Evening star., 1932-03-05

of people. They do not possess the grasp
which will enable them to keep one de-
tail in their head while attending to
another
even the Slightest incident will throw
them off their stride. They like to call
it singleness of purpose. Others say
they have "single-track nina.
Whichever viewpoint is right, 1t
makes no difference. The only thing
that counts is that actually they do not
find it either convenient or helpful TO
put much of their energy into a reply
to small courtesies.
If they take the time to nod tneH
head and reply Good morning 10 an
uttered greeting, it is just so mucil
taken out of their direct line OF attack
lust so much time out" which they
resent nightly. not only because IL IN
terferes with their thought action, put
also because they believe that some one
else will notice their perturbation. ana
they are right.
There are, too. a large number OF
persons who know no better
These always need to be reckoneo
with in country which has grown as
rapidly as the United States has. one
may have been trained in good famiiy
to observe the common forms OF etl-
quette Another may utterly lack such
background But no one, by LOOKING
at the two, could detect either fact.
Beauty is as beauty does" has no
deeper application. Line up two men
and look them over Both are good
looking we'll groomed. well dressed
Both speak good English. both nave
good "jobs." both are good sports, as
the phrase has it.
One treats his fellow men courteouSly,
however. and the other does not. one
came from home where courtesy al
ways prevailed. the other from shanty
where every one scrambled for some
thing to eat OF the two the latter S
the greater success, but that does not
prevent him from being something OF
boor. Even his best friends won't tell
him!
These people who know no better,
like the little lamb in Mrs. 1ngelows
old poem. are to be reckoned with by
the man or woman who unconsciously
believes in the fair spirit OF universal
courtesy in the everyday walks of life.
It Is a great spirit to believe in, and
to look for, but 1t will not do to expect
it invariably. Rather it should be re-
garded as one of the finest flowers OF
culture, to be loved when found, but not
mourned where not discovered
A pearl of great price. in its way. 1t
cannot belong to all alike. While the
ideal of democracy Is tremendous at
the same time 1t Is tempered with COM
mon sense, which also Is tremendous
force
Common sense tells us that uniforms
on bodies do not make uniform minds.
To reach into the spirit by wholesale
procedure is equally impossible. Uni
versal education. to that extent at least,
has not realized the expectations OF its
founders.
There still would be a wide diverg-
ence in courtesy and its everyday OBJ
servances, even If all men were exposed
to it alike The truth is that few
human beings receive such training
formally. They catch" it, rather, out
of their day-by-day contacts. Even
when the "exposure" is long and per-
sistent, the spirit of the individual
human being must be taken into con-
sideration.
There is as wide divergence in this
matter as in most others. While the
elements of everyday courtesy are fairly
standard, their necessary occasions are
debated. The important thing to re-
member is that all people are not alike.
that while one may love the invariably
cheery greeter, he will not always find