The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-26
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BIT JAY .. HOUSE.
from Philsdeiphis Public Ledgsf.l

| The depth to which this column
penetrates always amazes its mentor
and guide. 1t seems only the day be-
| fore yesterday-in fact, it was only
the day before yesterday--that we off,
fered to lay linoieum, write the book
of a musical comedy or engage in any
other light and frivolous task that
might prove of service to the public.
4Already we have been asked to write
the book of a musical comedy; it is
well within the realm of reasonable
conjecture that we may be asked to
! lay linoieunl. Nearly everything else
has happened to VS.
Curioaaly enough, altho we were
around the theater good deal for
| twenty years and sat in austere judg-.
ment on generation of plays and
players, we2hever tried to write play
and never believed we could write one
| il we had the leisure In which to do it.
More than that, we ever interviewed
an actress in her dressing room or
| employed the livery of our profession
| to gain access to the tabled country
| We've been back of course, but it
I always was a frightful bore and an
l;exp erience from which we shrank.
Our rule was that if an actress wanted
| to be interviewed she could see us at
the office. If that isn't record for
| a sbald-headed man with an eye to
feminine beauty and keen apprecia-
tionlof feminine charm. we should like
| to have the privilege of editing the
one that goes into the book.
! And while we never tried to write
a play or believed we could do it, we
have bully idea for a musical COM
| edy..e The trouble is We should not
know howsto begin orswhat to do after
| we started.
In a literary way we've been a trifle
more active. We never tried to write
a novel or believed we could write
one, but we've had a corking short
story in mind for more than twenty
five years. The story has changed
with the seasons-it has had five or
six reincarnations, if that is the word.
| but, essentially, it still is the same
story. When we. first planned it, it
was a love story pure and simple, with
Louise Lamont as the heroine and the
author as the hero. After Louise mar
ried Ken Rogers the big stiff, we
took her out of the story and cast
Eleanor Templeton for the titular role.
BY that time the story had become
political in its main theme and its
Hove motif was incidental. For the
/, two or three years~last past the story
has etched itself along sociological
lines. The heroine now is q telephone
girl. We didn't catch her name; they
called her Hon. We still are the
hero of the tale. - ''-''-'' e'''s'-'.'' %
| = What we now are trying to prove
| in the story is that the poor and lowly
are as vicious and abandoned as the
rich and socially prominent We had
a big argument about that just the
| other day with magazine editor VINO
had somehow assimiIated the idea
] that, by comparison, the conduct of
1.-THE poor and low1y now is above re-
proach. What we claim is that the
various designations of the poor both
furtive and abandoned, are as repre-
Ihensfble as those Of the IDLE rich. A
five-roon fiat seldom gets into the
sdewspapers an tells no tales,
| We sat down once to write the story.
That was back in the days of the
| Webb City Sentinel, when we still were
dominated by the love motif. We had
just put a piece of copy-paper in the
| ma chine when Emil Firnnin stuck his
head in the door and said there was
| a poker game starting in one of the
rooms over Bailey's store and that
sixth man was needed. What could
we do? What would you have done?
! We thought we were done with the
bonus bic, but the convincing and in
| esca pabIe logic of a.-1etter signed A. Il.
of ingots on thezdyfng embers. What
| A. e. F.. is indignant about is that
congress, after killing the bonus bill, is
going home for the campaign at gov
eminent expense.
| Here, if we are any Judge. is a piece,
of logic of reasoning which equals, if
| indeed it does not excel, the intel-'
Iectual processes of the voters of the
Second ward in. the campaign of 1917.
You may remember that they stoned
us at the polls because the railroad
company had been delayed in securing,
the steel necessary to complete the
| Sixth street viaduct.
| If any congress has tried to create
a host of private. beneficiaries at pub
| lie expense. the one under considera-
ton was faithful to the end. 1t worked
/ its head off to d. So Did it earn the
gratitude of A. E. F. and his kind
Not SO that you could notice it. A. E.
F. was out starting a backfire before
/ before the ashes of theA main con-
fIagration grew cold.
| Which brings us naturally and by
easy stages to an expression of our
own philosophy of life. 1t is, please.
yourself. You might as well; you'll.
never be able to please anybody else
| George Matthew Adams
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