New-York tribune. [volume], January 04, 1920, Page 10, Image 76

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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Tragedy and
"Please Don't Come to Meals"
Is an Appeal Appearing
in a London Paper
EVERYBODY is familiar with
the type called by the
French "nouveau riche," the
wealthy upstart who lights
his cigar with banknotes and makes
life unbearable for fellow guests at
a hotel or restaurant by his extrava?
gant . tipping. The war, with its
profiteering opportunities, has in?
creased this detestable genus all
over the world. At the same time,
it has created in all countries a
class for which the English have
coined the designation "new poor":
members, mostly, of the profes?
sional middle classes whose expen?
diture has increased enormously
with the rise of prices, while their
income has remained ^stationary.
"The London Daily Mail" prints a
touching appeal from a gentleman
signing himself "One of the New
Poor," addressed to friends and
relatives and the world at large.
The headline tells the whole sad,
sad story?"Please Don't Come to
Meals." The appeal reads:
"One of the burdens of which the
New Poor should be relieved is that
"-- of dispensing hospitality to their
friends and relatives.
"During the war, when rationing
some theater tickets to give away.
"Then there are 'in-laws' of both
sexes living in rooms in town. They
make a- point of coming to see us
regularly. We are glad to see them.
v Make no mistake about that. We .
are honestly glad to see them. But
it never seems to strike them that
even the modest way in which we cn
tertain costs money. They must be
hard up, too, for it never occurs to
them to ask myself and my wife to
a little dinner in town, which would
vary the monotony and relieve the
financial strain of being 'popular' at
home.
"It goes against the grain to write
in this way. Something, however,
must be done, and 'The Daily Mail'
is so widely read that a little article
like this may work wonders. I have
no doubt that many of the New Poor
feel as I do. Will our friends take
the hintr
gACK in the misty days before
the war a French actress, Mme
Polaire, came to New York with th<
unique advertising slogan that shi
was "the ugliest woman in th<
world." It developed, however, tha
not everybody agreed with her pr?s
agents in bestowing this distinctioi
upon her. Yet once more life ha
Comed
>4-?
London championship in feminine
bad looks.
The contest, perhaps the first of
its kind in history, was recently held
under the auspices of one Mr. De
Bi?re, a theatrical manager, who
needed a particularly homely per?
son for a new production. And such
is the fascination of fame and the
attraction of a possible stage ca?
reer that not less than thirty women
entered the lists?to be sure, by
mailed application. However, when
the applicants had to face a jury
of newspaper men ? why''these
should be better judges of home?
liness than any other professionals
is not explained?only eight of the
original number mustered the pluck
to appear. Whether their motive
was excessive vanity or an excessive
lack of it should be left for the
psychologist to decide. The facts
of the case are reported in "The
London Daily News" as follows:
"The remarkable fact wars that
only three of the eight received any
votes, and one of the competitors
was actually offered a position in
the beauty chorus by Mr. De Biere,
who has been advertising for the
ugliest woman in London to assist
him in a new production.
"The exhibition began by the in?
troduction of a tall woman in red,
swathed in a black head dress. She
was carrying a sandbag, and was
toying wim a green vase.
"Several of the women were well
dressed, and, try as ; they would,
ugliness was far from them. Four
^JW^.. ,? ., h i!Ms.!i!_M__wmiiiiiii?irwi/i i
The New Poor: "l?er?want a couple of pounds of??er?sausages, please,
and oblige me by wrapping them up to look?er?like a bunch of violets!"
'like a bunch of violets!'
?From London Opinion
was strict, there was a mutual un?
derstanding in this respect. Your
friends did not expect to be asked
to loach or dinner, and auch as
dropped in to tea came provided with
portions of the scarcer articles. It
was rather a joke, and one at which
the host could smile with fall appre?
ciation.
"To-day food is even more plenti?
ful, but with many of us money is
even scarcer than it was in the lean'
days. We can ill afford to keep open
house, yet we are expected to do so.
"Middle class society, in fact, seems
divided into two sections?those who
maintain a modest establishment and
those who sponge on them.
