Lead Pencils

[snowyday]

Now that the shooting war is over we hope something can be done regarding lead pencils. A good lead pencil is one of the best and most useful tools ever invented by the mind of man. Men who appreciate that good workmen need good tools are particular about their pencils. They need just the right degree of softness and hardness so that the lead slips easily and pleasantly over the paper. They must be just the right diameter to fit the hand. The wood must be clear and soft so that it will sharpen easily and smoothly. Some men, old-fashioned though it may be, still enjoy sharpening their pencils with a pocket knife.

Few are the tools so much used all a man’s life. From about the age of two on a lead pencil is a desirable material possession. A man likes to keep a good supply in a box in the upper right hand drawer of the desk in his den, and undoubtedly would if all members of the family didn’t consider that their source of supply. Therefore, he keeps his good pencils in the lowest drawer on the left hand side. A man has a trying time with growing sons and daughters and a wife. But little things like this help him keep his ego. If a man couldn’t control his cherished pencils it would indeed be a harsh world.

March 15, 1946

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