The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-02-15

books, the sidebosrd in the rear laden vii
u expensive service. the closet undernesi
well stocked with fine luxuries over all 4
which the pencilled, painted, % wdered ma
am of the house presdes 10 lace and silk an
, velvet luxury. To day, as far as physic.
surroundings are COD cerned, there ism
much change, bat there are no new picture,
old rugs are quite the thing; novelties
books are not conspicuous either in the cas-,
or upon the table; costly liquors, fame
brands of wine, high-tone drinkables, bar
In charac ter are cons picuous by their absenc,
The wine closet isn't replenished; the chi
dren don't 60 to dancing school this winte
When the gray horse fell lame the span wa
sold, and they found it cheaper now to hire
and cheaper yet because they didn't hir
even. They don't 60 to the opera as mQc
as they did. They don't 60 to the Italian
opera because they never did like this wa
of having one star ana lot of sticks The,
refrain from attending the MetropolitiI
Opera House, because German opera, SOM
how or other, doesn't appeal to the populs
sense and they are not sufficiently
artistic to adequately understand anC
comprehend ana enjoy the mystery o
Wagner or the maiestics of Beet
/ noveD and as Tor going to any of the thea
tres, heavens and earth. why the play!
nowadays are not ut for the groundlings
much less for such as we." Nevertheless:
they must live in brownstone front. II
wouldn't do let Mrs. Jones know Why they
sold their horses, or why the children don't
20 TO dancing school. or why they changed
from Rev. DR.. Squeezem and went to the lit
tie church around the corner. But doesn't
Mrs. Jones know? OF course she does. Partly
b. cause old Jones. who has lots of money.
has declined to loan his neighbor in the
brownstone 'front.' because their "collsterals
were not equal to the emergency; partly
because the rating Of his neighbor in the
commercial agencies isn't what it was;
partly because every body does know every
other body's business in this world. Now,
that's fact you can't get round. Every
body does know eyerybody's business in this
world. II man is making money, not
alone his friends and neighbOrs but bis world
knows it, and il he is hard up, and in
trouble, and In serious embarrassment the
world knows it long before he has moral
courage sutfic ent to walk straight up to the
office of the captain of bankruptcy, and ask
permission to settle on such basis as he can
afford.
There are 10,0 600 men in this city, at least,
living at a rate of 5000 to $50, 600 q year,
who are strainiDg every nerve in their men
tally and every muscle in their physique,
borrowing money here, raising money there,
dlscounting somewhere else, hoping against
hope that something will Mackawberize
itely more comfortable, if they could walk
out upon the front doorstep OF frankness,
and admit TO the world that they had
reached the end of their tether, that their
liabilities were so much and that
their assets were so much, and ask
the privilege of closing up the game and
starting in anew. Why don't they do it?
ing to tossts for 1.-The press a" Because, be
ing marble, they have painted themselves
so as to look like rosewood"
Since began writing this letter,
TWO FUNERAL PROFESSIONS
have passed my window. / could not ask
better illustration of my theory, that this is
an err of sham, than they afford. The car
riagss show the people TO be poor. 1t is no
disgrace for man to be poor, and no one is
to blame for the place of bis birth, SO that
that has nothing to do whatever with the
fact that the occupants OF the carriages we're
poor. One of the ceffiDs, decorated with any
quantity of make believe silver handles,
and In high STATE CT ornamentatioD, with
make believe silver buttons, rested In a
mighty polished hearse, with six huge
plumes upon it. counted thirty-seven car
riages ordinary hacks. In several of them
we're six persons, in many of them but two,
in some of them one only. | don't know
what funeral with all this ridiculous pro-
ce5sion costs the family OF the deceased but
several hundred dollars at least, q figure
which would 60 far toward keeping the wolf
from the door in these hard times and can
any one tell me what earthly use, or heav-
eDly good. the senseless display can by any
possibility do either the dead or the llyingP
OF the dead. it will be said, 'he had fine
funeral" of the living, ii will be said they
gave him a fine funeral" And it will be
sa d by his friends and his neighbors; aud
their friends and neighbOrs; but tomorrow
it will be forgotten by everybody. except
the undertaken and the livery stable keeper.
who, in turn, will re member it only so long
az their bills remain unpaid.
The second funeral procession was similar
70 the first, with this exception only, that,
instead CT being thirty-seven carriages, there
were twenty-five. Against this outrageous
evil, l lifted my voice many years ago, and
a feeble echo Was granted ii by the priest
hood of the vicinage, who endeavored at one
time to limit, by pries'ly edict, the number
of Carriages which should be permitted to
follow the hearse TO the grave. OF course it
failed All kinds of human nature are very
weak and It seems to he an unfortunate
tendency of our poorer fellow citizens, that,
whenever ii is possible, DISPLAY, sham. pre-
tence and overlooking OF flowers and sur.
plussge OF carriages, sham exhibit and
bogus silver prec plate them deeper in the
morass of pecuniary difficulty than they
were before in order that they may make q
meritricious exhibition, in the eyes of peo-
pie who know perfe city well what farce, q
fraud, and . shan and humbug the whole
thing is
A moments depression will enable me to
say that this is one reason why | favor cre-
nation. The outside expense can be but
SIS, and the probabilities are that in less
than year after the crematory now being
built is completed the outside. expense can
not be more than SIS.
This line of inquiry as to the pretences OF
to-day N ght very proftably be carried into
almost every line of business. IL theatrical
patronage falls of, managers, in order TO
convey the expression that they are doing q
big business, making money and con tin uiDg
their popularity, paper their houses" That
is, they issue tickets for which no money is
paid, distributing them right and left with
lavish pr0dlgality. so that when Tommy
Jones goes with bis wife and daughter, hAv-
ing purchased in good faith his tickets, aud
6nds himself surrounded by a numerous
and enthusiastic audience, he says to him
self, This IL q popular house, this play meets
with public favor, the managers are doing
we'll and everything is prosperous" This
is sham. This 10 humbug. This is de
ceitful. The fact is the play doesn't draw,
and the managers are losing money.
About once year there is great hue and
cry made because Plymouth church rent.
its pc US for he ensuing year. Other church
es roll their eyes heavenward, and uplif
their hands, and oh, and ali, that they
wouldn't do such thing rs that To rem
their pews by auction-why. il is dreadful
Bot they beat the devil of acc ptancy around
the stump of svarice by selling their pewI