Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-06-03
WILD YOUNG FOLK
Not Much Worse Than Those Of
Other Days.
Writer Answers Indictment of "Tbes.
Wild Young People"-Frankness a
Striking Characteristic Of the
Generation of Today.

1--WE of the younger generation -
says John f. Carter. Jr.. in the Allan.
tic, answering an Indictment If those
wild young people" by a certain Mr.
Grundy' in the same magazine ",ya
are frank with each other, frank mr.
pretty nearly So with our leaders &.
frank in the way we feel toward Hfa
and this badly damaged world. II may
be a disquieting and misleading habit
but is it a bad one?
1--WE find some few things in tho
world that we like, and a whole LOT
that we don't, and we are not afraid
TO say so or to give reasons. In ear.
lier generations this was not the case.
The young men yearned to be glitter
ing generalities, the young women TO
act like shy, sweet, innocent fawns-
toward one another. And now. when
grown up, they have come to believe
that they actually were figures of pris-
tine excellence, knightly chivalry, ador-
able modesty and impeccable pro
priety.
But I really doubt if they were
so. Statistics relating to, let us say,
the immortality of college students In
the eighties would not compare favor
ably with those Of the present. How
ever. now, as they look back on 1t, they
see their youth through a mist of mus
LIN, fiannelS, tennis, bicycles, Tenny-
son. Browning and the Blue Danube
waltz The other things, the ugly
things that we know about and talk
about must also lgve been there. But
our elders didn't care or didn't dare to
consider them, and now they are for
gotten. We talk about them unabashed
and not necessarily with Presbyterian
dsapproval, and so they jump to the
conclusion that we are thoroughly bad.
and keep Fostering us to make US
good.
"The trouble with them Is that they
can't seem to realize that we are busy.
that what pleasure we snatch must be
incidental and feverishly hurried We
have to make the most of our time. We
actually haven't got so much time for
the noble procrastinations of modesty
or of the elaborate rigmarole of chiv-
airy and little patience for the lovely
formulas of an ineffective faith. Let
them die for a while. They did not
seem to serve the world too well in its
black hour If they are inherently
good they will come back vital and un-
furnished. But just now we have lot
Of work, old time is still a-flying,' and
We must gather rosebuds while we
may
ooh, | know that we are a pretty
bad lot, but has not that been true Of
every preceding generation? At least
we have the courage to act according
ly. Our music is distinctly barbaric,
of arbutus and barbed wire. We drink
when we can and what we can; we
gamble, we are eXtravagant-but we
work. and that's about all that we can
be expected to do! for. after all, we
have Just discovered that we are still
very near to the stone age.
"Oh suppose that it's too bad that
we aren't humble, starry eyed, shy, re-
spectful innocents, standing reverently
at their side for instructions, playing
pretty little games in which they no
longer believe, except for US. But we
aren't, and the best thing the oldsters
can do about il is to go into their re-
Spective back yards and dig for worms,
great big pink ones-for the Grundy
tribe are just about as important as
they are, and they will doubtless make
company more cOngenial and docile
than these wild young people, the men
and women of my generation"