping off, their faces
reflect themselves, just kind and funny"
kind and funny" What better or truer
national motto could we have? Even New
England faces, the harshest of the American
type. have the same traits. In their grudging
smiles, even in their more or less assumed
frowns, the wrinkles betray them Hard as
they try to seem, and think they are, they
are only kind and funny"
The European has the subtler wit, but the
American is more humorous. The American
is always ready to laugh, but his laughter is
uoNcE ne Will ihuBn at man who
has fallen in the street and who cuts funny
figure in his odd angles and curves, but he
viii not laugh until he has discovered whether
the man has been hurt. II he has been in
1ured there is no laughter. The national
trait fun, gives way to its twin trait, kind
liness
We are jocular race. Our playtulness
sends an Tndercurrent Of laughter ripping
through all our activities In situations that
have no conspicuous element Of the ridiculous
the European bystander, half mystined, half
disgusted, will ask: What is that American
looking 30 funny About?" The American
scents ridiculous situation as a hound a
rabbit.
And yet. despite this playfulness, there IS
an odd, aged attribute Of the average Ameri,
can Smith and Jones. Brown and Robinson,
are curiously alike In that they are always
seeking . joke and generally nnd II, and yet
their faces are overlaid by a curious repres-
sion The contour OF their faces Is child.
like, in their eagerness. They look as though
they we're In quest of an adventure as a child
Of play. Yet the front view, the really truth.
telling part Of the face tells a very different
story. Notice the mouth Of the American
man. II Is strangely straight and thin-lipped.
resoiute to the point Of unyielding frmness,
yet not to the verge of cruelty. 1t is the ex.
preston OF repressed nature. 1t is the in.
dex Of a marvellous selfcontrol
But again there is q contradiction. Smooth.
shaven, square Of jaw. straight limbed and
generally neat, he feels young, he looks young
and he remains young for a very long time
Another welcome attribute noted on the
dock and that has repeated itself endlessIy as
have observed him In American cities IA that
the American is extremely modest He is so
modest that he insists upon dressing precisely
as other men dress, that he will not seem
unlike them. In Europe a man employs his
beard to show his difference from others He
dresses his face according to his taste Nv
a Europeans moustache. by a Frenchman's
whiskers, you recognize his personal charac.
terisucs He expects you to recognize him He
dresses his face to please you. but more par
ticularly to please himself Here men shave
their faces into monkish monotony. and Ameri.
can modesty.