New-York tribune., 1909-05-30

17-.nce the LAWYERS IN particular are fond OF
rotntinr out how their fathers and fathers
fathers have been honored members OF the mag
istracy and Of the bar, and they TOO strive 10
live I'D TO the traditions Of what IS known III
the Gallo tongue as the ''noblesse de robe. 10
the actual a-istocracy, of course, lineage anu
tradition are still more important ana vital
consideration, forming, indeed. the basis ana
raison d'etre of the class
Tradition and ancestory are about the only
things that cannot be purchased or sold. They
car only no inherited and are species Of in
a1ienable heirloom which may be tarnished to
s,-oh an extent as TO become an object or
ignomv rather than of dignity and value, but
which can never be transferred or negotiated.
Family tradition may therefore be consldered
as one of the guardian angels Of the people OF
the Old and the New World. It exercises a re-
straining influence and causes both men and
women Of every degree TO pause before embark
ing upon courses of action Of or speech entailing
possible disgrace, not only TO themselves but
also TO the name which they have inherited and
which they are bound in honor TO bequeath free
from stain to their descendants.
WORTHY OBJECTS OF SOCIETIES.
Inasmuch as al. these patriotic societies which
are fourishing and developing in the United
States have no other purpose in view than the
tions. seek no prerogatives from the state, nor
even social privileges or superiority. but content
themselves with endeavoring to instll into the
minds of their members the necessity Of living
up to the names which they have inherited from
ancestors who have rendered service to the
nation they deserve every encourag cement. and
certainly do not merit to be ridiculed as un-
American or condemned as out of keeping with
the principles upon which founded the
United States
From Europe the disposition shown to ridi-
cula these organizations comes with particu-
larly bad grace. Until a few years ago the
authors and newspaper writer's in the Old World
were wont to deny TO the United States the
possession of a aristocracy, though they con-
Ceded a plutoCracy. Now they are compelled to
admit the existence of an aristocracy of birth
but manifest q disposition to deride its origin
Yet the latter bears a favorable comparison
with that of the nobility Of many of the coun-
tries in Europe. There are plenty of British
peers whose authentic lineage does not date
much further back than the early years of the
reign of Queen Victoria. Considerably mora
than half the peerages now in existence have
been created within the last century, and in
many cases were bestowed upon men who had
no ancestors to boast of in 1T16. Certainly a
number Of the members of the present House of
Lords would experience difficulty in fulfilling
those genealogical qualifications which are re-
aured by scores Of American societies-namely,
that the candidates should be able 10 show
descent from some who did honorable ser
vice to the state during the latter half Of the
eighteenth century. England's nobility indeei
is for the greater part, Of relatively modern
origin, and recruited from the manufacturing
and merchant classes. There Is worthy and
useful peer Of the realm OF my acquaintance
Fbarv IN RI "a = n dlIy
laborer, and his mother Liverpool match girl
In the case Of another noble lord, a viscount
with a most patrician title, his paternal grand