Evening star., 1925-11-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES z. TRACEH ELL.

Savon had conceived fierce hatred
against anarchists. whom he believed
to be ambushed everywhere. and he
had a mysterious fear of some IN
known and terrible person.
There is not a member OF the once
Club of America anywhere who VIII
not recognize the penetrating truth OF
that picture.
Every office has it's Savon, who Is
hammered in his work by the So-called
practical ioking of the Cacheltns. the
Mazes, the Pitolets and the Boissels.
Usually. in the United States, ms
form of petty persecution does not
take such harsh forms as those emu
merated above. ;,
Generally, with us. such kidding
is confined to small slaps at fellow
workers for their particular style OF
headgear, affairs with the iadles' OF
some other convenient handle.
lust how a practical joke" differs
from an impractical one is not clear.
Perhaps the former is the one that
works. the latter the joke that falls
fat as they say.
Certain II Ia that thousands Of
hours of time are lost In American
offices through this misguided form or
humor, carried TO safety by unweafN-
ing gentlemen who are glad. for the
nonce TO have the joke on somebody
else rather than on themselves.
If heads of American business real
ly want to reduce lost motion. cut
out loss of time and speed up produc-
ton in general, they should begin
where all these ills start-in the de
sire of some one or two gentlemen in
every office to have fun.
Let "a man once get a reputation as
wit, he needs must keep il up al
all costs. Every ONCE has at leas st
one such fellow. II matters little TO
this humorist whether he tramples on
others toes seriously wounds SenSi-
tive feelings and lays mp for himself
a secret store of i'll viii.
lie must have his little joke. at
any cost, II the victim dare kick
he is branded "eccentric." poor
sport. or some other easily hune
epither.
Maybe it is TOO had that We cannot
all be alike.
Perhaps It would make life easier
for those who somehow resent differ
ences, who feel vaguely i'll al ease
il another dares dispute their
opinions, who cannot endure that "A
friend does not like something that
they do.
Who knows--perhaps the really
sensitive people in Offices are not those
who dare To wear old hats. such as
Dopey Dan sported for 50 long. but
all these hundreds Of men dressing
alike. looking alike. thinking alike
They are 50 sensitive. indeed TO
difference, whether in appearance.
minds or morals, that they simply
cannot stand face to face with il .
Immediately they must begin TO try
to beat the human dough before them
into shape more pleasing to Them
They generally fail.
Whence comes. however. all the
Kidding in offices. all the petty iea J.
less horse play" wounded feelings
concealed resentments, lost time.
spoiled work. dollars thrown away.
The pitiless persistence in such Of.
fee joking IS marvellous. If The same
stickto t-tivene:s were displa we'd in
the daily work. manv a smart aleck
would be business manager almost as
quick AS the advertisements OF cor
respondenCa courses say one NAV.
1t seems a genuine pity. indeed
that the Office Club Of America in
which every worker is d member,
whether he realizes il or not. should
allow Kidding" within doors There
ought to he some such sign as this
on every door:
BE kind to each other as well as TO The
customers
Kcer your horse play out on tn. street.
where il belongs.