Evening star., 1925-05-19

| influence, although in many cases 1t
may be impossible to trace it. Its i'm
| perceptible influence is for good. Like
the good will built up by some adver-
| tising, one may not be able to put
his finger upon the exact point of gain,
but he knows it exists, just the same.
| X X Il x
| "Will not wilt, shrink, crack or
wrinkle" used as a general motto for
the life OF man, has many daily appli-
cations.
If man will not wilt in the face Of
adversely, misunderstanding or un-
truth, he has solved one Of the great
problems of life.
Many do wilt. They wilt badly
! under the ordinary fire of life. Does
any one think that the brittle line dis
plays the only fire undt which men
| must stand?
| The less picturesque conflict Of daily
| life has it's trying situations, too. One
might think. for instance, that writ
| ing this column is a bed OF roses.
| 1t is not. Recently l wrote an
article on fishing, which. though no
reader of this paper has kicked, onend-
ed several of my acquaintances, and
hurt the feelings of two OF my
bosses I am told. have been ad-
vised that this was very "undiplo-
| matte"
| Well, I have a higher opinion of all
my bosses" / can say with pride
that there is not a one Of them who
will not give me credit for being alb
solutely honest, if not always diplo-
matte. Wherefore. I will not wilt,
shrink. crack or wrinkle"
! Every one faces similar situations in
life. which arise when most unex-
| pected, made by reactions which q de-
4. .lrn
no pretense to do more cannot anti
cipate, because his conscience is clear.
Like the strong note of a liberty
| bell, comes then the admonition not to
wilt. Wilt not, in the face of mis-
understanding, young men-and old
men-and you will be the better for 1t
in the long run.
1t is the long run that counts, be-
lieve me, not just one day.
X X u
| Similarly, comes the warning not to
shrink. If we are able to look at life
without shrinking, and yet retain
some Of our childhood wonder, as Mr..
| kipling more or less said in his tour
de force. "If," we will be men, indeed.
| Day by day we face facts, truths
that tend to make US shrink, facts that
are not to our liking, but are true;
4
facts, nevertheless. We can dismiss
the poor of our city with wave of the
| hand, or we can. as many men are
doing, give them of our time and
| money.
| Such men do not shrink.
| Nor must we crack under the strain.
| Our civilization, with its innumerable
avenues to the senses, its many ap.
peals. tends to crack those who do not
| keep their mental footing secure. The
late President Harding must have
meant this when he spoke for nor.
malcy."
| Finally, we must not wrinkle. AS
| far as possible we are not to worry.
| and so get wrinkles, nor are we to
! wrinkle up our noses at other folks.
| This seems to me to be the final mes
| sage of our motto.
| The daily life of going down town TO
our work, doing 1t. going home, seek
| ing recreation, finding 1t, this tends
to make us wrinkle in an alarming
fashion, unless we keep a good watch
| out.
The mental wrinkles are the worst
of all. 1t is these that are to be
| Stunned by women and men alike
rather than the physical wrinkles
| upon the face. The latter come with
age, and growth, and are more or less
| inevitable. although some do not like
to admit it.
| Mental wrinkles, however, appear at
almost any age. That is why we have
| to be careful not to wilt, shrink,
| crack--or wrinkle"