Evening star., 1923-11-27
.Thanksgivers and
Fault-Finders
BY DIR. FRANK CRANE.

There are two classes of people In
the world: Thanksgivers and fault
/ finders.
Perhaps we all of us occa asionally
give thanks and OCCASIONALLY find fault
those who have established a habit.
| 1t Is significant that in the United
States of America we have a national
| day of thanksgiving.
| We do not know of any other nation
that has established such custom.
They all have days of prayer, pc
| riods of protest. saints days. fast days
| and feast days, and most of them
function rather regularly in revolu-
tions.
We speak a good deal of Amer
icanism, and by the term we under
stand many different things. Some
people take it to mean extreme in
dividuality, others understand it to
be loudness or vulgarity, or the wor-
ship of the almighty dollar or other
unpleasant things, such as Mr.. Zang-
Will suggested.
But perhaps the most striking
characteristic Of the American is that
he Is not envious. That is another
/ way of saying that he is rather habit
ually thankful.
He is not contented. He is full of
unrest, but he is mot particularly
plex
An American can get along rather
comfortably in his modest little thou
sand-dollar home. and it does not
give him any particular gripes to
see the five e-hundred- thousand ID oIlar
nome across the street
The average American Is thankful
that he Is not in jail, does not have
! cancer. his wife hasn't left him and
he continues to get three square
meals a day.
OF course. we have our apostles of
discomfort and of protest. but most
| OF them arc European importations.
We have our stomach ache litera-
ture and our full quota of gloom
spreaders, but they are not in the
! majority.
For this reason the various forms
OF communism, socialism and anarchy
! that flood older countries do not take
| root very well over here. Such plants
need a good deal Of that fertilizer
which is known as envy.
| Even critics do not flourish very
! well among us unless they are hu-
| morous enough to amuse us. Just
plain criticism that objects to every
thing and hates everybody does not
! get very far.
Faultfinding is an ingrowing vice.
! 1t Is easy because il is childish. The
very slightest celebration is sufficient
| to enable any one to complain.
| So. in spite of our crudeness and
youth, we can at least lay the fiat
tering JUNCTION TO our souls that we
are. for the most part, d thankful
people.
One thing we are thankful for is
! that there are three thousand miles
| of turbulent salt water that separates
US from Europe.
Every once in a while we may
| have to dip into European affairs,
! but we are not close enough to be
! dragged in every day. We are also
| far enough from the orient to be
able to consider the eastern problem
with philosophy.
Most of us are struggling along
! trying to make a living and a trifie
| more, enough at least to buy a tick ct
to the ball game. There Is no upper
! class sitting upon us and consequent
/ ~ we do not have a very large lower
class beneath US raising Ned We
| are all very much the same.
| We love 10 read about counts and
| dukes and kings. and We crowd the
! streets TO see them when they come
over here, but it is the same feeling
! that prompts us to admire a horned
! toad or purple COW. concerning
| which the poet aptly remarked that
| he would rather see than be one.
We may be, and probably are. ego
| lists, self-satisficd to a certain de-
| gree, but at least we are thankful
| Also We are paying our debts, have
| some money in the bank-occas sion
! ally shuCking out a few million dol
| lars TO relieve some of the victims
| of foreign misrule or save lot OF
| children that the militarists of other
| countries have threatened with starva- =
! tion-and are altogether getting
along very well. thank you.