The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-06-23
Howe About:
Age of Reason
Great Americans
Luck
By ED HOWE

1 0ASAuA Hu mucH DeIler, dltnOuSm
every one was injured The same
story comes from the California earth
quake: those who built strong houses
realized that they lived in an earth
| quake. section-suffered much less than
the occupants of houses carelessly
thrown together. and neglected after
they were built. There seems no
| doubt that carelessness is one of the
very worst of our human sins.
When the age of reason arrives II
it ever does we will admit that the
man who goes about turning off un-
necessary lights left burning by care
less people, is a better man than the
| mean persons who left them burning
because the expense is not charged
to them. We will also like better the
string saver. Few families keep sup
| ply of new string on hand; when
string is needed, it usually comes from
a saving woman who has ball in the
drawer of the kitchen table.
A man asks me: "Who in your Opin-
ion are the fifteen greatest living
Americans?" / have written him be-
lieve they are comparatively unknown
men; some of them possibly hidden
away in small towns or on farms.
Most of the noted men of. the present
have been called to Washington to adj
wise President Hoover or President
Roosevelt in the present emergency.
Not one of them measured up to real
greatness in the recommendations I
have seen in print. My correspondent
also wishes me to prepare a list Of
fifteen of the greatest Americans in
all our history. I have only three
clearly in mind: Benjamin Franklin
would head the list, followed by Alex
ander Hamilton and John Adams. If
should select John D. Rockefeller, ST.,
]. P. Morgan the elder, and Thomas
A. Edison. l have never believed
George Washington was truly great,
and doubt Lincoln was. We have
never had a great soldier, except pos
had a chance. Measured by world
standards we have never had great
literary man. Henry Wallace, grand
father of the present secretary of ag-
riculture, was country parson and
farmer, and came very near greatness.
If an infallible list of the fifteen
greatest Americans, living or dead,
could be prepared, few would be wide
ly known; perhaps two-thirds of them
not known at all. / do not believe one.
professional politician would be on
the list; several business men might
make it, The manner in which we
marched cheering into the present
American ruin, and the weakness we
displayed in efforts to get out, have
greatly discouraged me as to Ameri-
can greatness
No little fairy attends any man to
bring him good luck; no little devil
attends any man to bring him bad luck.
In the course of year or life, what
baseball players call the good and bad
breaks" are about even. Good breaks
have come to all of us frequently, and
we have not taken proper advantage
of them; frequently we all fail to ham
die bad "breaks" as well as we might.
This is the truth, and know it well;
but what I believe is I am the I'M
luckiest man in the world.
In the gentlest wife there is touch
of the Old Harry she does not show
in mingling with the neighbors, but
which does show in minglng with
husband. If wives were always
as polite and gentle with husbands
as telephone girls are with subscrib-
ers, there would be fewer bad hus-
bands.
During the presentation of play
l attended recently, an actor men
toned Contented Farmer, whereupon
those in the audience burst into
laughter.
I came to Mama, Fla, this winter,
disguised because Hannah, the colored
woman we employ at home, never en-
tered my room without putting the
windows down, if I had them up, or
putting them up if had them down.
have been disguised all winter in
Miami because Nancy, at the apart
ment house where l live, does the
same thing.
! was walking on the streets lately
with a white woman from Indiana.
She learned bossy ways as a school
teacher when young. The tilt of my
hat brim didn't suit her, so she
reached over and changed it. Occa-
sionally (not often) l rebel, and said ?
to her:
,"Put that hat brim back where you
found it." e..
She is probably telling around now
that am no gentleman, but she did It,
1 have never suited women; always
there is something about me they want
to fix.
AS soon as fool proposes another