The new enterprise., 1905-08-31

doing Tor tie mass OF our
l-A=I people, writes Cleveland
G@a l!qIu Moirott, IN an article on
THE Shameful Misuse Of Wealth" in
Success. And l say at once with all
possible emphasis that believe It is
DOING serious and increasing harm,
changing the old standards Of sim
pllclty ard honesty, demorall2ng many
women, and acting as Il potent cause
OF faT-reachlng discomfort.
Lot rs look at certain phases Of
American llfeand seeif there Is reason
for 50 sombre a Judgment Take the
example Of women in the rich smart
set and consider It's influence on other
women neither rich nor poor, on ordl-
nary American women. And remCm-
her that for years our newspapers
have devoted pages every week to the
dolngs Of these wonderful ladies IN
society" City newspapers, country
newspapers, all the newspapers have
told about thciy gowns their balls,
their grand dinners, their weddings,
their divorces. their departures for IIu-
rope, their returns from Europe, their
follles ana their eytrayGganccs-al-
ways the same names over and over
again in pOmpOus catalogue untll tho
hnmlpts In Idaho and the swampS Of
Florida know them better than tho
saints Of sacred story. Until by mere
force Of iteration, by the hypnotlsm Of
repetition, MS n tlrpless advertiser at
last compels you 10 buy his soap, these
"socirty" people have bccn taken at
their own valuation and in hundreds Of
towns and small cities all over America
thousands Of women follow their spec.
tacular fiuttorngs with almost reyerent
nte,cst Thus a spurious arlstocracy
has grown up in this land, an arls.
tocracy that rests on neither culture
nor wit nor serious achievements, but
simply on money and love Of show
and Sunday newspapers.
Yet vain and shallow as 1t Is, this
tlnspl aristocracy Is n real power in
America, great power. 1t dominates
the social life Of Newport and New
York, 1t decides who shall or shall not
be the -Four Hundred"-whO shall or
shall not be nodded to from naughty
carriages and counted anybody" in
fashionable Gathering places, 1t is en-
WED, feared and inflated, worst Of all
| It is initiated. Women from every
part Of the country come TO New York
! and see these "lcalers" Of society (they
are always on exhibition observe their
| gowns and manners and hear about
their morals. "Ah," says one, $50 she
| Is in the -Four Hundred that girl VINO
| used 10 make her own dresses And
| another says, 80 she got n divorce and
married n mllliOnairew And anohcr
! says: what, that woman Newport
swell, when her father was James, thc
miner" And another says, "They tell
] me this lady drinks too much, and that
one never pays her bills, and another
swears like a pirate, but it must be all
right, for they're in the -Four Hun
dred"" And thousands say, but !
am as pretty and as clever as they are,
why shouldn't do rs well? And II
they do this or that to succeCd why
shouldn't | do the samc?" And back
they 20 TO their homes in numbcrlcSs
towns and small cities carrying with
them and spreading the seeds Of rec&.
lnssness and discomfort, Nor can any
man tell into what miserable harvest
those seeds may grow, into what OK
travagance, into what scandals and
wreck Of homes,
And even among the great body Of
American women who would stand
firm against such decentralization, there
may be noted q certain lowering OF
moral tone as the result Of influences
"from above;" they tolerate or prac'
tice gambling since the bridge craze
started, they drink more than they
did and are less sure than they used
10 be what Is or Is not becoming in q
woman.
An amusing illustration OF this last
point was offered recently at Palm
Beach. One day in the height Of the
season there appeared Mt the bathing
pool a strikingly handsome woman II
much diminished bathing suit Il
was made in one piece, much like
mans suit, and there were no stock
ings. There sounded forthwith scan
dallzed chorus from all the ladies pres
ent; they We're quite Mortified, ant
protests were made 10 the hotel man
ager. But the next day 1t transpiret
that the wcarer OF this outer carmen
was Lady -. OF the smartest set II
London and the smartest set in New
York, and straightway the murmur
ceased.
"well," sighed one Of the ladies VIII,
had been most strenuous against thi
immodesty, III l could swim as wei
ns lady - [ supDosn should do n