The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1901-05-09
Ohe South as a 2Ihole.

valor, from time immemorial. She
is utterly lacking in the independence
of her eastern and western sister;
owing perhaps to her lesser educa-
tional advantages. She is very con-
sentative; so much so, as to stand
perpetually on the verge of narrow
ness.
Some few. however, through travel
or receiving their education else
where escape, or at least, have the
edges of their conservatism worn off;
becomming at times thoroughly cos
mopolitan. But generally speaking,
conservatism is Rugged close to the
breast of the average southern
woman; while oyer it's aggressive
head she views fearfully and distrust-
fully all efforts made to wean it from
her.
The offensive type of men women
is rarely seen in the south-while the
woman in politics is thing unknown
To sum her up as whole would
be hard matter, the ultimate out
come being apt to appear incongru-
Gus; her merits and dement's seem
ing to tip the scale of popularity
proportionately All of which leads
up to what might well be called the
popular idiosyncrasy of the south;
with which men and women are alike
afflicted, namely, the matter of pedi-
gree.
Sir Overbury says, "The man who
has nothing to boast of but his IL
lustrious ancestors, is like the DO
tato--the only good belonging to
him is under ground" 1t is needless
to say Sir Overbury would be any
thing but popular in the south, for
there ones pedigree is as necessary
as ones dress suit case while travel
ing, and at home is generally hung
up in the parlor, the pedigree ]
mean, not the dress suit case.
There, social position is not q
matter. of dollars, but family. And
it is inconceivable to anyone but a
southerner the prestige which the
words. she belongs to one of the
first families of the State, or ''she
is an F. f. Y. (First Family OF
Virginia. girl, whispered around,
gives one.
All of which has a certain elevat-
ing effect on the listener, while subtle
envy creeps in sidiously through his
thoughts, leaving a sudden longing
for personal family tree, whereon
he may hang the bones Of his ances-
tors for the passing throng to view,-
admire or envy as the case might be;
until his fight of fancy is brought
to standstill by the urprepossess-
ing thought, that unless history is
untrue, most of the first families of
Virginia began with the shipping of
a shipload of servant girls from Eng
land; each coionist paying three
hundred pounds Of tobacco--the
amount requested for payment of her
passage-before he could marry her.
This point of view is apt to set him
speculating as to the aovisability of
striking up fast friendship with a
class Of people, on the chance that
some new world may be discovered
that will have to be peopled in the
same way; and the maidens on this
round of the social ladder may be
induced to do as the maidens from
England. And hundred years
hence their. descendants might be
pOin ting back to them as the begin
ming of numerous family ties. And
while there is none to rattle it's bones
over his own head, still his descen-
dants could point proudly back to
him as one who had been a warm
friend of the ancestors of some
future day.
This is a digressinon however, and
as Bill Nye said he went back over
his family tree until he came to a
cross tree, will drop the subject be-
fore the same fate overtakes the
writer.
The sum and substance of the
matter however, is this, pedigree is
the open sesame in the south; failing
which, one must have the wisdom of
Socrates combined with the philoso-
ply of Plato, TO be fully compensat-
ed. But then everything has its two
sides, the outside that is ridiculous
and the inside shat is solemn