The Washington times., 1931-08-08
True to Typ pc
REFORMERS ACCOMPLISH
EXACT CONTRARY
OF INTENTIONS
BY GILBERT SEE-DES-

of the saddes summaries of progress in the past
fifty years made the other day by Bertrand Rus
sell in article Sex and Happiness published in
the New York American. He begins by saying that
after observing the of sex in modern times he
is inclined to agree with the ancient view that
inflicted a punishment Adam and Eve. We all
suffer, he and asks man woman, to swear
a anS a M 'an pam pa a o
days. before the equality of the had been heard
of, men took what they wanted and, in way,
happy Then follows this sentence:
"The reformers may have intended that women
should become happy men, but what in fact they
secured was that men became as unhappy women"
A Strange Fatality
l recall sentence of Rebecca West which wa
almost exact parallel Speaking of the fighters
against censorship In England, she says that they
wanted more freedom for thomas hardy and they got
more freedom tor Enor Gyn-or to that effect.
Inere seems TO be special fatality about reform
ments perhaps only that after each reform
been accomplished, human nature manages to create
new forms and vciousness Surely the re-
form which intended all to be sober judges
has only resulted in making judges drunk all
AOn the anniversary OF the disappearance of Judge
Crater hasten to say that the Judge" is used
mere only for literary reasons; have never met
Judge and have no knowledge of judicial habits.)
BIoonners and Bicycles
Reform of clothes has always been bad mark against
the spirit of revolt The reformers constituonaly
incapable of designing attractive dress the dress
makers, 81 years ago, were incapable of designing
decent, comfortable The Turkish harem, of all
places, the most benighted in the view of advanced
women, supplied the first inspiration for dress REFORM
and the bloomer, which should technically have been
called the miller" since woman named Miller invented
it and Mrs. Boomer only it, resulted. What put
the bloomer not the vehemence of reformers
but the demands of the bicycle which had great
effect in moral and physical emancipation half CEN
tury ago the motor car had in time.
The first impulse of dress-reform was to make wo-
mems clothes sensible that of men-and as un-
slightly The net result was that mems clothes today,
uncomfortable womens are comfortable. Score
for the reformer zero; for the dressmaker 100.
Reduction to the Absurd
Communism hasn't been tried long enough to give us
data In the sporadic efforts at od-style communism
under the Fourerites the purpose of making every
happy king, resulted in the kings being
happy as every man. The variant of 1881 is even more
materastic than that of hundred years ago; the in
tention definitely is to deal with manufacturers produc
tion, comforts It may be noble and it may be Chris
tian; but it likely to defeat its ends, to use
the least common denomnator instead of the highest
multiple of wealth and luxury and happiness.
The Odd Ones Defended
Mr.. Haywood Broun, being busy with of more
than average gaiety and intelligence will be glad to know
that he has defenders questioned, few days ago. his
statement that t is notorious fact that most of
progress has about through the work and sacrifice
of farseeng individuals who considered odd crea
tures the victims of mild form of dementla praecox
Particularly questioned the consequences of this idea:
That the odd and those considered lunac peculiarly
entitled to sympathy because they likely to turn out
saviors of the world I suggested that mathematics
might be of help here because () much progress has
come from men who were not considered odd and (b)
number of those considered odd turned out
odd, and nothing else.
Remember Columbus
Now Jesse Dilson as an admirer of Mr. Broun writes
me and says:
at seemed a pity that you missed obvious sub
stanator of Mr. Brouns statement the dscoverer of
the continent upon which reside at present. namely
Columbus. Columbus, you should know, at
time considered by number of important people,
being odd creature, the victim of a mild form of
'dementia praecox.' Famous Of ancient science
such GaleO the virtual founder of modern physics,
and Leeunwenhoek the founder of the science of bac
teriolOsy, were pronounced demented by many con-
temporaries. There nnumerable references in
world literature, ancient and MODERN concerning the
teachings of innumerable men, both scientific and
otherwise who upset the old conventions and estab-
lished the new, turning the future civilization into the
better and more proper channels, and were cOnse-
quently called crazy"
Ending with the suggestion that have track
mind the writer says, "if of the inmates Of
State asylums given the opportunity to defend
himself wouldn't his logical argument be that his
actions were contrary to convention and 80 he was
branded lunatic? 1t would be darned true.
Proportions, Please
That is quite right and the of my disagree
nent is this: That of the people who defy CONVENTION
only few have anything better to offer, and there