Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-04-16

all America about the business of
dollar hunting?
These questions an eminent English
Journalist is asking himself as the
big ocean liner carries him away
from the shores of America. Col.
Charles A'Court Repington. foreign
correspondent of the London Daily
Telegraph, is returning to England
after his second brief visit to this
country, taking back a fresh breath
of America into the public seclusion
of old Fleet street.
Fleet street is about to hear some
thing in a written way Of the lack
Of leisure class in America and Fleet
street is about to hear much by word
of mouth concerning this appalling
deficiency. England. feeling the mat
ter to be of little concern, will not
see much of it in the press. But there
will be quite a bit of talk of it over
the meat pies and mugs of ale In the
little coffee shops where London
newspaper correspondents gather.
"Why, all the men in America are
rushing about making money. saio
Col. Repington, when l talked with
him. "a man not engaged in bust
ness is looked upon with contempt In
This country. Even the sons of mil
lionaires are similarly regarded. How
can a leisure class develop in TINS
state of affairs? And how can there
he any development of literature ana
the arts without this leisure? The
want of a. leisure class strikes me as
the most obvious of the things Amer
lea may lack"
X X
TN the same breath Col. Repington
1 reminded me that he knew only
the east and middle west. Also, MS
first trip to this country came at the
time of the disarmament conference,
when he saw little outside of wash
inston. This second trip. lecture
tour, was not extensive. but from the
nature of his training the colonel is
equipped to make intelligent observa-
tiors even though they may be hasty.
Col. Repington is a man of sixty
years or whereabouts. tall and coloreo
with an out-of-door life. His hair is
gray, and he wears dropping mus
tache. His clothes are badly tailored
as Americans know tailoring put
tbev are of the best of English stuffs,
and the colonel wears them IN man
ner that marks him as an eminent
journalist, il one understands the me
distinctions in these matters
Col. Repington's personal appear
.nce is characterized by the absence
~ n monocle, and he claims that he
does not so much as own one. And
he does not say, "Eh, what AL
least he did not run at through ms
conversation with me. The Ameri-
can press may be responsible ior
breaking him of this habit.
"America. according to her numbers
and education, is amazingly lacking
in contributions to literature ana
art" said Col. Repington, as ne are"
I'D a chair for me in a hotei ioopy
the other day. THE men are making
a constant drive for money. Inc
women are more leisured. They DO
NOT have to be at Offices at 3 O'CLOCK
each morning America must look 10
its women for it's writer's
"But. Col. Repington." 1 protested
"vou are smashing my story. came
TO near you lain oi e'S
women make bad journalists. l was
sure you must feel this.
"on the contrary" said the colonei
English gentlemen. like all gentle
men, are gifted with comprehen-
sive tact). II say they do not make
had journalists. They
"But, Colonel. I was having such
e,ooa time with the idea OF course,
expected you to say some redeem
;no things about Mary Roberts Rine-
hart. Ida Tarbell. Fannie Hurst and
Edna Ferber-not strictly bad journal
lists, but"
stopped when the blank look
crept under his bushy eyebrows.
DO you not know them?'
He shook his head.
.Didn't you ever hear OF Mary
Roberts Rinehart:
Col. Repington said, NO.
did A few somersaults in my mind.
The colonel knows tremendous
amount about the world and its al
fairs. He knows, personally. many
Of the most important personages In
Europe. He Is interested In people
who write in every country.
~oL. REPINGTON is keen OF mind
~ and alert of understanding. we
are making no special claims Tor MIS-.
Rinehart as a writer or philosopher
when we expect this English Journal
.st to have heard of her. Dare we
suggest that Repington's estimate OF
things American may be bit more
superficial than he himself thinks:
"Ob know" said the colonel, pos
sibly sensing some OF my men'ai
gymnastics. you have some exceiiene
women journalists. There Is some
one nv the name OF Ethel-Ethel-
Ethel what?' -.
"Do YOU mean Edith Wharton?
ayes, yes, of course.
All of which can be no renec.ioh
nm a man of Col Repington's experl-
ence. We know little OF EUROPE.
And Europe knows US less. We take
eeetine tours through France ana
come back to denounce such absences
as concern butter and oatntuus.
Enslishmen (and Mrs. Asquith IN par
,icu,ar) dash across America to dis
cover that we have skyscrapers out
no intellectual life.
What we do to the English IAN
ouaee appalls most of the English
n,en who land in Hoboken. If they
ara i'll bred they patter necessarily
Of our misuse of words, our bad pro-