Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-18
The Pole.Sitting Phenomenon
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

So epidemic has become the Ameri-
can craze for individual supremacy in
some unusual exploit that the phenom-
enon Is attracting the attention Of
psychologists, to say nothing Of philos-
ophers. The latest outbreak to at
tract and exaSperate attention Is the
carnival Of Juvenile flag-pole sitting at
Baltimore. where recently. 10 boys and
3 girls, ranging in age from 8 to
IS years, simultaneously sat upon nag
poles In an effort to break record.
The record was hung up on July 80 by
Avon Foreman. who perched on a 20
foot pole for 1e days, 10 hours. 10 min
utes and 10 Seconds-an effort made to
break the record of ShipwYeck Kelly,
who had sat on a pole for 10 days.
The best opinion explanatory Of the
strange phenomenon Is the existence
OF the machine age. For quite some
trend toward Standardization Of all
manner of human activity. The In
PRODUCTION Of mass production into the
American factory system was the
genesis Mass production resulted, nec-
essarily, in the turning out "a in
Vulnerable identical products. Stock
articles became the rule. Every one, al
most, was dressed allie. Every one
drove an automobile Or which there
stores all carried the same names and
hte same goods. The same movies were
displayed all over the country. The
peoples work became mechanical,
utterly routine. In . factory job or
even in an ONCE job. the worker would
perftVl the same nionotonous opera
ton over and over again all day long.
AfSer work, he found the same monot-
ony IN the diversions offered.
The psychologic-or, perhaps, psyche
pathic-explanation Of endurance flights,
marathon dancing and fiag-pole sitting
seems to be an urge on the part of GER
tain individuals to break the Standard
lied monotOr: of existence at any cost.
S:s-:dg away in an aircraft is but
another expression of the urge. To be
sure, the champions have found some
profit in their exploits, but the real
reason for undergoing hardships which
add nothing 70 human knowledge or
happiness. yet still attract popular at
tention for the passing moment seems
to be the frantic desire for individual
expression.
Crave Relief from MOnotony.
This explanation is especially forth
fed by the outbreak Of hag-pole sitting
by the youth of Baltimore Baltimore,
like all modern American cities, has its
shops and Offices. But it has one added
touch, one additional feature, ever pres
ent to the gaze and peculiar In itself
its white doorsteps. No other city in
the world can show like phenomenon.
For some reason. apparently forgotten,
| II. indeed, an actual reason ever existed,
the houses of Baltimore are usually
built with Q flight of white steps run
| ming up TO the front door. If there are
no steps, II the house door be on q
level with the street, then the threshold
Is white. Nearly all houses have white
| marble steps; the poorer sort have only
| wooden steps. but they are painted
white and scrupulously scrubbed. There
are q few exceptions. Here and there
will be found some hereto house with q
| doorstep which does not gleam in the
sun. But 1t Is freak, a sport Of COM
munity architect ire; worse than black
/ sheep.
OF course no fiag-pole sitter now liv-
ing will ever break the record which
has stood for 1873 years-the record
| of Simeon StyliteS. Although his rec
| ord was established in the name of re-
| ligious faith, there is every reason to
| believe that he, like the moderns, was
| actuated by q desire to Guido his
| neighbors. 1t was in the carr days Of
| Christianity when martyrdom was pop
ular. Religious fanatics tried every way
! they could to individualize their
! martyrdom. Some wore no clothes,
some girdled themselves with iron belts
with spikes turned inward, some lived
on nothing but grass. Simeon was the
| genius to whom the early counterpart
| of fiag-pole sitting frst occurred. He