The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-11-19
wnsTnRN AMERIOANs AT HOME.
A New zeaIandsr's Observations on Amer
lean Life.

AAAAcS ahN VIC kcHEOuuc6 Nn6 0EtICA'
as interesting to Americans becaus,
Il gives an opportunity to "see our
selves as others see U.S.
sit doesn't take one long aftel
getting into the United States Of
America to find the reason why the
country is so we'll known and SC
much thought Of throughout the rest
~of the world, Every one of the
seventy millions Of its population is,
figuratively speaking, standing on his
house-top yelling: We are the
people, the salt of the earth. We
have the freest, biggest and richest
country in the world, in fact, we are
the world Americans scattered
over the rest Of the world are doing
the same, and the whole thing is lust
matter Of advertising the country
and themselves. One cannot blame
the mass Of the people; they have
been told these things so often that
they have come TO believe them. The
newspapers are never done declaring
that the American is the freest.
noblest, smartest, weaIthiest, most
progressive, and generally the finest
all-round man that ever breathed,
and the parsons and politicians re-
peat this and more. Small wonder,
then, II the average American looks
on the world as being made up of the
United States, Cuba, the Philippines.
and a few minor countries. He
honestly thinks that Uncle Sam can
out-trade the world, and il ii comes
to fight he could let 'em all come
and still be top dog. Gods country
Is bis pet name for his native land.
The two presiding powers in the
universe today are, to the Americans,
President Roosevelt and God, in that
order.
The poor visitor has time of it.
as be is expected to see eye to eve
with the native, and be be ever so
well-informed, he has to agree to the
foregoing sentiments, or look out for
squalls. 1t isn't at all Objectionable
to see man self-satished, but when
he wants others to be satisfied with
him, its a different matter. The
country is undoubtedly a glorious
one, both in its size and its re-
sources, but the American didn't. as
be seems to imply, have the making
Of it.
The western American, as / have
fonud him, is as a rule ignorant Of
the rest Of the world. Two instances
will suffice to illustrate this. A fair
~ well-informsd young man declared
to me that the American feet was in
every way the equal, if not the super
Tor Of the British, and could blot the |
latter of the face of the earth. That
was a fairly steep assertion in the
face Of the fact that America is class I
ed as a tifth-rate naval power. An
other young man to whom l mention
ed New Zealand as my home, asked (
me if | found it very hard to pick up
the American language. He CUES
sed' 1t would be as hard for me as
for German. 4 fairly low standard
of education and culture exists among
the young Americans in this western
portion Of the Union. Ten or more
hours day, seven days a week, is
the little programme one has to face.
This city OF about So, 600 people has
a collection Of books about half as
big Is Hamilton. People are too
busy making dollars to read. The
making Of dollars is certainly a life
business, and probably they are as
easily made here as anywhere else on /
earth. But the making Of them is
not the only part of the game. There
yet remains the spending, and the I
Americans l know are just as ready {
to spend them in having a good
lime, as to make them. Having |
good time often means visiting a I
.enth-rate music hall, or 'liquoring
up. The number of saloons mere &
would apall the most stout hearted ]
temperance worker on earth. ANY |
little shanty seems able to get a 8
license to sell liquor, and the de- c
'octions and connections they drink q
Nothing seems to come amiss as long {
IS it's a mixture.
Zone Objectionable thing about 1
hese westerners is that they nearly
ii chew and spit. All boardinRs. [
to-, are covered with invitations to b
chew Golden Eagle tobacco, or half u
hundred other great chews, and
very man is busy accepting some one p
r other Of the invitations. Spitoons 3
re public necessities, and are found n
1hereyer men gather together. Even 4
he judges in the supreme court have v
spitoon beside them, and while they 7
re listening to the evidence their d
avs are working. One longs, with Il