"Many people gave up their houses
during the war and went into board?
ing establishments; others have never
had a place of their own. But they
all have their 'dull' married friends
who are reckoned good for a dinner
or a week end at any time.
"Let me put my own case by way
of concrete illustration:
"I am one of the New Poor. My
income has not increased, save for
?a? or two bonus ?hecks, during or
since' the war. My expenses, oi
course, have increased enormously,
but, with a boy at school and a girl
just teaching school age, there is
nothing for it but to carry on.
"In the mean time, the strictest
household economy is necessary. We
have to be as careful with our tea
and sugar, meat, butter and bread
?s w? were during the submarine
menace.
"My wife end I often wish that our
friends? when they come would bring
their own 'fodder,' or would have
their meals beforehand. But they
ere tsrr thoughtless. They seem to
think that ?not because we bav? a
bettle the old pr?-ws*fliberty Hall'
system- nesesmul^?s^i^:
"Gonnirr ?<msin*r1?i|??p up for the
week end. It L? vary nie? to see
them, of ?ours*, bat I really don't
think f*b*y would know us if hotels
wer? cheaper and esstet&yto get into
-and it ? didn't otesmmslly bav?
smmsjm??m?mss?mssm?%\w?m?\wm
outdistanced imagination, and to?
day Miss Leyton, ,an English music
I ?eacher, is the happy winner of the
i ?
of them were married, and explained
that their husbands knew all about
it, and were quite willing for them
Leadei
AFTER nearly a month's
trial R. B. Russell, the
I chief of the leaders in the
general strike at Winni?
peg last May, was convicted there on
December 24. He was found guilty
on all the seven counts of the indict?
ment, the first charging "seditious
conspiracy"; the next five various
overt acts, and the seventh "com?
mitting a common nuisance."
This decision has established manj
important legal pointa relating t<
strikes in Canada, according to Jus
tice Metcalfe, who conducted th?
trial: that it is illegal to hold sym
pathetic strikes; that it is illegal t
commit acts that would endange
citizens in general; that intimida
tion during a strike is illegal; als
picketing, ander Canadian law.
The trial waa conducted with r<
markable speed, and at first thre
sessions of court a day were heli
including one at night. On Decen
ber 9, however, the night sessior
were abolished, after a day in whic
many witnesses had been examine
One tof them, Robert Snooks, d
scribed how two of his teams he
been upset and he had been knock?
down by strikers. Next came a lor
legal argument on submitting
pamphlet giving a historical accou:
of the general strike at Seattl
which, the Crown urged, furnish?
the example followed by the Winr
peg strikers.
Charles H. McNaughton, manag
of the Arctic Ice Company, w
cross-examined by Mr. McMurr?
counsel for the defense. McMurr
suggested that the strike commit?
had taken care to see that hospiti
were supplied with ice, while t
ordinary citizen could do without
as ice was a luxury; which led
some discussion. The strike co
r of Wii
mittee's published statement "al?
lowed" the police to remain on duty,
and promised non-interference with
hospitals. v
There was much discussion be?
tween Mr. Pitblado, for the proaecu
I tion, and Mr. Cassidy, for the de?
fense, on the question of allowing
incendiary documents in the posses?
sion of the accused as evidence, but
the judge allowed their admission.
The principal one of these was the
pamphlet describing the Seattle
strike, with statements from radical
leaders there. Cassidy urged that
there was nothing illegal in this, but
the judge insisted that attempts to
set one class against another were
contrary to law.
Two days later the question came
up of the treatment of the women
who had been involved in the strike,
but Justice Metcalfe ruled that they
were liable to the same treatment as
the men, stating:
"In these days, when women are
taking up special obligations and as?
suming equal privileges with men, it
may be as well for me to state new
that women are just as liable as men
to ill-treatment in a riot. They can
claim no special protection and are
entitled to no sympathy, and if they
stand and resist officers of the law,
they are liable to be cut down."
