Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-10-01

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would bring about great things in Eu-
rope. Best Of all, there is the American
idea, demonstrated about us every day.
that each man can bring happiness and
comfort to lim,clf and 10 those he loves
| II he will only set about It, and that
education books, pictures, travel are all
within his reach"
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE NOT DrGEN-
ERATE.
knowing New York society only from
the rather incongruous vantage grounds
OF Indiana and Europe. | asked Mrs
Aston about the charges of degeneracy'
and viciousness among the younger set
| In New York, OF which one hears SO
much on the other side Of the water and
throughout the Middle West. She was
sorry that the situation had been 50
much advert isod
| Il can speak with authority about our
young people, she said Il have al
ways kept in close touch with them.
They are Of a new ago ana often have
IDEAS different from my own old, con-
sentative ones. And they are. full of
health and abundHut spirits. cmbodi-
ments of the new aSc Of athletic de
vclopment and out-of-donr sport. It Is
perhaps true that they frequently go
into excess IN amusement. but they are
not degenera and they are not Vicious
Our young men enter seriously upon the
business of taking care Of their large
financial interests ana they often take
n a. Go.
in adj lition, going in for healthy sports
only as wcll-carnod diversion.
our young women are easily trained
in domestic matters and taught to APP
precate their responsibility toward tho
poor. There are no such barriers be
tween the very rich AMI the very poor
as some newspapers would have the
world believe All Of my friends do n
great deal for the poor, and their daugh-
ters are brought up from infancy to look
upon their charity work as an i'm
portant part OF their lives. When our
girls marry, they take up the manage
ment of establishments in town and
country, they rear large families of
children and personally supervise their
education at homo during the critical
early years. They are In love with their
husbands and devoted to their interests
Yes, ! have heard that our young
women smoke and drink and do other
terrible things. I know great many Of
them and know them vcr'' well. | have
known them since they We're born, and
| am quite sure thcr" is not one In my
circle who Is n cigarette Acnd or who
drinks to excess"
One OF the principal reasons for Mrs
Astor's lifelong interest I'm society, she
said. was her interest In young people
She "njoyed having thcm about her en-
ioyed planning for their amusement
But she said that she felt also that a
woman placed by birth or marriage at
the had of 4 great family had no uncer-
tain call Of duty to maintain the dignity
OF the old name
THAT consists in setting standard
for true living In the private life as well
as In the public" Mrs. Astor continued
"One must have high ideals and do the
best one can TO realize them. My ideals
In society have always been very
definite. have not realized them. but
who does realize his ideals in this
world?
CIRCUS-TENT ENTERTAINMENTS.
II am not vain enough to think New
York will not be able to get along very
well without me- Many women Will rise
up to take my place. But ! hope my
influence will be felt in one thing, and
that IL In discountenancing the undgni-
fed methods employed by certain New
York women to attract following They
have given entertainments that be-
longed under a circus tent rather than in
Rcntlewomans home. Their sole OBJ
joct is notoriety, a thing that no lady
ever seeks, but, rather shrnks from.
Women Of this stamp arc few In New
York, but, alas they are so appallingly
active. They have done untold harm to
the good name Of American society I'm
the minds of foreigners When a dis
tinguished man arrives from the other
side he Is seized upon relentlessly. al
though possibly a total stranger to his
hostess, and plunged into a mad whirl
OF extraordinary festivities. lie enters
upon them with much the same spirit
that we would have as spectators of an
Indian war-dance And thus he forms
his opinion of all of MS. | have never
entertained foreigner In my life UNI
less he came to ma with letter OF In
PRODUCTION
1.-THE best women In New York society.
those OF the greatest influence and those
who give It It's true tone, are almost un-
known outside OF their own circle So |
cicty newspaper notoriety Is interesting
to them as 1t Is to me- as study II |
very amusing one, 100, sometimes, as |
one gains 80 much Information about |
certain women supposed to belong to !