The Washington times., 1911-05-12
CHAPTER x.
The Emigrant Spirit.

better advantages. / was told that the
graduates of this school entered col
lege with a higher average than the
graduates of most of the big prepara'
tory schools.
Certainly they had just as good in
struction, and If anything, better dis
cipline. There was more competition
Many of the pupils were foreign born
and a much larger per cent of them
children of foreign born.
Their parents had been over here long
enough TO realize what an advantage
an education was and the children went
at their work with the feeling that their
future depended upon their application
here.
The boys associates might have been
more carefully selected at some fashion
able school, but l was already beginning
to realize that selected associates aren't
always select associates. and that even
If they are this more of a disadvantage
than an advantage.
The fact that the boys fellows were
all of a kind was what had disturbed
me even in the little suburban grammar
school. For that matter l can see
now that even for Ruth and me this
sameness was a handicap for both OF
US, and our neighbors.
There was no clash. There was a dead
level. | don't believe that's good for
either boys or men or for women.
SnpposinS this open door policy did
duIllIl d lew NOIlnleSS lnlO
The school, and supposing again that
the private school didn't admit such of
q different order (which | very much
doubD-along with these Dick was going
TO lind here the men-the past ] had
proved this and the present was prov
ing it-who eventually would become
our statesmen, our progressive business
men, our lawyers, and doctors-it not
our conservative bankers.
For one graduate OF such a school as
l,saI Il
think essential for the boy, / could
count now a dozen graduates of this
very 4igh school who were distinguish
ing themselves in the city.
The boy was going to meet here the
same spirit / was getting in touch with
among my emigrant friends-a zeal for
life. a belief in the possibilities of life,
an optimistic determination to use these
possibilities. which somehow. the blue
blooded Americans were losing.
1t seemed to me that life was getting
stale for the fourth and fifth genera
tion. ] tried 10 make the boy see this
point of view. ] went back again with
him to the pioneer idea.
Dick" said in substance, your great
great-grandfather pulled up stakes and
came over to this country when there
was nothing here but trees. rocks, and
Indians.
1t was a hard fight but a good fight,
and he left q son to carry on the night
fought, but. somehow. they grew bit
weaker as they fought. Now" l said.
"you and / are going TO try to recover
that lost ground.
Let's think of ourselves as like our
great-great-grandfat We've just
come over here. So have about million
others. The fight is a different fight
today, but it's no less a fight, and were
going to win. We have a good many
advantages that these newcomers
haven't.
You see them making good on every
side of you, but I'll bet they can't lick
a good American-when he's asleep. You
and / are going to make good, too.
You bet We are, Dad he said, with
his eyes grown bright.
Then l said. you must work the
way the newcomers work / don't want
YOU to think you're any better than
as good, and these two hundred years
we've lived here ought to count Tor
something"
The boy lifted his head at this.
You make me feel as though we'd
lust landed with the Pilgrims" he said.
so we have" l said. June 9TH of
this very year We landed on Plymouth
Rock, just as our ancestors did two
time paving the way for you and me.
They've built roads and schools and
factories, and it's up to US now to use
them. You and have just landed from
Enslano Let . see "hdt We Sdh uo as
pioneers"
I wanted to get at the young Ameri-
can in him. l wanted him to realize
that he was something more than the
son of his parents; something more than
Just an average English-speaking boy.
l wanted him to feel the impetus of
the big history back of him and the big
history yet to be made ahead OF him.
He had known nothing of that before.
The word American had no meaning to
him except when regiment of soldiers
was marching by.
wanted him to feel all the time as
he did when his throat grew lumpy with
the band playing and the Stars and
Stripes flying on Fourth of July or Dec
oration Day.
l urged him to study hard as the first
him to get into the school life. I didn't
want him to sit in the bleachers-at
least not until he had proved that this
was the place for him. Even then l
wanted him to lead the cheering.
wanted him TO test himself in the
literary societies. the dramatic clubs, on
the athletic field. In other words. in
stead Of remaining passive, l wanted
wards life.
In still other words, instead of being
middle-classer, l wanted him to get
something of the emigrant spirit. And
] had the satisfaction of seeing him be-
gin his work with the germ of that idea
in his brain.
In the meanwhile, with the approach
OF cold weather l saw a new item of
expense loom up in the form of coal.
We had used kerosene all summer, but
now ii became necessary for the sake of
heat TO get stove.
For a week l took what time / could
spare and wandered around among the
junk shops looking for a secondhand
stove, and finally found just what /
wanted. ] paid three dollars for l. and
1t cost me another dollar to have Some
small repairs made.
! set it up myself in the living room,
which we decided to use as a kitchen
for the winter. But when 1 came to
look into the matter of getting coal
down here / found I was facing a pretty
serious problem.
Coal had been a big item in the sub
urbs. but the way people around me
were buying 1t made it a still bigger
one. No cellar accommodations came
with the tenement, and so each one was
forced to buy his coal by the basket or
"A basket of anthracite was costing
Aem at this time about forty cents.
This was for about eighty pounds of
coal, which made the total cost per
ton eleven dollars-at least three dollars
and half over the regular price. Even
with economy person would use at
least bag a week.
This, to leave a liberal margin. would
amount to about a ton and q half of
coal during the winter months. 1 didn't
like the idea of absorbing the half dol
lar or so a week that Ruth was suueez-
ing out towards what few clothes we
had to buy in this way-at least the
overcharge part of 1t.
With the first basket / brought home
] said: Il see where you'll have to dig
nnUTH he pinOnp tor