| OCR Text |
Show "onlTbureaucrats now beat path. . . Unhappy Designer May Convert to Rat TfQ UUUUfJfJj if T0 DoOR OF THIS MOUSETRAP k I . By H- I. PHILLIPS 1 A BETTER MOUSETRAP "TJOW ARE THINGS as of early September?" we asked the man who built a better mousetrap, this being our regular seasonal inquiry in-quiry Into business conditions. "I can't quite make out." he replied, re-plied, with a glance at the paths made to his door. "The paths seem fairly active but the activity could hardly be called path-beating at this moment." "Would you say there was a slump?" "I might think so, but Harry Truman Tru-man says no." Does he think much about mousetraps?" "You know Washington. There are experts in everything available. The President has aides who claim to be specialists in mouse habits and mousetrap trends in our economic eco-nomic system. There is a federal mousetrap commission at worn now." . "Has it been here?" "I think so. There has been a group here which acted like a federal fed-eral committee. It came up the paths backward, asked where it was, and immediately wanted to know where there wai a good place to eat." "What did It do after eating?" eat-ing?" "It showed up every day at U and quit at 3, announcing after a week that it had studied my business thoroughly and would have an early report with a complete solution to all problems prob-lems in the mousetrap field." "You think it will find that you are prospering and that there is no cause for concern?" we asked. "I am sure of It," said the man who built a better mousetrap. mouse-trap. "The commission left in a very happy mood and announced an-nounced nothing was worrying me." "Strictly on your own," we asked, "what is the real situation in the mousetrap industry?" "I am optomistic. It can't be that the country has caught all the mice. Hence the drop in demand for traps must be due to something else. People may be making old traps last longer. I had a fellow come in with some holes and ask that we build a trap around 'em." "Are you operating in the red at the moment?" "Yes, but don't let the President hear it. lie would hold I am sabotaging sab-otaging public confidence. He may even say I want depression for my own selfish ends." "So what?" "Well I guess I should do some deficit-financing and expand. After all I don't want federal control of mousetraps." The man who built a better mousetrap paused a moment and reflected. "I shall have to style my mousetraps," he resumed. "I must bring out smarter models with startling new innovations. Streamlining might help and vices that ch, ton- Thl in money' but I e' ' something." "Have you thought 8 , trap with kZi holes mean thj JS would need twic, B.M.. J? k"ew it. You are normc expert, ital. Scram!" 6 We scrammei VANISHING AMERICA No I never g0 awa "erNot withal, You can have either or the fish course-u, about the same. I give the kid i qsj. ance-and he saves 15 T out of it. Forty necklaces, rings and brooches,, $90,000, were in the , by the bandits who it Aga Khan and the Bet leaves them down U i five tons of Ice. t After relieving then t monds, do you iuppo; said, "Now drive cartf. are operating with die President Truman m boys at the White Hois and showed them aroc plained to them how ; grow up and have to ; water. Can you remember-.i when they turned arouse a daring bathing suit! "I'd like to see a ret sweat and tears to BERNARD BARUCR Instead of bunk, debt |
