Show TRAGEDY by THOMAS ARKLE CLARK dean of men university of illinois 4 T THERE HERE are a good many tragedies I 1 in anthe the real world today as there are in books and I 1 have seen not a few of these of all those that I 1 have seen I 1 think the memory of arnold though that was not his real name comes back to me most vividly and haunts me most often arnolds tragedy was a tragedy of drink there are a good many people drinking today thoughtlessly recklessly because it la Is clever or expensive or illegal or devilish to do so and not because they have an appetite tor for drink otherwise sen sensible people take the habit lightly girls joke about it college boys play with it as children play piny with fire and middle aged people take it to prove that they can afford the stuff city officials wink at it and order the police to arrest no one unless it Is absolutely impossible to do otherwise but to get the fellows off the main streets few really do an thing to help matters except to try to decide whether prohibition bitio n Is a blessing or a crime I 1 was called to arnolds room one dull gray saturday afternoon in winter it was necessary that I 1 come quickly the messenger said there w i ere three or four fellows in the room when mien I 1 entered and the air was heavy alth ith tobacco smoke and stif stifling fing with the odor of whisky gilbert sitting crumpled up in the corner of the room with his head in his hands bands looked up NI white hite faced and terrified as I 1 entered no one spoke but speech was unnecessary on the bed ghastly and bor horrible lay arnold dead I 1 got the story etory out of them brokenly for they were all too agitated to talk coherently gilbert had furnished the whisky and they had spent the afternoon gambling and drinking it was a lark only that was intended but there was a good deal of the liquor and they were all soon tinder its influence then suddenly as they were in the midst of their hilarity arnold had pitched forward upon the table thoy they thought it a joke at first but nothing that they could do would revive him lie he was quite dead staggering they carried him to the bed and sent for me I 1 recall all the details of the inquest two days later the mother of arnold brokenhearted broken hearted gilbert searching iti in vain rain for comfort and consolation and the tha dead boy lying upon the bed the fumes ot of liquor still coming from hla his lips there was nothing to be done nothing to be said there Is not now gilbert departed and I 1 have never seen or heard of him again 1921 1924 western newspaper union |