Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1876-09-09
OUR CORRESPONDENCE.
Men, Women, Manners and
Times.
FRosTBURG, SEPT. 6, 1875

will relish change, we venture a few
thoughts upon Old and Young, Parent
and Child, Young Man and Sweet
heart, Marrying and Giving in Mar
riage, Hard Times and their Effects
upon Society, and General Relations
of the Parties Concerned.
Young America has far outstripped
his immediate ancestors. Literally,
'the child is father of the man. As
the little stripping stalks along the
street curling the blue smoke from a
ten-cent cigar, old men look on and
wonder--"can such things be and
overcome us like summer cloud p
at was not so in the home and days
of our youth" :" But they forget there
is a certain style of family life grown
up in this country in which children
get to know more than the parents
ever dreamed of. In many instances
the latter began their struggles poor,
and in utter Ignorance of the corrup-
tions which mark the current era.
They spent their hard earned money
educating the young folks at schools
Of high grade, where associations of
higher social standing were made.
The children completed their educa-
ton with coxy notions their parents
never entertained, but, by y-and-by,
the parents began to think their
bouncing boys and girls wonders in
their way, until they are in these lat
ter days perfectly struck with the
fine accent and grammatic phraseology
which prevail in the junior circles Of
the family. The father and mother
think it proud privilege to have
reared such high-toned ofspring,while
the latter feel they are being looked
up to; quite naturally, then, they grad
ually gather courage to look doaon on
the parents.
The services of the most modern
/ tailors, dress makers, hair dressers.
dancing-masters, jewellers, French
teachers, are engaged to prepare these
showy sparks eff gallantry and beauty
for Introduction into society. Then
follows balls, parties, in honor Of the
mincing simpering novitiates of skin
deep aristocracy, to cap the climax at
last with full blown snobbery.
The parents Of the present marriage
able generation, in very many cases,
in their commencing days rolled up
their sleeves and with ungloved hands
worked together until fortunes We're
accumulated. The young ladies with
such parents think they must go
through life surrounded by all the lux
uries the accumulations of thirty or
forty years of severe toll can purchase
They would marry provided the man
"who would a-wooing go" has the
cash. If he possesses naught but
those rare qualities known as indus
try and integrity, he is labeled as a
poor show to make a living without
work the consequence is, large num-
bers Of these labor saving machines
are left, like dried lemons, unsqueezed.
1t is hardly fair the young ladies
should bear it all. A large body of
the young gentlemen are about like
the one that told his girl that times
were too hard to get married. She
gently rested her head on his shoulder
and whispered-"dear j, I am
willing to live with you on bread and
water The brave soul replied-"all
right, you furnish the bread and I will
forage around for the water"
We can hardly determine which
has been more prolific of social de-
moralization within sixteen years past,
with civil war at the beginning and
pinching times at the end. War
brought initiation of the currency, wild
cat speculations, corruption in high
places and decay of character. Ex-
travagance and dishonesty have grown
up all over the land.
Arevulsion has taken place. Over
production, over-consumption, infa-
ton, are contracting. Factories have
been shut up; our mine openings are
festooned with cobwebs the populace
is idle evils must follow; society suf-
fers. These conditions are necessary,
and are to be removed by the simple,
slow processes Of honesty and econo-
my. Wherever the germs of these
qualities appear they ought to be as
siduously nurtured Nothing less
will finally uproot the foundations of