The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-03-07
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE
tFron Philadelphia Public LsdsAs.)

BY JAY e. HOUSE
tFron Philadsiphia Public Lsdsa..)
We knew, of course, that the coun-
try would get around to kissing the
Germans, but We had not expected to
see the first public caress bestowed by
those who live along the Atlantic sea-
board. We had expected the orgy to
break, either in the sage brush country
or the emotional areas of tie middle
west. 1t is the first time the con-
sentative east ever beat the emotional
areas to the projection of any special
brand of ''pish-posh."
1t is not that we do not sympathize
still the same hearty sympathy we felt
the day they invaded Belgium.
And we are willing to forget the
waf. We agree to do it within a week
after the pro-Germans who skulked
behind the Stars and Stripes forget it.
A good many lave written to reas-
sure us upon the points raised by Dis
gusted Reader and TX" Yesterday
morning we had a stack of mail as
high as a cats back. And that is our
reason for discussing the matter. which
we shall presently do. We have been
to incendiary speech for a good many
years and have evolved a certain phil
osophy concerning the process.
We love the letter of an abusive
reader and we always print it. The
man who writes in to say he is. going
to stop the paper unless some poor edi-
torial or reportoria1 worm is fired is
the king of the unconscious humorists.
Given pencil and paper and free rein.
he always goes SO far in the bitterness
of his condemnation and the eXploita-
ton of his prejudices that he makes a
bally ass Of himself. Thus he becomes
an amusing qectacle to readers of the
column and a source of perennial, joy
to us. For. apparently, he never can
get it thrS his head that we give, NOT
two whoops in Gehenna what any in
dividual thinks of the column.
And. finally, when we print an abus-
i've letter the friends of the column
write in and say nice things to u.s..
There is no joy in columning, and-it
has no inspiration to equal that of let
tiers from the friends it has made
along the way.
One Does 1t Fro mthe Left, of Course.
Sir-I always thought you were a
city guy" posing as ''jayhawker,"
but that ''synthetic-cow' stuff con
vinces me you are bona fide. Now,
tell US what's the right side to put the
gears" on a horse and you'll have us
all right.
:, I'm with you on Shakespeare Dam
me, as Cullen Cain says, if I know
whether Shakespeare's poetry or prose
or what it is. If you want to read
something that will do you some good,
to read that when I was a kid" and
now the hottest day of summer I can
get chill by thinking of it G., B..
Speaking of books and literature,
and we hate to do it, we make bold to
ask &c. B." if he has read Whisper
ing Smith, There's a book for the
ages.
The column acknowledges the re-
Tceipt of a pleasant billet doux from
Miss Madge Leasing. We have laid
it away in lavender. We have togo to
Washington for few days; Mr. Hard
ing has called. But Miss Leasing may
confidently expect us some night next
week. Well be sitting as far down
front as we can buy tickets-a sad
faced guy with a prominent Adam s
apple. Ordinarily, we'd be wearing a
red necktie, but the occasion being
| what it is, we shall don our tux" a
We do not clamor for the privilege
of writing the verdict on President
Wilson, who tomorrow vacates the
White House to the new tenant We
should be pitifully inadequate to that
task. But we do say no article Presi-
dent Wilson may write will be worth
s150,000 10 us. 80
Meanwhile, we extend our sympathy
| to, him. He is moving into q new
home. We'd be willing to lay small
wager, say one of $1,000 to a peck OF
rI~ ha% -; IA- u -,
cravat will disappear forever and tina,
he won't be able to find the book he
was reading inside of a year.
| 1t cost DIR. Nicholas Murray Butler
I s4O,0 900 to beya candidate for the Re.
publican nomination for president. II
is all right for a man to kid" himself
but it is foolish to carry it to extremes
To us, however. the illuminating
| feature of the report of the senate in.
vestigating committee is the disclosure
that the hackers of General WOOD
spent more money than all of the other
candidates, real and ostensible, com
| bined. That little old campaign SCI
the generals friends back more thar
one and three>quarter millions Of dol
lars.
No wonder the New York Tribun,
and others of the generals close sup
porters claim the will of the people
4 was thwarted.
Mr.. Harding is believed to be con
| sidering Colonel George w. Harve,
for appointment to the Court of st
James. Colonel Harvey was one o
those President Wilson kicked down
stairs and out into the street. Look
like the genial colonel is at last to b,
permitted the taste of blood
j You don't care for the loeytion
VERY well. How would you have writ