Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 129, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1917 — A QUIET TALK [ARTICLE]

A QUIET TALK

“When a fellow gets so he can’t discuss a subject without gettiWJ* mad," said Casey, the coal man, to his neighbor, Weisenheimer, “he ought to shut! up and not talk at all. When a .fellow i begins to get mad It’s a sure sign to me that he’s run out of arguments.” “Certainly,” said Weisenheimer. “We should be tolerant of one another’s opinions. If we didn’t exchange opinions about things, we’d never learn anything, and the best sign of culture 1 —and good common sense, for that, mattier —to my mind is the consideration we give to other people’s ideas. When I was at Heidelberg—” “That’s what I say,” Interposed Casey, earnestly. “L tell you it pays to listen to the other fellow. You’ll get a different angle on the thing. After all, none of us are always right —the other fellow is right sometimes —and just because he happens to differ with you is no reason whyj you shouldn’t listen to what he says—he may be right that particular time.” “Certainly. Besides, the ability to discuss matters with others from an absolutely unprejudiced standpoint, and from an honest desire to improve our knowledge upon the subject discussed, is the highest test of intellectual poise. Our old professor of metaphysics used to say—” “You’re right, old man —that’s the point,” said Casey. “There’s nothing makes me so sore as a fellow that absolutely can’t and won’t see but one side to a question. ... I see old Wilson has fired another shot at the kaiser —” “Shot? What kind of a shot this time, Brother Casey?” asked Weisenheimer, blandly. “About those Yarrowdale prisoners that the kaiser is holding over there — Wilson tells him, cold turkey, he’s got to come across with them without any more parley—that last note was straight from the shoulder.” “Yes —that’s good. I hope they will be released. This unfortunate war —” “Unfortunate? It’s a blamed outrage, that’s what this war is. The idea of raising all that fuss about an Austrian archduke, or whatever he was —” “Oh, there’s a good deal more to this war than that little affair, Mr. Casey. That was a mere Incident. The underlying causes are deep and fundamental. It is really a struggle between two antagonistic Ideas of civilization and progress— ’ “Oh, back up with that stuff, Welsey —that makes me sick. There ain’t anything to this war but old Bill Hohenzollern’s rule-or-ruin policy. He’s going to run things over there or bust ’em up. He is just a big political boss, with a big army to back him up, that’s all Bill is—” “I beg pardon, Mr. Casey/ now, really, that don’t sound good from a man of 'your intelligence. If you’ve read the ‘White Book’—” “White fiddlesticks —I hope you are not falling for that bunc?” “Before I would talk about this war I would read the official documents, if I were you—what’s the use of talking to a fellow like you, that don’t read anything—” “Don’t read anything? Now, there you go, Welsey—why, I don’t do anything but read about the war. If there’s anything about the war that I don’t know, I’m darn sure you can’t tell me. The trouble with you, Welsey, is you’re prejudiced;” “The trouble with you, Casey, is that you’re a bonehead —” “Bonehead? Bonehead? Say, Welsey, if I had a head as hard as yours, I’d soak it in something, like they do wood pulp, to soften it up, so you can get an outside idea into it once in a while. You think you know it all, and you don’t know nothing.” "Casey, there’s two kinds of people I won’t argue with, Idiots and children—and you’re no child, Til say that much for you—” “Argue? Why, you can’t argue. You know a fact If you saw It coming up the middle of the street, with an affidavit on each side of It. Argue? You just think yon are saying something when you’re just making funny sounds. If I had a head as thick as yours, Welsey^" —~~~ “Aw, you ought to be going to school instead of trying to sell shale for coal —” ‘‘Say, you better go back to Heidelberg—” “You ignoramus.” “You ivory-headed nut.” "Idiot.” "Bonehead.”