The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-03-13

Special Correspondenos Of Ths euntsy Ks7u5Ao
New York. Marc n~-Bverybody knows
The SpoonerS" who ara rapidly beconn-
ing prominent in this city. although their
names do not appear IN the Social Reg
lister nor yet in the society columns Of
the n~ewspaps-A
Much is said about thsm. however, IN
the divorce courts. and occasionally IN the
police tribunal7 when they try to take
chandeliers and t~ureens, instead OF rust
ordinary spoons. knives and forks and the
more portable articles which adorn their
restaurant feasts.
Their ancestors may have bean hung for
the theft Of sheep. but for that matter
persons Of the most respectable sntece-
dents have had forbears who were line
ally descended from Q giboet.
The Spoone-s take things as Rouvenfrs
primarily because they are Q cheap and
vulgar tribe. and consider that no property
rights ara vested in umbrellsS spoons and
marital happiness.
RANK BooMs OF PROSPERITY.
Conditions which ave attended an era
of prosperity are responsible for the In
lux of the SpoonerE
Most Of the male members were UNDER
paid clerks small operators in coal and
iron. Speculators. promoters. who have,
through the rapid changes In industrial
and financial conditions. been borne into
the metropolis
They have suddenly discovered that they
have more money han they ever had be-
fore in all their lives. and they have no
senas To realize that they have more than
is good for them
Thg. A-sAA a. -A1NAf-- 49,
Lcrsehold consists IN most cases Of a two
room and bath apartment In one Of the
Eide-street family hotels; often Of two or
three rooms in q clearinghouse or 4
fiat where housekeeping II reduced to the
minimum
The Spoon@s who figured recently 20
pror-fuently In thu courts had an abode
which represented their first serious at
tempt at housekeeping In their decade Of
married Life.
Of what avail 10 Il 70 have q IiShs and
hide 1t under q busheI. or to fare down.
town in the interior Of one Of those IL
gantic wheeled beetles which man call
coaches?
Mrs. Spooner puts on her white opera
cloak and her big hat with the pale-biue
eSo'- WSOPAAb ONCE IL ana lno Wllto
feather Boa that she may be aeen of men.
and that she may Eiorify her husband,
who Is well able to pay the cost of her
apparel.
1t 10 one OF the Joys of her day to drag
her inery about the dusty car with Billy
Spooner in dress suit and opera crush hat
following in her shimmartng wake.
30 the spooners 20 downtown. the wom-
en- gigEftng n rustling their Eowns and
furbelows. the men moody and uncom-
municatiye-fcr 1t 10 not yet cocktail time.
Arrived at the restaurant, the real life
Of The Spooners begins. Here In the gilt
ter and glare Is where they delight to be
Tn rattle Of dishes il to them the sweet
est minstrelsy. and the thrummery of the
orchestra Is music sweet to their ears
Others may talk Of Arden. but for the
Spooners there Is no greater joy than to
sit at their favorite table in the public
restaurant, there TO eat more than they
can afford and to drink more than is good
for sober senses. while they watch Spoon
erdom sip cocktails and Haunt their fimsy
robes and display their shallow cut dia-
monds.
HOW THEY DO IT.
How Il 1t. you inquire, that the family
can afford to p~atronize tina fashionable
restaurants. the ornate lobster palaces, the
hotels where onyx and malachits ara light
ed with the glowing hlaments of electric
orbs?
The spooners are not wealthy, and one
may hardly even call them parvenuA. The
average spoonar income is from $500 to
$1,000 q year, and the restaurant htlla are
mere than half of their expenses. h
greater part Of their EARRINGS goes for the
evening gaztronemic dress parade.
SpooneFs spend little or nothing on rent,
breakfast on the simplest fare, end they
have dairy ~luroheons. They concentrate
all their money and energies for the flag
end OF the day.
Books and magazines they have none;
the silver and the gold Of the intellect they
despise; culture is sealed to all the tribes.
Having no resources within themselvea.
they seek to and what pleasure they may
in nitting from restaurant to hotel In pur-
suit OF the means to drive away the ennui
which comes from knowing nothing ex-
cept the prices Of Holsters and the plat du
Jour Of b restaurants.