The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-11-16
AS OTHERS SEE US.

At the time Of the Pilgrims dinner
in London to honor James Bryce we
took occasion to remark that he diff
fered from the usual kind of British
critics who come to this country to
write books about us in that he under
stood our customs, institutions and
ideals. critic Of the tll-informed va
riety is Mrs. Alec-Tweedie, who has
written book of impressions under the
title, "America as I Saw IT. or
"America Revisited" We CLEAN from
the introduction that the amusing Mrs
AlecTweedie first inspected US pre-
viously at the dawn Of the twentieth
century, but she is eager to see how
much we have deteriorated since that
time, and now she comes forward with
another contribution to the burlesque.
By way Of e1planation-not by way Of
apology, for your British critic dies,
but never apologizes-she says in her
introduction:
love America, her women, her oysters.
express elevate Qifts) and her quaint
ways; her eager life. her kindness TO the
stranger within her gates, and-dare !
say it?-her serene satisfaction with all
and everything American.
That last shaft is poisoned barb,
for has it not been one Of our Yankee
customs to accuse the Briton again and
again of that very offense-'' serene
satisfaction with all and everything"
Britishf But the British, too, have
changed since those sad days of 1900
and 1901. The Boer war worked mar
velous transformation in your English
man, and Kipling expressed the spirit
Of the change when ne wrote the Re
ces5ional'':
The tuTnult and the shouting dies,
The captains and the kings depart;
Still stands thine ancient sacrifice.
An humble and a coutrite heart.
Since then the Briton has passed
through his German panic and has
managed TO retain the "humble and
contrite heart - that lie discovered with
in his breast following the humiliations
Of the great war in South Africa But
the purpose of this writing is not to
criticsc the English, but to cite some
of Mrs. Alec-Tweedie' discoveries on
this side of the Atlantic-and in their
own way they are quite as remarkable
as any Of the discoveries we have had
since Mr.. Christopher Columbus ar
rived on our shores or thereabouts
First of ell, however, one should re-
mark in justice that Mrs. Alec-Tweedic
loves us. She admits it, while she re-
proves us for our many faults-and
who will deny them-and she seems TO
think that whom she loves she must
chastise. Let it be conceded. however.
that our latest critic says many good
things about us, For example:
There is nothing better than a cultured
American man-one meets him often and
he shines out Ike a brilliant gem In a
crown OF paper dollars
The point, however, is this: Can
stranger within our gates really say
things worth while, whether in praise
or blame, unless he or she really under.
stands us as does James Bryce7 I'm
pressions are all very well. They arc
highly entertaining when expressed
with the smartness of n Mrs. Alec.
Tweedie, but, after all, they are merely
impressions and only touch the surface
OF our life fleetingly and superficially.
in her chapter on "Manners and Gus
toms" the author says some things that
viii be revelations 10 Americans She
discusses tips and porters as follows:
rips and porters arc universal In Brit
ain. Both were unknown in America
until quite recently: indeed it Is amazing
the difference ] saw on my return after
an absence OF q few wears. 10 End da riSy
porters. and good ones. too. had been add
ed at the principal railway stations, and