On the 13th the Crown drew near
the end of, its case. The first wit?
ness was E. A. Mott, a director of
the Winnipeg General Hospital, who
told how Russell boasted of the
strikers' control over the industries
of the city and the enforced suspen?
sion of the press. The hospital, how?
ever, was to get its milk supply and
central depots opened for the sick
and babies. McMurray questioned
I Mott about his connection with
the anti-strike citizens' ^committee,
which he charged with publishing
to make a living by their ugliness if
possible.
"The winner of this extraordinary
competition, who chooses to be known
as Miss Leyton, of London, received
14 votes out of a possible 19, and
seemed quite ; pleased with her
achievement. .
"In a chat afterward 'with a rep
? resentative of 'The Dally News' she
explained that she was a music
teacher, and had but few pupils at
12s. a quarter.
" 1 hare never tried to Improve
my appearance,' ehe said, wistfully.
1 don't curl my hair, or powder.
Mother always said I was ugly, and,
In fact, it was she who advised me
to go in for it. She said there was
no harm in trying. People say my
three sisters are ?good looking.
M1 have plenty of friends, yes, and
one or two sweethearts. My appear?
ance was no drawback to them. I've
never met any one uglier than I am.
I've never thought much about it.
Bat I consider it an honor to have
been chosen as the ugliest woman in
London.'
"Perhaps the explanation lies in the
words of one of the unsuccessful
candidates?* lady with white hair,
wearing fuse and a feathered hat. 'I
can't make any capital out of being
good looking,' she said, 'and I wanted
a job.'
"There may be a humorous side to
such an exhibition, but the aspect
that most impressed the spectator
was its pathos."
rpRAVELERS returning/from : Eu
rojfe who had known the Old
World in pre-war times invariably
complain of the marked deteriora?
tion of public manners as compared
with those of five years ago. The
phenomenon is observable every?
where in England and France, at
well as in Germany and in the
smaller countries; but it is espe
? cially striking in the better restau
rants, hotels and stores of Park
and London, where formerly th<
very highest standards of cOUrtesj
prevailed. Various explanations
mostly interconnected,? have bee
suggested; for instance, the prefer
ence of the old-time highly traine?
and efficient help for the better pah
war work and their substitution b;
amateur or lower grade assistant
has been pointed out; also the in
vasion of fashionable establishment
by hosts of the "new rich" : ?
i reaetion of {hia inferiorly
ent?le on the manners of
sonnel. Probably an' even mor
potent factor is the wave of clae
feeling and general unrest that i
now sweeping the world. It woul
be, perhaps, correct to speak of th
tinipeg's "Soviet"
incendiary advertisements against
aliens.
The witness denied -this. Other
witnesses described meetings with
the strike leaders to try to arrange
for the distribution of milk and per?
ishable supplies. Thomas Scott, an
employee of the Rumford Laundry,
said that a man had come to deliver
coaj during4 the strike, but had been
assaulted and driven \into the ditch
by the crowd. The steam plant of
Mr. Hyde in the role of Dr? Jekyll
YOU POOR. DOWN
'TBODOEM PEOPLE
\XT Me ?UP YOU
Bolshevization of "European man?
ners.
The managements of fashionable
! London stores have now initiated
! a campaign to combat this epidemic
j of discourtesy and to restore the
\ amenities of ?pre-war. intercourse,
i Reporta "The London Times":
"In many of the West End shops,
' where, complaints still reach the
i management with some frequency,
j a drastic, effort to put down non
i chalanee or the superior air which
j many women resent far more than
positive rudeness is being set on
foot. On one day this week two as?
sistants in a Regent Street house
were dismissed for discourtesy to
customers and a contemptuous atti?
tude toward the purchasers of small
things. In this same firm three of
the female assistants retired one
afternoon into the back premises,
because they considered things were
slack, and were found employing
their leisure in knitting. The firm
in question, which deals kindly with
its employees, has now issued a
staff booklet dealing with the need
for courtesy. The assistants are
urged 'not to ignore customers or
keep them waiting, not to be ser?
vile or familiar, and to remember
that the small customer of to-day,
capably handled, may be a big cus?
tomer of to-morrow.' Among the
'donts* are: 'Don't gossip and waste
time'} 'don't address one another as
Miss or Dear'; 'don't go through the
house, arm in arm'; 'don't eat in the
departments'; 'don't make a noise.'
