The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 15, 1901, Page 8

he young men of San spendthrifts or s a question that home hearth, but have been satis- mg fellows who daily liomes, the boys who are e the ruling power-of y, tacompetent to handle smoney wisely and oell? Here are- the views of some prominent people, all well known socially and well knozon in clubs. t of them could not deal with alone. The girls must arily be brought in, as they contend that the best part of the lavish expenditure is due to the iims of the ladies ive people agree or dis- . Lieutenant Governor Neff. ‘ HERE s no doubt in my mind that young men of this city spend n is good for the spirit of the that there is any- y wrong with the boys, t add, the girls a boy wealth was not is now. People did not to get the almighty a monthly salary of s board and lodging he is clothes were rough they did ost him ngs, and sometimes i of the year he man who get: now. And, more , contented and oman was considered f she wore a neat cal- hat 1o match. Now calico 1 ) spend money comes early 1 used to think I w d a 5-cent piece to spend, way so that the pleasur be deferred. Children of to-d do not know the value of money, alize it. It comes e sily ) racetrack one of the day, for our boys throw their t Then they belong to s and frequent cafes. Be- ice their salaries on their t is true of the girls toa. ir ivalry prevails everywhere. : millionaires’ daughter wears beau- THE SUNDAY CALL. tiful ciothes—and her father is well able to back her up in it—the girl whose father possesses only $15,000 or $20,000 wants just like them. Even the maid in one's home feels better s: an imitation of her mistres There is no distinction whatev if one girl gives a tea, her neighbor tries to ou do her, regardless of the cost. It i a struggle to put the best foot forw The expense never seems to be consid- ered. I believe in young people having a good time—just as good a time as they can po: sibly have, for they will only be young once; but they ought to keep within cer- tain bounds. The only way to succeed is never to plan a garment larger than the cloth that one possesses. 1 have made it a life-long rule never to exceed my own boundaries. ‘If I only got $10 a month that $10 had to do somehow. It is wisest never to owe any man a cent. The boys of to-day who bet, run about and who live finely on a small sa.ary do one of two things—either find out that real trouble is ahead of them and pull themselves together before 1t is tog late, or else plunge in head over heels. Unfortunately that is the very reason why s0 many of them end disastrously. They live beyond their incomes and con- sequently get into debt. Then, as there is no possible way of getting out of it and still keep up appearances on their earn- ings, they steal, they default, they ruin their fair name and disgrace the family if they have any. It all comes from trying to keep up with the times. 1 know young pepole are prone to say that we older men are old fogies nd that we zre behind the times, but every man who has reached my, years and traveled through all the walks of life will tell you the same things. When there is strife and discontent, bitter longings and a craving ambition to be on the top, there is always bound to be trouble. That is the spirit of to-d There is a grand scramble, and every young man is looking out for himself to-day, but not thinking of the morrow. + L3 Mrs. John F. Merrill. RE the voung men of our city spendthrifts? My answer is no, emphatically and decidedly no, and in this case a2 woman’s no doesn't mean yes. I think that our boys have the name of spending their money— or perhaps thelr fathers'—in too lavish a macner, but, from my own observations, 1 think that they have the name and not the game. Who gets the benefit of most of the meney that wney do spend? Why our girls, .of cours And what girl would consider that money is thrown away of wasted when it is spent in taking her to the theater and having a supper after- ward? I'm afraid it would be almost as difficult to find one as it would be to find & needie in a haystack. But isn’t that a good way to spend thelr time 'and money? I do not know of any as good, unless it is—well, let me tell you how gplendidly our boys behave toward charitable institutions. Everybody knows that all business men came to the frort when the Red Cross made its appeai in 159 and 1900, but few peopie do krow how many young men who perhaps have wealthy fathers—which, by the way. does fhem no good—but who are earning small salaries sent mn contri- butions and asked vs not to mention it. I do not know exactly why. ince the war we haven't needed money gently and, of course. the supply has fallen off. But in the last few months 1 have feceived over 1000 from young men alone.” Simply because 1 wrote and asked them to become life members of the Red Cross and that isn't all, either. When we asked for Christmas donations for the sick soldiers my home was filled with suitable gifts, and mostly from young men. Forty of them clubbed together and sent a large quantity