The Press., 1915-10-13
] The Dignity of ] Labor E A Story Showing Its Change E In Half a Century
By JOHN '. LARNED

CAhuSc udS NoAuc ONeE Wndk We Cnll Sue dignity of labor-not that labor Is a more honorable calling than formerly, but 1t is so regarded. In America we took originally our ideas concerning trade and labor from England, where neither was then regarded as a 1t oc- .upation for i gentleman. Fifty years Igo one might not in America sell goods at retail and maintain a first
 lass social position The daughters of gentlemen and ladies could not earn nouey without being taboo by persons of their own set.
 Today our merchants and social princes are retailers. The daughters of
 well to do persons prefer to work rath- or than wait for husbands, and many a young man with a taste for mechan- les prefers to make his start in the machine shop rather than In the count ing room.
 Nevertheless snobbery has not died out It will never die, filling its ranks mostly from the get-rich-Quick ele- ment. Modern high social life is a combination of refined persons and snobs. For the snobs nothing is quite good enough. Refined men think little of taking off their coats and doing a bit of carpenter work about their homes. Their wives are every day coming more and more to dispense with hired help.
 One August day a young man knock ed at the door of Mrs. Bradbury, who lived in a small town called Glendale, situated in a beautiful valley, and said to her:
 'I am looking for a place to spend a month in which to regain health i'm paired from overwork. l have been told that if l can get you to take me In will be very pleasantly situated" The lady looked the young man over
 and consented to take him to board
 and treat him, if he so wished, as a
 member of her family. He gave his
 name as Charls5 Treat, but concerning
 his antecedents or his occupation said
 nothing. The accepting of MT. Treat as a member of the family meant more to him than would at first appear Glendale society was more than usual ly pleasant, and Mrs. Bradbury, whose ancestors had been its leaders in for mer times, though she was now poor, retained her membership. Many good men and women had of late years been admitted to social companionship, but the snob had not been kept out. Nev- ertheless Glendale social life was suf- ticiently progressive to take persons for their intrinsic worth.
 For the first week of his sojourn in Glendale Charles Treat divided his day between sitting on Mrs. Bradbury's porch and taking walks in the country round about. Then Mrs. Bradbury, finding that he was growing impatient to get back to work, suggested that be would be better satisfied to remain if he had some companionship and offer ed to introduce him to the young men and young women of the place. Treat consented and became a member of the younger social circle of Glendale.
 There were tennis courts there, in which those devoted to outdoor sports gathered, and Treat found the game both attractive and of advantage to his health. He was well liked, though not what is called popular. Popular young men and women in society are usually ephemeral. Unless they have sterling qualities they are liable to drop out of the esteem In which they are held, taking a back seat. Among
 the more refined young men and wom- en Treat was considered an equal; among those whose parents had re gently got rich he found little favor. They required some information as to
 what was his occupation, and he did not seem inclined to gratify their curl osity.
 Treat took more especially to tennis than to the other methods of recrea- ton. He played good game, though at the time, his health having been | impaired by overwork, he did not play
 strong one. It was noticed that he | was dreamy-that is, he was liable to be thinking of something else than what he was doing. On several occa- sions while at tennis, struck by a sud den thought while a ball was to be
 sent back, he would let 1t go by with out seeing it. This was not acceptable to his partner when he had one and elincd him the name of ''woolgather-
 er." One of the young men who no- iced this idiosyncrasy declared that Treat was either mad or a genius, add ing that geniuses were part lunatic
 and, after all, there was not much difference between the two. But the | others would not agree to this.
 In these days wealth counts for so
 much those possessing 1t naturally be- come social leaders. Among the young ladies of Glendale was Miss Martha Broadnax, whose father had made a great deal of money in manufacturing bones into fertilizing material. Miss Broadnax, berg able to entertain more lavishly than any of the young women In Glendale. naturally fell into the po- sition of leader of the younger set. About the time that Mrs. Bradbury introduced Charles Treat this young woman had begun to assume the right to pass upon any person who was re- eeived within the circle. Not having been consulted as to Treats admis- sion, she was not especially gracious to him. When asked for a reason for not approving of him she said that no one knew anything about him. He might be a plumber; he might be a counter jumper;' he might be a car