The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-04-14

THE AMERICAN GIRL.

II Is the world wide interest taken |
in the American girl as creature Of
infinite charm that accounts for the
feeling OF humiliation at home when
one of them, though personally un-
known to tho great majority, lowers
her colors and makes an egregious
blunder In judgment in selling herself
for foreign title Lately many Of
these American girls who have made
the mistake referred to appear to
have come upon stormy and panlcky
times They have either left their
husbands and the palaces which good
American money has renovated, or
are preparing to do SO, one who has
but recently been freed from, mar
riage. which, vulgar at the start, stayed
vulgar to the end, Is about to remarry
into the same family of royal spend
Thrills. having learned nothing and
having plainly demonstrated her In
ability to appreciate the responsible
ties of life.
In one sense Of the word 1t Is no
ones business what these girls do In
the way of mating. They are law
unto themselves and can be made to
take the medicine SO carelessly pre-
pared by their own hands. The world
has no time. or but little time to con-
slider the action Of deficient people.
II is too much concerned with the real
cares OF life, which require incessant
and increasingly intelligent thought
and study In another sense there Is
solid food for reflection in the social
organization of the exclusive class Of
families which enter into these for
eign enterprises. In every instance
the family foundations were laid by
hard headed and thrifty Americans,
the very kind of men and women to
whom We look to-day to carry the
country over crises of every sort They
were industrious and they built wise
~ and we'll probably moro for the
protection of their children and their
children's children. than for the mere
AZ - "a INN n a In
stinct. 1t is conceivable, for example,
that had old Cornelius Vanderbilt,
who laid the foundation of the vast
Vanderbilt fortune, foreseen what fam
lily ructions and family errors were to
follow in the wake of IT, he would
have guarded against them by more
finely regulating the accumulative in
stinct Even hard old jay Could
would probably have followed diff
ferent policy had he known to what
use his fortune was to be put and
what contemptible foreign gentle
men" with titles would have the
handling of part of IT, It is incon-
ceivable that any we'll bred and
thoughtful parent can mediate with
satisfaction upon an international
marriage based, as the great majority
of them are upon the exchange Of
dollars for title.
The utter absence from these mar
riages Of every instinct of American
citizenship is another phase of the
subject which is not lost upon
thoughtful men and women. The
American social and political system
rests on the rejection of titles and
certificates OF nobility. TO be an
American man or an American WON
an Is to be superior to any other
person in life from the point Of view
ing In this country labor is dignified
and where labor is dignifed exclusive
class 0lStlnCtlOn is out OF the QueS
ton 1t Is this fact which makes an
understanding impossible Of the atti-
tude Of parents and the offending
American girl towards foreign mar
riages, which carry with them d title,
which is respected neither at home
nor abroad, except in rare instances.
too few to count as of convincing i'm
portance. There appears to be an ele-
ment Of genuine affection and esteem
in the rumored engagement of the
Duke of the Abrllzzi aud the daugh.
ter Of United states Senator Elkins.
For that reason the generosity of the
average American overlooks in part
the violation Of American ethics in
volved and wishes thee couple we'll.
But such international marriages are
too rare to admit Of one Of them
being taken as guide to their af1r-
NATIVE consideration. Moralists may