The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-12-03
SPREAD OF ,NoMADIsM.
One Of the Notable Effects of the
Prevalence of the Automobile.


All the well-to do world has become
nomadic Ly the aid Of the automobile,
in the sense that by means of this ma.
chine tens of thousands have taken TO
the open road who never knew the road
before. People go home from work at 1
or ) o'clock in the afternoon, and then
get out their car and are off on the road
for hours, scooting here and there
they never know exactly where when
they set. out. There are plenty of peo-
pie now who know every motorable
road IN New England. Nomadism Of
the most pronounced sort. one would
call it at first blush. Perhaps the au-
tomobile does encourage the wander:
ing spirit One secs plenty of Massa-
ehusetts cars in Florida or Cali
fornia, and now and then a Florida or.
California ear in Massachusetts, That
| argues > good deal of rambling about
in. between. A new and elegant form
of ragrancy.
But meanwhile the old forms of
wondering are passing. The automobile
has, robbed the road of its walkers. You
do not see them as you used to. The by
| ways-poor old dirty roads, neglected
now as they never were before; honely
| farm ways with humble homes in front
| of which the hens dust themselves in
| the road, and the barelegged children
+, sit on a stone. with their feet III the
ruts-arc more absolutely deserted
| than they ever We're. The appearance
of a good oldfashioned pedestrian ma
| ture-lover on one of these roads is now
so rare a thing that the bare-lepged
children scatter in terror at the sight
of him approaching:
Is walking then, lost art! Not
quite. Here and there in the woods or
on the roads the Nomad meets a real
valker--a man or boy who is on the
road on III the woods for the love of
being there and because he can t help
it and wouldn't help il if he could. The
spirit has TO be kept alive somehow, if
tho world is TO hang together. Ma
chimes of all kinds come and go-per-
haps there will not be single machine
of any kind in existence in all the
world, except in museum, hundred
years from now--but man, if he is still
TO be man, must walk abroad; his
thinking machinery and the perpetuitv
ofshis sentiments and emotions depend
npon II. What do YOU suppose viii
satisfy the soul except to walk free
and own no superior?' So there mus
he somebody to continue the tradition
The Nofnad il glad 10 note that mos
of them who do continue It are young
Boys in the woods always-boys mo-
ashamed. to pick flowers, boys interest
ed keenly in every bird or worm Tn,
boys win keep the thing alive. Th'
world belongs TO them.
/ Such boy the Nomad met the othe
Iday, clear out IN the woods lie wa
about 10 years old, and he was picking
a great anmful of blossoms and branch
, es of the clethra. or sweet pepper bush
and smelling them rapturously as HI
Fl gathered them When he spied tn
$ Acmad coming. with a lot of cardina
flowers in his hand, he smiled all owe
. aslsl said. = know where you rot thos
!, over there. Yes; there was wher
they came from. The two fell in to
! gcther and walked along wood patti
talking blithely of wild flowers an,
things, all of which the boy kne,
without knowing their names By an
: by the boy turned off at an intersect
ing path.
, Where are YOU going now tn
! Nomad asked Oh, my father an
!, mother arc over there iii the woods,
) the boy said. Well, good hye-sc
YOU again His father and mothc
were over there in the woods That es
lrlained it. II Your father and mothe
arc in the habit Of being over there /
the woods, and they take you alien
lwhen YOU arc a kid, YOU will never e
the woods out Of vour blood as long a
YOU live. This hoy Of 10 wandered fro
in the woods as far as they reacbct
but he gravitatcd back TO his fathe
and mother with uncrring fee
Enough of our tribe are left to keep u
the raee.-The Nomad in Boston Tral
sctipt.