Evening star., 1926-05-02
A NATION OF SNOBS

-" OREIGNERS including Americans -
l. have long been convinced that the Eng
lish are a nation of snobs Sometimes
L they amused, but more often 1rri-
tated, by what they consider to be the
essential snobbishness of the English mind.
They suspect us-or at least the tradition still
persists-of national arrogance toward all
people, customs and fashions outside our own
small island, contempt for all foreigners hard
ly disguised by certain cold civility, and with
in our own social ranks a caste system based
on educated snobbshness which reaches right
through the structure of our social life.
The titled ariStocrat is supposed to consider
himself of quite different clay from the COM
mon herd. The university man is supposed to
regard himself as the intellectual superior of
the selfeducated student who had sweated In
the back room. certain accent, certain ideas
Of good FORM the cut of a coat, the color of
tie, mark the difference between gentleman
and an outsider.
No selfInade man, however great his fortune.
is ever allowed to mention his humble origin
without shudder passing, it is said. among
those who live on inherited wealth or in priv-
legged professions untainted by the stigma Of
trade.
But these social distinctions are not reserved
for the very rich or the highly exalted, accord
ing to the prevailing ideas of English snobbish
ness The bank clerk the civil servant con-
sders himself a cut above the prosperous shop
keeper or the commercial traveller. Any man
who wears a black coat and a white collar
looks down upon any man who tolls in his shirt
sleeves and wears a scarf around his neck.
There Is no marriage or giving in marriage
between the son of a second-class clerk and the
daughter of green grocer. Mrs. Smith. whose
children go to a private kinderga rten, will not let
her little ones make friends with the children
of Mrs. Brown. who so to the free elementary
school, In every instinct of minds say some
of foreign critics, we are ingrained with
snobbishness.
Is there any truth in all this?
And IL so, is it bad thing, anyhow?
| think must plead guilty to the charge,
the whole, though believe that during the
has been going with the effect Of breaking
down this caste system in English life and cur
ing a little, If not completely, of this curse of
snobbishness.
1t due partly to facts of history. Our
medieval life founded upon clear-cut dis
tinCtions of rank and service. The earl
fidelity to the King in return for his land: the
baron held his lands and rights as military
and feudal subordinate of the earl the knight
had to raise body of men for his over1ords
in time of civil strife; the squire
der the knight, the thane under the squire, the
villain under the thane.
When the middle classes grew numerous and
powerful, they, too, were divided into well de-
fined ranks. Merchants and craftsmen belonged
to various guilds and wore the lveries' of their
own, beyond which they did not aspire to rise.
Jack not good his master, in spite Of
the old revolutionary rhyme of
When Adam delved and Eve span
Who then the gentleman
X x x x
1t was this medieval tradition Of accepted
classes and ranks which formed social hab-
had been broken up modified. But AFRO
gance or snobbShneSS a nation-Which cannot
be doubted-was due to our insular position in
Europe and the Protestant reformation which