The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-05-17
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE
(From Philadelphia Public Ledger.)
What DO the People mink About?


Sir-Mr. George K. Scott is perfectly
right in his letter to you. Some people
might not publish this, as the truth
hurts; but I cannot give you credit
for honesty in giving this letter to
the public, as you seem to think it is
clever to be asinine and foolish and
you glory in being called down. Per-
haps this is creditable. If rubbing
your readers the wrong way as a mat
ter of policy is doing the Public Ledger
any good. can only say that know
very little of human nature. The only
trouble with Mr.. Scott's criticism is
that he doesn't go half far enough.
And now you think you're being real
clever in trying to start something
with your silly statement that men
would rather be considered lady-kiil-
ers than anything else. 1 can only
hope that none of your readers will
swallow your bait and be foolish
enough to waste their time arguing.
Mr.. Scott belongs to the intelligent
portion of your readers, and claim
membership in the same class, and
, agree with him that most people. ex-
cept the densely ignorant and hope
lessly frivolous are decidedly inter-
ested in the presidents foreign policy.
You evidently belong to the latter two
classes and have neither the taste nor
the brains for intelligent matters, or
you are only a cheap sham and pre-
tending a lack of interest to start
till your column otherwise. This be-
ing the case, We should pity rather
than blame you. And you close this
column with mean fling at DIR.
Frank Crane; what's the matter, are
you jealous because he has more
you in the male "cat' class, for whose
existence there is far less excuse than
for the females. Now publish this let
ter if you dare and change your mid
die name to bug"
LESTER HENDERSON,.
What do the people think about?
We have studied them long time and
reach the conclusion that they think
of nothing in particular. The most
persistent search is that for a good
| time. The struggle is to pay the
bills, keep up the life insurance and
have margin left for pleasure
George doesn't care much what hap
pens so long as it doesn't happen to
| him. He wants to get on in a financial
way, live a little better and make
| life easier for his children. Prob
ably he works hard. but he doesn't
! think much about it one way or the
other. Life is too complex; it has too
| many artificial angles, too many
lures. 1t leaves the average man lit
tie time for thought and meditation
| When he has time to think at all it
is in terms of next weeks pleasures or
next years modest personal ambition.
| One reason the people of the rural
districts are better informed and on
the whole. more intelligent than those
who live in the massed centers of pop
ulat1on is that they have more time
for reading and meditation and life for
them has fewer artificial lures. Most
OIL the people have a slight superb
cial knowledge of what is going on
They read it. IN the newspaper last
week. But they don't know much
about 1t and are not particularly in
terested. The thinking is done by a
i little group composed of statesmen
public officials, newspaper and mag
azine editors, preachers, teachers and
publiclsts of all sorts. In most cases
even those who think they think
merely reflect the opinion of one of
the thinking group. And probably
that is as it should be. If we were
all serious thinkers, this would be
the saddest country on the face of the
earth. 1t would be nothing short of
calamitous.
The average American likes to pick
at somebody. He prefers a public Off
cal, a newspaper or a neighbor; but
he will pick at anything. He doesn't
mean anything by it, Fundamentally
he is all right and good sport at
heart. He has picking" streak in
his nature. His picking is prompted
by a desire to SHOW off" His favor
lite way of Showing off" is to criticize
something or somebody. That makes
him conspicuous and attracts attention
to him. Everybody shows off" You
do it and SO do we. It is entirely prob
able that We shall be trying to show
off" about something before we finish
the days work. Not long ago we
wrote an open letter to Ring Lardner
1t was couched in an imitation of Mr..
Lardner's famous brand of mangled
English. We have been doing that sort
of thing nearly as long as Mr. Lard
ner; but we do not pretend we are as
good as Mr.. Lardner, who is, accord
ing to our notion, the foremost humor-
list of his day. We can do the sort of
] thing Edgar Lee Masters does, but we
do not pretend to do it nearly as well
as Masters does it. We can write like