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Show Howe About: Better Amusements Our Failing Minds Bernard Shaw By ED HOWE ALTHOUGH it Is said abroad Americans Amer-icans are the greatest idlers in the world, It has finally been agreed among ourselves we have been working work-ing too long hours, and that in future we must play more. And now the question comes up for discussion: What shall we do with our additional idle time? How find new enjoyments In our shiftlessness? Why not try some new amusements? Why not rub up our knowledge of finance, and less frequently become the victims of sharpers? Why not athletic clubs to chase outlaws, now a real menace to our homes? And speaking speak-ing of homes again, why not beautify them more, and add comforts heretofore hereto-fore lacking? Why not clubs of citizens citi-zens to Improve -our public affairs? Half of us are dumb as to the real value of print: why not read more, and with greater discretion? Why not pay more attention to the joys and benefits of good health? Most of us gobble our food like pigs, and. lacking lack-ing their digestion and shorter years, have become so quarrelsome, inefficient and dumpy that one-quarter of the population pop-ulation Is now howling for public relief, re-lief, with most of the rest of us looking look-ing on shamelessly, and thinking It may be a good Idea for everybody. Do races inevitably run out? Is It hopeless to struggle for their improvement improve-ment and continuance? It seems to me I am able to note a sad deterioration since the Civil war. Compare congress now with congress of 75 years ago, and how shabbily 1P-33 comes off! There isn't a man of ability in the present congress (or cabinet or Supreme court) to compare com-pare with dozens who might be named within ten years of 1S5S. The deterioration of races Is intellectual. intel-lectual. We are healthier now than ever before; we have Improved our lamps and our buggies, but have shamefully neglected our minds. It may well occur to every man that he is doing well enough physically, but that his mind is failing. Bernard Shaw has his opinion of mankind, and expresses It publicly, instead in-stead of privately, as most other men do. For this he Is cordially hated, although al-though everybody knows his opinions j of humanity are sound ; at least, sounder sound-er than the opinions of other writing ; men. My relations with Bernard Shaw are ! excellent. I do not know him. or wish j to know him, and never write him. I hear he Is polite enough to those who have good reason to call on or write : him. During a recent journey at sea Shaw I went on deck early one morning, and found an old man leaning Indifferently over the rail. "How does It come." Shaw asked, "that you are the only man on the ship who has not annoyed me?" "Because I do not want to know you. or talk to you," the man answered. an-swered. : "Ever hear of me?" Shaw asked again. "I know nil about you." the man replied. re-plied. "I have read nearly everything said about you. or you have written. You are one of my heroes. I admire you because of your impudence in saying say-ing w-hat you think of everybody and everything. I think the same things and am afraid to say them. You save me the trouble. I beg you to proceed pro-ceed with your walk." Silerius said In his memoirs: "In all my life I have known but one really real-ly Intelligent nnd fair woman." . , . (As every other man will probably say he has known nt least one such woman, there must be a good many of them.) Thousands have known the true philosophy of life. And been so whipped by mob men that now no one dares be sensible. . . . All men are more Intelligent than their actions Indicate. Foolish tradition, and foolish, fool-ish, continuous quarreling about It. have made fools of us nil. Considering the rough maimer In which nil men nre forever trying to muss up nil women, some women look very well. It Is well known that most men of discernment have poor opinion of the people en masse, because of their low average In Intelligence, morals, politeness polite-ness nnd fairness; because of their Insistence In-sistence on ruining every clviliratlon the better men have attempted. It Is often said the English have no sense of humor. ... An Englishman relates that n child on first seeing a rainbow, nsked: "What Is it ,,. vertlslng?" . . . Another Englishman Is reported ns snylng: "The only time a horse scares nowadays Is when he sees nnothcr horse." . . . As n contrast con-trast I quote two of the most popular American funny men: Eddie Cantor: Can-tor: "He hasn't nn enemy In fhe world, hut all his friends hate him." . . . I'd. Wynn : "A bachelor Is n man who never made the same mistake mis-take once." ... Of course all this Is piffle, but perhaps It Is less flrrsonio than the serious portions of the newspapers. news-papers. How often tin1 bores write! How ! randy flic angels. Willi good news. ' pen In band ! j (T. lv.'.V llrll s r,l 1. ! e, Wvr srU-. I |