| OCR Text |
Show EMPLOY FORTUNES IN I GRATIFICATION OF PASSIONS "Have Neither Religious Principles1! Nor Domestic Virtues to Restrain i Them." New York. Oct. 24. "The American women idle and unhappy?" Cardinal Gibbon, prince of the Roman Catholic Cath-olic church in America, was asked today, to-day, after telling him that Dr. Andrew McPhail, in an article in the London ! Spectator hrtd brought both these ac- V cusations against us. JPv "American women of a certain class i flirt H'Mited number are perhaps the idlest and most unhappy in the world." " d V ame his eminence's candid reply. "I " refer." lie continued, "to the possessors I t of exorbitant wealth, some of whom '1f"J have neither religious principles nor 1V domestic virtues the restrain them. V-These persons employ their vast for-Jt for-Jt i , tunes merely in the gratification of 5 their passions. v "Rut there is a portion of our very j j . wenhhy clss that live quietly and vlr- tuously. Against them and against our middle and poorer classes the charge of idleness is unfair." "The foreign critic of America." his eminence resumed, "sees only the superficial su-perficial side of our social life. He reads of scandal and divorces in the newspapers, you know," tile cardinal sidded. softening the accusation with a smile. "You never print a line about our millions of happy homes. "The really good women of America. who . lead happy, domestic lives, de voted to their husbands ami children, and who are actuated by sound principles, princi-ples, seldom pet into the newspapers. The great majority of them never get into soeief as the foreigner sees it. : He draws unfavorable conclusions ", from a fr ordinarily wealthy wo- fc" men who '. i r no sound religious I principles , i- ; them, are both idle i and unhar ; " 1 "Then. yo:; , i : lence thinks the pos- I session of f l it alth entails unhappi-lless?" unhappi-lless?" "Not neccsv; -My. but frequently," i was Cardini; u.obons' answer. "A wo- I man without sciie worthy occupation is i I unhappy, whether she is rich or poor. Certain wealthy women who are guid- ( ed by religion and a sense of responsi- J .' bflity to others must be happy. Others who spend their lives and fortunes in the pursuit of mad and meaningless luxury, in gratifying their passions, cannot possess happiness. Of them the ' foreign criticism you speak of is en- 1 tirely just. This should be deplored as much by Americans as by foreigners." "But Dr. McPhail compared the woman wo-man who works to a trick dog. That surely is unjust." "I admire and respect the woman who , works from necessity." Cardinal Gib-u Gib-u j bons replied. "The question of the " i working women is. however, a grave economical problem that I cannot undertake un-dertake To discuss offhand. I am much too tired." V. j-' His eminence did not look tired. He soeried in far better health than before his vacation. ""; "Yes," he acknowledged. "I am feel- ing better. I was quite ill while abroad, 'i but am fully recovered. Then the en forced rest of the ocean trip benefited me." |
