The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-17
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY Z. HOUSE.
(From Philadelphia Public Ledgesl


ters from readers of the column ask
! ing US what we want for Christmas.
1t is exceedingly difficult for one who
has everything to- indicate to his ad-
mirers the nature. or need, of their
appreciation. But the only thing we
really need is desk blotters. We havo
never yet had desk blotters in number
/ sufficient to be able TO lay a hand on
one when we needed it.
| There was a time whes admiring
readers of the column might have
given us a set of collar buttons but
we have since purchased an extra pair
and probably are fortified for Life il
that respect.
Governor Cal Coolidge's landlord
has advanced his rent from s27 to
ss2 month. The papers speak OF it
as a raise" We should not so de
scribe it. We should call 1t an i'm
| pcrceptible movement upward from
wild fancy to the unbelievable.
| We have read Irwin S. Cobb's latest
story, 1T Could Happen Again To-
| morrow" and reacn the conclusion
that Irv wants the law changed The
trouble is that legislators and others
in places of authority, lacking our
facility in deductive analysis may miss
the point of the story.
There are various methods of secur-
ing needed revision of the statutes.
The most certain of these is the ability
to deliver the vote of your precinct
Our attention has been directed to
the fact that "frankfurters" are beins.
sold in place on Walnut street and
that \. Bible and Christ Bros. are en-
gagged in business within three doors
OF each other in a certain Philadel-
phia neiehborhood, but II is almost
nothing to us. We react to that sort
of comedy in precisely the same FASH
ion we react to ''burleycue."
However. there is the laugh Take
1t or leave 1t.
As between Hon. Dempsey and Hon.
Carpenter our sympathies in the
Forthcoming contest will lie with tho
Lformer. The column feels that il can
do no less than stand by the men who
stood by their mothers in time OF war
We do not share the fears of the
h<ckers of Gen. Leonard Wood upon
the point that the Republican national
convention, IL held in Chicago, will he
packed by the friends of a local can
didate for the presidency. But il is
interesting to note that the first vein
of "hokum" tapped in connection with
the 1920 campaign is being permitted
to flow,
Nothing concerns us SO little as the
location of the national convention.
The question which naturally comes
to mind, however. is whether those
who talk that sort of "hogwash" can
be safely entrusted with the task OF
picking candidate for president.
.For the moment grief yields TO
hope. There is a bare outside chance
that Emma Goldman, may not be de-
ported.
Where do we get that stuff? Wen,
she never has been deported.
'Cider' we quote the esteemed
| United States treasury department. is
not a vinous liquor and, therefore. is
not subject to the inhibition upon the
sale of distilled spirits. beer and wine.
1t follows that cider, whether sweet or
; hard, may be sold without reference
to it's alcoholic content"
We are occasionally careless as to
. | whether We please or diSplease, but
we do try to serve We go on to say
that in the case of cider 1t is surplus
age to interfere with attempt to ac-
centuate nature. All that is needed
is suitable receptacle and modicum
of patience. The cider itself will do
the rest.
Correspondents on the ground fore
cast the defeat of Victor Berger in
his contest for reelection. The news
that MIR. Berger manicures his nails
has been widely circulated and has
reached his followers.
| Mr.. Bergers constituency, it may be
added. is about the only one left in
this country which is fanatical upon
the question OF personal sanitation.
In practically all of the other districts
n congressman now may bathe and
shave every day without giving Of
fense to the voters.
1t is true that he may be regarded
as eccentric by few of his constItu-
ents. but they will not vote against
him on that account. The bath tub
and the razor have made great strides
In the ten or fifteen years last passed.
Two important discoveries marked
| the week. One was the uncovering OF
| o. wonderful new coal field in Pennsyl-
| vania. The other was that of Arthur,
| the porter, who o. Sunday visited
place in the Bronx where they still sell
gin by the drink. .