"The managements are alive to the
... I
The Middle Class Has Been Hard
Hit hy the Greatly Increased
Cost of Living
End house orders have been given not
to serve certain people who come
in to make trouble, see everything^
with no intention of buying, and
lodge unreasonable'complaints against
assistants whose patience .they have
sorely tried. The manager pf a West
End furnishing house who ia an in?
conspicuous person knew, how one of
these ladies was wont to do her shop?
ping, and came forward to .?erv?-her
himself on the-last occasion she ap?
peared. Having failed to produce
anything of which she expressed ap?
proval, he suggested that as they *
evidently could not please her she
had better in future go elsewhere.
She immediately demanded to see the
manager to report his insolence. But
she was somewhat disconcerted on
learning that. he was manager'; and
part owner of the business." ?
"\mODERN psychological science
condemns the kind of discipline
that consists of a mere suppression
of objectionable instincts: and argues
that the proper method is to convert
or canalize them, to install a sort of
mental drainage system. Some simi?
lar idea must.have been hovering in
the headsof the Thames:police court'
magistrate in London who the other
you must, go up the side streets. n?
yotrchoose to use it in such a refined
neighborhood as Whitechapel Rosi
you must pay?in this cas? 6s."
As a matter of fact, Whitechapel
Road is a main artery in one of the
"rough" quarters of the East End of
London, so the magistrate's refer?,
ence to its "refinement" must be i*.
garded as a flower of fine irony.
Just the same, his idea in dealing
with the problem of swearing is qnite
ingenious.
Reporting the case, "The London
Daily News" says that "some of
those who habitually use White?
chapel Road were somewhat alarmed
by the ruling." Their state of mind
will be appreciated by those of us
who have known our own Bowery in
the bad old days.
Interviewed by the "Dairy. Newi*i
reporter, a resident of Whitechapel
Road said he feared that the magis?
trate's ruling would cause sertas
congestion in the side streets of that
thoroughfare. He continued t
"More bad language is used by
meter and horse drivers in WhHs
ehapel Road than in any other road
in London. The traffic is so thick
and slow that there's every exente
for it. Anyhow, it's the only road in
London where the bus driver really
lets himself go, and the tram driver
X.
X
The New Poor: "/ say, you9ve dropped this pound note*9*
The New Rich: "That's all right, matey. : Keep it for your honesty."
* " ?From. Blighty
fact that there are troublesome cus?
tomers as well as troublesome*' as?
sistants; and in at least one West
Found
the street railway company had been
kept running 1 by volunteers after
the regular employees had struck.
Another Rumford Laundry em?
ploy said that there was much in?
timidation after the plant had
opened. The girls were carried to
"Work in automobiles, so the strikers
strewed broken glass along the
route.
Robert Cassidy, senior counsel for
the defense, summed up his case,
speaking about three hours and a
half, often getting into ?lashes with
the judge. He denied the Crown's
charges, claiming that the evidence
proved that it was "outrageously
absurd" to say that there was a sedi?
tious conspiracy. He maintained
that a general sympathetic strike
was perfectly legal,?mt that made
no difference in this case, as Russell
had only acted as the agent of the
unions that had voted it.
A. J. Andrews, senior counsel for
the prosecution, began his summary
on the morning of the 23d. He be?
gan by stating that there was no
question as to th? legality of the in?
dictment, as the judge had upheld it.
Words are seditious when they tend
to provoke a breach of the peace, he
asserted. Russell had not been
charged with trying to overthrow
the government, but with trying to
bring about unrest which might ulti?
mately cause this. As for the com?
mission of a common nuisance, this
is defined in the criminal code as
anything that "endangers the life,
health, or safety of the public." As
for public utilities striking, it was
criminal to break a contract while
knowing that the breaking might
endanger human life.
