Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-05-12
Wealth, Poverty Rub Elbows
In Windy City, Surrey Shows
BY o J. GIBBONS

| CHICAGO, May 11-Living in that
mlle-square area known here def
nltely as the near north side" (con-
clueSlvely) places a person as either
somebody or nobody, greatly rich Or
unbelievably poor. respectable or of
the gilded underworld OF vice.
No similar acreage on earth pre-
sents such vivid contrasts.
Here are to be found the highest
residential land values in Chicago
and the lowest. the greatest number
OF professional men, more politici-
ans. more suicides. more Million
aires and more persons in Who's
Who" than in all the rest of the
city combined, it is disclosed in a
study just made public under the
title Of Gold Coast and Slum." by
Harvey w. ~Zorbaugh, now on the
faculty Of New York university, and
formerly OF the University of Chi
cage.
Gold Coast" Dissected
The Gold Coast" the floating
population OF Clark street, the near
north side rialto: the foreign Colo
MES, the art and bohemian section
around "Towertown" and the drab
Of the rooming house streets have
been diSsected with a keen pen by
DR.. Zorbaugh.
Chicago society people themselves
wrote the chapter on the Gold
Coast" telling of the foibles of So
ciety as they saw them, and reveal
ing the social aspirations and &C
t~ivities Of the local -Four Hun
dred."
Chicago society, the study states,
is IN the hands OF cliques OF rich
young people. and the dowagers and
social arbiters OF yesterday are out.
The old society. based on hereditary
social position, has been replaced by
one Of wealth and display. In which
youth sits in the seat of high con-
troll.
New Standards Prevail
"One is no longer born of social
position" according TO DR.. Zor-
baugh'S sociological survey. "Such
position nowadays is gained BY play
ing the social game with an eye
on the trump cards.
The -Four Hundred are those
who have arrived. They form a
self-conscious group to whom the
ameneties OF life are OF enormous
Importance. For them to violate the
social code is a vastly greater sin
than TO violate the Ten Command
ments- They live in a totally diff
ferent world from that OF the rest
Of the great city of which they arc
a part and of the perogatives Of
this world they are extremely jeal-
GUS.
The social game IS a constant
competition among those who are
in for distinction and prominence:
a constant struggle on the part OF
those who r not in to break into
circle Of those who are.
There are certain events Of the
season to which the people are in
vited, such as the Bachelors and
Benedicts gathering. the Some
Bachelors affair, the First and Sec
ond Assembly and the Twelfth
Night party. And if you're not in
vited to these, you're not OF the
upper strata.
There are besides, the Service
Club Playa mixture OF prominent
people and peopel unheard Of; the
Junior League Play and Party. and
opera and certain charity affairs.
Crashing the Social Gate
About crashing the social gate,
DR.. Zorbaugh has this to say:
"The wiles of the social climber
are many. and devious. The nos
obvious step is a brilliant marriage.
but this route is open only to men.
The majority Of climbers seek u
buy their way into society-not
openly. to be sure. but tactfully and
insidiously, in the name Of char
ity.
Many climb. too, by brilliant
stage management: the ability to
contrive a brilliant salon. with a
celebrity OF two. and a few OF lust
the right people as drawing cards.
has accomplished more than one o
cial triumph. The successful climb
err is an artist in self-advertisement.
IN getting and keeping her name
in the society columns. in aSSociat-
ing with just the right people and
Just the right things
The essence Of the game Is a
struggle for status and prestige. for
position and influence. II involves
an art of publicity of display and
lavish spending. resulting in a glori-
fication Of the person to be found
nowhere else in the life of the CITY.
The game, the passion for recogni-
ton. Is the dominant interest in the
lives OF at least a third Of the
group known as society"
The Other Extreme
Chicago's near north side Is the
tidelands Of city life. 1t shades from
light to shadow and from shadow
TO dark. The Gold Coast gives
way 70 the world OF furnished rooms.
and the world Of furnished rooms
imperceptibly becomes the slums.