The day book. [volume], September 26, 1913, Image 24

About The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
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WHAT KIND OF A PLACE IS UNITED STATES?
First Article.
William G. Shepherd, staff writer
for The Day Book, sailed for Europe
in June, 1912, and hasJjeen staff cor
respondent of this newspaper across
the water for fifteen months. All our
readers are familiar with his articles.
A few weeks ago the editor of The
Day Book requested Shepherd to
write his views on the question:
"Which is the best land to live in
Europe or America." Shepherd has
replied in two interesting articles of
which the following is the1 first. He
chose to base his articles 6n another
question: "What kind of a place is
the United States?" The second ar
ticle will be published tomorrow.
Editor.)
BY WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD
London, Sept. 26. What kind of
a place is the United States? You
Chicago folks are too close to it to
give an answer- A man can get so
close to a building that he can see
only a few stones in the wall and
cannot tell what the building looks
like.
For the past year I've been look
ing at the United States from Europe,
through the eyes of every-day En
glishmen, Frenchmen, Germans and
Italians. I've associated with common
folks over here, folks who have to
fight to make both ends meet and
who worry about low wages and
taxes and the high cost of living, just
as most of us folks do at home, and,
back in the minds of all of them, I
found this hope:
"Well, when things get so bad here
that we can't stand it, we can go to
the United States."
You have to get to Europe and see
the condition of the people who work
for a living before you can begin, to
fully realize that America is the best
place in the world to live. When I
say this I know that America is trust
ridden; I know that a few men con
trol the money credits of the land;
I know that wages ought to be high
er and that capital is oppressing
labor. But, in America, there is hope.
In Europe there is no hope.
First, in America, the children are
not taught in the schools and in the
home that they belong to a certain
class and that they must remain in
that class all their lives. In England
this is part of every child's education.
In addition, the children have had
it instilled into them from birth and
the belief comes down from their
fathers and grandfathers for centur
ies Jaack that the lower classes are
made to work for the upper classes.
It wouldn't be so bad if the thing
ended here. But the terrible part of
it, to an American, is that the men.
and women of the lower classes be
lieve it, too. They have been taught
that God made a certain few people
to be very fine and blue-blooded and
that He made other people to work
for the fine ones and to keep them
in silks and satins and fine houses.
One prayer, in the English prayer
book, that is supposed to be said
by the lower class folks is that "God
will help them to respect their bet
ters." And they say it and believe
it is right.
From all I've seen of the upper
classes, it takes God's assistance to
help you respect them.
The Englishmen say that our po
licemen aren't polite, but neither are
the London policemen. It isn't polite
ness, but servility they get $10 a
week that makes them gentle. Any
body with a clean collar is the Lon
don policeman's boss.
They say that folks on our streets
rush and bump into each other and
never say "excuse me." True enough,
sad to say. But this is" only a sign
that in America every man is more
or less of the opinion that he's as
good as anybody else, while middle
class in England doesn't bump into
(anybody for fear he'll be jostling
some person a few grades higher in
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