The Irish standard., 1898-03-19
AMERICA FREELY CRITICISED.
Education Is More Widespread
Than in Europe,
LESS OF PROFOUND LEARNING.
Yet the Country Produces the
Best Civilization.

Henry Sienkiewicz. the author Of
Quo Vadis," published in Russia the
following criticism OF Americans after
his six months tour Of the United
States:
To IL newly arrived European, Amer
lean manners appear barharous, rough
and unpublished. Our first experience Of
them occurred when two custom house
officers boarded our 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 rs to
whether they had any dutinble goods or
| not. When our turn came the rascal
handed IL slip to my companion and
| asked his name.
My name is so-and-so." answered my
| friend. WHAT" shouted the rascal,
| laughing. observation-disclosures" The
| AD.Ui 'cans present began to laugh rude
| ly. This would never happen in any
civilized country. We were both very
angry. What are these uncivilized
animals grinning nt?" asked my friend
| In French. Some Americans under
standing these remarks, were ashamed
| and scolded their countrymen. My
! friend turned to one of them, and point
at M, nj
| asked:
What is the name of thai man?'
I Your Nance" the American shouted at
| him. "'rhrysclcy," he answered, or
something like that. What Il name"
exclaimed my friend. turning the tables
on him 'lf they gave a name like that
to II cat in Europe the poor creature
would howl for three days" Good for
you!" shouted the bystandcrs, very
much pleased at this rctort.
| Aftcrwnrd n dgnicd gentleman
came to us and said that If We liked he
would have the rllllinn dismissed through
the influence of his friends We de-
clincd to avail ourselves of this offer,
! but expressed establishment that in Il
country which boasts of it's civilization
the public officials should behave in
such a way.
| A custom house officer came to us and
proposed to open our trunks. We got
rid Of him by putting Il few dollars in
his hand, as we saw other people doing
The free American citizen not only nc-
| l,,;I,
trunks into Il cab.
Ono could pardon the Americans the.
democratic simplicity of their law
courts If they were upright But Amer
leans themselves agree that there are
no 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 education of future generations, and
in counterncting the idea generally held
in America, that money alone consti-
tutcs the value of II man. and that his
only aim should be material comfort
| must be just and state that Americans
have appreciated this, and therefore
they have entrusted to women the cdll-
cation of their youth, influences her
pupils in the same direction. There are
! things to be said In favor of the Amer
lean system of government. In certain
| European countries there are demo-
cratic institutions-in France and Eng
lnnd for instance, but there 1t is Il po-
liticul democracy, and it exists only in
| In, h,,nr if
merely political institution, but an
| institution based on customs and man.
ncrs. 1t exists not only in theory hut
In practice. Here the people of all
classes are really equal. They live to-
gcthcr, belong to the same society, sit at
the same table; in n 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
Superficial education is more vide
spread in America, but there is less pro-
found learning than in Europe. In the
old world, although they recognize the
| necessity of education In the lower class
es, the principal attention is concen-
trated not on the elementary schools,
| but on the universities, which are mac
cessible 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 mental
development of the people that social
| equality is absolutely impossible.
IN :E!erica It is quite different. The