Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1914-02-27
CHILDREN OF THE RICH,
HOW They ARE SPOILED

JOhLp III uOu5ouOtub VA eho hVpA
ity In Europe, and few years with
the families Of multi-millionaires In
the United States, has given me q
ehastening view of ourselves, or q
class of ourselves, as she sees ua.
The governes9, Miss Felice LIE Bar
gey, a handsome woman of exceed
Ing dignity, borrowed our American
frankness of expression.
Although she had been a govern
ess on this side for but two years,
after sixteen years in Europe, her stay
In America has been quite long
enough to enable her to catalogue
our national faults. With hands
crossed upon a neat black serge lap,
and gray eyes fixed sternly upon me
as the representative % very faulty
nation, she said, half in French, half
in English:
II was interested In your inter
view In which Mrs Cornelius OF Pitts
burg said that the development Of
Harry Thaws could be prevented.
81 agree with her and 1 wish to say
more from the governess's side.
There will be no Harry Thaws IL the
multi-millionaires and their wives
employ competent governesses and
1t will surprise you when 1 say this
give them full power in the edu-
cation of their children.
"You have thought, suppose,
that the multi-millionaire pays little
or no attention to her children. That
Is mistake. She is always 'putterN
ing you call 1t, or 'butting in by
which l mean making needless inter
ference. She Is very much concern
ed for her children, the multi-mil.
lionaire's wife; but it is more for
their bodies, how they look, rather
than their minds, how they think.
"One of these multi.millionaire
mammas wanted me to comb her
daughters hair every day. Another
wished me to iron their fine laundry.
These women violate the law Of
conservation of energy. They scatter
the forces of their governesses by
wasting their strength upon non-es-
sentials. 1t is a contemplate econ
omy which tires the governess so that
she cannot teach we'll, by making her
do the work of a second or third
laundress.
Another contemptible economy is
to give the governess such poor liv-
ing quarters that she is made weak
and i'll by them.
For instance, / left one place be-
cause the mother of my charges said
she needed all of the large house for
her family and friends, and secured
for me room that was so damp that
If l placed an orange on the mantle
one day, the next it would be covered
with green mold.
"As to their needless interference,
I am coming to that. One of my
pupils was a little boy of twelve
years, a beautiful boy with the in
stincts of true knightly gentleman.
He said to me one day:
'Mademoiselle, Is il not strange
and sad that the poor help eacn
other, and that the rich have no feel
ing for any one?"
"Once a message came to me from
downstairs that l should come down
at once, that the little master was
behaving dreadfully. found that
he had turned hose upon two bas-
kets of beautifully clean, freshly iron.
ed linen.
"He disliked practicing his piano
lessons. and l took him upstairs and
made him practise on the piano for
half hour. When he had finished
I said to him: The women in the
laundry work very hard all day to
prepare the clothes for your mother
and sisters to wear. When you turn
ed the water on them you forced
these poor women to work extra
hours and for no more pay. Tney
will be working late tonight wnlle
YOU are asleep in your comforta be
bed He said. his face repentant:
4 am very sorry, mademoiselle.
did not think of harming any one.
No dear said l. 1t was only your
excess of vitality bubbling up. We
gave 1t something to do at the piano.
"There was lesson in the rights
of others which the boy received
sweetly, and which, l hope, he will
remember and apply
81 could give the lesson because
his mother was away from home
Had she been there. she would not
have permitted him to be punished.
II was interested in reading dur
ing the proceeding of the Thaw trial
that former governess of the de.
fendant was called as witness, and
that she said: 4 must admit that he
was naughty sometimes. He would
lie on the floor and kick Then, IL
torted: Then you should have pun
ished him. But the judge did not
know that had she done what he be.
lieved to be her duty she would have
been dismissed.
every multi-millionaire's wife
says to the governess: My child
must not be punished. The child
knows this and grows up wild and
indisciplined. Behold Harry Thaw
1.-THE rich Americans wife does
lot regard the governess as does the
Itch and noble Europeans wife.
Here she is a servant-at best link
between the servant and the family
She is not permitted to take her
meals with the family, or If she does
he is not permitted to speak during
he meal. Yet If she were permitted
D speak how her speech would raise
ae standard of the family conversa-
ion.
~ was governess for family
hose chief topic at table was the
iultB of the servants. and these