The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1917-08-11
MEN, WOMEN
AND THINGS
Men, Women and Books"


began to write it, for have always
been a book lover and collector, not in
the sense of rare editions, editions de
luxe or even Americana, but just sim
ply books about things that interested
me.
1 know some people who love to han
die money. 1 do not mean for others,
or even for themselves IN the way Of in
vestments, but they just like the feel
of it, and have a passion for counting
it l have a friend who for years was
banker and he owns up that to him
one of the finest sensations that he used
to get out of the business was to get
hold of a stack of fresh bills and pay
them out through the teller's window
Now this is an entirely different JOY
from that of the miser who gloats over
his boarding and whom We often see
pictured as rapturously juggling his coins
of gold Something similar to this af-
fects some men about books. 1 know
some bibliolaters who care nothing for
the inside of their precious tones but
who go into ecstacy over their bindings,
while | know others who are absolutely
Indifferent to the outside of their vol
unles but literally devour what's on the
inside.
Now, 1 think there is a happy mean
about books and 1 try to walk in this
middle way | confess that print, paper
bai- n me
and that illustrations are an added
pleasure, and, therefore, while some get
their happiness out of counting money, l
get one of my greatest uplifts in fin
gering pretty books.
I believe it was Mrs. Wigs of cab
bage patch fame who sagely remarked,
! THAT folks were more interesting than
stumps." If she didn't say it, someone
else did or ought to have done, for it's
true 1 substituted things" in place
of books" not because l am particu-
larly interested in things, but for fear
| I might make my daily chats too book
ish.
| We speak glibly of public and private
| libraries, seeming to think that all that
| is needed to start public library Is
Carnegie with his millions; or to get
together a private one is the necessary
cash.
| Alas! Too many Carnegie libraries are
but gilded masses of stone and mortar,
making mausoleums for a lot of experts
to bury within their clammy walls
mass of scientifically gathered books
| that too often fail to circulate through
the community despite the fact that the
institution goes under the name of cir
culatng library.
| I am not very old, yet my friend,
Jack Crawford of Jasper, says he has
have done and seen and set down in
print he knows that 1 am over so, but
Jack always did like to get joke on
a fellow. True or untrue. l have lived
long enough to see one blessed innova-
ton. for / can remember when 1t was
not only an impertinence, but looked
upon as sacrilege to pass the high
counter that walled the public out from
the shelves, and to be found on the in
side handling the books was counted a
crime.
But someone with sense came along
and said, Away with your barriers
A library is for the convenience of the
people. The book that is doing it's duty
| ;nto he r
not the one on the shelf 1t was a
, brave forward step and nearly gave the
, old style librarian heart failure, but ther
came along a new crowd of trained
ones with stouter hearts, who said, Yes
, let's get book into the hands of ever,
members of the family.
also bark back to the days wher
merchants tried to keep the custome
and hid many of the choicest offering
/ in drawers beneath the shelves or coun
tiers, but to day the thing is to get PEG
pie not only to see them but to Zee
: them, and many fine articles of mer
n chandse are placed out on tables wher
Q to their hearts content.
! I started out to say that a privat
r library is a growth, it's backed by NOR
/ than dollars or it's worthless to the in
: dividual who assemblies it. privat
r. library is the key to man. II I wan
o to size up preacher I try to get int
y his library and see what books he keer
company with. mans library is a
index to his character
" used to hear it said that Henri
W Grady was no student, that he was bri
e. liant, but that he wouldn't last. tn
u idea being that he had reached his linn
= in early manhood. And then. after n
Is death, nearly every Sunday night du
ing my residence in Atlanta, I used
~ Jr., and I had time to go careful
- through his fathers library, and then
knew that Grady's untimely deaf
OF robbed the south of one of it's grown
IN men. His library was working on
as I got started on this line by lookil
ne over the library at 1.-THE Boys Club
We From time to time friends have sent
ne books On the top of the case is S
r. of the Messages and Papers of t
ne Chief Presidents in 10 volumes; the
on the row beneath. Lives of the Chi
-, Justices" in IL volumes. I couldn't Ike
81 back a grin as 1 thought of the grimy lit
~ urchins in connection with the pondero
sets. I dare say no boy will ever op
one of the volumes, but let us hope tn
in this, great democratic land of OF
'ut that some among them may some d
lis be conspicuous in the public life