Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-08-05
Are Week-Ends a Success?

From time to time humanity is forced to
revise its customary notions in the interests
of truth. This is always painful.
1t is an old fctich that the week end in
summer is Tim. of riotous enjoyment. of
goodly cheer and mrthful solacc. A careful
examination Of human beings during this
hcbdomada period of carnival leads us to
question the doctrine.
When we watch the horrors of discom
fort and vcxation endured by simple hearted
citizens in pursuit of n light hearted Satur
day and Sunday. we often wonder how it
is that humanity will so glPefully infict
upon itself sufrcrngs which. if they We're
imposed by some taskmaster. would be called
atroCiOus.
We observe. for instance, women and
children standing sweltering in the aslcs
of trains during n two hour run to the
scashore. We observe the number of
drownings. motor accidents, murders and
suicides that take place during the Saturday
to Monday period. We observe families
loaded down with small children, who might
have been happy and reasonably cool at
home. struggling despel ately to get away
for a day in the country, rising at a. M,
standing in line at the station. tanning
themselves with blasphemy. and weary be-
fore they start. We observe them chased
home by thundCrstOrms or collie, dazed and
blistered with Sunburn or groaning with a
surfeit Of ice cream cones.
1t is a lamcntablc fact land the truth is
almost always Iamentable. and hoty de
nied that for the hard working majority
the week end is Il curse rather than a bless
ing. The saddcSt fact in human annals is
that most people are never so happy as when
they are hard at work. The time may come
when criminals will be condemned not TO
.bnir but tn SupppsSiye
ends spent standing in the uises of crowded
excursion trains
Now if only the Senate will be as nasty
toward II. c. l.. as it has been to the peace
treaty, all will be we'll.
Automobiles are not the only things that
collide. We have seen two opposing ideas
| collide within the mind Of friend, creating
| grievous havoc and severe contusions to
many other ideas that happened to be o
terng near the point of impact.
What has become Of the old fashioned
| man who used to be seen travelling at this
time of year, carrying suitcase plastered
! with labels of foreign hotels, mostly Swiss
Depositors' money at the North Penn
is still 4. W. o. L.
What shock it would be if some on,
really WANTED to be mayor of Philadel
| pha.
We understand that the railroad meI
want q raise. If they get it we hope tina
the fellow who has to take up the ticket
in the suburban smoker will achieve tn
biggest increment. 1t is true that he get
all the morning papers free of charge; bu
consider the annual volume of 2.75 japer,
he has to undergo from commuters VIII
think that the morning has not begun unit
they have passed a merry word with tn
conductor.
Mr.. WiIbert Iongfellow, of the Re
Cross, has promulgated some revised in
structions for rescuing the drowned. II
says:
Taken out of the element which causes
smothering, the patient in the case OF
drowning, should first be held upside down
at an angle of about forty degrees
Even a congressman could hardly hay
said this in greater number of words
Why not put the first fifteen words in two
and say The patient?" We fear that MI
Longfellow is as verbose as the poet of th
same name.
! SOCRATES.