The San Francisco call., 1906-04-01

Stupid sinartnesses are. not essentially
the perauisites. of smart society.
+ Ash have: often. pointed out. it is:the in
.di&1dlal,. not the class that is amenabie
=: 70 discussion: - :. =. =.
:: +. But the reason. that indiscrininatfng
writers 5ascribe fau1ts 10: the smart ser,
that are instead. the. faults of units of
it.. Is primarily because the smart set
stands in the nIneligft: and secondly, be-
cause the world .unfeasoningly expects
+ more .of. The leisure class than Of the hus-
ding class-forgettsng that the hustiing
:, class has far: more 10 help il keep to the
q path of recttude than the unfortunate
p leisure class For let. il not be forgot that
: the: lucky: hust1ng e3ass-whieh includes
= the artists. poets. writers and philan-.
thropic workers as well as the worlds
commercial agents-has with 1t: the COM
pass wherewith to keep to its course; =:
And the compass records work to the
q east :s work to the north, work TO the
SOUTH and work. to the west
And. it is work that is the salvation of
the soul =; =
=: The. smart set may be truthfuIIy and
logically divided into the workers and the
drones.S 80 -
The workers, like their prototypes in the
" great socialist center Of the animal world,
Z are busy fulnllEg their special destinies.
~
in art or IN the. science Of hunanity-in
which, let It be known, social intercourse
IS an elementary part.
>. But, alas, there are the dronesi e
These are the excrescences of society.
Money or no money, they are creatures
Of arrested development, and deserving
of the tenderest solicitation of every
. wholesome soul that is working out its
Physfca1 existence with the aid of the
dynanfcs Of ambition within IT,
l. is this congregation Of mindless in-
dividuals Of the smart set that has called
down the unreasoning wrath Of preachers
and writers upon a phase of society
falsely classified upon money basis.
And II is this sporadic arrestment of
growth that makes Of the American leis-
, .ure class the butt Of European jests and
American iokes.
Among the stupidities INDUCED in by the
sponge-headed members OF the smart set
which, bear you well in mind, is far
from ailsof it-are gathered from obserya-
tons Of the winter, 10. wit: The affected
rookie" walk. with prairies-of-D Dakota
stride. head first, nay heels are coming;
the assumed ignorance OF ordinary things.
such as q knowledge Of the laws of life
and the principle il involves; the assumed
Ignorance Of fnances-When convenient;
the bOasting ignorance of details of the
household and absence of a knowledge Of
the baby's needs; a lofty disregard for the
welfare of the patient Froyider, so long
as the check book is handy, and there
isn't big overdraft; lack Of purpose in
living. save satisfying the requirements.
OF the animal; and the thousand and one
little peccadiiios that fall shert Of sins,
but that reflect the head-works Of the in
dividual. maid or matron: for instance.
the wearing ofa veil at luncheon.
While a. filter is really a necessary ap-
purtenance 70 pantry. it cannot be con-
ceded by the most rabid microbist that,
veil is necessary 10 arrest the aninallcu-
lac IN sOup-and yet have seen the trick
turned more~faan once in the Palace Palm
Garden. And so would you, If you
watched out
Then there's the wearing Of a beli on
the garter-a delicately-tvned bell that
comes to be known as the official an
nouncer of the fair wearer Ali her
friends come to know her tinkle-eveH as
the shepherd does OF his sheep.
OF course. the girl whose perfumes are
Of aggressive character is hardly riov-
city. She prides herself upon her indiviG-
uality Of perfume and. her presence is
scented by it-rather. than b., the odor OF
her personality.
And apropos 10 the new colony Of smart
babies hereabout, the presentation bag
is the stupidist smartnesss
"A what2'
That's what wanted to know when
u was lfSt hurled al me.
Nothing more nor less than a superb
envelope Of pink or blue silk, smothered
in lace, ribbons sachet into which a
poor little wriggling bit OF protoplasm is
showed, to be exhibited TO the ecstatfc
relatives, even before it has sense enough
TO holler.
These are just few OF the fool smart
things that q salaried chronieler runs
sfoul Of, now and then. And the i'm
preston is emphasized because the fool
things are not the attributes. Of Society