Evening star., 1927-11-21

The tornado had scarcely finished
its devastating job the other day,
when the victims set about to reha
bilitate the damaged property. A
sudden catastrophe may temporarily
fisarrange the affairs of men and OBJ
struct momentarily the avenue OF
clear thinking, but humans are so con-
st,tuta ed that they rebound with more
or less celerity and carry on. Misfor-
tune is the mother of resourcefulness
ard the great leveler of mankind.
Thursdays narrowly averted trag-
edv resulted in a flood of hitherto Sc.
creted helpfulness and charity toward
neighbors.
During the binding rainstorm, a
ar skidded and struck the rear fender
If another The owner of the crushed
ender leaped from his seat and be-
rated the other driver. took his num-
her and threatened to put the law on
him, On the other side of town, in
Vulnerable homes were destroyed, but.
so far as we were able to ascertain
no one was heard to complain about
his loss. Just philosophical resigna
ton. Some folks swallow camels and
others strain at gnats.
" X X X
Not long ago a friend accompanied
the writer to a motion picture house
in Washington. The exterior of the
theater was adorned with vivid ltiho-
graphs portraying hair.raising scenes
which might be seen inside. There was
no grand orchestra" no ushers and
rot even a pianist. The music was
furnished by an automatic organ that
never stopped for breath. It's roper
toire consisted of half dozen JaZZy
selections, repeated at regular inter
,als The feature picture was
Western" one of those hit-and-run
nelodramas in which the leading
cowboy proves to be the scion
If a socially elite family. A grad
late of Harvard and bored with
the inanity of New York high life, he
renounces all and seeks his fortune in
the rugged hills where men are men.
There he meets n cowgirl, com
posite of Cleopatra and the Queen of
Sheba. They fall in love, and after
the wedding she turns out to be the
dauchter of n Wall street banker and
the bitter enemy OF her husbands IA
ther. That's the sort of movie it was.
Next to us was a gentleman who
,ad evidently seen the picture, for he
was audbly asleep. While the film
was being unreeled on the screen the
organ continued to dispense its mo-
notonous Jazz. Toward the end of the
movie the buddy of the hero is shot
and is borne to a wayside shack. The
cowboys stand about. hats in hand,
as the hero and heroine dash in. 1t
is TOO late, and as the young man
passes away, that tireless organ plays
Yes, Sir. That's My Baby
*
It is said that the late President
Wilson frequently sought diversion In
the pages Of detective tales. Many
other notable men Danish the cares
of the day by submerging themselves
in the fanciful fabrications of the
mystery story writer Whether we
admit it or not. most of us are in
trigued by them. Court attendants
soon become familiar with those folks
who seem to experience keen delight
in gazing upon unfortunates who are
brought before the bar of justice for
one reason or another.
Apparently it is just another form
Of interest in things dealing with
crime and criminals. No other mo-
tive can be ascribed for the presence
of the same old faces one sees in our
District courts. 1t is matter of con-
lecture what many of these spectators
do for a livelihood 1t is a morbid
pastime, sitting in the sitting. de-
pressing atmosphere of the average
courtroom.