Norwich bulletin., 1920-04-24
THE MAN WHO TALKS

Brooklyn divine, has lecture on How Ability Increases the Workers Wage l and the Nations Wealth. Doesn't that l statement need a good deal of modifica- tion in the light of modern conditions? The stability of the nations wealth cer- tainly does depend on those who are I able enough to create and maintain sta ble conditions But today nobody seems able either to create or preserve stable conditions. And if it does exist you can't find it with a microscope. From things seen and heard, during and since the war, it is perfectly fair to inquire just how big part ability has played | in fixing and following the wage scale. Wage scales are often fixed to meet emergencies. They are often thrown at workmen to avert strikes which, then and there, would be disastrous We are beginning to look askance at this ability element, when men utterly nl1terate are receiving much larger wage than col lege professors and other educated men.
 wonder what modern Solomon it was who started the expression: We learn by experience" If so, who are they, and on what planet other than the earth do they live? Just how many of us have quit doing a thing which past experience has said rather loudly, "dont repeat" Of course the gambler, who has been
 
 mare, never puts up stakes again, or
 even patronizes a horse race; if he has
 lost pile at a faro bank, he never ven
 lures in the game second time. What a conspicuous change we see in those
 gamblers who have learned by experi-l ence!" A certain man in a certain sa-
 loon when mind and body were under the charm of tanglefoot whislzey was robbed of his weeks pay. This paragon of
 xyo17HS into q
 saloon again. But he did into the same
 dive within two weeks. A dog never for gets sound thrashing but men do in
 five minutes Do some of us of greater
 pretentions ever eat those things that
 we know are likely to tie us up into. hard knot and call into use a stomach pump? O Experience thou art jewel! Did you ever think what a bigger bar
 gain Pilate got when he married than his wife did? The poor woman lived in an age when her sex was discredited-
 In the stock market her quotations were always far below par. Pilate probably boasted-as here and there a man about once in a thousand years does-of his judgment, while his wife probably never said anything about her munitions. Very likely Pilate had told her that she hadn't any; or, if she had, they must be spurious because they were only female munitions. On one occasion she proved herself to be something of a lass when she said to Pilate, Have thou nothing to do with that just man." But Pilate turn ed her advice down and trusted to judg- | ment and made mess of it. Pilate has
 been dead some years now, but his brand 1 is still with us men who fret and fume and fuss and butter and fail because they won't listen to the advice of a sensible l woman. What a lot of trouble would be saved if we rattle-headed fellows would only say, Look here, Jane, I'm up | against a snag, can you help me out?" If we would consult our good wives more we would founder around in quagnlires less
 From whatever angle they are viewed, | the railroads are having anything but a
 soft snap in these days. When they are ! released from digging themselves out from the heavy burden of snow, they have to shovel themselves out from the
 still heavier burden of taxation. They | are "beset behind and before.'' And it
 seems little inconsistent in an age | that is most confessedly prosperous. l There was never such variety and such l bulk of traffic for our common carriers as today. There was never such equip ment for long hauls as now, and yet most l of our railway systems are moving heav- i en and earth to keep their heads above
 water. It must be like putting salt upon
 raw wound for our railroads to feel 1 that part of their taxes goes to the l construction of roads for motor trucks, I their chief competitor in business.
 l Mucb is being said and written today
 about free speech here in America 1 There seems to be mortal dread lest
 gag law shall be put on a mans ton que. But do we realize that the gag law is on, if not controlling free speech
 it is throttling a free press? There is not one really free and independent 1 newspaper published in the United States in 1920. Some of our monthly reviews come dangerously near yielding a free lance. The gag law is hard on the daily paper. There are certain interests thar
 must not be antagonized because they
 are strong enough to make their reta1ia
 tion count. They are too belligerent tc
 sit quietly under reasonable and jus
 criticism. Will someone explain why tht
 Ulster delegation had to pay advertising rates to have their proceedings reported in the press. In their case reporter. were not allowed to tumble over eacI , other in getting verbatim reports of thei speeches. It is quite evident that Greeley Bennett, Dana, Raymond, Halsted ant ] Bow1es have left no successors.
 Nothing so blinds the eye from seeinj . clearly as envy. If one is jealous he vii see nothing good in Nazareth. Humal nature has not changed so you can see : since it was said that a prophet is no l without honor save in his own country. : God have mercy Oh the man or woman . who tries to do little honest prophecy f ing-and succeeds at it-in the tow
 where everybody has known him fror babyhood If he carries himself with
 dignity that befts his position littl r jealous melodies call it ''swelled head. T This same quality, seen in a stranger
 would be regarded as an expression c
 manliness. Mediocrity, poisoned by CT
 wy. is still saying: "Is not this the car penter's son?"
 T Springtime is the season favorable fc
 shifting from the mental to the physica
 It is the lure of nature that makes fo r strength. Of course we cannot make - a vacation period when all regular wor
 is dropped. But possibly we can ease u
 a bit on the one to give more room fo l. the other. The writer would urge a those who have been running to ever3 ones beck and call to make speeches. {
 cut out all these extras till next Octobe < Stop making speeches and begin makin < muscle. It is duty you owe to youl u selves and to those who have to liste
 to you There is trace of the cave ma 1 in us all and we ought to visit our ar II cient relative at least once a year. Fisf . ing rods and golf sticks for some, bl
 hoe handles and spades for the greate
 number are the media of communicable O Close contact with Mother Earth throug l. 1 the means at our disposal spells renev a ed vigor. "Reversion to type" is nc