Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-08-01

you will have left some inane
chatter about some one hundred
families or persons who, either
purposely, or inadvertently or
through the press acceptance of
their own value of their own do
ings, are made to appear as vastly
superior beings to the rest of the
population. This superiority does
not come from any thing praise
worthy, there is no real excellence
of intellectual achievement or
proven moral superiority. 1t is
often founded on nothing more
than personal vanity and an am
bition to appear as a person of
prominence, without having done
anything to merit such attention.
Some time ago, a periodical with
q million circulation, published,
what seemed to be, the confess
sions of society editor For years,
she had reported the doings of Il
restricted group of persons for
a large metropolitan newspaper. 1t
was q shocking confession of her
own lack of moral sense and the
utter unfairness of her methods or
publicity for those who were alive
to the value of personal adYertis-
ing and who scrupled at nothing
to obtain it. Since reading it, /
have not accepted society items
with the same child-like faith in
their inviolability.
If society, as reported, were
only a negative influence, it might
escape being harmful, but q pas
time in which SO many excellent
people indulge, can not remain a
negation. 1t has an influence not
always benefit on those who are
most a part of it. Many men
have been wrecked financially and
morally by a too ambitious wife
and her determination to keep up
with society, as it reads in the
paper.
Wabbly business men and pro-
fessional men of mediocre attain
ments, have, with the aid of clever,
press-agent wives Cor friends) ap-
peared so successful that the pub
lie has assumed that their expen-
sive and socially popular wives
were a guarantee of their depend
ability and capability. 1t is so
human to like to trade at the big
gest store, to speak of the most
talked of physician as my doc
tor" and to employ the attorney
who is least in need of your fee,
If the journal got paid for its in
direct advertising in the society
columns in proportion to the re-
suits in money, it could economic
on print paper by leaving off all
the big display ads and just write
of Mrs. Umpty Dumps pink tea or
Mr. Peasant Persons picnic or the
Commands orgies of food, adding
a long list Of among those pres
emit" Those last three words are
the life of the party. Without the
names of guests or host how many
persons would care to read, 1.-The
house was beautifully decorated,
the gowns were gorgeous, the food
delectable." Surely the daily doings
of the plumbers wife would make
better reading.
MS. Plumber arose at 6 this |
so that her husband |
could get in little overtime and
finish the payments on their new
car. She gave the house a good |
cleaning, baked fine mess of
bread, boiled a ham, took little |
Bessie to the dentist, made Jane
put in an hours practice on the
piano, gave James q good two |
hours work with the rake in the
yard and cut and made silk !
shirt for her husband in the after
noon, thereby enabling him to save
SIS and still appear dressed as a
plumber should be and rounded |
out a busy, useful day. The only
foolish thing she did that busy
day was to read the society col
umn and wonder what it was those
women did that made it seem so
alluring and who took care of
their family while they were about |
1t. Well, maybe John Plumber
could manage a little more over
time and she could do things like
that too. and why didn't she mar
ry the other man, anyway; yes, it
must be Johns fault because she
knew she was as good-looking as
Mrs. Umpty Dumpt and had a
better figure. 1t was all in the
way you do your hair anyway
and she stood on her tired feet in
the hot bedroom all of an hour,
with the door locked against the
children, trying to, do her hair
ike Mrs. Umpty Dumpt"
The whole system is mo bueno,"
gets US nowhere and takes up
lime, of which there is so little,
hat could be used in so many