Wichita eagle., 1889-03-23
WHO rs RESPONSIBLE?
An Attempt to Fix the Response.
bility for the American Dude.
A Student of Social Topics Exonerato0
Fathers and Mothers and Ventures to
Eurl a Terrible Accusation at tho
Giddy Girls of the Period.

In the whole galaxy of mortal perpien.
ties there is none more perpleXlng than
that Of fixing the responsibility for the
dude, says Munsey's Weekly.
Tne creature exists in every land, with
the possible exception Of England, where
those who would be dudes if they were per-
mitted to, go into the army. There is no
such leisure class in England as there is In
this country To be sure, there are Dukes and
MarQuises and Barons and Lords, but these
men are not dudes, because they have du-
ties to perform, which l admit the Amerl-
can dude has not. They represent an idea,
which the American dude does not. They
are part Of a systematic American dude is
a part of disorder, he represents chaos IN
its completest form, he is a confused con-
glomeration of trousers, flesh, crayats,
blood, bone and shirt collar; purposeless,
incapable of thought, his life one hopeless
round Of tailors' bills, cocktails and Gig
arettes.
Who is responsible for him?
I have heard it said that his father is re-
sponsible for him, but it has always seemed
to NE that tins is not a just assertion Prl-
marily responsible for him, no doubt, is the
father of the dude, yet in these days when
the struggle for existence is so fierce
fight, when even death itself entails an ex-
pense so great that it deters the man Of
moderate means from committing suicide,
when the cost Of Twin G seems oyerwhelm-
ing, what opportunity is there for the
father to direct his son in the proper path
toward the goal of mediocrity which must
now be regarded as the limit of the dudes
capacityl How can the father in these
days, when decent poverty is the lot of him
who but ten years ago would have been ac-
counted wealthy, spare a moment Of his
time to see that his boy is cast in the mold
of manhood? Is it not too much for the
parent to devote time to the education Of
his son when time is so valuable COM
modity-does not the father, indeed, do all
that can be expected Of him when he al
lows the boy $4,000 year on which to
bring himself up2
No The father must not be blamed for
the dude. If he does not give his personal
attention, he gives him its cash equivalent
and his conscience is clear.
Others say the mother is responsible for
the dude.
[ am loath to believe this.
The shoulders of the mother must not he
overburdened by sol great a responsibility az
this. How can an observing person who
knows the ways of the mother of the dude
reach so absurd a conclusion2 Is it not clear
to all men of experience that the dudes
mother Is quite as busy, and as hopelessly
busy, too, as the dudes father. When We
consider the ceaseless round of social duties
that devolve upon this beautiful matroL,
when we think of all the calls to be made,
the receptions to be given and attended, the
teas, the cotilions, the theater parties to be
engineered, the parties of young people to
be chaperoned, the balls to be patronized,
the amateur theatricals to be supervised,
the number Of establishments, town house,
country house, mountain lodge, shooting
box, not to mention the yachts and house
boats to be looked after, how can we, say.
when we consider all these things, add to
the weight upon the maternal shoulders by
making her responsible for the idiosyn-
crasies of her soni Her horses must be
exercised in the afternoon, her opera box
must be occupied at night, her dress maker
must be seen IN the early morn-surely the
mother has not moment to devote to the
adolescent dude, and how can she be held
responsible for HIM when she has nothing
to do with him?
Again the tn eorists ore fallible The
mother, no more than the father, is re-
sponsible for this curious freak of nature.
This leaves but two possibly responsible
persons to be considered-the dudes nurse,
or the girl of the period. The nurse is
quickly disposed of, because, after attaining
his majority, the average dude has no use
for nurse. He breaks away from her,
hires valet, on whom no responsibility de-
wolves further than that of keeping the
dust out OF his masters wardrobe and see
ing that his shoes are removed when he
goes to bed In the early morning. The
nurse must be absolved of possibility
so we come TO the proper solution Of the
problem. The girl of the period is respon-
sl5ie for the dude. This conclusion may
not be disputed, for it can not be denied
that If the girl Of the period were TO insist
upon something better than small talk,
were to dlscouutenance the cigarette school
OF philosophy upon which are based so
many OF Dir. Edgar Saltus' alleged studies
Of society, were 20 insist upon higher idea
Of life than that which holds as its aim the
running up Of tailors' bills and the sucking
o. cane handles IN club windows, If indeed !
the modern girl, whom we all love in spite
Of her faults, were 20 discourage the dude I
IN his chaotic iaanity AID refuse TO uphold !
him longer, deserving him for the man of 4
true ideals, of lofty ambition, OF brains, the 1
Jude would no longer exist. for the instinct 1
# self preservation would lead hin to XII /
himself of
This is no doubt psradoxical
1t is none the less true