Andrews went on to read radical
literature,, showing that it had been
written express ,& to inflame the
worketi, with thetvords "slaves" ?nd
i day fined a man for disorderly con?
duct, adding: ,
I "If you want to use bad language,
Guilty
("masters." With the Socialist
party's hints at violence, without
i any mention/ of the. ballot, it was
f ooli8h to urge that their propaganda
was purely political. Sowing hatred
among employees against their em?
ployers was like, the Pan-German
policy of inflaming hate against
England long befqre "The . Day."
The Socialist manifestoes openly
urged abolition of the "bourgeois
'family system" along with.the rise
of class consciousness,, although no
better families could be found than
those of Canadian wprkingmen.
Russell and'his friends advocated all
this in order to become the Lenines
and Trotzkys of Canada.
In his charge to the jury Justice
Metcalfe said it was all. right to sym?
pathize with it, but not to advocate
its introduction into Canada. If the
Jury thought an attempt to intro?
duce it would mean a breach of the
peace, it would be seditious con?
spiracy. Attempts to introduce col?
lective bargaining were illegal if
ised to make it easier for those un
awfully controlling labor to tie up
-he country from coast to coast.
Russell was found guilty on all the
-seven counts charged, ; but was not
sent to prison, being'set free until
sentence should be pronounced, on
Cassidy's request, seconded by An?
drews.
The defense decided to appeal, on
the ground of flaws in, the indict?
ment, objections to challenges in se?
lecting the jury and admission of
evidence. Justice Metcalfe and Mr.
Andrews volunteered every assist?
ance to bring the case up to the
Court of Appeals, The case prob?
ably will be considered by the Mani?
toba Court of Appeals soon. The
other seven leaders will not be tried
individually, as in Russell's case, but
together.
forgets himself. What's to happen
now? Is the bus driver to say, 'Ex?
cuse me a moment while I pop up
Court Siareet?' and is the tram driver
to abandon his tram to take a stroll
along Great Tongue Yard? If so,
the only effect of the magistrat?'!
ruling will be to cause still greater
congestion in Whitechapel Road and
make the aide streets impassable.
"Another inhabitant of the district
was strongly of the opinion that the
police court decision would1 endanger
life. 'The other day,' he said, 1
slipped on a banana skin in White?
chapel Road and fell heavily?in the
mud. I didn't say a great deal, bat
if I'd had to pick myself up without
a word and get to the nearest side
street in time to relieve my feelings
?well,' I've got a weak heart, an?
I'm not supposed to run at all."*
?
New X-Ray Use
A NEW and interesting commer?
cial use of the X-ray whereby
defects in materials like steel ?nd
timber may be disclosed was dis?
cussed at a recent meeting of the
Faraday and R?ntgen societies in
London, according to "Comm?res
Reports," a government publication:
"It is claimed that one obvious ap?
plication of the X-rays is to the ex?
amination of metal castings for de?
fects, such as blow holes, which "cannot
be revealed by external inspection and
yet may seriously impair the strengt*
of the finished article. If the casting*
are not too large each of them m?.
he-subjected to toutine testing by the
rays and blow holes occurring at reg?*
lar intervals eliminated.
"Mr. Schneide*, at whose plant muck
work in radiometallography has beef
Carried out, suggested that if a num?
ber of carbon ateel and tpngaten sW
bars had been accidentally mixed ?P
they might*be quickly sorted by ??**?
of X-rays, the radiographs obtained
with carbon being blacker than **d*
tungsten ateel, because the raya !>???*
trat? the latter less freely than th?
former, owing to' the lighter atom?
weight of the conatitu?nt tungate*
At present only a few inches can ?*
penetrated, but great impr?v?m?*t?
have been mad? by the Coolidg? X-W
tube, and-further advances may b?
looked for not only in this portion J?
the apparatus, but also in the ??the*
employed for detecting th? ray? *****
they pass through th? ?a^risl W*0M.
Invaitigatioa.** j?