Evening Star Newspaper, August 15, 1937, Page 83

Avgust 15, 1937 N THE hand- writing of our young- est mod- erns, and on letter paper of excellent taste, & a reader tells a o me: “This let- \ ter to you, Mrs. , \ Post, is an SOS . sentout by three of us who are certainly not going to stay up on the crest of the social waves, unless we know how to ride threatening breakers. The most threat- ening breaker is an attitude that if you can’t ‘take it’ you're a poor sport. ‘“‘Last Spring I went to New York to be bridesmaid for my roommate at school. The wedding was most beauti- ful; New York girls and men were, in my mind, set apart as the very best. At all the parties I saw a lot of one of the ushers — a prominent young New Yorker and the most attractive man [ had ever seen. ‘‘After the wedding he took me to a . play and then to dance at the X Club. The head waiters all bowed around us and called him by name and showed us to a floorside table. He and the waiter studied the menu and suggested dishes to me and I made my choice. J—— gave the order, including cock- tails and champagne. ‘A man trundled up a little piano near our table and began to sing, and 'J—— explained: ‘This is really the most amusing place in town. The shows are raw sometimes, but always clever.” And then he added that, no matter how rough the show, he hoped I wouldn't show everyone I was a . small town girl by walking out on him. “‘For an hour or more I had a lovely time. And then everything went wrong. It began by his being annoyed because I wouldn’t take more champagne, so he apparently drank enough to make up for me. I know too that he was thoroughly annoyed because I just s by EMILY POST couldn’t shout with laughter at songs and jokes, which would never have been thought clever by any one in his sober senses. To me this seemed to explain perfectly why J—— as well as the others around us were drinking so steadily. “I finally suggested that I'd like to go home. But J didn’t even seem to hear me. He kept repeating sense- less remarks about a small town girl who ought to stay in a small town. I couldn’t have been more unhappy! When I told J— that it was getting late, he did not pay any attention. Not knowing what to do, at last I got up and left alone. I have never heard from J—— since — nor do I want to! “‘Here at home the most popular dances are given at our best hotel where there is a first-class dance or- chestra and where drinking is at least incidental to the evening. But there are other dancing places and refusing to go to them is one of the ‘can’t take it’ incidents. At the one to which all the dare-takers are now going, the floor so small that ten couples crowd it so that you can’t tell whether it’s good or bad. For that matter, most of the girls and men spend the evening in their own parked cars, going back to their table from time to time so that their families can be told by others that they were sitting there. ‘“Then, too, people give dances and other parties at their own houses. But even there so many of the girls go out and sit in parked cars that the girl who says ‘No’ to parking and petting gets a shrug and curt ‘O.K., prissy! and the boy friend goes out with one of the girls who never say ‘No.’ ‘‘We want to be popular and to have a good time, and yet it looks as though we’ll have to sit at home by ourselves because we don’t find petting tempt- ing, nor jokes clever just because they are coarse, nor men funny who drink too much!”’ Stranger than Man by CARL KULBERG TEsTS prove that most captive birds can see, at 100 yards, a fragment of grain smaller than a wheat kernel. That beats the Scotchman who spotted a tuppenny piece 75 yards away in six inches of mud. ( . . . THE tapeworm has no mouth, and the same is true of certain other parasites. Food is absorbed through their sur- faces. * * * Tum are no snakes in the Hawaiian Islands — that is, none of the crawling . variety. DurinG hibernation, wild alligators remain -under water all winter. Like turtles, they lie dormant until spring. - * * IN WASHINGTON an eagle swooped down on a yearling fawn, clamped his claws in the animal’s head and virtually ran the deer to death. When a state game protector arrived four eagles were feasting. * * * SEVERAL species of minnows or chubs pile gravel over their eggs, the males picking up tiny stones with their mouths. B { Drawn by W. O. Evans, Jr. ‘“OH, I'M NOT GOING TO CALL THE POLICE — I'VE BEEN WAITING TWENTY YEARS FOR THIS!I" THIS WEEK Good Taste Today In answer to this letter let me say that anyone can find the counter- parts of the night club in every great city. But even so, the behavior of cer- tain of their patrons can not be ac- cepted as characteristic of the best people in New York or Chicago or anywhere. In other words, don't let your world capsize because you lacked judgment in appraising ‘“‘J—."" Among the other ushers whom you overlooked, there may very well have been one whose attributes were ex- actly those your imagination gave to J——. So cheer up and learn to im- prove your judgment! Do you see? On the subject of the attitude that seemingly considers the never-say-no girls as good sports, I must protest that it is certainly turned hindside- foremost. Sportsmanship always im- plies courage and certainly it takes more courage to stand up for a prin- ciple than to surrender and let the tide carry you. But to find an answer to the princi- pal question in your letter — which reduced to its essence asks: How are you going to make other people make themselves over into the pattern which you find admirable? The an- swer is that you can’t possibly do any such thing. But whether you and Betty and Jane can make yourselves the nucleus of a social group that shall be to your liking depends of course on a number of things. It depends first upon the leader- ship of at least one of you — or bet- ter, all three. If you are among the most attractive and popular girls in town and if the social prominence of your families can give you support, then it might not be impossible, little by little, to form a circle of other girls and men who have talent or intelli- gence or wit or charm. Obviously you will have to show no small ability in developing your circle so that those who are attractive and amusing, as well as intelligent, will want to join. Not so easy, is it? But it ought to be possible if you can start out with an enthusiastic few of the really likable and most attractive people you know, and take in none who have the man- ners and habits you are protesting against. On no account may you ever say this, or even let yourself think it, because if any one imagines that you are starting a reform school it will die right there! One last word of encouragement — the Junior League was started by just such a girl as you — and I needn’t say more about that, need I? Copyright, 1937, by Emily Post Gentlemen Up-to-Date Mrs. Post’s leaflet also discusses be- havior that earmarks modern women as persons of good breeding. To get if, send a three-cent stamp with your request to This Week Magazine, in care of this newspaper. What of It? by R. W. DAWSON CUBA'S record is nine presidents since the comic opera of the Machado in 1933. * & * Down there they seem to use their presidents just for Havana fillers. . - . SOME countries, when changing their government, make it a mathematical certainty by adding a foot to their ruler. * * * Ruuzs of etiquette state that a hos- tess need wait only twenty minutes for a tardy guest before beginning dinner without him . . . Week-end golf widows take note. - * * A FOREIGN power plans to use 600,000 tons of ‘“‘scrap’ iron to manufacture war material . . . Logical enough. THE American prune is 83 years old. No wonder it’s full of wrinkles. Magazine Section 11 What a difference CRISPNESS MAKES! \ {1/ / / ‘", There are lofs of things that depend upon crisp- ness to be right. A drooped hat is disheartening. And so is a “drooped’” wheat cereal! Kellogg’s Wheat Krispies don’t “wilt” in milk or cream. They stay crisp and crunchy, the way a wheat " cereal should. The last spoonful is just as crisp and delicious as the first. The reason?—Wheat Krispies are blended for crispness. ; You must try Kellogg’s Wheat Krispies. Sample the rich flavor of toasted wheat in a new crunchy form. Enjoy the wholesome benefits of wheat flakes. Full of the elements for energy and strength. ; Buy Kellogg’s Wheat Krispies from your grocer. Always oven-fresh. Always ready to eat. Enjoy them at home, or in restaurants and dining-cars. Made by Kellogg in Battle Creek.