The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-02
BOURGEOIS REFINEMENT AND
CULTURE"-THE GLORIFTCA-
TON OF SNOBBERY

OCLA ORE II ne NTLOhIElOA
TON OF SNOBBERY
In the question and answer
column conducted by Anne Hirst, on
the women's page Of the New York
Evening Post, appeared, some time
ago, the following challenge:
"'You always take the mans
part" cries an indignant reader
to Anne Hirst. Others are as con-
WINGED she's on the woman's side.
Follow this column and see what
you think"
A class conscious worker does not
have to follow" it very long to OBJ
serve that she is on neither of the
sides she mentioned: she is simply
on the side Of the bosses, be they
men or women. Her question itself
is designed to serve the interest of
the bosses-to split the ranks of the
workers with futile and endless sex
wars, as with race-prej JUDGE, and
so on.
Apparently Miss Hirst's copy is
syndicated (sold to a chain of news
papers: the bosses thus save money
needing fewer writer's for a reader
sends from Atlantic City, N, j., a
column by Miss Hirst, clipped from
the Philadelphia Record, where it
was twice printed because cts so
good" This column admirably il
Illustrates the function of such bour-
geois-hired writers: to persuade the
poor to take poverty and like it.
81 stand on top Of hill today.
Head raised to the brisk wind,
arms stretched wide to welcome
she new day. The sky blue and
gold above me, bare trees point
ing their tips upward, like fingers
reaching to a rainbow.
"a wOman's letter set me there
j.. she wrote for encouragement
herself. Instead of which, she has
given it to me.
"She is 40 and says so. She's the
mother of several children.
Her husband recently died, and
grim necessity stared her in the
face.
"She was woman of education,
Of culture In times like these, what
could such a woman do?
"She tried to find work in her own
field and among her own kind. No
luck.
what she did find to do-the
only thing she found to dds so
mental job that shall not dis
close it.
'That is what she is doing today.
"And did the work her mother
used to pay servants to do. Il.
Her letter, however, was not
written to glorify herself. 1t was
written because she has not let this
job defeat her. Her only fear is that
she may become like other people
who do such work and sink with
them to their peasant level. And
she is determined not to do that.
"She seems to have the urge to
write.
Il second this idea. She won't
sell anything at first-the field is
over populated, and learning to
write is long road and hard one
but she will find in it a release
from just the fears which torture
her sensitive soul. Through it she
will escape for a little while from
the harsh realities of her new life
and lose herself in the images which
her pen creates even if it is
only for an hour day, she will
be practicing a style, learning the
glory of simple words. F. I suggest
she read and read the works Of
those writer's she most admires.
81 am glad and proud that a
woman like that lives in this
world, and lives even nearby.
Particularly in these days of
strife and sorrow, when all about
Us our comrades fall one by one,
stricken b. fear and false pride
and selfishness.
Take off your hats this morn
ing, as my own is off, to one of
Gods gentIewomen, fighting the
s9ht that appals the strongest of
z1en.
HAnd winning it!7