The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-02-28

/ IT is quite natural that youth should
feel intolerant of age. Youth has every
possibility apparently within its
| grasp. Age has either wasted, lost or
| exhausted the same possibilities. Youth
thinks that ii has the world at its
feet-but 1t is 4 very bad idea TO
make public announcement of the fact
until you have ilrm grip on the
worlds throat. SO to speak. Every
youth is i modern edition OF Monte
Cristo, in crying The world is mine"
but unfortunately his feet stand, not
on the rock of accomplishment, but
upon the slippery sands OF fair hopes.
Quite generally age smiles tolerant
iy upon youth and Its claims. Some
times, however, youth. by action rath-
Cr than by words, becomes SO often
sive that tolerance would be = crime.
All this as Il preface to a little
story. The other evening in New York
City, where half the theater-going
home after The play, one OF the sta
lions WAS CROWDED with well-dresSed
men ana women, young, middle aged
and Old, who had been enjoying the
evening at various theaters. Into this
orderly, quiet crowd plunged 4 hun
dred or more freshmen and SOPHIE
mores from a local college. They had
been across the river on some sort OF
a college lark in which the sopho-
mores had been badly worsted. The
freshmen were jubilant.
AS the tram uTCN ililO tic SlAllol
the young men, every one nearer
twenty than sixteen, formed flying
wedge and scattered the theatergoers.
capturing the most desirable seats on
the train. One particularly broad
shouldered man in evening clothes. ac-
cOmpanied by well-gowned young
woman. resented the conduct of the
dying wedge and putting his broad
shoulders against part of il, literally
carried his lady fair into the car,
while other theatergoers fell back in
dismay.
One of the college youths stumbled
caught his feet in the train of the
woman's gown and there was Il rip,
Il crash. and II resoundins slap on the
cole Eian's face.
OF course il very nearly ended in Il
riot, and even some of the older the
atergoers said the man was wrong 70
make so futile and spectacular stand
all, why did he not have some rights
on that train? Why should those
moneyed youths in rough sweaters,
mud-covered shoes. silly caps and
rocking pipes pre-empt Il train for
which orderly men. and women had
paid their fares before the arrival OF
the college crowd"
Was there anything courteous. chiv-
-alric or geutlemanly in their conduct
Were they credit to their alma
mater?
The next morning papers, whose re-
the collegians. but did the lesson
carry any weight? Not at all. The
boys seemed rather proud of being
exploited as having captured the
alter train-like the twentieth century
bandits they are.
At matinee performance of a pop
ular play 1 noticed two parties of
young girls. One consisted of eight
pupils from fashionable school in
the suburbs, attended by Il school
chaperon. They were quietly dressed.
had seats in the body of the house,
and fled in orderly fashion down the
aisle. During the intermissions they
chatted quietly in their seats and left
the house as quietly as they had
come, without attracting the least at
tention.
The other party of ten girls filed
two boxes Instead or coming together
they met in the lobby of the theater,
arriving one or two at time. They
huttered about like group of gay
plumaged birds They wore all sorts
of flowers, from violets to American
beauty roses. They had boxes upon
boxes of bon bons. They leaned across
the ratings of the boxes and made
audible comments during the perform
ance, and between the acts they
promenaded all over the theater. They
sent the ushers on errands and joked
with the little lad who served ice wa
ter.
Now. IL you had been in that the
alter. which one of these parties would
you have selected as the girls accus-
toned 10 matinee parties? Which