Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-15
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

had got into his system. He was kick
ing up his heels for q last fling at nlu-
sion, before dropping solidly into the
worn world Of middle age.
A man definitely becomes unfriendly
although he may make some effort tc
conceal 1t, or even when he knows Il
not, when he sees that no one is going
to help him except himself. In the
world Of business, that important sphere
which engulfs most Of America, there
should be two ways Of treatment, one
for young men, and one for middle
aged, but in the vast majority of cases
no distinction is made. The youngstel
who Is breaking into the game has high
hopes, illusions, the desire to make
good" to buoy him up, but the Older
man, who has achieved some measure
Of making good, Is left to hts own de-
vices. The thrill of achievement Is moi
as keen as it once was, although the
achievements themselves may be twice
as solid. The only method which would
put the old-time "kick" back into the
lives of millions Of workers would be
some system Of stated rewards follow
ing on the accomplishments of loyalty
sincerity and trueness to institution. II
is vastly to the credit Of the United
States Government that this Is exactly
what has been attempted in the re-
classification system.
The realization that one Is forgotten
is a disaster, all the more so because
it Ia so common. It Is youthful ideal
that cause and effect follow remorse-
lessly; the acceptance Of the idea thai
no one Is watching out to help him, OF
even care II he fails or succeeds, Is the
loss of a tremendously helpful idea OF
youth. The Father and Mother COM
plex lasts a great deal farther into some
lives than into others. When it goes
however, something precious goes with
it, and the man tightens up his soul, an
outward manifestation being desire to
shrink from further contacts with his
fellows.
He becomes unfriendly, most Of all,
when he ceases to believe in miracles
We do not mean biblical miracles, OF
course, but solely that great urge IN
every young man worth while which
makes him feel that somewhere just
around the corner Lady Luck Is wait
ing to bestow upon him her sweetest
smiles. Napoleon believed in his star
until middle age kicked his precious
faith out of his hands, and after that
there was nothing for 1t but Waterloo
and st. Helena.
When a man discovers at last thai
Lady Luck even isn't looking in his d.
rection, he tends to curse her kind and
to take 1t out on his own. Hence he
ceases smiling as broadly as he once
did; he shrinks within himself, hoping
against hope to be permitted to dream
about her. He may dream, but in his
dreams the lady has become ugly and
inimical, and he knows that he himself
is just as old and twice as ugly.
And that Is where middle age plays
its helpless votaries q sorry trick, fol
unless they consciously use their min6s
and hearts to overcome themselves, II
makes them as the greet mass Of mer
unable to respond with courtesy to a
chance remark made by an unknown
on the street, unable even to smile In
return when an associate, not yet sum-
beneath the tide, attempts to pull them
back from the depths into which they
have sunk.
The heart and mind, then, stand out
in this field as they do in all the others
of this life. There Is no escaping the
heart and mind. We put the emotions
first because we believe them to be the
most important. The mind has been
overturned, the emotions have gone
their own wild, natural way. With the
aid of properly controlled mind and
emotions a man may postpone or even
prevent the formation of the age at
which he ceases to be friendly. It will
be hard work. though, and there Is little
doubt that he will never get to finish 1t.