The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-25
CONCERNING "J'lNERS."

New York Commercial Advertiser.
Every town has it's group of men
known as timers" They are the ami
able fellows with n craze for joining eN-
cry society that is formed They all be-
long to every secret, fraternal ana bene-
VIOLENT society in town. Each 'Jlner
has lodge meeting nearly every night.
The lodge is. outside of his family, the
great thing about life. Politics, religion,
society literature, sport, all are second
airy things to the lodge in the 'J'iners
mind. and it is a good thing that most of
OF the lodges require their members to
sit up nights with sick brethren and
contribute to the funeral expenses of
the dead. because II IL only In this way
that the confirmed "riner's" duties as a
citizen and member of society catch up
with him.
The "riner" is ordinarily feature of
the smaller communities, and fiourishes
most in the humble walks of life. But
he is spreading, and the craze for 'jin-
ing" is now rampant among the wealthy
and so-styled upper classesThe craze
has taken them In n different form. the
lodge of the Amalgamated Order of the
Grand Panjandrum and its compeers
have the avowed object of promoting
the mutual benefit of its members. But
the new brood Of "jiners" are too fine
for lodges like these. Their lodges must
be aristocratic. So they base them on
their ancestors. Societies of descendants
of participants in the revolution and co.
lonial wars, al of them started with the
respectable purpose of keeping up patri-
otic memories and diffusing acQuaint-
ance with American history, have been
made ridiculous by pretension and dis
play on the part of those who have trans
formed them into mutual admiration So
cieties. Grandfathcrs who wore home
spun and whose private life was the
simplest and most democratic would be
ostonished could they see the airs as
sumed by their descendants.
o
The fathers of the republic were for
the most part plain people. The revolu-
| tion was fought and won by the COM
mon people of the colonies. The 'beSt
| society" of the time was Tory. Except
Il few great families like the Schuylers
| in New York and the Randolphs in Vir-
| ginia, the names conspicuous in revolu-
| tionary history had been obscure all
| through colonial history. The way IN
| which their names are now used by
| ther descendants for their own glorifica-
| tion would strike them with amaZement.
! And the way in which the Sons, Daugh-
| ters, Danes and Queens are now squab-
bling over precedence would disgust
| them at the thought of their honorable
and unpretentious struggles being made
| material for such absurd childs play and
childish wrangling.
Still. with all the follies that attend
them, there is something to respect IN
any attempt to commemorate the work
| of ones ancestry for ones country. But
nothing so complimentary as this can
| be said of societies devoted to eXploita-
| tion of claims to descent from early Eng
! lish kings and barons. Such claims OF
| descent are usually frivolous guess
| work. Except where his family has bcen
| in continuous possession of a country
! seat or an hereditary title, not one Eng
! lishman in Il hundred can trace his an
| cestry three hundred years back. OF
| Americans who are forming societies on
every hand to advertise themselves as
| descendants of thirteenth century barons
| or sixth century kings, not one in a hun
| dred can trace his ancestry one genera
| ton back from the first American settler
! OF his name. Nothing is easier to buy
! than a genealogical tree. Scores of Lon
! don dealers in family trees will sell any
| American who has the price q genea-
/ logical tree connecting him with any
/ family he chooses. Societies based on
such genealogies can depend on one
| thing. they will excite more ridlcule
/ abroad than even at home. Their value
! is better known where they are made 10
/ order for the export trade.