The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-11-26
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY e. HOUSE
tFrom Phiiadelphia Public Ledgsr.)

Gas YOU. seem to have got into a
peck of trouble with your Give me
liberty or give me DEATH" writes +.
S. B., 81 trust you will permit me to
point out your error. Your humor
was all right except that You mis-
judged your audience. l take 1t that
you are youns-thaS Is to say, not ol1
a popular daily are in large numbers
not sufficiently educated to be trusted
with irony or any humorous misstate-
ment of well-known facts and fg-
ures."
r.. .. d. oan take it that we are
young If he cares to do SO. We are
willing to concede we got into a peck
of trouble" il that will save contro-
versy. But no guy is. going to argue
able right to kid" the public, Does
the fellow wish to blight our life?
''Where one is writing for the gem
eraI public" continues r. s. B., Il
think it is we'll not to lapse from clear
and correct statements and to make
use of good, expressive, understand
able English" Which may be all
right. But you take these guys who
made clear and correct statements
and who always use good, expressive.
understandable English, and who ever
that.
As Henry Ford said. when the Chi
cago Trib sued him for libel: 'Honi
saute qui malay pence"
1t should Be Good for a Coupla Rides.
Sir-Some weeks ago you expressed
a wish for some suitable substitute for
Intrigued" In A. CUTLER COUGHS
'Shakespeare's Workmanship" pub
lished in 1917, 1 read: Every word
instructing us while 1T intrigues and
enhances our curiosity" VIII that
help any? a A, b.
We sympathize with the reader who
writes to recount the destruction, by
an ignorant plowman, of the five
husky grape vines which formerly
grew in his back yard. But he can't
lean on us. In these precious times
1 every man has his own sorrow, and
! the task of watering it with his tears
consumes his every leisure moment
| As an instance, we know q chap-a
| fine, clean-cut, outstanding American
citizen of great mental acuteness, re-
| markable Intellectual capacity and the
most hospitable and generous of in
stincts-who on and Immediately prior
to July 1, 1919, had no cellar.
A number have written to direct at
tention to and question the phrase.
Whom was she before that" recently
| appearing in the column. 1t was
stupid of US and We cannot imagine
| how we came to make so grievious an
error. What we meant to say, OF
course. was, Whom was she before
them"
The Society of Those Who Find
%
! lot of new members. In one day
recently 10000 emigrants landed in
! New York.
We had assumed that, according to
custom and following the discovery
that the horse. had been stolen, a new
lock would be placed on the stable
door. But 1t seems even that precau-
ton has been neglected.
Following the announcement that
another school OF Journalism is to be
established. every city editor in the
| country snorted.
The announcement that the govern
ment is about to start a drive for the
! rigid enforcement of the prohibitory
| liquor laws will interest those who
have never been permitted to observe
the progress of such a drive. But.
after twenty or thirty years, people
cease to pay much attention to that
sort of thing.
We do not wish to underrate or un-
derwrite the benefits of prohibition.
When we discuss the matter at all we
do it with an open mind. But we've
seen a thousand hosts fare forth under
flaming banners to march beside the
.cortege of liquor. And only yesterday,
lor the day before. the artistic who pol
ished our shoes told US he could get
us anything we wanted.
1t is. ladies and gents. considerable
task, and the real work hasn't started
yet.
The plan to give the Philippines
away may be ali right we don't
know. But we are not particularly
sanguine as to its accomplishment. Tho
chances are the government will have
to pay somebody a bonus ! :