The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-01-20
Belittling Your Own Heritage


Il hardly think you will care to locate in
that section of the city," said young woman to a
friend who was about to make his home in an east
ern city. They nice enough people," she
continued patronizingly, but rather-well, ordn-
ary-you know-they are the sort of folks who
cut their own grass"
1t must not be supposed that the speaker
representative of the local $ four hundred,'
one OF the aristOcratic few whose least move is
chrOnicled in the Society Column. On the con-
trary she was the daughter of man on small
salary accustomed to plain living, and rigid econ
Omy. But she had acquired false standards. To
her mind the man who used his own lawn mower
on the tiny grass plot possible in crowded city,
did so at the sacrifice of his social standing.
Someone has remarked that the modern
dread OF carrying package home from the shops
has not little to do with the high cost of living.
1t is not so many years ago that this tendency was
considered laughabe. The fathers and mothers of
some of you young people will remember humor-
Gus cartoon appearing before the day of crinoline
went out. The shopper, much ruffied lady with
tremendous hoop, bought paper of pins, and
ordered it sent. The proprietor gave the order,
James take the truck" and the artist chose to
represent that scene, the stately shopper a little
in advance, while behind her grinning porter
followed with his truck, on which is displayed the
paper of pins. This was considered Joke in the
sixties of last century, but in the twentieth century
it has become sober reality Every day every
large store in the country delivers hundreds, if
not thousands of articles insignificant as paper
of pins,
The most serious side of the question, how
ever is it not the inevitable increase in the cost of
living 1t is the revelation of the tendency to look
down upon manual labor. No one objects to carry
ing small parcel because of it's weight. Those
who are unwilling to do it, have an idea that it
stamps them as inferior to the genteel class who
never carry anything more burdensome than
pOcketboOk.
young woman recently referred to the
working Glass; in the superior tones such as
duchess might use. If she we're sufficiently fool
ish her father looked at her with interest
Well what about the working classes? /
want to know what you think of them, for | am
proud to acknowledge that belong in those hon.
cradle ranks"
The girl stole glance at her father and
found he was in earnest. But mean the people
who work with their hands, papa" she said quick
ly.
girl The money which, wisely handled, has made
us prosperous, made on New England farm
And the years spent on that farm, turning my
hands to dozen different kinds of work in a day.
have counted as much ia my success as univer-
sity education. When you speak of the working
classes you must speak with respect, or belittle
your own heritage
If young people make the idle rich'-only
small fraction of our wealthy population, by the
way-their ideal, if they foster a feeling that to
work with ones hands comes near to being a dis
grace and that tue independent laborer far below
the parasitic son ola wealthy farmer, then the
greatness of our nation is~endangered, No true
patriot believes this possible. Yet every one of us
needs to guard against the dangerous tendency of
the times
Fix
WQTTTNJG NJOTTHE