The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-09
CRITICISM OF
AMERICA
AUTHOR OF "QUO vADIs" POINTS
OUT OUR FAULTS.
OsbservatiOms After q Six Months Wis.,
the World, the Most Overdressed
Women, but Altogether the Best
Civilization.

Auo 1OIOWlnB CI1tlClSm OF American men,
women. manners and morals was printed in
Russia just after Henry sienkiewicz. the
author of Quo Vadis." made his six
months tour Of the United States. He
says:
BARBAROUS AND UNPUBLISHED.
10 newly arrived European, American
manners appear barbarous. rough and I'M
pollshed. Our first experience Of them oc
CURED when two custom house officers
boarded cur ship. Both looked like highway
| robbers. their clothes shabby, their linen
dirty, their hats half broken. The younger
one looked SO rascally that l would not
have trusted him with ten cents. These
gentlemen came into the saloon to take
the declarations of the passengers as to
Whether they had any dutlaDle goods or not.
When our turn came the rascal handed a
slip to my companion and asked his name.
| MY name Is so-and-so," answered my
| friend. WHAT" shouted the rascal, laugh
| Ing. Tschchapischouski?" The Americans
present began to laugh rudely. This would
| never happen in any civilized country. We
| were both very angry. What are these
| unclvllized animals grinning at?' asked my
| friend In French Some Americans, I'M
| outstanding these remarks were ashamed
| ana scolded their countrymen. My friend
| turned to one Of them, and pointing his
| finger at the confused rascal, asked:
What is the name of that MANI Your
| name?" the American shouted at him.
| 'Ihryseley,' he answered. something
| like that. What name!' exclaimed my
| friend, turning the tables on him. IF they
| gave name like that to cat in Europe
| the poor creature would howl for three
| days.. Good for you!' shouted the by
| ISLANDERS, very much pleased at this retort.
Afterward dignified gentleman came to
| us and said that if we liked he would
have the ruffian dismissed through the in
! huence of his friends. We declined to avail
! ourselves of this offer, but expressed as
I hot In
i OF Its civilization the public officials should
! behave in such a way.
! OUR COURTS AND POLITICS.
| l found corruption In the public service
| as soon as l landed in America. When we
| left the steamship we entered a long wood
| en- building in which they searched the
| trunks.
"A custom house officer came to and
| proposed to open trunks. We got rid
| Of him by putting a few dollars in his
| hand, as we saw other people doing. The
| free American citizen not only accepted
| the bride, but helped to put our trunks
| into u cab
! One could pardon the Americans the
| democratic simplicity of their law courts
if they were upright. But Americans them
| selves agree that there worse
| thieves than their judges.
The salvation of the republic lies not in
| changing the institutions of the country,
! but in the radical reform of the edusation
| VI future generations, ana IN cOunteract-
| ing the idea generally held in America
| that money alone constitutes the value of
| q man, and that his only aim should be
| material comfort. l must be just and state
| that Americans have appreciated this and
| therefore they have entrusted to women
| the education of their youth, influences her
| pupils in the same direction There are
things to be said in favor of the American
! system Of government. In certain European
| countries there are democratic institu-
! tions-in France and England for instance,
but there 1T is political democracy, and it
| exists only in theory. In America DEM
| ocracy is not merely political institution
| but institution based on customs and
| manners. 1t exists not only in theory
| but in practice. Here the people of all
classes are really equal. They live to-
gether, belong to the same society, sit
| at the same table; in word, they do not
| occupy different steps of the ladder, be-
cause there is here neither ladder nor
| steps, but only one dead level, in which
| there is no standing place higher than
another.
| The European division into common
| people and gentlemen does not exist
| here. The principal causes of social equal
| ity are: l. Respect for any kind of work
| 2. Lack Of great difference in education.
| 3. Lack of great difference in manner
NO DEEP LEARNING.
| Superficial education is more widespread
| in America, but there is less profound
| learning than in Europe. In the Old World.
| although they recognize the necessity Of
| education in the lower classes, the prin-
| cipal attention is concentrated not on the
| elementary schools, but on the universe
ties, which are inaccessible to the majority
| of the people; in other words, the state
| proposes not to educate the whole nation,
but only the higher and intelligent classes.
| This produces such differences in the men,
| tai development of the people that social
| equality is absolutely impossible.
| In America it is quite different. The aim
OF the school is not so much Tearing as
| enightment. There are higher colleges
| but public attention is principally di-
| rected to the elementary schools, in which
| the whole nation studies. Therefore, one
| may say that learning Is lower in the Uni
! ted States than in Europe, but enlighten-
| ment and education are great deal
| higher. 1t should be added that the
| bounds of elementary education much
! wider here than in Europe The element
| airy school does not only teach how to
| read and write, but every American learns
| there certain amount of mathematics
| geography, natural science and political
| economy. The further care of his edu-
| cation is left to newspapers and social ex-
| perience. There is in America no such
! ignorant man as the European peasant
| Here with any farmer workman one
| can talk about different forms of govern
| ment about foreign politics. about differ
| ent kinds Of money, and about everything
! except art and literature. He has read
| about all these things in the newspapers
! and has heard thousands of speeches. Re-
| publican and Democratic, in which they
have been explained to him from every
| point Of view. His views will not be deep
but he will never show an absolute ig-
| nOrance.
Elementary education Is almost exclu-
sively in women's hands This tends to-
| ward the softening of the naturally rough
| American manners. A man teacher can
| not have the same refining influence as a
refined and well bred woman, whose pres
| ence checks the violence of the half saw
| age boys. This is all the more effective by
| reason of the great respect which Is paid
| to women here In fact, as far as her in
| fuence or manners goes, the profession of
| the woman teacher is a true mission of
| civilization. In the toughest neighborhoods
| there is q. school to which the inha bit ants
| are obliged to send their children. Innu-
| merable Geographic wires bring here the
| news from all over the world. Very often
| American newspapers have better news
| about European questions Of Importance
| than the European newspapers themselves.
| A whole army of reporters, well paid and
| scattered all over the world are watching
| with unceasing vigilance, and no news can
! escape them
| NOT AS INTELLIGENT AS EUROPEANS
| There is one general mistake made in
| Europe about the position of women in
| America. They believed that there is no
| country where woman's emancipation is
more fully realized than in the United
| 0fofn 7 We hot yn1r1d