The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-02-12
Living in San Francisco.


not mean in the money sense, but it
doesn't pay in any way we look at it.
This tremendous pace that we are going
will very soon result in driving all the
nice poor people out of society. We
know many of the best, the very best
people, the most gifted, and most cult
waited, the best born, and the best bred,
who are now exiles from social life be-
cause they cannot afford to come into
competition with the wealthy in this
race of jewels and clothing-this vulgar
contest of display of shops contents
and tradesmens baubles. We know of
young ladies, just as lovely as youth,
beauty, education, good manners and
accomplishments can make them, en-
titled by their socials positions to enter
society, denying themselves an indul,
gence of their natural tastes because
they cannot honestly rival their more
wealthy associates, and because they are
too prond to appear in harness not gilded
and silver plated with monogram ard
crest stamped by fashionable society.
We think, and all gentlemen think, that
young girl looks prettier in q lawn,
in simple white cambria, with peach
down and blush, hair natural, than
one in train and hounce, with hair
chemically dyed and face painted in
French cosmetics. But women dress
for women, not for men, and there is
only one way of reforming this abuse,
and that is a strike on the part of all
pretty and sensible girls against this
unreasonable social tyranny. Let them
not decline to attend parties, but rally
IN force with plain, cheap and simple
dresses, and with their other charms
give battle to the rich ones, armor clad
in clothes of expensive material and
fashionable make. All the gentle
men will be on the side cf the
young and pretty ones, and we will
drive these dressy old maids, wives and
dowagers to the wall. Expensive enter
tainments and costly dressings are an
evil in San Francisco society. There
are hundreds of pleasant houses that
never entertain because they cannot
rival the more elegant affairs given by
milionaires. This has a tendency to
discourage social gatherings of the more
unpretentous kind. An association of
the kind we suggest would bring to it
nearly all of the young, most beautiful,
and most accomplished girls of society !;
all the young married ladies, who, being
wives of poor men, do not desire to i'm
pose upon them burdens of extravagant
dressing, and all the rich girls who have
sense enough to know that youth and
beauty are overmatches in attractiveness
to the display Of dress and jewels. From
this class the wives would be chosen.
All girls hope to be married-all gentle
men expect to marry it is the natural
relation. But he is brave young man
who will take upon himself the responsi-
bilities of married life. she is cour
ageous girl who will yoke herself in life's
harness to husband 1t is rare couple
who, not being rich, will say TO each
other: "We will harness for the
chances and tolls of life's journey We
will content ourselves to be excluded
from social life because we cannot afford
the costly expenditures it entails we
will work for ourselves life course along
that lower plane to which we are con-
fined for want of money" 1t demands
high moral courage for a young couple
to withdraw themselves from the asso-
citation of friends, and attempt to carve
out for themselves an independent
career; to live within their means when
their "means" is confined to the earn
ings of the young husband. All along
the shore of social life in California we
see scattered wrecks of domestic life.
Who that lives here cannot count up by
the score the ruined homes Who that
notes the current OF events does not
recognize the hazard of marriages. Look
at the divorce record of day in com
parison with that of half century ago.