Evening star., 1933-12-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

have smiled, no one should have per-
mitted the routine of business to show
the woman that she was all wrong.
She might have been corrected, but
with smile. No one in business CT
any sort need be surprised at the lack
Of knowledge of strangers, but nothing
is more common. 1t would be about
as easy-it would be easier, one might
think-to gloss over their deficiencies.
No, the frozen face is never justified;
nobody Is stranger in the business
world, everybody is our friend. and we
have got to show it in our faces and
That's just business, of course, but
also 1t Is common sense Good busi-
ness Is common sense; you don't have
to be much of a business man to see
that.
The essence of good business is to
keep personalities out of 1t, to replace
them with wide humanity which
tical manner, the actuality of a theory,
to wit. the real democracy of all per-
sons. BY keeping personality out of
IT," we mean the personalities which
are not the kind we want, of course.
In greeting another, and stranger,
In other words, we have no right to
look upon him as total stranger, to
permit the certain coolness which in
variably leaps into the eyes when sucn
an attitude is taken.
This man, this woman, Is not a
stranger, in our sense, because has not
he, has not she, gone beyond the bar
rier CT strangership by coming hither?
That Is the big point to keep in
mind, and II 1t were kept in mind more
than 1t is there would be less offended
persons walking out. perhaps never to
return: Human beings are tempera-
mental. Perhaps we cannot please every
one, but we can make people feel at
home, In our business relationships,
simply by trying to remember that We
are all human beings together.
X + 4
We may suspect that the person who
has to concentrate on his work to the
extent that he is unable to lift his
eyes for normal greeting is rather
afraid OF his work. He is not quite
master OF 1t and fears that 1t may get
away from him. Maybe he is right.
He knows himself better than ally one
else. Perhaps such huge concentration
such utter singleness of purpose, is nee
essary in his case
Therefore the person more happily
, situated must look with charity upon
| all such cases, realizing that they, IN
common with the welter of men, are
doing the best they can.
He will be forgiven for feeling that
they might better their best By 10 more
unparalleled action than that Of sooth-
ing their harried feelings. This may
be accomplished by giving little more
respect. in the abstract and in the COIL
crete. to the great average man.
Most OF us, at Christmas time or
other time, have too little respect for
the man who is not personally CON-
cerned with us and our precious work.
| (The old story of personalities again }
| He who refuses to lift head for a
word of kindness at this time of the
year needs to re-read Dickens "A
better. It shows. without seeming to
show (the best way, some way that
there really is no necessity for such
stress and strain. no matter how big
| or important one is. or how exacting
| the task one has in hand, or in eye, or
| in mind-however it Is one has it.
There is saying to the effect that
only the busy man has time for some
thing else. One need not look for
| larger opportunities for display of this
| ability. The occasion is every day, IN
every mans job to show mastery by
being polite, courteous, human to all
those with whom he comes into con-
tact.