The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-15
NEWPORT ARIST0CRACY.
A Comparison of that brand with
AristOtIe's Idea.

The independent.
A fine old aristocrat, who has never been
anything else, and whose forbears have
not been anything else for a millennium or
so. mas some of the attractive qualities
of an ancient vintage or of exceptionally
ripe old cheese. Brand new aristocrats are
not pleasing They still smell of machine
oil and paint. Would-be aristocrats who
have a measure Of blue blood in their veins.
but who are doomed 80 live in a democratic
society, are in no wise attractive. but they
are unobjectionable when they don't talk
too much. When they talk they get fool
ish.
We don't know whether Mrs. Stuyvesant
Fish really said 10 St. Louis reporter the
other day the silly things that the news
papers attributed to her. and so far as the
public is concerned, it doesn't matter. We
have all of US heard the would-be aristocrat
attributed to Mrs. Fish viii therefore serve
well enough as pronouncement or the
woud-be aristocratic views or American
cate remark that Mrs. Roosevelt dresses
on $500 a year, and she looks it,. We
should be sorry to believe that many Amer
lean citizens are capable OF making such
comments upon the wife of the President.
We see no reason for enlarging on
the assurance that Harry Lehr never
home in Newport. We're gao 10 know thsf
he didn't, and are willing to let the affair
go at that.
The opinion upon which we have word
or two TO say relates 10 alleged neces-
sfty, or inevitableness. of class distinctions
1t is true that Europe is older and per-
haps more worldly wise than America.
and that Europeans have not eliminated
class distinctions: but IL has hitherto been
the boast of loyal Americans that they
were working out national life on this
continent which was an advance beyond
European systems in this particular re-
spect. We have abolished class distinc-
the body of law brought by the colonists
from Europe. At the polls and before
the law we have made men equal. To a
great extent We have hitherto succeeded
in maintaining in most parts of our coun-
try an approximate equality In social in
tercourse. Whether BY inevitable neces-
appearing, in consequence of our later In
dustria revolution. with the astounding
disparity of economic condition that it
has created. Any aristocracy OF blood that
existed here has long since been Ievsled.
and IL the wouid-be aristocrats are TO have
satisfaction on their dreams they will have
10 find IL in the Grass inequality or a bru-
tally materialistic money power. We sus-
pect that true blue blood, to the manner or
aristocracy born, would about as soon eat
with polite negro as with some OF the
more recent arrivals on upper Fifth ave-
nue. or the Ocean drive.
But 10 return TO the fundamental oues-
ZION, VIII tnere OF necessity be two class
es-the aristocrscy and tbs common peo-
ple? Is il q mistake, and even dangerous
10 be toe domestic?" And must We admit
that people are not equal anyway
There was once wise and worldly wise
gentleman named Aristotle, who defended
the thesis that aristocracy il the best form
of society, and that all civilization rests on
slavery Aristotle associated with very we'll
born people in his day, and was the COM
panion and tutor of a youth who In later
years became known as Alexander the Great
he nrp lf1d ha AFfG 10 r.rf
speak or write without reflection, and we
think IL might interest ladies like Mrs
Stuyvesant Fish to know just what he
meant by arist0cracy and by slavery. Boiled
down To brief and simple expression. his
philosophy was that any slavery which is
created by the brutal power of the strong 10
subJusate the weak is an abhorrent thing.
but that some men and women are slaves
by nature. They would rather be lackeys
to the great than to lead self-respecting, In
dependent lives In obscurity or poverty In
like manner the aristocracy that is born OF
mere wealth or power Is spurious article.
which levels the pride Of nations by reduce
ing them to vulgar vice and imbecilfy. The
only true arissocracy is that Of those great
souls who are aristocrets by nature. the
men and women OF noble ideals, of civic
courage. OF fortitude in days of trouble: the
men and women OF thought of moral power
of beauty of spirit. Happy, indeed. in Aris-
totes view, Is the state I'm which these aris-
tocrats by nature hold sway. and in which
the groveling ones who are slaves by nature
are relesated To their proper place.
We suspect that Aristotle and Mrs. Stuy-
vesant Fish are both right. People are not
equal anyway" Law and institutions can
| not make arstocrats by nature out OF men
| who spend their days I'm bribing legislatures.
| and. In their lust of wealth. Squeezing the
uttermost service out OF human flesh and
| blood; out OF women whose thoughts ha-
| bitually rise TO the level OF such questions
as the annual expenditure for the clothes OF
| the Presidents wife. Nor the fairsst
| traditions of a self-respecting republic pre-
vent the semi-public sale on the matrimonial
| auction block Of assorted lots Of slaves, By
nature. in q society where IL becomes neces-
| sary for distinguished leader of an exclu-
| sive set TO deny I'm the public prints the
| giving of "a monkey dinner at her house.