Evening star., 1941-06-17

boy watching the preacher eat the
chicken, We want to know what is
going to be left. We have given up
any hope of saving the white meat,
the drumstick or the wings, even.
What we are interested in knowing
is If so much as a neck is going to
remain.
Psychologically (and you'll find
that I discuss psychology just as if
Freud and Jung had used my spare
bedroom for years., now is the
time to tell the people If neck Of
the American way of living will be
left when the emergency ends.
The property seizures bill is COM
ing up soon and wave of relief
you could surfboard on would sweep
this country If, before 1t was made
law, every man and woman knew
exactly what he or she had that
was safe from the Government.
The Government should make a
list of personal property that, come
hell, high water, or Is more emer-
gencies, won't be Communicated and
taken from the citizen. Even if
man knew that he would eventu-
ally be reduced to pair of roller
skates, he would draw comfort from
an assurance that they we're his.
and that never, never would the
President take them from him or
Mr.. Ickes declare a roller skateles5
Sunday.
There's another angle to consider,
too. AS soon as We know what We
are going to have left, we can start
readjusting our lives. If what the
Government is going to leave me is
a pair of snowshoes, a set of canoe
paddles, deck of cards and a f1reless
cooker, I want plenty of advance
notice. Be he ever so ingenious, a
man needs all the head start he
can get in converting articles into
things that will At into the pattern
of a well-rounded life. A fellow
can spend months just in marking
a deck of cards, alone.
Unknowingly, imagine, the Gov
ernment is waging war of nerves
on the public. Nearly every person
has at least one possession of which
he is especially fond. With the
Government not outlining what 1t
will need next, and with science
making defense materials out of the
weirdest substance. people are fret
ting like brother in his first dress
suit over the possibility of having to
yield something that is dear.
A friend of mine serves as per-
feet example. He pays all the taxes
the Government asks of him will.
ingly. He has socked at least a
dozen people whom he suspected Of
being fifth columnists, at least one
of them iustifably. He notifies his
draft board if he goes around the
corner to the movies at night, and
already is observing gasless SUM-
days.
But he has a butterfly collection
which he treasures. 1t is almost
pathetic to watch him read the pa
pers, so afraid is he that he will
come across some item that will in
form him that butterflies are needed
for defense. If they are or If there
is a possibility that they are going
to be needed, how much kinder it
would be to have Washington tell
him now.
On the other hand q try to see
both sides even if it requires bit
of fence sitting, there are perhaps
some people who don't want to know
what the Government eventually
will take. They would prefer to go
on living in their cross-ventilated
ivory towers until all they have to
eat is tax collector.
However. most of us would rather
know what the Government is 60
ing to leave us, even if it be only q
stiff upper lip.
nistributed bv McNaurh syndieats fnel