Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-10
School for
Manners Is
Bodily Needed
BY DOROTHY DIX.

! university IS gong 10 eSldpllsil
school Of MINERS and that the de-
gree OF NJ, E.-magister elegantiar-
| iunl-may be conferred on sue h stu
dents as perfect themselves i'll the
etiquet of polite society.
This news sounds almost too good
to be true. Let us hope, however
that such course of study is really
to be established in one OF our great
schools, and that it will be compul-
sorry, for nothing is more sadly
needed,
For whatever other charms and
virtues the American youth may pos
sess, good manners are seldom
among them, As a child he is al
most Invariably a little savage. AS
hobbledehoy he is generally
| hoodlum, and as grown man he is
only too often an awkward blunderer,
who is like bull in the social china
shop, g.,
On every side we encounter multi
tudes OF men who have intelligence,
force, power, men who have achieved
success in their own particular call
ing, but who are as ignorant as babes
OF any of the graces OF human IN
tereourse.
They cannot enter or leave room
without falling over their own teet
They do not know what to say when
presentedto a stranger, or how either
to pay or receive compliment.
At dinner parties you may see
them hopelessly Aoundering around
among the silverware. At restaurants
YOU may observe them with their
legs twined like snakes around their
chair legs, grasping their forks as
il they were about to haSpoon an at
lacking whale, and, alas, you may
even pass away an evening listening
to them eat their soup.
OF course, we excuse such men by
saying that they have been too busy
with big affairs to give their atten-
ton to such small matters as the
proper use of fork or a spoon. We
say that its more important that a
mans heart should be Of gold than
that he should wear the right sort OF
coat for the occasion, and we try to
gloss over his beerishness by calling
him a rough diamond.
All OF which Is sheer nonsense. n o.
body will contend that rough dia-
mond Is as valuable as one that is
cut and polished, and the truth. is
that while a man may succeed with
out good manners, he would succeed
better with them. To know how
to do things, to possess what the
French call savoir faire, is always a
help, never a handicap IN life.
People have always appreciated
this fact so far as women were con-
cerned. In all girls schools special
attention is paid to department, and
girls are taught the niceties Of Ell
quet that they perhaps do not have
an opportunity to learn in their own
Nhomes.
More than that at home stress is
laid on little girls behaving like la
dies, and wherever you go the small
daughter Of the house will receive you
charmingly, drop her little courtesy
and endeavor to engage you in con-
versation.
But apparently the mothers of the
same families make no effort to in
still politeness into their boys, and
the lads will storm into the room with
their caps on. They will never stop
to speak to the visitors, and only
grunt by way of reply when adj
dressed
And when these boys are sent off
to school no effort seems to be made
to supplement their lack of home
training in manners. They are
grounded in all the arts and sciences
except the, most important art and
science of all, which is that of max
ing oneself agreeable to ones fellow
creatures.
For, when all is said and done,
good manners will carry one fur
ther than anything else in the world.
They are letter of credit one of us
honors at sight. The clown may COM
pei our grudging respect, but we pre-
sent our hearts as free gift to the
courtier.
A young man may be Of the most
sterling worth. and yet wear decol-
lete collar that exposes his Adams
apple and coat and trousers and
waistcoat of different makes and COL
ors so that he looks like an animated
patchwork quilt, but if he and another
| youtll WIN hilNW INV W ulCoS hPPllNh
for the same job the good clothes
would get it.
A man might be genius and yet
cat peas with his knife, but he would
have hard time getting close enough
to those who might help him to get
a chance to show what he could do.
A man may have almost super
human ability in any line, but If he
is rude and crude in his manners, if
he does not know how to please, he
lives and dies neglected.
On the other hand, the man who
has what we call charming person
atty, who is gracious in speech and
polite in manners, finds a helping
hand always at his elbow and a
friendly shoulder ready to boost him
up the ladder.
That is why it is so important to
teach boys good manners and why
the opening of such department in
the New York university is epoch
making.