The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-25
FRE INsTNUATToNs or A F0R-
EIGNER.

OF sailing for home gave me some OF his
American impressions. His tour hadtasoed
rather longer than the regulation three
weeks required by law TO entitle him 10
publish a book about us, but he Intended
to waive this right. In reproducing one
or two OF his remarks / shall be giving the
public what IL would otherwise lose.
~You have lone an immense service to
other nations in developing democracy to
its extreme limits" he observed. you
have saved them the trouble OF doing It
for themselves. Your experiment proves
among other things that democracy 70
bound to destroy itself, sooner or later.
II you stopped foreign immigration, your
population would begin dwindhng TO-
morrow. The main result OF democracy
Ia evidently not the effacement OF class
distinctions, which are springing up among
you with unparalleled rapidity, but the
abolition Of the old domestic hierarchy; In
other words. the emancipation OF the m
and the child. These are the W. beings
who have really gained liberty and equal
ity under American conditions, and the
consequence is the destruction OF the home.
The passing OF your horne life is generally
recognized and deplored by yourselves, as
/ ave found on all hands: bu sometimes
you wrongly ascribe It 10 such trifing con-
comitants as the difficulty OF getting help
The trouble lies elsewhere. The genuinely
democratic wife and child are natural
solvents OF the home. / will not dwell on
the descriptive traits OF your women. with
their passion for the club, the divorce court
and other places OF amusement; their readi-
ness 10 assume grass weeds on tours abroad,
and so on. The emancipated child is per-
haps a still greater danger. His social
character may be inferred from you anx-
iety to keep him out Of existence. Hitherto
you have hardly restricted European immi-
grafton, but the immigration OF the Amer
lean infant is being opposed pertinaciously.
A waiter in Omaha-I quote at hazard from
the numerous data / hsvc collected on this
point-told me that his wife and he were
turning a stone deaf ear to President Roose-
velt's sermons. simply because they felt
unequal to the management OF even one
child Of the prevailing type. An American
poet prayed recently for some modification
Of this trouble:
'sBefore we train ogres the young to devour.
Il have been assured by several rich
Americans who are rearing their families
in Europe that the sole reason OF their
expatriation is fear OF democracy on the
hearth. In short, the pitiable birthrate
among Americans, even In most favorable
circumstances Of vigor, abundance and
elbow room. is due first and foremost to
the democratic family. 1t ia surprising
that your President, especially al he is a
Republican, should have overlooked the
real cause Of race suicide. The philosopher
V~auvenargues wrote a century ago
-f instead Of dulllng tho vivscity OF children.
parents did their best 20 increase the vivacity and
movement OF their characters. what might We not
expect from . One, natural temper.
s~vauvenargues may have beer a bach
elor, but he was right in expecting a great
deal. Democracy has done what he asked
OF parents, and the fine, natural temper
answers every anticipation. The unerring
repartee and relentless independence OF the
Democratic babe leave him without a rival
in the nurseries OF the world. 1t is a thou
sand pities that no domestic interior can
be constructed capable Of outstanding
the pressure OF his genius. II you are COM
PEELED to exclude him as al undesirable
alien, the fault does not lie with this fine
flower of democracy, but with the fragility
of human institutions.
May 1 venture TO say that the walters in
VOuE RESTAURANTS anu Quiet PUBLIC TSbOEJ6
are somewhat deliberate, as a rule, in taking
and executing an order2 This makes their
subsequent celebrity all the more amazing.
When the meal has at last been served,
they stand over one with heads cooked like
terriers at a rat hole, and il you 50 much
as lay down your knife and fork for an
instant your plate has vanished. I was
quite unable to get a square meal till / had
acquired some practice in parrying these
attacks. The most exhilarating feature
Of you young civilization a compared
with the exhausted Old World is not its
wealth-for, after all, no man and no people
can spend more than a limited amount to
any advantageous its superabundant
energy. Isl jeunesse savait, 81 vieillesse
pouvaitl' Energy is the most difficult
thing in the world to direct. I believe I
am well within the limits Of the facts in
stating that many Of your business men
are so absorbed in piling up fortunes for
their children hat they have no time to
make themselves acquainted with their
names.
Speaking Of walters reminds ME Of that
very remarkable speciality, the American
hill OF fare. It is, Of course, the largest
in the world. Its copiousness is not even
approached in the most celebrated restaur- |
ants on our side. l thought at first that
the elaborate document, so rich in ingenious
synonyms, was intended to distract the
guest while waiting for the waiter. After
ward / discovered the true reason OF il.
On entering al American house / have
seldom failed TO perceive a huge dictionary
spread open in a conspicuous position. In
Boston l never failed TO perceive one. Other
observations confirm the idea that lesi-
geography is one of the ruling passions of
your nation, which was very naturally
the originator Of spelling reform. Hence,
also. the m~ultitudinous nomenclature of
your bill of fare. These menus which
are dictionaries in themselves, crafty your
intellectual tastes even more than your
appetites. Besides, there is a pretty touch
Of sentiment about them, as in that notice
often hung up before humble restaurants:
Like mother used to make it, They must
remind you, no doubt, OF the vanished or
vanishing home, with its swivel attachment