The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-13
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE.
(From Philadelphia Public Ledger,

L
There is. we learn from our casual
reading of the book reviews, con-
siderable furore over +. Scott Fitzger-
ald's This Side of Paradise" Mr..
Fitzgerald is. We gather, Princeton
undergraduate, and his book is de-
scriptive of a trip of the Triangle Club
thru that uncharted region geograph-
ically known as the middle west
Young Mr.. Fitzgerald was amazed, not
to say revolted.- at the amount of
kissing to which his hero was sub
jected on that trip, and frankly says
so.
As one who assumes responsibility
for speaking authoritatively of the
middle west we assure young Mr.. Fitz-
gerald there is nothing unusual in the
experience of which he makes note.
The kissing has always been good in
the middle west IL the eye OF a
trained observer, long past his zenith
as performer, may be relied upon, its
amatory possibilities never were
so great as they are at the moment
Kissing is the only form of indoor
sport that emerged unscathed from
the war Small wonder that its de-
voices increase instead of diminishl
Possibly the attitude of the middle
west may be best reflected in q story
which the column is familiar there
came a Boston young woman bent
upon visit to one of the village bellies.
The visit was the outward manifesto
ton of schoolgirl friend and the
event was widely heralded. After it
was over the society reporters ad-
mitted, even boosted, ii was the finest
line of advance advertising ever given
an independent visitor in the annals OF
the town. Following the arrival of
the guest young men floeked in droves
to the home of the hostess Johnny"
| Watlins, who was known locally as the
! visiting girls delight" made his in
| itial call on the evening OF the visitors
arrival, and with the arrival of the
cleaning on the second day of her
stay took her for an unchaperoned
drive The visiting girl returned to the
rooftree of her hostess along about Il
o'clock and seemed distract and some
what perturbed. well" said the viii
lage belle. t'how did you like johnny"
| Like himi" sneered the visitor. Like
| him. ! think he's contemplate. After
we turned around and started back he
| tried to kiss me-" "Oh, you mustn't
mind that" the hostess counseled.
Johnny is slow worker. but he's
very persistent"
whether it should be spelled woods
Hole" or Woods Holl." but we<loubt
that it is worth the space the New
York papers are devoting to 1t.
As we understand the New York
Worlds revised attitude, it is for Mr..
Hoover for president on any ticket
nominated by the Democratic con-
vention.
If we have been little dilatory in
picking a hero of the great war, at
tribute it TO very earnest desire care
| fully to consider all OF the conflicting
claims. Having done so, we pick Ser
geant Bender. whose further identity
we have as yet been unable to estab-
fish.
What was the nature Of Sergeant
Bender's heroic feat? Being at the
moment ''unfinancial," he sold a sec
ton of the Paris subway to b resident
of that well known city. M4
Sergeant Benders modesty we go
on to say, since We are in a hurry 10
get the column written in order that
we may attend the ball game, i'm
presses us almost as forcibly as the
feat to which we have alluded. He
denies in toto, the story that he sold
one of the hxidges of the Seine to
native.
All of which reminds us that Ser
geant Alvin c. York. the gentleman
who wiped out a large segment OF the
German army. is in Philadelphia. We
do not recall having said anything
derogato~y of Sergeant York. If We
did say anything which reflects upon
him in any way, we wish. to retract it.
Meanwhile. we demand a personal
apology from the gentleman who
wrote a letter to the papers in which
he described Senator Hiram johnson
as a reactionary. As reactionary or
more than twenty years standing. we
protest this attack upon the order.
Generally speaking. the man who is
going to buy cigars for the crowd at
tracts a larger audience than the ono
who is going to make a speech.
In a small town most of the. scorn
and practically all of the ribald hilaritS
are directed toward the man who APP
pears in white flannel trousers.