Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-18
AS TO RUMORS
BY Christopher Morley

Madrid. Jan a. --- Ni,olai Ieuinc was
among the Russians who landed at Bar
celOna recently. according to newspapers
herc,--Ncws Item
TT IS rather important +" UfIdcrstard IA"
technique of rumors, The wise man docs
not scof at them. for while they arc "ft"1
absurd. they are rarely bascless. People do
not go about iuvcnting rumors, "Nrcpt for
purposes of hoax. and even u practical joke
is never uo parody the provcrbr noaX ct
nraeterea nihil There is always reason
for wanting TO perpetrate the hoax. or rca-
son for believing it will be believed.
Rumors are kind of cNhalati"u or intel
loctual perfume thrown off by the news of
tho day Some events are more aromatic
than others: they can lie detected by tn"
trained pointer long before they happen.
When things are goi:lg ON that have strong
vibrat iOn--what foreign correspondents love
to call a "reperCussion they cause good
deal of mnd-ulIaking. Nu event getting
ready 10 happen is one Of the most interest
ing things to watch, By gort OF mental
radiation it fills mems minds with surmiSei
and conjccturcs. Curiously enough due per
haps to the innate pcrvcrsity of man. most
OF the llnOrS ShSEt"l tll' tN'i' p ''l'Fl'' VI
what is going to happen. Vet q rumor while
il may be wholly misleading as to fact, l.
always u proof that something is going to
happen For instance. last summer when the
news was full of repeated reports Of tnden-
hurgs death. ANY sane man could forcsee
thGt what these rrnOrts really meant was not
necessarily HndenburgS death at all, but
Germany's approaching military collapse
Some German prisoners had probably said
"Hindcnhurg list EapUt.' meaning "linden-
burg is done for" -. The great offensive
has failed" This was taken to mean that
he was literally dead
TN THE same waH, while probably no one
i seriously believes that Lcnne is i-l Bar
cclona, the mere fact that Madrid thinks 1t
possible shows very plainly that something
is going on. II shows either that the Boil
shovil; experiment IN Pctrograd has been
such a gorgeous success that Lenine can turn
his attention to foreign campaigning or that
it has beCl such gorgeous failure that he
has had TO skip. II does not prove, since the
ruror is "uncorlrmed," that Lenine has
gone anywhere Yet; but II certainly does
prove that he is going somewhere soon even
il only to the fortress OF Peter and Paul
There may be some very simple explanation
Of the rumor "You go to Barcelona 80 may
be a jocuar MuscoNite catchword. similar 10
our old saying about going to IIalifaN, and
TrOtsky may have said it to l.eline. Al any
rate. it shows that the gold dust twins are
not inseDarahle. II shows that BOlShCNiSm
in Russia is either very strong or Very near
downfall.
NLyHFN We were told not long ago that
w Berlin was strangely gay for the capital
Of PROSTATE nation and that all the cafes
We're crowded with dancers at night, many
readers were amazed and tried To console
their sense Of probability by remartiIE that
the Germans are crazy anyway And yet
this rumor Of the dancing mania was an
authentic premonitiou Of the blopdrr dance
of death led by the Spartacus group. II
Berlin did dance it was cotillou OF despair,
caused by infinite war WEAKNESS, infinite
hu-lger 70 forget Humiliation for a few
moments and foreboding of troubles to come.
Whether true or not, NO one read the news
without thinking il AN ominous whisper
COMING events east their rumors before
y From careful study Of rumors the dis
ceruing may learn good deal. providing
always that they never take them at face
value but try to read beneath the surface.
People sometimes criticize the newspapers for
printing rumors, but IL Is an essential part
Of their function 10 do 30, provided they
pla,aly mark them as such. Shakespeare
speaks Of rumors as 'stuftug the ears Of men
with false reports yet II so this Is not the
fault OF the rumor itself but Of the too
credible listener The prosperity Of q rumor
is In the ear that hears II. The sagacious
listener viii take the trouble to sift aud
n