Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-19
DOROTHY DIX TALKS
BY DOROTHY DIX
THE SOFT ANSWER
Copyright, 1920, by the Wheeler Syndi
cate, Inc.

| THE pretty young girl who waits on M
at little restaurant / frequent, wal
much perturbed. Red spots Of excite
ment burned on her cheeks. Her eyes wer
full of unshed tears. Her HANGS shook al
she put my food before me.
What is the matter?" I asked.
| "Oh," she said, her voice trembling witt
passion, II have just had run-in with TIL
J headwaitress. l was late this morning, and
| in hurry, / got another girls apron, an
she bawled me out about it. I didn't TAX
anything off her. and I told her some thing
she won't forget in a hurry. Wouldn't you {?
NO. I said. II should have said some
thing to her that woulL have made her fed
so small and cheap and unlauylik~ that
would have made her sorry she spoke to mi
as she did,
"Gee!" exclaimed the girl hopefully, "whd
4 would you have said to her when she cd
after you about thing that was an accI
dent, that might have happened to anybod
who was in hurry?"
| t'I should have told her, said, chat
knew she had perfect right to scold me I'd
my carelessness in making the mistake, AMI
that / was sorry for it, and that wouldn't
let it happen again."
The girl thought a moment, and then sh|
said gravely: "Well, guess that would hav
held her far while. Scrappy. thing she ID
Always looking for fight"
"hight-o," I replied. "The soft answd
not only turns away wrath, but nothing els
leaves your enemy so completely at disad
vantage. There's nothing more that you cal
say to those who admit their faults, and I'd
greet them"
Just try it the next time any one assaiI
you, and see how foolish it makes them fed
and look. They could match tempers wit
you. They could pit enger against angel
and hurl invectives and abuse, perhaps, wit
a reader thought and a deadlier aim thai
you can, but they are helpless before yo
u when you are master of your own tempe
whel you ,ppose their force with gentll
ness, and when you meet their coarse abua
u with the restrained speech of lady.
Somehow, the soft answer always puts It'd
angry one into the wrong. You may richl
4 deserve the scolding you are getting, but
you will meekly accept the blame that
your due, and not furiously justify yourself
you will invariably find that the offended on
begins to backwater, anu ends up by maxim
more excuses for you than you would haJ
dared to offer yourself.
There is nothing else in the world so trr]
as that it takes two to make a Quarre
Somebody must add fuel to the fire of you
anger, or else it goes out. 1t takes the elias
of antagonistic points of view to make O
argument interesting enough to go on witt
You can't put any pep into your abuse of a
individual who admits the justice of you
criticism, and asks your advice about no
to profit by your superior wisdom.
And here is where the soft answer gets
it's fine work. You can fight those who figI
you. You can curse those who curse yol
i You can gas even with those who do you
bad trick. But you are helpless before thos
who are gentle, and reasonable, and anxiol
not to offend you. All you can do is to
Los oT1o cd ~ hn wi M
with them.
Haven't you seen things like this? Al
angry customer comes charging into sho
\ claiming that she has been robbed, and til
j wrong goods sent to her, and that she
going to sue for damages, and never buy
nickel's worth in that sore again as long
she lives. One of two things happens Sh
gets hold of a clerk, who meets her abus
with abuse, and tells her that she is
welcher, who buys things ana wants to bril
it back and exchange it for something els
and that she is liar and tightwad, and til
|, store doesn't want such trade as hers an
the woman goes away angrier than ever, an
the store makes an enemy and loses patrol
Or the furious woman is taken in hand
| clerk who returns a soft answer, and al
sures her that if any mistake was made, th
store is more than glad to remedy it, an
that it it regrets any inconvenience she ha
been put to, and desires above everything I
keep her trade, and the womans wrath si1
zles out like a spent skyrocket, and she n
mains to buy, and is forever afterwards til
stores best advert sement of the shop as
place where they always treat you fairly.
And do you not recall neighbors to whol
you went to quarrel about their chickens gel
ting into your garden, and ended up by helI
i ing to build good fence, and with whom 20
| were like brothers and sisters even after bt
cause they said you were right, and 1t wa
perfectly outrageous for people to keep chick
ems in suburb, but their little Dolly wa
so fond of her hens?
And what business man has not employs
whom he has been on the point of firing 70
ten years. but never does because they a.
ways receive his wrath with meek apolog
for their shortcomings, instead of telling nil
that they do quite as good work as they ar
paid for?
There isn't any family ,spat that can't b
strangled at birth with a few gentle words
and there is no argument that ant be stoT
ped at it's very beginning with the simple
perhaps you are right" Which commits 20
| to no agreement, but leaves you perfectl
neutral on,the subject There Is no criticism
that will not become a boomerang that turn
and Stays the one who hurled it, IL it is me
by the gentle admission that one is not per
feet, and will try to improve.
The soft answer is not only the way 7
peace and prosperity. It's the most scath
! ing repartee, the bitterest arraignment tina
human lips can utter, Ind the most unan
swerable argument. Try 1T.
| Copyright, 1921, by the Wheeler Syndi-
| cate, Inc.)
| Nothing Unusual.
''Traveing alone this trip, boss?" asket