The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-06-27
No. 20

Arena, Boston, July, 1891, said: ''The
American snob is a type, at once the
most anomalous and the most vulgar.
Why he is anomalous need not be ex-
planned, but the essence of his vuIgarity
! lies IN the entire absence of q sanction
ing background. 1t is not, when all
is said, so strange a matter that any
one reared in an atmosphere of histori-
cal, ceremonial and precedent should
betray an inherent leaning towards
shams and vanities; but if there isany-
thing that we Americans, as a race,
are forever wholly extoIling, it is our
immunity from all such drawbacks
And yet, will venture to state, that
in every large city Of our land plutoc
racy and snobbery reign as twin evils,
while in every smaller town, from
Salem to some Pacific slope settlement,
the beginnings Of the same social curse
are manifest.
To prove the truthfulness of Mr..
Faucets statement, one need but look
about him. Among his immediate
neighbors he will find that money caste
pervades the social atmosphere. And,
especially is this true if he lives in
town or city. Would it be presumpt-
uous to inquire: Are we morally and
Intellectually degenerating3 Let us
see. A few years previous the man
with good, clean moral character was
eligible to enter any society. Parents
delighted to have him associate with
their daughter, and were not averse
to having him WOO her affections.
Money was a secondary consideration.
Is that the case at present? I fear not.
Again, in the past intellectually was
the same which opened the doors of
social equality and made the possessor
welcomed into any society. Be his
parentage ever so humble, and his
financial standing the lowest, he was
honored and sought after for his wealth
of knowledge. The intelligent, we'll
read man knew no peer in the social
world. But, can that be said of him,
or of society to-day9 Be it said to
America g shame, no. 'Tis wealth that
now breaks down social barriers, and
gives a man ingress into the homes and
hearts of all classes. Give the moral
prostitute or the polished ignoramus
few thousand dollars and he will not
lack for social recognition. This state
ment no observant man will dare deny.
Another feature of our degeneracy, as
| n oil Sny h. Il neo
ence paid the moneyed man by the
masses. The middle class q mean that
class who have merely sufficient in
come to permit their living comfort
able without manual labor toady to
the plutocrat in their endeavor to curry
favor like the heather whelp licks his
masters hand. This tendency to boot
lick also prevails largely among our
laboring masses. Men who boast of
their sovereignty and of their liberty
and manhood bow humbly in the pres
ence of wealth, whether the possessor
has an iota Of noble prin cipIes or edu-
cational qualifications to commend him
to their homage.
LILO C4NA CA4 AVOOA4S OA4CSV w SocsL44ECAVAO4
which should be free from all manner
of caste, is not exempt from this con
taminating, cringing and servile toady-
ing to the wealthy man. In this day
we find houses dedicated to God where
the humble laborer in his plain and un-
ostentatious garb of jeans, but with
heart filled with love to his Maker, is
rudely jostled to one side, and plainly
made to feel his presence is not desired.
And this, too, by men who stand high
in the church, and are considered
pious pillars of religion by those who
know, them only on the Sabbath day.
When we have considered the above
thoughts, the questions, and very prac-
tical questions, too, which very natur-
ally present themselves are: What is
this caste of wealth leading US to and
how can it be remedied?
r. PENsTOCK.
FROM CRAVEN COUNTY,