Evening star., 1930-06-13
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Naturally we hesitate to cali public
attention to this strange ability, for no
doubt the moment we did so our power
would fail us, as it usually does for any
one when he begins to brag q bit.
*%
The extra fine sneezing which many
Washingtonians have INDUCED in dur
ing the past month has been caused
by the tickle weather, combined with O
misguided sense of economy on the
part Of thousands of persons.
When the weather gets down to As
and so degrees outside, one may be
sure that it will be down to SIS or so
inside houses and apartments. These
latter temperatures are much lower
than most people endure all Winter
Even May, when it shows such tenn
peratures, Is Winter, and furnaces
should be in operation. 1t is false
economy which will save the cost OF a
ton Of coal and pay several doctor bills
in preference, to say nothing OF en-
during the cold" itself.
Everybody in my house is i'll with a
cold" said one householder. Then, ap-
parently apropos OF nothing at all, he
said, do you know, 1t was SIS degrees
In my living room this morning?"
He did not seem to see the relation
between the two statements, or facts,
but it was there just the same. The
modern city American Is not the bluff,
hearty man or woman Charles Dickens
wrote about In 1.-THE Pickwick Papers" "
It must be remembered that the
British of those days thought nothing
at all of going out for 25-mile walk
in the afternoon. If any OF our readers
have ever taken a walk Of that length
he will know that 1t Is no pleasure
jaunt except for him or her who Is
used to it,
Modern city Americans are not in
the habit Of taking such walks, nor
are they qualified to resist the cold
temperatures of queer Springs after
they have lived all Winter in super
heated homes and offlces.
It Is impossible to determine how
many persons have suffered from the
common cold" because they permitted
their furnaces to go out long before
they should, or did not build them up
again when sudden drops in tempera-
ture, If lasting only for few days or
week. made this action necessary, from
the health standpoint.
1t is possible, OF course, to sit around
shivering II one wants to, and often
one is so placed that he cannot help
it, but 1t would seem the height Of
folly to permit ones self to get the
sniffles to save few shovelfuls of coal,
feet of gas or gallons of oil, or what
have you (an expression which the So
called "intelligentsia" of New York
several years ago found Of exquisite
humor).
The question is, Why should one
do it? Most people are in thrall to
antiquated notions, and one of them Is
that there is no necessity for having
house heat after a certain date. March
is Is the honored time, but the weather
has changed since that date was estab-
lished we do not care what the Weather
Bureau says about 1t.
The weather has changed, with the
result that ofen enough in May-and
it would seem in June, too-the outside
temperature is low enough to make in
side heat necessary. 1t may be absurd,
Of course, to run q furnace in May, or
June, but one ought to be willing to
keep 1t going In August, If necessary,
II 1t will prevent the common cold
The discovery of It's germ" or
microscopic organism, may result In a
great relief to the civilized world, and
lesSening of sneezing, now one of the
worst nuisanceS asSaTa public vehicles.
But even this will do little good If
people everywhere insist on sitting
around in cold buildings after having
sat around in warm ones all Winter.