The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-25
The Idle Life Has Ne0er Yet
 Brought Happiness to Anybody
Fly DOLLY DALRYMPLE
T is curious thing that some people
 who are otherwise perfectly sensible


 WT is a curious thing that some people
 N who are otherwise perfectly sensible
 A and well balanced, should fondly inn agine that the goal of all human ambi- 1 tion is the same, and that humanity as a whole is striving and working with | only one end in view-the attainment of
 the idle life'
 i If certain people were closely ques- toned as to their ultimate hopes and ann bitions, and if they answered truly, they would tel you that life free of all sug- gestion of work is the Fl Dorado upon
 which their eyes are fixed. i But listen. likeness never yet brought happiness to any human being. The human brain is so constructed that l it must not be allowed to stand idle for long at time; for mental idleness means mental stagnation.
 '"The brain is like the hand, and grows with the using,' is an old saying. Conversely, the mind that is not em- ployed will dwarf and shrink, will turn back on itself, and harbor all manner of unhappy thoughts and dull ideas. 'I hate this continuous grind of work says one person gloomily. If I only had enough money, I never would do another stroke of work in my life. Those people who don't do anything and who haven't t a care in the world are so lucky.''
 But the person, who hasn't a care in in the world doesn't exist, except in the imagination of grumblers and very youth ful individuals of strong socialistic ten dencies, for no matter how many million dollars a person can lay claim to, he can not lay claim to 8 life absolutely care free and devoid of worry, for each must shoulder his own moral responsibility, and no person alive escapes worries and trials.
 If the shallow thinkers would only be- lieve it. the man or woman who to all outward appearances is leading an idle life is Cup against much harder propo- sition than the little stenographer who is plodding patiently along on SIP week, and who is not rebeling at the cruel hand of fate which compels her to do so, but is, on the other hand, grateful for the opportunity.
 If work is the salvation of mankind, it most assuredly is the salvation of won- anknd, too.
 The extraordinary and appalling divorce situation as cited every day in the big newspapers can be largely traced to the old proverb about Satan finding plenty of mischief for idle hands to do,'' and herein lies the .fallacy of the idle life,' ,' as an aim and ambition, for there is no such thing as an idle lre'-the mind is always working, always thinking out new schemes, and if an over much degree of pleasure is forced upon a human be- ing he or she, unless remarkably well bal anced, most decidedly does get into trou- be and mischief.
 Only the other day I heard a woman talking of this subject.
 "Yes; my marriage was a failure" she said, pathetically, "and 1t ended in di- vorce. The fault was on both sides largely on mine, I'll admit You see, it was this way: When Jim and I were married we scarcely had the proverbial penny between us. We were appallingly hard up, and yet we were exceedingly happy. I had been brought up by frugal, economical parents and was quite well fitted to be a poor mans wife, and, be- sides, I was terribly in love with Jim, so what mattered money? We had our sim pie little pleasures and life after all is made up of just the little things. Jim's business grew, and as we got more money our tastes grew, until finally we began to care a. good deal about money, long ing for the time to come when the idle