The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-10-25
AMERICAN WOMEN
ROMANCE STARVED
Noble Author Explains Why
Europeans Attract the
Fair Yankees.
AMERICANS NOT CULTURED.
NEW YORK LEISURE CLASS DE-
scRIBED AS NOISY, FOSTERING,
Gos5IPING AND SCANDAL MON
GERING PEOPLE.

betzkey in talk regarding his forth
coming novel, THE Passer-By."
The book seeks to clear up the prob
lem Of why foreign men seem to be
peculiarly fascinating to the American
girl, the problem which puzzles the
American man at every announcement
OF a new international love affair. And
certainly it would appear that Prince
Troubetzkoy, the husband of Amelie
Rives and the son of an American
woman who preferred an Italian no.
bleman for a husband, would be the
ideal man to answer the question.
He is in the rare position of know
ing not only the new and the old world
civilizations but of knowing them from
a point Of view formed by cross
roads Of the Anglo-Saxon and the Lat
in mind
Before we go further" said the
prince, "let me say do not aver that
American men and women in my book
are typical Americans; they are, how
ever, typical New Workers. 1t Is only
New York people / know well.
Development of Taste.
Indeed, four months out of the year
I consider myself as much New York
man as anybody. / did not use to
feel at home here. I know it sounds
like the height of Stiffness, but 1 think
the American attitude toward mems
clothes had something to do with it,
.sDo you remember the word 'dude?'
It was term Of contempt for man
who was not satisfied with being mere
" decently dressed, but went in for
little niceties of style and harmony in
clothes and who studied the art of be-
ing we'll groomed as q part of gentle
mans duty to himself. AT that time a
carefully dressed man was subject to
caricatures in the papers and the
cause Of audible comment in public
places Today every man tries to be
as perfectly dressed as he can; you
can no longer describe or classify any
body by calling him dude
'You can see this development in
taste in the architecture of New
York's newer buildings. Fifteen
years ago they were building what
was then New York's most magnifi-
cent hotel. 1t was considered the last
word in that sort of architecture. To-
day, beside the great new retail
stores near it in Fifth avenue it is a
monstrous hodgepodge.
please understand. I do not say
It is the improved taste in clothes or
architecture of New York which makes
me feel more at home now than at
first. What l mean is that they are
symbols Of a finer point OF view on
the part Of Americans themselves.
"In this inherited mental attitude
Of making an art of all endeayors, no
matter how seemingly trivial, lies the
strength of the foreign man in his APP
peal to women. In Europe there is
large class of men who have the leis-
ure-or at least take ito sultivate
the art Of pleasing, of making their
association with other men apd with
women as agreeable as possiblel They
have taken all the little matters OF
dress and department and conversa-
tion and resolved them into a sort OF
beautiful mosaic of manners, of which
every apparent triviality is faultless
part.
"Now all this takes leisure to ac-
complish. and If the American man is
less attractive to woman than the
foreigner, 1t is because he is too busy
OR has got into the habit of feeling
too busy--to acquire the subtler graces
Of social life. Women are idealists
and lovers of romance, and this, what
call precious, style of dress and man
ners make an instant appeal.
1.-The vagaries of New York taste
are perplexing. 1t is surprising how
large a market there is here for the
mediocre and how almost impossible
it is for the best in books and pictures
to find profitable public. 1t is the
old story of being too busy to care
about quality or cleverness as long as
there is some sort of amusement to be
had OF course there is small leis-
ure class in New York who know and
demand the best. but it is so small
that it hardly pays to cater to it. But
this class is growing. l think.
Doubtless the next generation of
New York's wealthy society will close
" approach the European ideal of civ
ilized living. At present society is suf-
fering from a sort of money drunken
nc9s. 1t is noisy. roistering. gossip
ing. scandal mongering. This. of
course will come to an end for it will
become tiresome.
And in place of the spending, speed
loving millionaires of todax-there will
be developed class of moneyed men
such as there are in England and on
the continent who will use their leis-
ure for the benefit of the community
Erich men will go from the univer-
sity into politics. where they will in
fuse new spirit of public service d.
vorced from graft, hypocrisy and DEM
agogy."