Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 224, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1912 — OLD FOOLS. [ARTICLE]

OLD FOOLS.

'"There is no fool like an old fool” as the proverb has it, and in the common acceptance the phrase Implies a derogation. As Interpreted by certain women, however, It is a compli ment. It is us much as to say, ‘‘‘l shall not see his like again.” To be an old fool It Is necessary to have money, a wedding ring ana unlimited credulity, or Its equivalent, ex post facto complaisance. It is necessary, of course, to be well stricken in years—to have reached the period of discretion, gone through It and come out on the other side. Shaky health la also a desirable qualification. There have been old fools In all ages, as the comedies of Menander and Plautus and Terence attest. It is a fair inference, therefore, that they have their uses. One of them, perhaps, Is to serve as lightning rods for the mischief of adventuresses, and thus protect young men whose futures are not behind them.