Evening star., 1924-09-21

| him so cordially and the two became
such chums that the emperor ordered
| a first-class military parade that
would make the American gasp with
admiration. The two stood together
on the grandstand, and as the end
less show of soldiery goose-stepped
by. Roosevelt said to the Kaiser:
Say, Bill, it's a shame to keep an
| army like this idle. Why don't you
get up war? You could beat the
world
"And the Kaiser said to Roosevelt:
Thanks for the suggestion, old
man. I'll do it And 1 bet Roose
Welt would have stopped what he had
started if he had been over there"
The Martha cousin knew that Bob
was kidding; still, it adds one more
theory to the others-and variety is
the spice of life. And. anyhow:
Where there is so much feeling on
subject-any subject-a bit of nom
sense comes in handy, if only for
wholesome contrast.
X * KA g.
In our spendthrift past when an in
l. augural ball followed the swear
ing in of a President, as the night
follows the day, our old Pension
Building, with its yellow clay army
forever marching around dull red
| walls, would hide official usefulness
under bunting enough to stretch to
| Baltimore and back, and sufficient
greenery to cheat good-sized forest
of it's growth. And everybody from
| everywhere would pay s. for a ball
ticket so that they could go home and
| brag of seeing the First Lady'S gown.
The old place has faded out of the
| national spotlight, but, for one rea-
son or another, strangers come in
twosomes and lunches to look over
| one of the few shrines that keep up
active work in behalf of an old war
| that seems to have been dumped
| into history's background by war
! tnat is almost brand new. The
| other day, for one case, couple,
| provincial in dress and manner, were
studying the mighty columns that
| SUPPORT the roof, when a kindly ma
tive, obviously on intimate terms
with the surroundings, volunteered
! his services as guide:
These pillars are IS feet high and
| 30 feet round. They are built of
| hrick-55, 900 bricks to a pillar-and
are plastered and painted in imita-
ton of Italian marble. If you will
stand here and look up at this pillar,
| about = feet, you will see an accurate
portrait of George Washington. on
this next column, midway in height,
the vein of the marble takes on
the form of an Indian warrior, arrow
at aim. Right over on that third
one, you see the little red school
house, with the Stars and Stripes
| floating from its flag pole. And let
me call your attention to something
really marvellous (walking them over
| to another column)-a Grand Army
badge. with the wings of an eagle.
| painted SO minutely as to seem the
| result of careful work rather than
of inspiration"
"Warn't II done purpose the
woman interrupted in an awesome
whisper. and the native. realizing the
value of mystery, answered. with a
fine disregard of truth:
NO. oh no. Painter was as sur
prised as anybody. when he saw the
pictures. Pure Inspirations. Awes
ME every time l come here"
Then the farmer put in word:
"Awes you. huh? You oughte1
come up our way. We got a noun
tain where we come from. on one
slab of stone a hundred feet on the
side there's a pill advertise ment in
white letters two feet long Higher
up on another slab they's a chew n
gum ad in green an red. and so on.
Only difference between them an
these is. they don't claim to be in
spired-no, suh.'
When he was through with his
little description the tourist man
grinned at his guide.
Sud the guide grinned back.
#.k X
THERE is nothing humorous about
the dusk. Yesterday. for one
time, ii drapel toga of gray shad-
ows over II cent shoulders of an
old man who stood on corner
preaching some creed of the curb
The afternoon had passed him by
with good-natured disregard. sea
soned, doubtless, with chuckles of
derision-you know how absolutely
ridiculous it is for people not to be-
Heve exactly as we do-but the
twilight had clothed him with a dig
nifty that gathered about him other
shadows that had been job-lot hu-
manity before the sun went down.
He was longer an old crank
voicing doctrine unworthy of a pew
He was a voice in the wilderness
and the listening shadows were men
of old Judea.
A recent crime served to illustrate
that out of all evil comes good, and
in that close-huddled crowd no voice
l.;