The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-01-28
TERMS or sunscR1prI q,
SOME STRAY THOUGHTS
AND A FEW QUESTIONS

fir9 Tpuif'y utciineuA OF nus II NOV
ed TO llpher plane2 Is the society
of to-day an Improvement over The
society of generation or two ago?
Are the many formal functions to meet
our appreciation or shall we plead for
the simple customs prevalent in the
days of our fethersg These are q,lss.
lions that woafd be answered in yari.
Gus ways ly different people. each
looking ut them from his own point Il
view, baslng his opinion on the more
or less comprehensive conception he
has found ON the matter from his IN.
nate ideas or from the train he has
received from his education along that
line.
The up-to-date society votaries
would not hesitate In proclaiming the
rapid strides achieved in the advance.
rrent made in the social world. they
would point with pride to its ever in.
creasing completely. They reyel in
dressing up In a spike tailed coat. a
silk tile. handsome gowns. and sitting
at functions lilse pieces Of statuary.
They rave over the things that are
Unreal. They crave the things that
are Unsuitable. They are glad that
they are placed in the high atmos-
phers OF the social universe and pos
sess n bitter contempt for those WHOM.
they think are groveling in the very
dust that he been shaken on by socie.
~ In Its onward move. They would
attempt to defend and reconcile the
i.umerous Inconsistencies arising out
OF its completely, which is weighing
1t down and defeating the very ends
for which It was established: namely,
to help one another. They woald adj
vance the argument that change in
the condition 81 things to-day as to
what they were a decade or genera.
ton ago necessitates q revision of the
social code. Things are not done in
the same way that was the custom
then. A wider circle OF acquaintances
not friends, preys upon the short hours
and limited strength OF the individual,
SO that instead Of the informal, come
over and spend the evening has had
to give way 10 the practice of pushing
a card under the door when the caller
knows that her neighbor Is out.
The question Of time does not enter
into the matter at ali. The questions
which one has to answer IN determin.
ing society's decIension or advance
ment is whether or not that close sym
pathy which characterized the society
of former days exists as It did then
Are people as near and as helpful to
each other as they used to be? Does
the spirit Of altrafsm perYade and pe.-
meate the social world to the same
degree that It formerly did or is the
spirit of egoism masniied and fors
ed to the front? What advantage has
the coinplexity of society to-day over
its carly simplicity? The perfecting
OF any mechanical device or machine
consists in making 1t as simple as 1t
is possible so to do. An agent for q
We'll known machine. In trying to i'm.
press ITS qualities upon, the prospect
i've buyer. said that his machine was
as nearly perfect as 1t could be made,
for there was not room to place anoth'
ar wheel. The power Of that same ma
chine was lessened by its excessive
gearing. Is this not true of society?
Is 1t not geared up SO that its strength
and power are consumed in the run
ming OF its machinery.