The daily Alaskan., 1915-10-20
The Dignity of
 Labor
4 Story Showing Its Change
 In Half a Century
By JOHN Y. LARNED

! VI SNAalN Do -NAAlN-C .
 @HH%H4%&&4%H%44H@444%~H~~$ During the past half century a great
 change has come over what we call the dignity of labor-not that labor Is a
 moro honorable calling than formerlE
 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 fit Oc- equation for gentleman. Fifty years ago one might not In America sell goods at retail and maintain a first class social position. The daughters of gentlemen and ladies could not earn money 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 walt for husbands, and many a young man with 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 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 q 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:
 q am looking for a place to spend q month in which to regain health im- paired from overw0rk. ] hnye been told thnt if I can get you to take me in l will be very pleasantly situated"
 The lady looked the young man over and consented to tOke him to board and treat him, If he so wished, as a member of her family. He gave his name as Charles Treat, but concerning his antCCedcnts 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 Iy 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 companlOuship, but the snob had not been kept out. Nev- crtheless Glendale social life was suf- fciently progressive to take persons for their intrinsic worth.
 For the first week of his soiOurn 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 he would be better satisfied to remain If he had some companionship and offer cd 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 ephemerGl. 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 equali 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 curi- osity.
 Treat took more especially to tennis than to the other methods of reCrea- tion. He played a good game, though at the time, his health having been impaired by overwork, he did not play a 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- slons while at tennis, struck by Q sud den thought while a ball was to be sent back, he would let 1t go by with out seeing 1t. This was not acceptable to his partner when he had one and gained him the name of ''woolgather- er." One of the young men who mo- dced this idiosyncrasy declared that Treat was either mad or a genius, add ing that geniuses were part lunauc
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