The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-04

Have they triad to bunco you since you
came to New York;
"No"
"Or sell you green goods"
mo"
Have you been sandbagged?'
"NS"
"Nor any attempt made to rob you
swindle you or take your life?'
mo attempt whatever
Then shake" said he, brother in mis-
fortune"
What do you mean?" said l.
al mean" said he, that l have had
the same unfattering experience. Not
withstanding that I came North fun of
buoyant expectation and equipped with
all precautionary knowledge, the bunco
steerer, the green goods man. the sand
Dagger and the homicider have contemp-
tuously passed me by. They consider both
of us not worth while"
| confess that l had not looked upon
my escape in this pride wounding light
before And though l have since sedu-
lously sought opportunities for re-estao-
fishing my self-esteem ] have miserably
failed and for the sake of my self-res-
poet would like to conclude that America
in general and New York in particular
are not the gardens of dishonesty and vio-
lence that perfervid patriots would fain
make the awed outside world believe.
The bunco steerer and the green goods
man who spins his web in Hoboken and
invites the unwary farmer to walk into
it. with his carpet bag, are as distinctly
American products as the American wo-
A. Vn.-Ir NO o
far from proving the clever dishonesty of
Americans, these gentlemen only expose
the primitive implicty-stupidity, l had
almost said-of Americans. Successful
bunco steerers have repeatedly gone over
to push their fortune in the old world,
and have invariably come back, broken
and beggared. Oh the old world!'
said one of these; they're no use over
there-too slow for anything. If a million
aire at twenty went over and baited
trap the knaves are so COMPOUNDED slow
that he'd be a graybear ded beggar when
the first farmer walked into it. America
for me, where all men are eQual-the hon.
est and the dishonest"
There is more honesty and more dishon-
esty in America than any other country
the sun shines on to-day. Despite moral
conditions that are peculiarly favorable
10 the multiplication of politicians and the
thousand and one other species of pick
pockets, the average American, outside
business hours, is IN estimably honest per
son. Old world conception of the Yam
kee'' have been formed from observations
made upon the clever" class, which,
though il is certainly an American type,
Is far from representing the true average
American. Having formed my ideas of
Americans entirely from books and traV-
elers' tales, l was, on coming here, most
pleasantly disappointed 10 find my pre-
conceived notions utterly falSified. While
hara a nnmhPr of distinct types
not to be found elsewhere / discover that
the great bulk of people differ from the
commercial peoples on the other side of
the water only in being less formal and
ostentatious, kinder franker. more direct,
more natural Both in social relations ana
generally in business relations, the broth
erhood of man, its rights and its duties,
are tacitly acknowledged TO IN extent that
is striking and pleasing 10 a foreigner
AS there is In the States class of BRAIN
less bodies who very dearly love a lord,
there is a general impression abroad in
the Far World that the American cry OF
democratic equality and Independence is
so much rant. But, though those addle-
pated few who are apers and tuft hunters
some how manage 10 loom large over the
horizon of the eastern hemisphere no one
can remain long in America without be-
ing impressed with the fact that in no old
country is personality so signaly unaf-
fected by purse station. American
democracy iS-perhaps from necessity
possessed of an aggressive souE Though
ii has all the marks and tokens of true
democracy il is evident TO thinker that
il is democracy in It's teething, and is
petulant and irritable. Just YET ii has
only got so far as to proclaim TO the
world. I'm as good as my neighbour i'm
agining child-like that this is the per-
fected creed. BY and by, when il Will
have been weaned, it will have strength
and a philosophy 20 recast the creed, pro-
claiming My neighbor is as good as me.
Yet, even to-day, IL acknowledges this rat
ter in a sort of impulsive way, though IL
has not put il into words. Il has given me
genuine pleasure 10 hear at night, during
election and other times, street corner
orators air their views and denounce in no
measured terms his opponents while the
crowd encircling him, though holding dl-
rectly opposite opinions, listened deferen-
tally, or argued with him respectfully and
earnestly and with-What seemed to me,
almost-criminal negligence, never once
making use of two old and effective arSu-
ments-brckbats and ridlcule. Az first IL
used to strike me that this was carrying
democratic ideas TO a dangerous extrem-
ity. but soon came to see that 1t was the
development of the gentleman in the work
ingman of America, which is the founda-
ton of the man.
And in the American there is a deal of
the gentleman-the natural and only gem
tleman l, of course, mean-for he is la
mentally deficient in almost all the es-
sentials of, say an English gentleman
20 wit the sickly smile. the cane, the eye
glass, the haw! hawl and che drawl. The
American, indeed lacks most of the ar
tihcial manners which stamp the gentle
man in England. He has the i'll manners
10 act and speak as his feelings prompt.
provided there be nothing hurtful in the
action or the word. Also. whereas an
Engiishman will treat you with cold for
mality until your worth forces itself on
him, the American will meet and greet
you as a friend until you have shown un-
worthiness. Woman is the best touch
stone with which, to test a gentleman, and
Americans stand this test we'll In such a
large, brusque, practical nation, che defer
ence shown to women Is remarkable
still more remarkable when We see this
difference granted regardless of station
TO the humblest and by the humblest. II
was particularly pleasing to me to see in