Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-29
DOROTHY DIX'S TALK ON
Don't Write Discouraging Letters
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer S


Mother writes the same sort of
indigo letter to all of her children
who are away from home. 1 often
wonder why she does it, and If she
never realizes that after we have re-
ceived one of her pessimistic epistles
we feel that the whole world is vale
of trials and tribulations and that
there is no use in trying to achieve
al happiness or success in it.
"She knows that 1 have about as
heavy burden to bear as can stag
t,er along under. Why, then. add -
it the sorrows of those I love, and
am powerless to help? Why sadden
me with the worries and troubles of
others. when it does no good?
'It takes the heart and courage
out of me. 1t lessons my efficiency
because I'm grieVing over susan
ed on my work. 1t depresses my
vitality, and makes me nervous and
jumpy. 1t breaks down my morale
and makes me feel like turning.
coward and gutter.
Surely if Mother and the other
people who indulge their morbid love
of horrors by writing gloomy let
tiers, realized how far-reaching and
disastrous was the effect of their
walls on the recipients, they would
mails with another cerulean mission.
writing of discouraging letters
should be recognized as crime pun
ishable by law. If people can't
write bright and emery et oi, ette a we we
junction prohibiting them from
writing at ALL"
There are two explanations Of the
melancholy letter. The first Is sell
fishness. The writer wants to en-
joy her troubles by telling them TO TO
first, regardless of how they may
affect another. 1t is not easy to get
some one to listen to the recital OF
your grievances, but when you
gotten the sad, sad story of your
wrongs over to one person, at least.
He or she can not help but hear
them.
The second reason for the. gloomy
letter is that women think 1t IS
romantic and poetic to, be miserable.
Therefore they. let themselves GO
when they sit down to write. Their
correspondent isn't there to see, so
they pose as martyrs, and exagger-
ate every scratch on their hearts IN
to compound fracture that Is bound
with their tears because It looks
highfalutin to do so, forgetting that
the person at the other end OF the
line won't know they were property
tears.
They do not realize how much
more final an impression the writ
ten word is than the spoken word.
When Betty comes to tell her that
her marriage is a failure because her
husband doesn't understand her, and
that he is a brute who has reduced
her world to cinders, ashes and dust.
we do not suffer unduly with her
as we observe that she is tucklng
awav three cups of tea and innum-
cradle olive sandwiches, and that
she is arrayed like Solomon IN all
his glory, and looking uncommonly
well and fit.
But when we get letter from
Betty detailing her domestic woes,
and representing herself as a mel-
ancho1y wreck We are simply dis
solved with pity for the poor. darlo
ing and we go through agonles OF
And Just because there is this
power in a scrap of paper We shouid
be careful how we use it. 1t should
always be with us a bit Of white
magic that carries good luck to the
one to whom we send it. 1t should
be filled with cheer, and courage,
and love and laughter, never with
bad news and raven croaking. There
is no place for the gloomy letter
except the waste paper basket.
Dorothy Dix articles will appear
in this paper every Monday, Wed
nesday and Friday.