The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-25
(Puplished through arrangement by The Age Herald with the Interna-
 tional Book Review, New York.)


tional Book Review. New York.)
 Fly GERTRUDE ATHERTON
 NEW YORK. March 24-I have al- ways said that there should be a school for manners in the United States. and that every man and wom- an (particularly man) who has not enjoyed the higher advantages should be compelled to enter 1t for a post graduate course. For, a S a nation. we are the most ill-mannered in the world. The south may be exempt from this national vice. It has all ways had the reputation for cour- tesy, and certainly during three b1ef visits there I experienced nothing less. It is also picturesque. But know the north and the east and the west very thoroughly. and out side of certain groups severely trained from childhood by well-bred parents, manners, even in the good and the kind, are sadly perforated and polish is nil. ''
 The awful people so ruthlessly portrayed in "Babbitt' are identical with. the awful people we see and hear and are jostled by when travel ing across the continent. In sum mer men go into the dining-car in their shirt sleeves and suspenders, assuming, apparently, that hot wealth CT is, excuse enough for anything. (They must be shuddering people to live with.) They also eat with both elbows planted on the table and make horrible noises. Crossing the ocean for they go second or third class. but on a Pullman train, where the ex- pense of the trip is higher, one IS as helpless as if in an indiscriminate refugee camp.
 But they are by no means the worst offenders. It is the men you meet. not only on trains, but in districts, in hotel Hobbies. who push and almost trample,' who never raise their hats if they nearly knock you down, who shove you aside at a ticket office, who thrust you ruth lessly aside if there is only one vacant seat on a train, who. in the house, come into your presence with the street, who cough in your face. who chew gum in public-oh, well, what's the use? The list is end- less. But life at home is paradise compared to travelling in the United States of America.
 Here are two personal examples out of many. I spent some time once in small western city. There was no bootblack in the hotel, only one in the entire town. Like everybody else, I went periodically to this en- closed stand-and had an interesting conversation with the bootblack, who was a character. One day, while enthroned, the chief banker of the town entered, not for service, but be : cause he had seen me while passing. He kept his hat on and his cigar in his mouth, but was extremely genial. He was indeed one of the most agree able men in the place. Suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he appar- ently remembered something he had forgotten, wheeled without word of explanation and bolted, few days. later I was calling on woman wheH her husband entered. He had his hat on and he kept it on, although he sat and talked for 10 minutes or more. When he left, his wife said that was dreadful, but no one ever taught him any better when he was young, and now it is too late. It is a pity, because he Is descended from one of the historic families of Amer ica. But his people emigrated here before he was born, and life was hard-they were really not to blame" Caused No Resentment.
 Of course, I had no resentment against those two men, nor did l like them any the less. But I felt sorry for them. They, were both amiable and intelligent men. more so perhaps than many more highly polished, and yet they would appear at disad- vantage in the society of a Rallies.
 Ihave met innumerable men and women whom a little polish would convert them into delightful mem- bers of society, and I would suggest that Emily Post take up a collection and start schools in manners in all the small cities and towns-and some of the larger ones. Her name would go down to posterity as public benefactor. Failing that. would suggest that her book (Etiquette: In Society, in Politics. in Business, at Home) be included in the curriculum of every public school ard that no pupil be allowed to graduate unless he or she can stand an exhaustive examination of it.
 P I never read any other book on etiquette, and it is probable that l should not have read hers if the edi- tor of this magazine had not asked