The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-09-21

Big Snauo Oh individually tnaC
their presence In unfamiliar circles is
scarcely noted. But occasionally a
man transplanted from popularity in
village to personal nonentity in
metropolis, displays form of weird
individualism when he returns home
from his peregrinations. A vivid
Imagination, coupled with some skill
as raconteur, can work havoc in his
home town. The wanderer relates
imaginary tales of his popularity and
successes among the upper crust of the
metropolis "400'' and his statements
may not be eainsaid in the absence of
opposition. Thus the local hero
comes into his kingdom.
McCutcheon in his story What's
| His Name" depicts the sort of a hero"
| described. He has married clever
woman in his home town. AS her tai
ents become appreciated, the family,
which has child lis inevitably
drawn into the vortex of metropolitan
life. The woman, virile and ambi-
tious. reaches her level and meets with
great success-socially and financially.
The man cannot rise above his own
narrow mental vision and becomes
dependent This continues until the
woman seeks release from an incubus
that serves no purpose-not even
ornamental.
The crisis in the story is reached
when. the blow having fallen, the
man attempts to justify his actions,
or rather lack of action. The fact that
he is only known as Mr.. What's His
Name," husband of a celebrated wo-
man, does not occur to him as evidence
of his failure to create place for him.
self in the world at least sufficient for
his own needs. After scene in
which he plays mock heroic part, Mr..
What's His Name" returns to his
home town. Upon his arrival he is
greeted with acclaim by the old friends
and. as BELTS his greatness as hus-
band of celebrity, lives on the fat of
the land.
The incidents of the rather trivial
story are recounted by the writer
merely to illustrate the fact that when
men so blind their perspective of life
as to see nothing beyond the narrow
confines of present environment, they
utterly fail to ascend TO higher level
when opportunity offers.
The woman in this case saw be-
yond her mental horizon and, equip
ping herself as she progressed.
entered new and higher level fully
prepared. The man, failing to follow
and keep pace, gradually dropped back
into mediocrity, without even having
proEted, in a mental sense, from his
association with success in whose
reflection be could at least have achiev-
ed another step onward and upward.
One must either advance or re-
treat in the path of intelligence. There
is no halfway house.
Nowadays any good suggestion
that will make more efficient the oper-
alton of mechanical contrivance, will
produce dollars. Especially adaptable
are the improvements that will accel-
crate speed, for speed is the essence Of
efficiency. And our national devotion
to the shrine of King Speed is making
of us a nation of neurotics-so some
learned gentlemen inform u.s.
Whether or not this be a fact, it
is self evident that even the home is
infected with the desire for quick ac-
ton. Take for instance the minor, but
nevertheless important, operation of
shaving. In the old days we used a
straight-edge razor, and the flat,
round shaped shaving soap was good
enough. We became more or less
adept in the art of eliminating vari-
colored bristles from certain parts of
our face. Sometimes the operation