The Washington herald., 1920-10-08
By DOROTHY DIX.

II IS nut 10 be ueHAeu Nhat 1iC
favorite indoor and outdoor sport
Of the great majority Of the human
race is giving and seeking advice.
Particularly giving. for it is far
more blessed to give advice than TO
receive it.
Why We should be so eager to
. tell our fellow w-creatures just exact
ly how they should act under GER
tain circumstances is one Of the
b mysteries of vanity that nobody
can explain. Certainly very few of
us think that We have run our own
affairs so successfully, and have eN-
hibited always such unerring judg-
ment. that We have qualified TO pose
as oraclcs.
Nevertheless. We do not hesitate
TO lay down the law to those about
us We have never been able to
make more than the barest living
ourselves, but We feel perfectly
competent to advise anybody about
how to invest money. We know
nothing whatever about medicine
or the vagaries Of the human sys-
tenn. yet We advise people to take
drugs. Of whose properties We are
totally ignorant. for ailments that
Men and women who have never
had anything but an airdale pup,
OF a canary bird. tell you exactly
how to raise YOUR children. and II
YOU try TO make a garden. or build
a house. you are swamped under
the counsel of those who never
planted a seed or wrestled with
contractor. and do not claim that
they know anything about either
subject except that they know
more about it tnan you know
The perfect strangers whose sub
lime egotism makes them feel that
they can run our affairs much bet
ter than We can manage them our
selves. and who DO not hesitate to
tell US where We should get on and
of, are hard enough TO endure,
heaven knows. but the real pest Of
the world is th, family adviser.
In every household you will find
some man or man who has elect
I'd himself, or herself. to the office
NJ adviser extraordinary. and who
runs everybody else crazy with d
never-ending flow of suggestions.
The man may be a goOd-f -for-noth-
ing parasite whose children have to
support him. but before they can
make a single move in any direC-
riOn they have to listen to his end
less. If I We're you I would do
this" or Il strongly advise you
against doing that and if any
thing ever goes wrong he is an in
carnate reproach with his, IF you
ha dOnly taken my advice in the
matter"
or perhaps the family adviser is
a woman, in which case the female
Of the species is deadIier than the
male because she is always on the
job. She knows better than the
doctor what you should take when
YOU get sick. She knows more than
the lawyer about how to settle an
estate. She can pick out the exact
man and woman for every girl and
hoy to marry. She knows just
what dressmaker you should pa
trOniZc and what YOU should wear.
and how you should furnish your
house. and what you should have
% cat, and no matter how hurried
or worried OF busy you are YOU
have got 10 stop and combat her
endless advice
Its the family adviser who
wrecks homes. and makes the
members fly to the uttermost parts
Of the earth to try to get away
from one who feels that he or she
has a right to run their lives for
Them. and whose feelings are hurt
If his or her counsel is not taken.
Il is easy to see why people dOte
on giving advice. 1t is because
they like to exploit themselves. It
Is the ultimate expression Of self
"onccit Why people ask advice is
AS comprehensive as the riddle Of
the Sphynx. for they are bound to
know that the advice is worthless
Nobody can tell another person
what to do. because no other per-
son knows all the circumstances of
the case. There are i thousand
little intimate details Of the prob
lem that the seeker after light
never reveals to anyone. and these
are the CruN of the whole matter
so that even a solomon could not
solve the riddle that is propounded
20 him
Also there is the human equation
that must be taken into cOnsidera-
ton. 50 that the advice that seems
10 III your case doesn't fit il at all
when you try it. 1t may look Il
perfect thirty eight in the advice
shop, but when you get il home
YOU ind that something is wrong
with your measurements and that
n bags where il shouldn't bag, and
Is too tight across the breast. and
that il hikes up in the front, and
tails down in the back.
Never go into the grocery bust
ness" advises the man who has
failed in it: but you may have the
very qualities that he lacked that
will enable you to make a fortune
in II. You will starve if you try
TO make a living writing" advises
some poor uninspired hack. but You
may have the divine fire that will
light your way to fame and for
tune. Don't marry so-and-sO, you
will never be able to live with him.
and you will be poor to the end of