San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-18
Listen, World!
Butter'n Eggs
By Elsie Robinson

We're beginning to laugh at Success
And, as usual, we say it with slang.
The Big Butter and Egg Men
that's what we're calling the heavy
winners. Nobody knows where the ex
preston started, but it's going strong
now from Cape Cod TO the Golden
Gate. And it always carries n grin
with it.
big Butter and Egg Man"-noth-
ing malicious to that phrase. Nothing
peevish nor envious. just a good ma.
tured chuckle of fat. complacent
stupid success. That's all.
But, when you stop to think about
it. that's plenty. It's an indication
of tremendous revolution in our
viewpoint.
For we Americans haven't been Civ
en- to chuckling at success.
No. indeedy. Far from it. Success
has hitherto received our most en-
| thusiastic support and reverent atten-
ton. it was the one thing We Ameri-
cans didn't laugh at. We preached it
from our pulpits and service club
luncheon tables; we extolled its beauty
in our schools; we judged our fellow
man by his ability or inability TO at
tain its shining ranks.
And we had naught but contempt
and lOathing for any plan that didn't
make success its ultimate goal.
The aim of life was to put yourself
across-make the grade-bring home
the bacon-land with both feet--ctc.,
etc.
We were 100 per cent strong for any
scheme that guaranteed to further
these laudable ends. And we met with
fiercest derision and persecution any
scheme that even intimated that there
might be some better way Of arrang-
ing matters.
Look how we felt about Commun-
ism. Nothing in the whole course of
the war got our national goat more
thoroughly than the idea of COmmun-
ism. What? Divide up things even
Ily, Wipe out the noble ideas OF com
petition and individual success and
give everyone. regardless of effort OF
merit an equal share of the loot!
MigOsh!
Oh, Migosh, What terrible idea
Away with the base promulgators OF
such heresy. Arrest EN-, Clap 'em
in prison, Lock EN- in solitary and
feed EN- bread and water.
And this is exactly what we did DO
throughout the United States during
the war years. In fact, our prisons
still harbor scores of these unfortu-
mates who dared believe that the com.
mon good was a greater goal than in,
dividual success.
We certainly were strong for sue
cess. And we're strong for it vet
One slang phrase doesn't make a rev.
luton. But We are beginning to poke
fun and call them Big Butter and
Egg Men"
We're beginning TO see LAT a fat
pocketbook doesn't excuse a fat head
! We're beginning TO realize that the
lad with the noisy money isr't neces-
sarily a discerning or gallant ch4f
and we're almost ready TO acknowledge
that the inefficient. shabby, little cuss
who has given his life for !. rision, may
be 4 bigger success than tic bimbo who
has cleaned up On lara ,nd oil.
And lis Gladr6iiy LcvniIs on us
that there's something decidedly un-
American ABOUT this worship of com.
fort and kale-somethiug that doesn't
fit in with the picture cf those lean
fighting zealots who founded tkis coun
try or that utterly II solvent youn;
man whose religion we profess TO fol
low.
Yes, we're laughing at last at thu
Big Butte: and Egg Men.
So maybe, in a Thousand years Of
so. well get around to seeing tina
there's something TO life besides butter
and eggs.
Copyright, 1926. King Features Syn, Inc