Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-08
ROMANCE OF WANT ADS
By Sarah Addington

EILEANoR and I have a good many ex-
IL clusively feminine traits that exas-
perate the head Of the house almost to the
breaking point. Our taste for mayonnaise,
our devotion to tea napkins. our preference
for sweet smelling soaps - all these are
sources Of the deepest pain and disgust to
one who thinks that sugar and vinegar
are good enough for any tomato that ever
grew. who enjoys no napkin unless he may
shroud himself in 1t and who revels in the
strong soap that most civilized people use
only for the dog members Of their family.
Yet all these are but faint shadows Of
the real cloud that dims our lords bright
conception of lovely woman and her attri-
butes. For Eleanor and ! have still
darker vice, deeper sin, blot that no
amount of sweetness and light from other
directions can in the least tighten or fade.
Eleanor and l read the want ads, and
thereby hangs our disgrace
Nov there is nobody who has greater
~ respect for journalism than the writer
of this apologize. One who earns living
by writing pieces for the paper naturally
would take some stock In the business.
And Eleanor and / agree that the war
news is most important, that an editorial
page Is good enough reading and that po-
litical news has its virtues. But as we
point out when these discussions arise as
they do systematically at Sunday break.
fast are there any reasons why one should
arbitrarily and didactically decide against
another page Of the same paper, even II 1t
does happen to be at the tail end and done
in the smallest type in general use in the
art Of printing?
TT REQUIRES genius Of particular
i order, a delicacy Of feeling of a rare
sort. a perception OF unusual fineness, l
claim, to appreciate want ads There they
are, tucked away, with no gouging head
lines, no arresting titles, no pictures: just
rows of human wants, line upon line. pre-
cept upon precept, like beans in a row or
orphans in their beds.
And I claim still further that the man
who cannot see the romance there, who
cannot read the stories between the lines,
or for that matter in the very words them
selyes-well, was going to say he had no
imagination, though OF course one would
never say such damning thing about
| ones own CHOSEN ndte'
TAKE one of the most obvious groups,
l. for example the situations wanted.
Whatpa flood of ambitions welter through
| the young man, 49," who wishes position
| in architects office while studying in archi'
| tectural school," Can't you see him labor.
ing over his blueprints. dreaming pillars
and domes and beautiful things of marble?
But his pocketbook Is not as big as his
ambition or his bills, SO he puts In want
| ad at thirty cents a line, while his future
waits a few days until some architect does
or does not answer his ad and his prayers
DUT what about the young swashbuckler
ID who admits the following: "Prepos-
sessing appearance, TACT vision, initiative
executive ability? VIII he or will he not
get along In this world Of press agents and
pushers? He will. And while he's waiting
to see which large corporation he will lonoi
with his services he takes a lesser Job al
SIS and lives on beans and bluf.
| AND SO II goes on throughout the entire
Alist. The overworked mother adver
tses for a maid, meanwhile holding NJ
under what would be nervous prostratior
If she had time for II. The lonely couple