The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-09-16
Glitter.
Keeping up with The
Joneses" becomes a boomer
ane when we allow snobbery
to distorf our true sense OF
values.
BY wINIFREp WILLARD

10y WHIT NEIL Wu&5ENWD
CISTER SUE was invited to be adj
- wiser to the rich couple furnish
ing their new home in New York.
That's because she has good sense.
eye for values and impeccable taste.
The living room after it was blue
printed, lacked snap. 1t needed
dash of color. The interior decora-
tor had brought as bait two red ele-
plants, price SO. Mistress was
charmed; said they were $50 i'm
pressionistic, so intriguing"
Sister Sue thought they were
shapeless, badly sized and off color.
Next day Sister Sue said. "Why pay
SO when you can get more stun
ming pair at Covington's for $6.5O?"
But "no," thought Mistress, "there
couldn't be anything so beautiful as
these particular red elephants.
A few days later, Sister Sue
played a trump card with apparent
unconcern. Very casually she said
she Couldn't see the point in paying
SO for two red elephants that could
be bought identical in every way
at Lacy's for $l.49!" In the face OF
that dismaying information, Mis-
tress wilted. OF course she did not
want for her new home what could
be bought at Lacy's. She finally &C
knowledged that she had never quite
liked those red elephants. 1t took
Sister Sue with brains and diploma
cy to handle that bit of decorative
difficulty.
The Million Dollar Room
The walls of the million dollar
room of the Union League club at
Chicago are papered with certifi-
Gates of stocks that were once said
to be as good as gold. We believed
the people who said they were. May
be they believed themselves too!
The only trouble was that the values
just weren't there. We do the same
things. We plaster our lives thick
with standards of cost instead Of
worth.
We carry the same sort Of stand
ards as far as the schools we choose
for our children. Tradition, price,
social register, what the Joneses do,
all weigh heavily with us instead of
where our children will learn the
most and become their best.
Over New York way is family
whose educational affections are
rooted in one particular exclusive
college. Costs $4,000 year for
daughter to go there. Just now
that's too much. Family is very
sorry for itself at the mere thought
that it may have to consider an
other college to which their daugh-
ter may be obliged to go. where ex-
penses are only $1,000. It doesn't
seem to occur to family that this
school is very high class; a topper
in the educational world with facul-
ty as good as the country affords, a
great library, century of associa-
tons and traditions, good enough
for any blue-blood; a beautiful cam
pus more than a hundred years oldl
But it costs less. That is the only
thing against it. Thereby family
concludes that it has to be worth
less. Strange that after all our les
sons we can't learn to tell gold from
glitter.
A Social Killing
A man was buying his wife a
wondrous ruby ring. Its color and
cutting and setting were perfect.
Anything lovelier couldn't be mag
med. Much. personal and foolish
Importance was attached to the pur-
chase. The merchant said its price
was $4,000. They tipped the money
from their purses as if it were a
farthing and said to each other so
clearly that the merchant heard,
that they were sorry; they had
hoped that it would cost $4,000. It
would be so much bigger a story to
tell And they intended that ring
to help them make a social "kill-
ing"
They remind me of the man who
went to market to buy big pipe
organ, one with chimes and harps
and all the modern gadgets. He
did not know anything about organs;
only something about dollars. This
one had big front and cost a lot
of money, many thousands. 1t was
exceedingly short on performance.
Another instrument with half the
window display at much less than
half the cost had real musical mer-
it, had what an organ ought to have
melody and harmony, sweetness,
richness and variety of tone. But
the man who went to market to buy
an organ paid the big price for the
poor product. It made such a good
story to tell. See how much it costl
Most of us are like thati We pur-
chase q sensible little string of
beads as a gift to some graduating
girl. Then we scour around until
we find a Tiffany box in which to
send it. We buy some perfectly
good ten cent store candy for the
weekend or as an informal, friend
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