The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-05
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE
(From Philadelphia Public Ledger)

Indiana, that we snail not encounter
the black-dirt roads of Illinois and the
Being a woman, she repeated the OBJ
servation many times. The fear that
we might run into the equin oxial
storms obsessed her. Each time she
repeated the observation l snorted in
contempt and derision. There is,
said, mo such thing as an equinoxial
storm. Meteorologist and weather ex-
perts are agreed upon that. The
notion that there are such storms is
survival of the dark days of meteoro
logical ignorance. Persons of intelli-
gence no longer entertain such notions.
If my friend Harvey Watts should hear
you talk of equinoxial storms he
would laugh his head Off" Be that
as it may, we ran into driving rain
six miles east of Jacksonville last Fri
day afternoon. Since then we have
Travelled exactly fifty-seven miles in
the direction of the setting sun, or
toward the point of the compass at
which the sun presumably sets. Of
the sun itself we have seen little. And
so l am hedging a little on the propo-
sition that there is no such thing as
an equinoxial storm. If between Sep
TENDER 20 and rs every year torrential
rains fall in certain sections of this
country. the name by which they are
designated seems of little importance
to me.
A time ago I referred to myself. and
as everybody knows. 1 hated to do it,
since 1 dislike very much to talk about
myself. I say I referred to myself as
the favorite executor of the Mou 1T
Sterling Democrat Message. l init
mated that when 1 arrived in Mount
Sterling l would be received with a
good deal of eclat. At the time 1
looked upon it as an idle boast 1 had
not set foot in the town nor had other
he too ion
with it in twenty-four years. left the
town a STRIPPING; I was going back 70
it aged and battle-scarred. Down deep
in my heart I doubted that more than
three persons would remember ME
To Adelaide, whom 1 knew l could no
We limped into Mount Sterling at 6
o'clock Saturday night after driving
eight hours over the muddiest roads
had ever seen and achieving thirty
one miles. We stopped at the sorry
hotel. parked the Blue Swallow in a
garage and repaired to the leading
restaurant for dinner, where a middle
aged waiter took our order. He
looked at me, L will say, intently
Then he said, "I'Il bet you're Jay
House; you don't remember me, of
course, but l worked in the laundry
for Jesse Crane when you lived here"
l acknowledged my identity. got on my
feet and shook hands with that waiter.
1t was no casual handc;asp. either. I
know men in New York and PhiladeI-
phia. who pay hundreds of dollars
every year for the privilege of calling
the waiter George" or Pierre" as
the case may be. In Mount Sterling I
shook hands with one for nothing.
Readers may rely upon it that 1 IN
stilIed considerable JUNCTION into that
greeting.
The waiter. as he went away with
our order, stopped to speak to the pro-
prietor, who sat behind the cashiers
desk. The proprietor put on his hat
and walked out. Within three min
utes Bill Davis. proprietor of the
| Demoerat-Message came in breath
ing heavily. Get your things" he
said, land come right down to the
house. You're not going to stay in
any hotel in this town Before Ade-
| la1de had finished filing her demurrer,
George Owens, leading and weaIthiest
citizen and possibly the only man in
the world who has made fortune in
the retail grocery business, followed
! Davis. I'm sending my car to the
hotel after your baggage" he said;
you're going to stay with us" Other
citizens came in; the news travelled
along Main street" before we finished
our modest meal. Each insisted on
| entertaining US. There was a good
deal of row about it; but inasmuch
as Bill Davis had once been my en-
| ployer, it finally was agreed that he
had the best claim, and he was award
ed the privilege. AT the Davis home
on Sunday pretty nearly everybody
had ever known in Mount Sterling
called to see us. Monday noon the
Commercial club gave a luncheon in
my honor; to which were invited the
surviving citizens whom had known
well enough to call bSh their first
names. Sixty sat down at the table
and fifty-nine of them made speeches.
| They knew all about me-where I had
been in the years that had interviewed
and what I had been doing. Fifty of
them admitted they had always known
I would some time achieve distinction.
! Now that is all trivial. inconsequen-
tial personal stuff, apparently with
out much point. 1 do not imagine any
one cares particularly about Mount
Sterlings attitude toward an insignifi-
cant person who was once for a brief
period a resident of the community. l
set it down here because it reveals the
heart the neighborliness and the
| loyalty of main street" When
knew Mount Sterling intimately and
well 1t had 1850 inhabitants. 1t is a
| little larger now; I think the most re-
cent census accredited it with 1881.
| But every house in town is thanked by
a paved street bordered with magnifi-
cent trees and is surrounded by a
! bluegrass lawn. There is no great
wealth and no dire poverty. 1t is
Mount Sterling's boast-it was men
| toned two or three times during the
course of the luncheon-that in the
period of financial depression thru
which we are passing no bank in
| Mount Sterling has found 1t impera-
tive to reject an application for a
necessary loan. And such are the
Main streets of this broad country.
Financially sound, neighborly. cordial,
keenly alert. widely informed and up
1 to the minute. Coming into Mount
Sterling Saturday night a farmer
pulled me out of the ditch into which
1 had skidded. We were a good deal
of trouble to him; he broke a single
tree and was compelled to travel some
| distance for another. He declined
recompense of any sort. He wouldn't
| let me pay him for his broken single
tree.