The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-24


rope" Such is the terrible charge
made by an American who has travel
| ed widely and seen much of the world
and of society. While the burden of
| proof rests with the Affirmative, we
can at least consider the indictment.
! To read the political billingsgate OF
! the campaign one would agree with the
| cynical American, manners have dis
| appeared. At the same time l am
| amused and edited by an extract from
| the Brooklyn Eagle. In speaking OF
the Manners of Campaign" it admits
! the various protruding weaknesses that
| offer a fine basis for decorative cpl
| thets. In spite of issues that put
| strain on courtesy the Eagle NAM
| tains that this campaign is distingu-
ished for amenity, and is not to be
mentioned in the same breath With the
blackguardism of the Blaine-Cleveland
campaign or the Northumberland
scurrility Such epithets as gold-bug,
boy-orator, popocrat, demipop, anar-
chists and regulators are merely
''hurtless'' The Eagle maintains that
| their fewness is seen by comparing
with other campaigns.
In spite of the hopeful Brooklyn Ea-
gle. 1 sometimes fancy that in America
manners have already gone out, espe-
| ciaIlv in our colleges for men, where II
ever we expect to find the genus gen.
tleman. | felt this most keenly IN
reading of the disgraceful scene at New
Haven when Bryan attempted 10 ad-
dress the gentlemen. L am no silver
democrat. but | am a most ardent be-
lever in courtesy and fairness, and
should nevermore be inclined to sing
..to good old Yale but for the fact that
many ''townies' were with the college
men, and may partly bear the blame
for the riotous occasion. In spite OF
Mother Yale's many excellenc1es she
evidently doesn't train her boys to
good manners, or else the dear old
lady has very little influence on their
boisterous spirits. There might pc
some hope for her if she had hundred
or more daughters in her nursery I'm
til she does I'll send my boys to row
in some other varsity crew.
It might be splendid thing to send
. our daughters to college even LOT the
sake of civilizing the men, their hypo-
, tbetical fellow-students. 1t might be
unfair to the girls, but it would not be
the first unfair condition girls have
met in life. and it might be healthful
tonic for the fainting politeness of the
men, If our college culture does not
produce gentlemen, where shall we
look? We need not ask that, for II
does produce men, true American gen
tlemen, than whom there are none finer
to be found in the world, as then
mothers and sisters and sWeethearts
and friends find by travelling to Other
countries. 1t seems to be in college
and in politics that you scratch the
man and find the roWdy. In other re-
lations of life Americans are not lack
ing in the kindness of heart tha'
prompts to courtesy, although they
NAV be lacking the finished manners o.
European courts. Let us not give Owe
training our boys and girls alike tt
universal good-humor and kindness
and tact, for everybody and on ever!
occasion.
In a recent Nineteenth Century yol
NAV read how gracefully the Earl o
Meeth takes up the challenge OF on
American in behalf of Great Britain
He thinks, certain circles excepted
there is more genuine courtesy to b.
found between man and man in Brit
ain than in France" He lays the blam
of the universal disfavor in which h
d admits Englishmen are regarded to Pc
litical jealousy of foreigners and to IN
dividual Englishmen, due to their In
science or to the ignorance OF the Gus
toms of the country where they ma.
chance to be. He winds up in splen
q did peroration that l cannot resist tax
ing entire.
- IF thoughtful people perceive tina
much is lost to mankind, cOllect1vel
and individually, by neglecting to stud
and to practice the little courteSleS @
life, then let them not by negligence
III and as it were, unbeknOwn to them
IN selves. permit these habits to pas
away without struggle to maintal
them. true gentleman is NATURAL
courteous-he could hardly be the re
verse if he tried; but in these day
when so many lay claim to the It'll
who possess few of the qualifications
n gentility, it may be well TO point OIL
y that a courteous manner is a qualit,
u which especially in the days of preseI
rudeness, possesses a distinctly con
merciaI value If British boys an
. girls were taught to subordinate sci
to respect their neighbors, and in mol
essentials not to run counter to the
prejudices, we should probably in
s. few years find that although for pol
teal reasons Great Britain might sti
maintain that splendid isolation
which we have heard so much, h
people were no longer disliked, b
by their politeness and urbanity hi
won the respect and friendship of TO
eigners, and had thereby increas'
the influence of their own countr
\ and taken the most effective steps
,. diminish the chances of information
misunderstanding.
What a motive for courtesy, what
responsibility for the patriot OF eve
w countryi SlBI L.
Miss Alice Fleming, a New 70
drummer who handles notions, is at I
Of business