The Washington herald., 1917-02-04


Say. boss, what's this precedent thing
hears tn folks chatterin' SO much
about?"
Why, Lon. precedent means somethin'
that has been said or did. servin as a
example to be followed: a parallel case
i'll past performances as 1t were.
In law. a joodicial decision which stands
for future determination of similar cases,
that Is. s'pose that one of our judges of
today should decide that all handbook
men would have to serve thirty-five
years for takin' bets on tn ponies, we'll.
~ in 100 years from now another batch o.
handbook mon should get snitched-
which they undoubtedly will both
judge OF that day won't have to worry
himself nuts tryin' to figure out how
much time he rully oughta give 'em. but
will be hep to tn precedent set by our
present-day judge, an after fddlin' with
his Hughes for a couple o. minutes.
will have tn bunch brought in, an hand
'em out this, '+Thirty-dve years for yourn,
with no time deducted for good or bad
behaviorT' an" then they'll go down.
There amt no two ways about 1t, prece-
dent in law II q mighty handy article, an
then too, it's very useful dope for COM
munities as a whole, as tn guys of tn
past who first stepped up to tn plate, an
took swing at some new curve were
10 ldIG OuN d pIcSc-
dent that could never be fielded. but 1t
don't always hold good for tn individual
himself. for tn "grasshopper" who eats,
drinks, sleeps an acts by precedent
alone is dead from tn neck up. an s
just waitin' to be buried.
tn weakest spot about precedent so
far as tn, individuals concerned Is that
II we attempted to feature some stunt
today that used to make our grandsires
80 49, .E--l-l-
hood, we wouldn't only get pinched. but
we'd have to let a committee take a
squint at out headgear.
Take t. travelin' salesman fr' instance
'Twasn't so long ago that tn chief quail
ification a guy had to prove to become
a classy drummer was his capacity for
Ticker" an not what he spluttered. His
firm not only furnished gratis all tn
Major -Baileys" he could handle, but
would have him pumped out whenever
h needed pumpin'. an while there may
be a few old-time "globe-trOtters'' still
fightin' for that precedent, they amt on
tn big swing, but out In tn ''bushes''
tryin' TO interest folks in tn Everglades
o. Florida
o. course in tn social game precedent's
about 90 per cent of tn furry. but tn
reason it's tn headliner there, is because
regular people don't care a picayune par
ticle what that bunch get away with. as
it's their own H. amusement, an con-
Germs them entirely. but II you'd sift to
tn bottom tn reason for tn many lii
dos an don'ts a geezer has to get wise
to before he can mingle. you'd find precs-
dent tn cause for tn whole mess O. fid-
dim. Take tn spreadin' OF tn napkin
all over ones front-piece, than of which
there amt none harder for tn new got
ten-rich-caterpillar to finally unbuckle
from There's rully no reason on earth
why that sensible III safety device
shouldn't be tolerated, cause you know
ya'self. there amt no better way pos
sfole of keeptn' tn soup OF your shirt
'front.', an it's certainly tn short cut for
a hurry call when a few stray delica-
tessans stop to frivol on tn grass
should a guy sport 'chin-curtins," but
simply because our way-back fore-fath-
ers never even saw napkins it's been
handed down by precedent that all -Ndrap-
cries" are taboo.
One o. tn chief reasons so many knock
ers can't figure President Wilson's right
number, Is that he don't monkey much
with precedent, but hits out for himself
In short, lad, precedent's a mighty nifty
III parcel to have stuck up in tn library,
as 1t learns US to be careful through tn
past performances Of others, but tn min
ute it commences to interfere with legiti-
male progress II gotta be tread on an
let new ideas have a peep.
''Nothin' new under tn SUM- is mighty
comfortable doctrine for them who won't
struggle, but II we all truly believed It
tn game would be over, as tn main OBJ
ject in livin' Is to slip somethin' new
over.
Now, as we had Pimiento last Tuesday
unloosen from precedent, an go fetch d
cake O. Snappy. DOPEY DAN
Note-Lon says when you hear a guy
knockin' his own home town you'd bet
ter be mighty careful how you show him
around yourn.