Evening star., 1925-05-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

"Will not wilt, shrink, crack or
wrinkle" said the collar ad in the
street car.
That line has fascinated me, rolling
down town. 1t has exercised the same
sort of fascination upon friends to
whom it has been pointed out.
1t is not enough to read it alone
1t must be said aloud to get the great.
est joy out Of it. So repeated, the
"crack or wrinkle" portion Of this ad
writer's gem will be discovered to have
great potency.
After saying it aloud several times
the unwary street.car rider finds him
self much In the position of Mark
Twain's famous character who got
involved in the rhyme about Punch
br other, punch, punch with care
punch in the presence Of the passen,
gaire.''
The only way that unhappy man
could get that verse off his mind was
to repeat it to some one else, who i'm
mediately took to saying 1t day and
night. 1t ran through his head like
the refrain of catchy fox-trot- tune
He, in turn. rid himself Of the in
cubus by fostering 1t off upon some
other unwary soul. who. in an un
lucky moment for him, listened with
avidity to the tripping measures.
"Will not wilt, shrink. crack OF
wrinkle" will not reduce the hearer to
| such straits, of course, nor, indeed, did
the verse, except in the fertile imagi
nation of Mark Twain, who INDUCED
in wholesome exaggeration, the pre-
rogative Of writer's.
y x u X
Our ad line, however. will give one
a snappy morsel to repeat at the odd
moments in life when the mere joy
of living wells, with living fires
through the essence of man.
At such times, we have found, il
adds much to be able to say, apropos
of nothing at all, "Will not wilt
shrink, crack or wrinkle!" Thus
from a collar ad, we have transmitted
the phrase into a general exclamation
of happiness.
"a great day" says Bill, in greeting
John.
Great agrees the latter. "WilI
not wilt, shrink, crack or wrinkler
After all, is there not considerably
more in this slogan than just collars?
Why should we confine 1t to an
article of wearing apparel, when II
may as well be appropriated by the
whole life of man?
There are few situations in life
when the sentiments expressed in that
sentence VIII not DOlSIer up the IdlllnS
courage. the weak will, the unmanly
fear of power and authority, the
tendency to truckle, to be ashamed OF
the right because some one else Is
afraid to call 1t right.
In these matters most men are alike
There Is none of us so brave, SC
strong, so magnanimous that he never
makes a mistake; that at times he
does not need the encouraging quail
ties of good notices, sentences in
which some one, in a happy moment
has struck off a resounding truth.
That the world of men does appre
ciate such sayings is shown by the
generous use Of heartening notices by
business men. Efficient, 'peppy" men
of affairs, men right up to the min
ute," even ahead of time itself, are
the largest users of hopeful quota.
tions.
Almost any business mans desk will
reveal one or more framed notices, or
bright sayings, of the sort 1t has be.
come more or less fashionable in some
quarters to sneer at, along with gen.
eral filings at the tendency of recent
years for elf-improvement.
There Is more in you" may be
found in many a staid business mans
office. This is a gentle reminder, OF
course, that the bottom of the posi-
bilities of any man is seldom struck
that no matter how much he does. or
how we'll he does II, he can do more
and do 1t better. There is more In
you
Each framed saying that contains a
truth, or the germ of truth, has its