Show R t S ii 1 4 an sir 1 I 1 p 4 ui 4 or 7 abi 30 rihab is country life in in t bat L AmericaN america next exton on the program by JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN S AMERICAN society go in log back to the soil is la there to be a new kind of country life la in america and will the landed aristocracy of the future be able to make the farm pay financially these interesting questions and others that naturally suggest therus themselves elves are raised by sirs mrs edith stuyvesant vanderbilt of new york car bar harbor and biltmore when she says I 1 am going to live at Blit more many women in america are urine tiring of the empty round of mere social affairs before long ions we may mar see a country life in america similar to that we now see in england and when this interest becomes general I 1 can think of no more remarkable country for home existence than america there would not be so much unrest and unhappy ness nesa it if people took a real interest in life iffe and I 1 know of nothing more in te resting than developing a herd of ZOO blooded bows to the highest degree decree of perfection the mrs vanderbilt who says these things has been described as americas most interesting widow george NV vanderbilt who died about ten years ago was her husband lius band ue he was a grandson of commodore cornelius vanderbilt 1794 1877 the founder of tile the family and the accumulator of the first of its many millions george W was born in ile he have to work for a living and devoted much tame to travel and study ills name dame will be remembered in new york city for several benefactions bene factions chos who before his death concluded ills autobiography thus purchased acres of mountain land on french broad aher near asheville N C and laid it out as a vast park erected mansion rani stables ables Bt stocked this estate and spends much of ills his time in superintending super intending its improvement biltmore one of the finest country estates in the world Is in the appalachian highlands of western north carolina the land of the sky long famous tor for its beauty and climate the farm consists of about acres on the french frenchi broad man was not satisfied with nature hills were moved a lake dug and forests planted the mansion Is modeled after the historic orleans chateau of blots possibly the most beautiful in france the architecture Is french jenals bunco bance hall ball la Is 50 80 ly by GO CO feet with alth a 70 40 foot ceiling cel ling A tapestry gallery 75 feet long contains the finest private collection in the world this spens onto a library 02 by 40 feet la front of the mansion Is a three acre esplanade from it a ramp leads to the plazza of the main building in the case of the cecil it Is understood that the united states gains a citizen instead vt it i t losing an heiress elress li it Is stated that airs cecil inherits under a proviso la her fathers will that she must retain her american citizenship this most interesting widow looks absurdly young tor for the mother of a married daughter of twenty tour four and retains her striking physical charms it has long been social gossip that there alln re are many suitors for her hand she married in 1893 her father was ans cul col george warren dresser and on r pill ri z 0 M M Z qi wi her mothers side she belongs to the Stuyvesan ts and fishes last spring mrs Vander bilts daughter cornelia stuyvesant vanderbilt was married with much pomp rind dad cew ceremony at biltmore to lion hon francis amherst cecil former secretary of 0 the british embassy at washington iier her mother thereupon departed for a long trip in europe and it was confidently asserted that upon her return she would yield to some one of her many suitors well mrs vanderbilt came back from europe the other day declared herself to the customs officials as a plain farm woman and proceeded for the first time on record to talk about her personal affairs for publication and here are some of the things she said after intimating that had no place in program I 1 am having a little house built tor for myself on our estate down in north carolina and the mansion goes to my daughter and her husband they are also going to forsake what Is 13 called society life and aid me in operating my dairy my biltmore home has been really an immense dairy farm tor for some time now I 1 have lead head of 0 blooded cows and I 1 am going to take a personal interest in devel developing ping these to the highest degree of perfection in developing my farm I 1 am not only getting a great deal of pleasure out of life but I 1 also feel that I 1 am doing something tor for my country the life of a society woman Is a hard one it consumes a vast amount of energy and what does it give in return nothing but dairying brings in a handsome profit and you see something tangible as a result of your efforts I 1 have never cared for society I 1 have always been interested in doing thugs that I 1 thought amounted to something we are born with the creative spirit and if we dont do something worth while with it it Is quite apt to become destructive this writer will not here try to answer the questions raised either dl directly or indirectly by sirs mrs vanderbilt obviously several large volumes would be necessary it if the questions can be answered at all general observations ions which are naturally sug digested would seem to include these most Amer americans learis doLbt doubtless less would think her lacking in common sense if she had decided for society and against biltmore especially ns as she can easily combine the best of both city and country life she Is wise to build herself a little house the mansion Is preposterous post erous as a country home no doubt the dairy herd can be made a paying investment it will not however pay tor for the upkeep of biltmore BlIt more this lady bountiful can of course accomplish wonders tor for the community and her sentiments do her credit reports in the american and british press would seem to indicate that the old time english country estate life Is rapidly breaking up owing to heavy taxation and financial difficulties in this country however a popular trend toward life in the open both in recreation and residence la is a sign of the times in the cities it Is noted t too that many women of wealth an and d social 11 position are seeking in business an outlet for their 1 fa l bergies argles and ta talents lerAs on tile the other hant the 1920 conlin c e n B 0 shows that for tit th first time in our lilt tory more than hal our population nov not lives in urban terri tory tills this amov ment from the coun try to the city Is bill going on the onci much vexed isola tion of 0 the farm hill hai been largely reme rema died by the tele p phone it 0 n e automobile and radio bul bill country life has nol we held prospect of large financial gain according to present standards biltmore as an object lesson la in making country life pay its way Is of 0 no practical value almost anything Is possible with a vanderbilt income and until country life as mrs vanderbilt conceit conceives ves it Is made to pay its way it Is not likely to be the rule of the land the vicinity of all our large allos Is dotted with costly country residences that only the few can afford to occupy and with country esta estates teg that none can make pay these are not the real thing they ore are merely the transplantation of city life in the country its the surest kind of a sure thing that the country estate which pays its own way means work tor for somebody therell be waving grain but eer it delights the eye going to know just exactly why providence provi provided ded him with eyebrows there are fresh vegetables and also weeds there are fresh eggs 0 but the hens will 1 lay ay where you cant find em unless somebody watches out theres golden cream but the lowing kine must be milked agricultural labor Is scarce and high priced and neither skilled nor per permanent manen t heres where the independent income bulks large there are city people who tear fear and hate bate the country they are to the hotel and apartment born they are creatures of the crowd and the social whirl they have their being in terms of jazz and moving pictures to the thinking american our twentieth century civilization in the big cities Is neither safe nor even sane and it seems obvious that in some way the flocking of the population to the cities must be counterbalanced ter by a return to the soil it if the prosperity and welfare of the nation Is to continue and yet to many a good american perhaps to the average american life on the land seems the highest and best of callings lie he cannot see why it should not be responsive to Intel intelligence lf and skill it holds forth to him visions of health happiness and financial independence and a real home |