Evening star., 1923-04-04

Playground and Recreation Associa-
tion of America:
play is the sculptor which shapes
the life of the child. He confides
his dreams to his play, and becomes
what his play is.
This is also true enough of adults
to make us seriously concerned for
the recrea tional life of America. We
children and the free time Of all the
rest Of us richer, more satisfying and
, more ennobling"
This was written in a letter com
mending the project to make the
week beginning April 21 Play week
for all America. The plan originates
with the association above menl
toned.
During Play week" writes the
President. "I trust that those who
love children and youth and the for
ward-looking ideals of American life
Will cooperate with you generally"
Just what we are all to do during
Play week is. not yet published, but
popular than "Sugarless week"
| Americans do not, generally, take
| their sports so seriously as do the
English-or rather the Americans do
not enter into sports so enthusiast
cally as do the British. The excep-
college youths and statesmen. The
former "rah. rah" over foot ball, and
the latter foot-foot it after the raw
ball sent over obstacles of the golf
course.
Nobody can be a statesman unless
| he first masters golf. Economics is
only an avocation, while golf is the
real thing. In the face of these sol
| emn truths, how can an official Of the
schools of Washington deliberately
i - 30 IN Ia
| sports of growing years, and stunt
the boy and girl bodily and mentally
| through nine years uninterrupted
| schooling?
| Maybe it is because the mail car
rier is ubiquitous that he is now
| required to be. so far as human
powers go. omniscient. New orders
| require that, in addition to his other
| duties-such as delivering bees and
young alligators, collecting bills for
mail order firms and shipping eggs
| for farm wives-he is now to sup
plement the policeman, the barber
and the doctor.
Once we were advised to "tell our
troubles to policeman" Still far
| ther back; when we were cut or had
Der TO act as surgeon. That is why
the barber pole is striped like a
| bandage of white around a bloody
! limb. Now every rural mail carriers
automobile should carry a BARRIERS
pole or some such insignia TO indi-
! cate that If one wants a tooth pulled.
a bone set or barbed wire cut
| sewed up, the reliever of all human
| ills is on his way. Every mail car
rier will be given a course in first
aid. If his surgical cases interfere
with his delivering mail he will re-
cred letters. for there is another day
| coming. During the past winter the
mail carrier in country districts was
| ordered to feed the birds en- route,
| lest they perish in the snow Of
| starvation. Now that the snow has
| gone, he might help turn the birds
eggs in the nests.
! y X X
| Gen. Goethals found it harder to
dam up the coal and keep it from
flowing into Canada this winter than
it was to cut a transisthmian canal
and let the oceans flow together. In
disgust he has issued one final order
canceling all other orders, shut up
the New York coal Offices and quit.
He had just enough fuel on hand TO
roast the Interstate Commerce Com
mission for not seeing America first"
before looking out for the interests
of the Lady OF the SHOWS. Never
again" declares the general. He
wants no office without authority TO
| make the dirt fly"
Copyright 1923. by p. V Collns)