of tobacco to smokt and to chew, cigars and pipes and numer. ous other things that qne man would pick out for another. I had a list, but they particularly re quested ‘me not to mention their names. In fact, didn’t see why people needed to know of the box at all. What could I do? Nothing but write and tell them how much I appreciated their kindness and thank them in the soldiers’ names. At times they remind me of a band of ostriches. Cover their heads and flatter themselves that they won't be seen, but it does me good to point out their hiding “places. Should they be ashamed of doing good? And where else do vou suppose I find them, orsgt least traces of them? In the Children's Hospital. Many a dollar finds its way mto the Little Jim ward from the pocket of a boy who is always about town s a good fellow. Nine out of ten people don’'t know that the treasury receives a certain arount morthly that might have been spent in races, games and drink. Never once have I asked for assistance from any of tk young men and been refused. At New Year's, time the clubs of San ncisco—Bohemian, University and Pa- fic—utter! failed to didn’t even buy a package, while the theaters came up beautifully. They always do, by the way. - But that takes the men as a mass, and then besides New Year is a bad time to expect anything. It's too close to Christ- mas, which means a flat pocketbook. I know the men have clubs and forty-eleven amusements that are attractive and ex- pensive, but, as I said before, the sirls are usually along when money is being spent. It costs more for three—you and I and a chaperon—than for on& e boys have their high jinks and their low downs, but I do not think that any great amount of money is thrown to the degs, and I do know that many a poor fellow who was down has been given a helping hand. F George R. Wells. == HAT, are the hoys spendthrifts? 1 gu he best answer that I can you is a remark that Jame Flood once made to 3 me, he: “Wel I know as they are when they drop their You know I've kept a saloon long enough to see lots of people, and when a mun comes in to get a drink he is very apt to appear perfectly natural. He spends his money treely and treats all his friends royally. The troubles of the day are forgotten time being. I tell you that fortunes are daily spent in drink Any fool can make a fortune, but wise man who can keep it. I hav 8reatest respect for such a man.” And he was about right. So in one sense the the young people are spendthrifts. They spend zll they can get their hands on, and never have anything to show for it You cannot put an old head on young shoulders. 1 do not think a man ever commences to think and plan for the future until he has reached, well, about 40 years o® age. Then he ought to know enough to provide for old age: but some of the old boys are every bit as foclish as the younger gen- eration. The girls may spend as much monsy, or nearl . as the chaps, but they have more to show for it: if nothing else, new clothes #nd some new trinkets. But, then, perhaps thut might be expectes The boys leave home they wander down town. They meet s other fellow, and then cigareties are in order, anc ten io one a drink. That prob- ably cos cents. *‘Come on. le £0 to the says one of them, and the others’ “all right” is not at all back- ward. There goes more money Then they saunter to some popular cafe, and money slips through their fingers like water, And cigars count up too. Most of the young bloods will not look at anything less than a two-bitter. However, I do not thirk that any of them realize that they are extravagant: but when three or four at say dollars ar the least is spent nightly it soon counts up. The Birls are not called upon to spend their money that way. They go to the theater and then to supper, but it costs them nothing but to be sweet and ami- able. If they have a caller at home father pays for the refreshments, and so they are in just that much. But, any way you put it, too much money is spent foolishly. The Califor- nians are generous to a fault. A little money here or there is no object to them, and that is exactly the cause of the trou- ble. Money seems to be no object to the vast majority, cxcepting that it gives them a good time, and that is what they are all after, o gl Rolla V. Watt. HE object of the Young Men's *Christian Association is not to try to stop a lavish expenditure of money among the young men of our city, but te have a place down town where boys can drop in and pass a whole- some, pleasant evening in the midst of the best and most encouraging environments. The young men of San Francisco are far too extravagant in all their tastes, and it would be a good thing if they eculd be induced to spend more iime at such places. But, like most Americans, they must be up and doing. They are under a perpetual strain to keep up and appear well in the e: of the world. The young men of to-day seem to have a sublime indifference as to the welfare of the morrow. They don’t seem to think éf the possibility of any future business for themselves and the necessary capital to