The times., 1901-05-07
Avarice Here and Abroad

Avarice Here and Abroad.
Poultney Bigelow has been saying
4 things about the commercialism which
is rampant in this country, and seems
to be of the opinion that this is a ma
ton of money-lovers above all other
nations of the earth. Mr.. Bigelow may
be telling the unprejudiced truth, but
there are some small things which go
to show that he is at least partially
wrong.
1t is reported that in England the
slot machine" has been adapted to the
directory. The volume is held in a
/ closed position by the arms of the ma
| chine until the person wishing to con-
! suit it drops a penny in the slot; the
arms then relax. and it is possible to
! open the book and hold it open; but
/ when the reader lets go of the cover
ii is again shut by an automatic spring
In this country where a city boasts
a directory at all. it is to be consulted
at any drug store, and the druggist
never thinks of demanding pay for the
privilege. He is not obliged to pro-
vide himself with this appurtenance, or
TO keep il on view; but he does So
Moreover. real estate agents and others
in whose business a directory is use
full also accommodate the public in this
way.
In England, numberless little con-
veniences which are provided without
charge in this country by railway COM
panies, hotel keepers, and other people
in seni-public life have to be paid
for. The servant in the hotel, and even
in private house, is not paid wages
large enough to enable him to dispense
with fees. He is forced, if he would
live in comparative comfort, to calcu-
late the amount which guests are likely
TO bestOw upon him in the course of
month or year, and there is nothing
much more demoralizing than to be
obliged TO receive as a gratuity what
has been fairly earned by service. The
evils of the fleeing system, which is
comparatively new in this country,
have been 50 clearly seen as to call
forth indignant protests from many
American writer's, not because the sys-
TEN is expensive to the giver of the
fee, but because it is injurious TO the
self-respect Of the recipient
If English novels may be believed,
there are girls of fair education in
England in the position of governesses
and companions who receive something
like two hundred dollars a year for
their services, besides board and lodg-
ing, Of course. The average servant,
even when without training, in this
country, gets nearly as much as that
The question Of wages, of course, is
one Of economic rather than social con-
ditions: but the fact remains that in a
hundred different ways the English
man, or the traveller In England. or on
the Continent, is obliged to pay for lit
tie comforts and conveniences which
the American obtains without charge
There is in this country a tradition of
free living which makes the American,
as rule, averse to charging his guests
or his customers money for small serv-
ices or favors. 1t is not so very long
ago that traveller could stop at al
most any farmhouse occupied by a
well-to- do family and obtain lodging
for a night, without paying for it; and
the disuse Of this custom is probably
due TO the fact that with the increased
accessibility Of all parts Of the country,
even rural neighboThoods, hospitality
might easily be so abused that the
host would be bankrupt. In short, there
is in this country rather less of the
-blooded calculating spirit than in
England, or in most European coun-
tries. One does not find in American
novels the mother coolly estimating
the chances of her daughters marrying
wealth: in English novels nothing is
more common The fortune hunter in
this country is, as a rule, regarded with
weIl-merited contempt; in English So
ciety, If he be Of good social traditions
and a good fellow" ne is often CON
sidered a victim OF circumstances. The
American mas way Of talking about
money as if il were the most important
thing in the world to him, but in real
ity he is no more fond OF it than other
men. He prefers, however-the typical
American does-to earn that money By
his own brains and executive ability, or
inherit il from some grandfather who
earned it in that way, rather than to
cultivate his social graces and go hunt
ing some woman who is worth few
million dollars in her own right and
viii settle part Of her fortune on her
husband. Avarice is avarice all the
world over. but there is probably less
Of it in this country than elsewhere,
among all classes. Hatred of waste and
love Of comfort are not necessarily
signs Of a mean spirit; neither is keen
ness in business despicable in itself.