Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1915-10-08

Gertrude, last night overheard you
and mother planning for the enterta'n'
ment of your schoolmate, Miss farNcl,
whom you have invited to your nome
as your guest. You are expecting her
TO come tomorrow evening, and nave
planned to send our hired man to meet
her at the railway station and BRING
her out in our auto. Now, dear, ! don {
like to interfere with your personal al
fairs, and what I say is merely by way
of suggestion. Don send for her put
20 yourself to meet and greet her !
know you have yet much to do TO gev
the house in order to entertain her as
you wish to do but you had better ni. r,
a woman to do the work than to DO IL
yourself and have to send a strange
man to meet your friend. You can run
the auto as well as the man, and there
is no good reason why you should not
go. Now, Just put yourself IN your
friends place. Have you not gone TO
n house where your coming was eN-
pected, and yet felt a vague uneaslnesS,
that YOU were somehow in the way
Did you not wonder why you were IN
vited when evidently YOU were not par
ticularly wanted2 And if You have.
did YOU not wish with all your might
and main that someone had warned you
to refuse the invitation, and that some
ything-would give You an
excuse to go? Yet possibly your hostess
was really glad to have You, to Ger.
tain extent, anyhow, and simply had
not the knack of showing it in the
thousand and one little ways which
mean so much more than the loudest
and most demonstrative words, For eX-
ample, she should have made it point
of being at the station to meet YOU,
even though it meant quite a consdera-
bic inconvenience TO herself. There is
nothing quite so dampcning to one $
enthusiasm as to arrive at n strange
railway station, or even familiar one,
and find no one to welcome you. 1t puts
n chill on the visit the very first thing,
which increases by leaps and bounds
as you drive to the house. Perhaps the
warmth of your reception there may dis
pell the first impression, but it would
make a vast difference if your hostess
had gone herself to bring you to her
home. 1t would lend a gracious warmth
to the hospitality and make you feel
at once that you are really welcome.
Uncle Bill, one Of the commonest
expressions in use is that "cvery man
has n right to his opinion" That may
be true, but I, for one, don t form al
opinion that is not founded upon facts
There is a wide difference, you under
stand, between knowledge and preju
dice. While practical men have givel
us our civilization of today, and
through their having knowledge of thei
various callings, and by their inven
tions give promise Of much create
things, along come the impractical
people with merely opinions of no,
things ought to be done. With tn
world too busy Cor I should say to
mentally lazy to think out it's. ow
problems, there are people who mas
it their business to think of them an
to work them out theoretically. How
ever, college professors, lawyers, ec'
nomists and such people have littl
if any, practical knowledge of produ
ton and business, its changes an
needs. They only have opinions Of sue
things, but are the ones who are lcadin
the masses and making regulations fC
both business and production. Regula
ing all the activities of the individual
the lawmakers are gripping him as
man would be who should be throw
overheard with his hands tied. The,
retical opinions have been a curse
the world. They allowed our gret
Civil war, and men having opinions il
stead of knowledge of our industri;
life become leaders of the multitud
Opinions blind people, create and fostC
race prejudice, bring on war, cause falls
doctrines to be preached and are +
sponsible for most of the evils of I'll
world. The great scheme of life can |
understood if studied right, and tn
cause of things made plain; but not III
til people do study life in an origin;
way will we ever have an industri
system that will give to the wage-earl
er fair portion of the net profits
his labor. The high prices for Amer
can products and an increased deman
caused by the European war hay
brought great prosperity to all indu
tries receiving such orders, and, sio
by side with such a condition is IL
farming industry of the Eastern state
where the prices for their products al
so low as to cause many owners
leave their farms and engage in oth'
business. In the meantime the collet
1. oro bouIin,r ahOnt the drl1