Evening star., 1922-07-30
the Wise City Dweller Reverts to the Primitive
Safety Valve for Relief From the Injurious Pressure t
's Life That Is Created by What We Call Civilization
BY MARJORIE WILSON.

TT city people thought moro care
fully concerning the problem of
D the employment of their leisure
- time, a rural sociologist informs
me they would all revert to tho prim-
tive during their hours of leisure.
icy would seek not. entertainment,
but true recreation of themselves in
activities that are old in the history
Of the human race, so familiar that
we instinctively relax and enjoy en-
gaging in them after the strain of
working and living under civilized
conditions.
Many of them try to do SO now. This
accounts for the prevalence of the
custom of mortgaging ones house or
living in a furnished apartment so
that one may buy an automobile. 1t
explains the keeping of pet dogs and
canaries by apartment house dwell
lers. 1t gives a certain sanction to
the haunting of poolrooms, billiard
parlors and bowling alleys. 1t is at
the bottom of all sorts of hobbies and
self-expressive activities to which
many city dwellers are unconsciously
modern urban community.
But all TOO few urbanites realize the
benefits to be derived from the use of
their leisure time-from the spending
"f that time in occupations that are
natural because they are as old as
humans.
Cass w. Whitney. rural socioloSist
in the New York State College OF
Agriculture. who has conducted much
research into the subject of the psy-
chology of play, holds that the reason
why American city dwellers do not
spend their time after work wisely
heneficially to themselves. Is because
the problem of leisure time Is new
in America.
The employment. the question OF
Improvement of leisure time, is COM
paratively a recently recognized prob
bIem in this country. In the olden
davs people weren't bothered by 1t
because there was no leisure time.
The pioneers had to work all day and
then were so tired they slept all
night" he reminded me.
"Then came the growth of the clties'
machinery, union hours-and the
leisure time problem was much with
us. Commercial amusements became
popular"
MR. WHITNEY would plead for an
NL active not passive, use OF
leisure. for change of occupation,
nf
DAVIS work is done: for a reversion
to some primitive way OF ousying
ones self after the strain OF the
highly specialized, more unnatural
functioning now necessary in most
trades. professions and businesses.
True relaxation of the whole being
is to be gained by allowing the nerves
to function in the racially Oldest
nerve paths" Mr.. Whitney observes.
This is real recreation.
PLAY Is a blanket term used for
ALI sorts Of free. spontaneous activi-
ties of children, enjoyable but serious
lust the same. The child lives IN lts
play and through play 1t grows. Play
is creation for the child. Play actiVi-
ties for adults should be recreation
Passive entertainment does not come
under this head. though sometimes
work does.
Work is an activity carried on FOR
remote end rather than for the en-
joyment of the operation itself. Work
and play we usually think OF as at
opposite poles, but sometimes 1t Is
Impossible to tell where one leaves
off and the other begins. It's all in
the mental attitude. Remember how
Tom Sawyer had to whitewash the
fence and how he got the other boys
to do 1t for him by appearing to enjoy
H. so thoroughly himself?'
Adults have pleasurable attitude
toward and take a free. spontaneous
enjoyment in doing the things that
are most ancient in the history of the
race. The strain of modern life can
be relieved more effectively by rever-
sion to these activities than by tax
ing it easy" dropping around the
house after work or being entertained