Article February 19, 1944 Issue

A Change of Base

ALFRED HULL STEVENS, JR.

A number of years ago an attractive model of a certain automobile was offered in the American market. It was light in weight and well powered, resulting in excellent performance, and the fittings were unusually good for a small car. But it was soon found that the body could not be kept from squeaking and rattling. No amount of skillful oiling, greasing, padding, or adjusting gave lasting protection from noises. The trouble was that the chassis, or under-frame, was weaving. On a solid frame the same body probably would have functioned noiselessly.

With the modern genius for mechanical things, why are we slow to see the bearing such plain examples have upon our individual problems? Why do we persistently tinker with the outward, gaining few good results and even fewer permanent ones, when a single right change of base would bring our whole system into harmony once and for all?

The very thought of a change of base is probably strange to most people. Those who find things going along reasonably well are usually opposed to any change whatever. On the other hand, there are thousands who spend much of their time trying changes of some kind—changes of scene, of diet, of work, of friends, of reading matter—hoping always to find the health, contentment, or security that always seems to be just out of their reach.

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