Evening star., 1926-11-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

! This is the real explanation. NOW
we are getting down to it!
There is nothing In the world your
average man." either individually or
| collectively, fears SO much as being
! thought unmasculine.
He does not fear cats one-tenth as
much Let the cat alone, he will let
you alone. There are no cats taken
| to the pound for biting children.
What the average man is really
afraid of, In our Anglo-Saxon civiliZa-
ton, Is being thought effeminate, and
properly enough. too. But 1t is rather
| hard on poor Tom. is it not, to have
! that dislike aimed elsewhere?
Your instructive average man" is
as wrong in regarding cats as "femf-
nine" as he Is in believing that babies
are instinctively afraid Of the dark:
| If there is any more masculine
| creature in the world than an alley
roaming tomcat we would like to see
! it. All Tom needs is a cigar stuck
| in his face and bottle on his hip.
| The latest researches in behavior
| istic psychology show that the normal
baby is not afraid of the dark at all.
| The baby cries in the dark for atten-
tion. which the normal man" Graves.
Because the dog gives 1t to him he Is
| pleased with the dog.
| Mr.. Terhune declares that the cat
won't do a thing toward the upkeep
! of civilization" statement in which
even the editor Of Liberty Will not
agree, as shown by an EDITORS note"
| The editor could swallow the rest-it
makes mighty good reading, sure to
| cause discussion and all that sort of
/ thing-but he draws the line at being
told that "she grabs all civilizations
benefits without contributing
| one atom toward any of those bene-
| fits"
! Ernest 1ngersoll. naturalist, in the
Encyclopedia Americana, says: "The
! influence Of the domestic cat upon
American civilization has received less
consideration than 1t deserves, for a
great deal Of the advance of agr1cul-
ture. as we'll as Of the spreading out
| over the vast woodland AID prairies,
has been made possible by this much
abused and misunderstood animal. %
| How much food cats have saved,
! how much property they have guard
ed from destruction, what plaques OF
vermin they have kept in check, from
the time America was first settled. it
| Is impossible to compute. But for
| their SleeplesSl vigilance the large
cities would be quickly oyerrun with
rats and mice. In warehouses,
corn.cribs. barns, mills and wherever
grain or food Is stored, cats must be
! kept But to be effective they must
/ be taken care of, for we'll fed cats are
the best mousers." Mr.. Terhune. dog
authority, says, on the other hand.
| Not always will she consent to catch
rats and mice, unless she is underfed. :"
| X X r X
| For some reason, best known to
themselves. countless women are de-
voted to cats" wonders Mr.. Terhune.
| Perhaps it Is not such a mystery,
after all. Women, it would seem. are
prodders of progress. Without their
| tenderness and maternal love, normal
man" would be set Of brutes, Indeed,
delighting only to run over hills with
| their noisy companion. the dog.
Women, on the other hand, love
| the home, and all it stands for.
| The cat. too, loves the home.
| Give him credit for knowing a good
thing when he sees 1t!
| No, Mr.. Terhune. we do not believe
that man, normal or otherwise, really
dislikes any creature that seeks his
company.
Normal man" likes apple sauce"
| too we'll.