Evening star., 1932-04-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL,

A fine point Of the old country towr
was the large understanding of char.
acter which its inhabitants manifested
They did not demand, as so many
people living in cities do today, thai
every man be as like all other mer
as peas in pods.
They knew, as If by instinct, that
variety was truly the spice OF LIE, thai
in variation there was more interest
than in uniformity.
Instead of proceeding on the BELIEF
Of many city people today. that al
ones acuuaintances must live exactly
as one lives ones self, the residents
Of the old-time country towns, scat
tered wide and far throughout the
States, aecepted their fellow townsmen
as they were.
They did not ask that every one
live alike, or think alike, or in any
sense be alike In fact, they reVeleo
in Just such differences.
Even the fun they pOked was not
done maliciouSlY or in any resentment
at another human being because he
dared to refuse to initiate the divine
model. which many Of this generation
seem to think is themselves.
They wenC through life on the theory
that difference was natural. not ab-
normal. They were nearer to the
sources OF real American tradition
nearer by many years and several gen.
erations. To them the fact that one
neighbor seemed somewhat anti-socia
was not a matter for adverse criticism
but for friendly interest.
Indeed, if there was anything to oe
said about the old fellow who pre-
ferred to live in his farm house BY
it was simply that he whetted tht
curiosity of the townspeople and there
fore their interest in life.
* ~ 4
How honest they were, the pioneer
residents of American small towns
everywhere!
They knew, without needing to reao
any books or magazines or neWspa'
pers, that there was no man or woman
quite so interesting as the different
man or woman, he or she who refused
to follow the herd. but insisted or
living according to the dictates OF rea-
son and the demands of conscience.
Consider old John Sonner. who be-
came a village traNition because he In
sisted on filling his pockets with docu-
ments of various kinds Old Sonner, as
he was called. from early manhood
manifested love for stuffed pockets.
He shortly discovered that nothing
gave him greater sense Of importance
than to be able to transfer one large
packet Of papers from one capaciou'
greatcoat pocket to another.
Rightly done. under the wide eyes Of
neighborS at 81 Miller's grocery store
this proceeding never failed to attract
attention.
What you got there, John?" some
one would ask.
Jest some papers," he would reply
manifesting great indifference.
In his early days people had insisted
on attempting to wrest from Sonner the
secret of his many and bulky docu-
mentS, which he carried at all times
in all weathers and at all seasons Of the
year.
BY the time Old Sonner-who was
Young Sonner then-had passed his
35th year. the secret became one with
that of the Sphinx. No one thought oi
finding out what those sheaves of folic
sheets, folded and folded, contained, OF
even to what they referred.
They were Old SonneT. Or Sonnel
was his papers. Either way it was the
same. He became household word, sc
that when any member of family hap
pened to have a paper of any sort
stuffed in pocket the other members
said, Here comes Old Sonner" OF
Look at Old Sonner."
Years after John Sonner passed from
this mortal scene his spirit lived on and
hundreds of children who arrived in the
world too late to look upon his honest
wrinkled visage nevertheless knew his
name and knew him
If they happened to put too many
papers in their pockets, as youngsters
around the age of II often will do. theil
mothers said: Take those papers ou