Pueblo chieftain., 1921-03-01
Rv rrcdcrlc j. uaskln.


Washington. u. C.. Feb. 2e.-Thc cave
man is u myth in the opinion OF Mr..
Chestcrtou.
You. OF course, know all about the
cave man. You know that he is your
prehistoric ancestor. that he lived in
IA cave and carried big club. His
method OF getting married was TO ap-
proach the woman OF his choice quietly
from behind. tap her ON the head with
his club, and drag her 10y the hair to
his cave.
The matrimonial method of tho cave
man seems to have made an immense
impression ON the imagiuations OF all
who arc educated enough TO have
heard OF tho cave man ut all II you
have Il habit Of kissing girls in the face
of such opposition as they may offer
YOU gre Immediately dcnominatcd a
cave man. Even the cladsomc ilappcr
knows ali about the cave man. II Is
quito common to- hear her say that she
likes the cave man methods.
Probably the popularity of the cave
man as AN historical character Is due
to that frcc-and-casy slap-dash way
OF his. which most of us secretly ad-
miro. but arc unable to practice by rca-
son of conventions, the pclicc~and lit
tic things like that.
BE that as it may. MIR. Chcstorton
simply makes the point that there may
You know all about the cave man but
how do you know that any such crea-
turc existed? Have you studied the
evidence OF his existence as carefully.
for example, !is YOU would study "a blll
which you suspected of being padded
You have not. You have taken the
existence of tho cave man con trust.
You have sccn him cartooned in the
comic papers. YOU have even read nov
els about him. And he appeals to your
imagination. Therefore you assume that
he did exist But If you looked into
tho actual evidence OF his existence.
you would find that 1T consisted of "A
few scattered bones, and great many
rather speculative conclusions which
the professors have deduced therefrom.
As for his habit of hitting ladies over
"A pilgrimage to America and recruit
the head with "A club. 1t is based on
practically nothing, except. perhaps
your own secret yosrning 10 do like
wise. Mr.. Chcsterton thinks 1t inhCr-
entity improbable that tho cave man
over battcd ladies over the head And
tho reason he thinks IT improbable is
that he cannot believe the ladies' have
changed that much since the Stone
Age. Ho doubts that they were ever
SO reluctant as to require such treat
mcnt.
The unnux of Genius
At this point II might be well to
pause and explain who Mr.. Gilbert
Keith Chestcrton is. Ho is a famous
English journalist and author who has
recently been touring this country and
giving lectures, as have so many other
more or less eminent Ensi5hmcn OF
late.
Since tho war 1t has become quito
tho custom for English authors to make
their finances by lecture tour AS
MIR. Chcstcrtou remarked. the hmcri-
can people have "A positively heroic
capacity for giving and receiving Ice
turoS. He might have added that they
have an Unsuitable curiosity as to what
celebrities look like aud sound like, for
1t is that curiosity. rather than "A real
interest in ideas. which recruits the
audiences OF British lecturers. In this
respect Mr.. Chcstertou gives an cspc-
cially large moneys worth. For he
is one OF tho largest aud most pictu'-
csuuc men that the rnCo has ever pro-
duccd. This statement may he an ad-
vcrilscment for him but II docs not
make any difference, hcrHusc his aud
fences are as large as his auditorium