A NEW JERSEY STYGIRITE

There is admittedly not the slightest reason why a man should not spend seven days and nights on the pinnacle of a thirty-nine foot flag-pole if he so desires. But for even the minimum amount of dignity to attach itself to such a feat, the would-be Stygirite must produce a cogent reason for his conduct. The motive of the Syrian saint who lived atop a pillar was one which has commanded the respect of posterity; the reason for the lofty position of his imitator who is fasting atop a New-ark flagpole is also perfectly credible to those who read of his exploit. Saint Simeon was actuated by religious aspirations; the present marvel of Newark is in pursuit of a vaudeville contract.

A quaint statement, however, is that this modern hermit avows his belief in the simple life, and thinks that Americans tend to "overdo things." There might be those who overdo the critical faculty to the extent of saying that one day atop a flag-pole is more than enough, and that a week spent in such a location savors in itself of overdoing things. Mr. Kelley, however, that shall be his title until his canonization upon the stage,--does not consider his martyrdom in such a light. He denies any attempt to reap publicity, swearing his simple intention of showing mankind the meaning of physical endurance. To this end he subsists solely upon water, coffee and cigarettes, and remains perched in the blue New Jersey sky with a pair of head-phones on his ears, doubtless deeming the latter torture the ultimate in self-mortification.