Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-17
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. fRAcEwELL.

culiariy ideal for the worker engaged
| in an occupation which uses words,
There are many businesses nowadays
where words positively are the stock In
trade. We mean not only the newspa-
per, book and magazine businesses, but,
tries wherein the printed and spoken
word takes preferred position.
Employees in all such places like
books. The entire personnel Of the
Government departments Is selected
upon an intelligent test, based upon
scholastic performances as demanded
| in civil service examinations.
What finer, more appreciated gifts
could associates give q man or woman
upon retirement than set Of books?
| Yet every one knows that books are
never chosen, but in their stead clocks,
easy chairs, radio sets, and so on. Now
we have no kick against these things,
| but merely make plea for the incll-
sion of books in the list.
II Il
The downward trend In book prices
will help out in the proper placing of
them as worthy prizes, awards, COM
memorative gifts.
Books are like pancakes-one usually
wants a huge stack" of them. The
little French lady who got her stack"
que received a real gift.
No doubt those books-and we would
like to have the list-will remain priced
possessions all her life, and will go
down to her children and her chill
dren's children.
The durability of bound volumes is q
point decidedly in their favor, when
one is considering them as gifts.
The longevity of books Is amazing.
70 nf Iook 10 ~
paper, a fragile material, in sense,
they live to great ages. A book hun
dred years old has only begun It's career.
Such are to be found at all second
hand stores for song. A century is
as nothing for a book. Mere age
means nothing to it. Even the cheap
est printed and bound will last entire
for hundreds of years, and come up
smiling half way around the world.
Even more amazing than their phys
ical durability is the endurance OF
good book as q mental and spiritual
thing It Is true that a good book,
properly written, never grows out OF
date, as so many things do, but contin-
ues to seek It's home in the hearts and
minds of men generation after genera
ton. One has but to think Of the Bible.
~ \ \
Another good point of the book as q
prize Is It's ability to remain good until
read. Suppose one is given set of
books for which one does not care.
Time may work wonders, so that one
will care, after all. Then he will find
his books as good as new. The passage
of time has not dimmed their message,
nor has it made them seem worn and
out of style.
Good books are always in style. The
peculiar fluctuations Of fancy, fad and
foible have little to do with good books,
the only sort which should be chosen
for prizes and awards, as memory
gifts.
A clock may run down, or its springs
break; an easy chair may lose its
stuffing; even the fanciest candlesticks
become q nuisance to shine. But a
good book Is q good book, any time,
anywhere. It may be read when one
is gay and full of spirits, and 1t but
adds to the general tone; it may be
read when one Is sad, and then 1t may
uplift, help, or even exalt. All prizes
and awards are well, but we are con-
WINGED that there can be none as good
as a good book. for this thing will OUT
last the pyramids.