Evening star., 1928-06-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. CEWELL.

| frankness Of speech among young peo-
| pie Of both sexes, the diffusion OF wit
and the sham boorishness which passes
for wit, the spread of sophistication
and the reluctance Of parents to place
any inhibitions upon their children.
Il was held down In my childhood: /:
johnnie shall not bel" is the slogan, un-
spoken and spoken. OF many father
OF today, with the result that little
John is allowed to smear his hands
over the wall paper, SO the walls are
painted; he Is permitted to break dishes,
so the family plate is of cast iron, or
so 1t seems; he may tug and pull at
curtains. so there are no curtains; he
Is able to break anything at will. so the
whole treasure of glass and other inter-
esting fragile objects are barred from
the home.
| Is 1t not natural under such a
regime that Johnnie grows into a little
boor. utterly unable to comprehend the
| old-tinne courtesy which makes 1t man
datory on one to listen politely to the
opinions of others, especially older peo-
pie, and not to contradict" them ex-
cept when necessary?
Il * n
Why did the old-fashioned parents
put such stress upon that?
For child to openly contradict its
parents or other seniors was q major
crime; surely the oldsters must have
had some reason for such belief 1t
could not have been sheer caprice which
made them stand Billy in the corner
II he so much as dared to say "'Taint
| sol"
We may believe that parents then
realized the necessity for everyday po-
likeness 10 greater degree than the
fathers and mothers OF the present era.
This country has come out of period
in history marked by conflict with
nature and men. AS necessary con-
comitants there were many crude habits
IN the land. abuses frowned upon by
the polite world of Europe. Courtesies
| of speech began to come in" We
mean. OF course for the large majority
OF the people. Always had there been
sections of society in which conversa-
tional politeneSs held sway.
There we're large blocks. however. in
which raucous laughter answered to
impure speech. The gentler feelings
| which make mankind a group of hu-
man beings rather than herd of ami
mails were unknown.
The swing of time brought about an
era, vaguely known as the Victorian
(even In this country, which put a
premium on the niceties OF life and liv-
Ing. We did not go as far as the Eng
lish during certain period when elab-
crate ways were conceived to call every
thing by pleasant name. but we did
make it social misdemeanor to BADLY
| contradict person to his face over
something that was more or less a
trifie, or at best matter of opinion, OF
which there are as many as men.
Hence thousands of persons still exist
In this country who believe that back
ing out Of an opinion in order to be
polite Is good and expedient thing to
do. They do not want to offend. They
would rather run the risk of being
called namby -pamby than subject them
selves to the accusation of being boor-
ish. A crude. boastful bounder in A
striped bow tie seems to them a some
what lesser citizen than the upright, de-
cent man who refrains from argument
over small matters.
To back out of an opinion gracefully
is. after all, something of an art. II
takes skill, tact and regard for ones
neighbors. and to the extent OF those
good qualities earns the commentator
OF mani I'D In its quieter. thinking
moments