Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-07
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES r.. TRACETELL.

mittee" consists of half a dozen per-
sons, Of whom only the chairman does
any work. The chairman. therefore, IA
the only man who gets anything out Of
the meeting. Great conventions. held
nowadays on every subject under the
sun, draw their thousands. but only
those scores or hundreds who deliver
addresses profit much.
! Children who are to be taught wisdom
In any of It's various directions are put
in the way of actually making physical
motions toward the coveted knowledge.
In the psychology Of everyday life IL
Is truism that II you like some one
and want to get that some one to like
Won. the thing TO do Ia not TO do some
thing for him--or her--but to 80 con-
trive that he-or she-does something
! for you.
Drop your handkerchief and let him
pick 1t up. Even 20 elementary a phys
ical action Ia toward you. He has been
placed in the position Of exerting him.
self In your direction. The esotism of
! the human spirit goes forth toward
those helped. It Ia not what some one
else does that counts. but what one
does ones self.
In the motion picture theater the
spectator does nothing at all but look.
He cannot be said to think, In the best
sense.
| the primitive processes OF understand
! ing. but only as 5-year-old child does.
and little more. He uses one Of his
natural senses, that of seeing. In order
to complete for himself the illusion of
emotions. If one comprehended a pic
ture by smelling It, there would be none
so brave as to assert that the mind
played any but an elementary role In
the procees.
When one reads q hook. however he
has to do some work. He cannot i'm
hibe It, as H. were. with his physical
eyes. He must bring into use the eyes
Of the mind: he must 20 right along
with the author. down the howery
| thornv path the writer has chosen for
them both. He can close his eyes IL he
wishes hut the impact Of the tale Is
still on him. If he shuts his eyes In
| the motion picture. az many do to rest
them, or when the so-called action is
dull. he drops nut Of the tale.
| While he is reading q novel . thou
sand images pass before his mind. As
We said here the other day. when the
writer shows him a barn he innredi-
| atelv sees cows coming out Of 1t, al
though the word COW" u to be found
nowhere In the text And why is this7
How does the reader come TO see cows
when none is mentioned
/ He pute in cows because he himself
IL working. He has caught the spirit
the plain intent. of the author. ard is
willing 10 help the man out A barn
means a row, and the author can leave
/ the creature out " he wants 70. His
| faithful reader will put II into the pic
ture for him.
| So ii goes all through the book. He
+ Ia harassed here by no fitting images
changing nnonientarilv, drawing his
mind Of the plain intent 81 the writer
but keeps into the howery path or the
thorny path which the writer has
/ chosen for them both. The author has
not chosen the path the story for
J himself alone or for the reader alone
/ but for both Of them. and especially for
his characters.
/ A novel Is A road IN which one walkf
from beginning 70 end without the en-
barrassment Of being required 70 draw
4 in ones knees every few minutes, With
out being under the necessity Of at
tempting not to hear that fellow cough
ing back there. A good book is beau
/ tiflil path In which We walk when We
are tired or rigorous, sad or glad, happy
or miserable. but IN which. whatever be
cur mood. we do a. least walk. We
exert curself In behalf ef aurself. and
so draw unto ourself the rewards which
a strange fate has given 70 the Su-
pyerelv selfish human mind.