Arizona silver belt., 1896-12-17
IN ENGLISH SOCIETY.
The Key That Opens the Doors of
 she Very Elect.
Men Who Have Nothing Bat Money to BoAAf Of 9aiu Access to the Charmed Circle of the Highest In
 the Land.

The charge made against American society that it is based upon the wor- ship of money has been so often re- peated and insisted on that we our selves have almost come to believe IL. The fact that it is not true. either as n general proposition or in detail, has not sufiiced to offset the weight of au- thority, which is on the side of our ac. cusers. The charge has gone so far that we should probably have entered a plea of guilty and thrown ourselves on the mercy of the court if recent eH. periences had not led us to pause and consider.
 These experiences, briefly stated, arc, first that the nation which is most urgent in representing us as money wor- shipers has recently made itself most conspicuous in the devoutucss of its worship of the American dollar, and. second, that the condition of society in which distinction is based on money oags and which does not prevail in this country does most undoubtedly prevail among our censoricus and superior cousins m kngianQ.
 It is not true that mere millions, with. out breeding and refinement, can rnahc their way into the leading social circles of New York or of any other great city in this country. It is quite true that mere millions, ,unaccompaniedb by breed 'ng or refinement, have given their pos .essors the entree of society in Eng land. Two conspicuous recent in- stances are those of Col. North, the nitrate king" and Barney" Barnato, the "Kafilr king"
 Itis doing no injustice to Col. North to say that he has absolutely no other claim to notice than his millions. As n recent candidate for parliament he made himself the laughing stock of the nation by his exposure of his ignorance, bad grammar md general vulgarity. Yet he has reached the highest level of social distinction in England. In com mon with celebrities from this coun- try, he is "a friend of the prince of Wales"
 The case of Mir. Barnato, the KafIir king, is even more striking. It is proof that money, and nothing but money, is the sole condition of passing the portals of high life in England. Mir. Barnato's early history is enveloped n mystery. When he first appeared in opulent eminenee it was said that his start in life was made as a clown ia an exceedingly modest circus tent. The myth has since been explained by his admirers as arising from his fondness for private theatricals, this form of
 mrsement having been much in vogue in the diar:ond drifts and gold digg:ngs of South Africa. What is known about lim Is that he has made sudden for tune, variously estimated at from S5o,-
 oo,0Oo to s5oo,ooo,O0 Among hia quoted sayings are his boast that he
 will stand any man Q drink, but will lend no man Aver" and his advice to always have the first hit" These niaxims sufficiently indicate the social rank in which MT. Barnato ought to be found. and which he would probably continue to flourish if he were an Amer iean. Here his place would be with others as flliterate, as ignorant and as vulgar as himself. But in England he s financial and social lion. Society nc cepts not only his tips and his pre- nliums, but his presence. Personages of the highest distinction are not above paying him obsequious homage, and he s perhaps a more notable social light han the young duke who has recentl- in another way the sim 'erity of British criticisms upon Ameri. 'an money.worship.-Harper's Weekly.