Evening star., 1939-05-21

AND l SnOulQ ike 10 get dl1 lutd vi "lldl
makes them tick.
The drummer was, in all respects fasci-
mating human being to watch His hands
trembled as he welded the sticks. His shoul-
ders were weaving in mysterious and even
hysterical cadence. His face was like mask
and his eyes cleaned with some unearthly
fire. 1t was extraordinary to see man get
into state like that over rataplan.
wouldn't 60 ten steps to attend whole
convention of jitterbugs My curiosity doesn't
extend that far. But if they come around
where happen to be sitting, l am certainly
going to observe how they behave.
OF course, the incident itself was trif1ing
But such things are likely to set ideas in
motion, and it seems important. now. to sug-
gest that we stop turning our eyes away from
the jittery drummer boys of the world -
from any of the lunatic phenomena that come
within our orbit The fact that we don't like
them. even the fact that they give us active
distress, is not excuse enough for Ignoring
their existence, or denying it.
Yet there is an increasing tendency among
our most responsible people to do precisely
that know men and women who have been
reduced to a single newspaper, single maga-
zine. because ideas or moods expressed in all
the rest veered. one way or another. from the
fit and the proper or at least from their
conception of the fit and proper know men
and women who have thrown away their
radios because some of the abs,ndities that are
broadcast should not exist in sane world.
know people who boast that they have
never seen a motion picture, never read
Winchell, never heard of the Lone Ranger.
Think about yourself for moment, and
you are pretty certain to recognize drum
mer boy" of your own. Do you deplore the
existence of pedestrians when you are driving
your car - and vow that all drivers are
madmen when you are walking? Or perhaps
you grow bitter because the neighboss' brats
are somewhat less perfect than your own ex-
oeptional Junior. Do you Obeing a LADY,
lament sorely because 50 many of your sisters
herd about the bargain sale that you had
planned as CHEEKY field day for yourself?
Well, these things are in the pattern of our
immediate existence. for good or for evil and
it doesn't help much to turn your back on
them and s,,lk. 1t is doubtful that any intelli
gent person gets through single day without
enoomte1ing some phase of civilization that
he thoroughly detests. But if any resolution
at all Is to come from the unholy disoord,
it will not be produced by statesmen or
priests, by satraps or philosophers. 1t will not
be produced by god from the machine, but
by those same intelligent people, and only
when they genuinely understand what sort
of world it is in which they live. and what
they could do to make it more sensible more
seemly. more pleasing to the eye and the ear
and the soul.
Nobody can hope for that understanding
if he stares at his dinner plate. or stops his
ears against the weird cacophony of the times.
or battens his soul against the crude realities
This may sound like tiresome hOmily. but,
gentlemen. you must get to know what it all
is really like before you can put in your two
cents worth on the subject of Improvement.
And so have recommended to my friend
that he look straight at the things he is dis
posed to dislike, whether they be swing
drummers or goldfish swallowers. oocks,ue
youngsters or the madness of female millinery.
arrogant cops or ladies who get tipsy at bars
The least he can gain thereby is to under
stand his own emotions and foEtify them with
reason.
Ostriches cannot know very much about
how to make the world a better place.