begin on, or they do it is a ve hazy dream in a far away and misty time. Perhaps it's the spirit of the times when money slips through the fingers so easily At any rate it goes, and goes in large quantities, and there is little or nothing to show for it. lirls don’t go to restaurants and spend or $1 for lunch and twice as much er. Once a month, mgybe, but not as a rale. They are naturally much more saving. But it's a common occur- rence with the hoys; in fact, as everybody knows, a daily one. The idea of eating and drinking up nearly a month’s salary certainly isn't an economical one. intend to have a tion with our rooms, where a man can buy a good artial meal and put away a little mon Too expensive cigars are indulged in and too many of them. Many men think that good tobacco real luxury, but the boys who can't afford to smoke at all al- wa eem to find money for them. Another and quite as common a way of getting rid of m, is to try to keep up with times. Everybody understands that The spirit of i ver died out and never will fellow who ry than his next about as much, ly and have his an as his tailor keep more fortuna I wish the the girls. N h would v in smo! nce would be much better and everybody would be happier. But they don’t. Most of it is spent on I, either amusing or dressing I—but always for the benefit of L The Young Men's Christian Association was not in d to reform people, but to exert a good ver possib and to fi amuseme N ot . ir money on er rate. The with the bui draining the Neither do we have or so- etting is d in re money changes hands apidly So much hard- earned money goes just that way, but voung fellows v apt to think st things are ma so that 1 questi Ho' ny young n go to church? Our boys are not cor ed to attend any servie nothi bligatory: but such an influence can ce and may do some litt ing and expanding inly do mo harm rod for the ris- fon. - 3 | Mrs. Ada Van Pelt. { | O I think the young people of toe day spend more money than the ones of a former ge: ation? Yes, for the na end of a s0-c d civiliza a growth from nplicity to greater elabor- ation. In this we d of ¢ nging customs it requires a constant readjustment of the exacting present and the young people of to-day are confronted with different cus- toms from the ones which environed their parents and grandparents. Take, for instance, the items of dress. If a young lady of a quarter of a century ago wished a new gown she would have to go through the slow process of a dress- maker's demands, and fortunate was she to have it sent home in a fortnight. But the miss of to-day can go to a clothing ablishment, select a dr completely inished in every respect, and unless she hurries home it will reach there before she doe: When things are obtained so sily it is a constant temptation to reach for them and to have more and more. Formerly a lady had to prepare all of her wearing apparel, now she finds in the shops everything needful and arranged in ch an attractive and bewitching manner that it would be hard for a Martha to resist. The young men are confronted with the same conditions, for they are able to buy everything from underwear to evening dress in one store. The shop people un- derstand their bus and the various articles are arranged to attract first the eye and then the purse. Another demand for the expenditure of money is to be suitably dressed for the many games that are in vogue. The maid of the past thought the aim in life was to look preity and hilat a certam languor and delicacy added to her attractiveness. Exercises and violent games were not numbered among her accomplishments. The lads and lassies of to-day are, as it were, a,new race of beings, and a healthy, well-developed figure is the par excellence of good taste, so there must be suitable costumes for boating, waww tennis, polo, golf, etc. I could hardly speak of the boys aleme, for the girls are so closely connected with them and it is on them that they spend so much money that one does not go wita- out the other. The amusements are much more numer- ous these days than they used to be. If it is not a theater party it is a cotillon, or a trolley party or any of the hundred and one affairs at make Itfe jolly these days, It didn't use to be good form for a lady to go to the theater with a young man alone. Oh, no, it was considered very bad form. Now it is an_every evening occurrence and no one thinks anything about it. But the jollification does not stop there. Look at the restaurants that are kept open nearly all night. That was almost unheard of and if a place did keep open it had to put a placard out to notify peo- ple to that effect. It is the theater crowds that have changed the aspect of the rk restaurant to the brililantly lighted cafes. Money flows like water th nd the con- sequences In the morning are a very much lighter pocketbook and a nasty head. Yes, the young people of to-day spend more money than did their parents and besides they spend more than is realiy good for them. But one thing is in their favor, more things are required and there is more money to be snant