The Washington times., 1931-09-19
True to Type
A CERTAIN R CHI MAN
CLARIFIES SITUATION
IN FIVE WORDS
Bv GILBERT SEH.DES-

When an American Secretary of the Treasury cut
through the chickering's of theorists and said: he way
to resume is to resume" he set standard for hard
headed epigrams Incidentally he resumed ne restored
payment in gold for notes) do not think that the
rent "the for employment is employment quite
comes up to the mark although it is brief and states
a fact the fact is too obvious. But few days ago
heard summary of the situation which has all the
qualities of greatness In the opinion of most people it
is frighfuIy wtrong minded it is anti-socla But at
least it is frank.
The speaker was one of those who called cap
ains of industry generation ago. He has made great
fortune by his work. by rewards beyond his salaries by
profitable speculation And his view of the immediate
future was summed up thus: "The poor, this winter
will want to escape starvation by using the money of
the rch-and they can't have mine"
UndipIomatic Freshness
Of course the statement not made for publication
which is why have conveniently and temporarily for.
gotten the speakers l sorry that it wasn't
Nearly everything said in public is in the language of
diplomacy a marvellous game in which diplomats make
all the moves and ordinary human beings put all the
stakes and pay the l. o. US. One of the refresh
ing things about the Soviet Republic in its first few
years it's rejection of the smart and subtle language
of the courts; the wireless tnged with sharp phrases
which meant exactly what they said International af-
fairs have been Ineligible since; but in do
mestic problems, the smooth wornout and meaningless
words are still current.
"They can't have mine" is plain statement. With a
few equally plain the other sde little advance
might be made For instance, might get the
to the question, 'What they have?"
Dangers of Reading
"Your column first attracted me-, writes Miss E. K,
when you recommended Joyces Ulysses to the people,
This isn't exactly flatery to my power of attraction,
and to be precise, did not give blanket recommends
tion to Mr. Joyces supendous work. But with the rest
of the lady's communication have quarrel. It is
drawn from experience and sounds interesting:
"Evidently the advertisements calling for cultured
young ladies don't who has read extensively.
There isn't much call for typists who read Joyce. If
go in for reading in grand way it is even worse Our
opinion of ourselves gets too much for our good
our happiness. We just can't get down to EARTH
"Only those who live among iterats or have ndepen.
dent incomes afford to read The rest of us should
stick PhO Vance and bridge We simply get too good
for jobs and surroundings Paris is full Of young
boys and girls with their head stuffed full OF literature
who fancy they write paint do something that
takes genius
Even nice ladies' of (greater age get all sorts of
allied notions about how they have missed their vOca
tiOn after squirt of books. 1t ruins their cooking.
The Broad Mind
eve really do not get that rich inner enjoyment that
is supposed to go with reading We only bored with
the people must live with; secretly look down on
more sensible friends. What use is it to broaden
ones mind if have to put clamps tongues to
keep from speaking true mnd-I mean the mind
that reading formed?
There is big hoIer about the uselessness Of
college education for the majority At least most college
grads consider the job of being educated when they
get their first degree, and then settle down to bus
"But the rest of without that badge of learning
who go diligently reading whatever we can find, will
get fit anywhere"
Literary Snobbishness
1 think most adoescents go through unhappy
stage of thinking themselves superior because they
read library books while their schoolmates out
skating, and this feeling persists in many people
through their mature years. You detect note of
resentment mixed in the snobbsh announcement that
of course Tuesdays they have their symphony seats
and if you say that you had great time at dance
night club they inform you, little heavily, that they
spent the evening reading Spinoza on "The Improve
ment of the Understanding"
have suggested before that the prestige of litera
kept up by the literary guys they extend their
protection to the other arts but reading still is pre-
eminently the field in which true culture is supposed