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Show j Dorothy Dix Talks PUTTING THE BEST FOOT FOREMOST. j Bv DOKOTIIY DIX, the Weld's Highest Paid Woman Writer jj A younc woman writes me a letter jn which Bhe asks Lhese questions: "What do you think of a young man who sacrifices everything for the sake of appearances who eats at cheap lunch Joints in order to wear tai'or-made tai'or-made clothes; who only smokes when he can afford fine cigars, because he I v jit nl smoke a pipp. who onlv . ps (o the theater once in ? blue moon be 1 cause this is as often as he can afford if ail orchestra chair, and he wiP no, sit ju an humbler seat, and who only takes his fiancee out to places of' amusement when she is dolled up like-1 I , fn-hion plate If I marry this young i man what sort ot a husband will he, i make mo1 Judging from my correspondent's re-1 marks I take it that she does not approve ap-prove of the s stem upon which this youth has elected to play the game of j life. Vet it is a wise and far seeing ( me, and one that almost Invariably w ins out. For fortune is a whimsical jade who1 ' miles her sweetesl on those who woo her boldest nnd in their uest clothes,' and seem to need her leas! One of the problems that evei poor' ! and ambitious young man has to race ic whether it is better to be eomtort-, able or stylish; whether it is better to a put his money in his ntomaeh or on his back, whether it is bene'- to nave a square meal and a shabby coat, or to patronize a cafeteria 'n giad .aiment. Different men decide this question in different ways, and according to their decision is their fate Sometimes the Impecunious youth chooses coinft rt, the full meal, the cutty pipe, and (he and-me-dov. n clothes, and he remains lo the end of his days iu the clasc in Iwhfch he began. If be was a clerk he stays a clerk. If h was a carpenter he remains a carpenter, content in the station of life E to which he has been called, or dse fif : , i i 1 i n g against the injustice of late i hat made bim a lerK or a capenter, ?' but too soft and ease loving to ever fight out ot his sphere into anything If, however, a man makes the other I ' choice, if he is willing to go hungry in order to dress like a gentleman if he is willing to do without necessities in order or-der to have luxuries, he has thai within with-in him that Will make him rise in ihe i world just as surely as water reaches j f ' lt6 level. He may begin as a clerk or, a carp.-nter, but lie will end as a mana-1 ; ger or a eon tractor. SOf course unambitious peopie who prefer to spend their money on gcod lood and warm flannels instead of on I thow, and who are content to go plod-L plod-L iding along among neighbors who 1 ve flfr just as they do, have the best of d ily j Iff comfort. and get the mot happiness 1 J I out of life. But the;, do not arrive on the top of f Ithe ladder. It is a burning desire for F Something better, even if it is only a j t. desire for better clothes, and to eat: I in fashionable restaurants and make a ; K splurge, that forces people onward and v junward. Contentmfem and comfort do K aiot make for progress. They are 8'ag-1 r (nation. B1 A great many worth individuals I Iconslder it a sort of hypocrisy for a ftk 'man to spend his money on pu.ting up Jm --what Is slangily called "a front" in A I Mead of in making himself comfort-! iable. but this is a narrow and mistaken ; l tview to take of the subject Such a man simply has the sagacity' tip to realize that his eomfoit is a purely' . personal mattei, while his: appearance I is a rtandard by which the public will J'JiIge him. and in I l i r ; 1 1 . to the pub-j I Tic instead of gratifying his own incli j nations for enjoyment, he takes a long! ( stride toward success, f or there is no I denying the old proverb that nothing I !'. fuccweds like success and that if you wish i-i he prosperous you must took the pari. To appear poor, and needy, nnd un-! Ifortunate carries its own noodoo of ba.! ' luck with it It brands one as a .allure. .all-ure. It fills eery beholder with di.s. M trust of one's ability and one's talent. gMf Why, asks inexorable logic, should 'his man wear a seedy coat, and fringed trousers, and down-at-t he-heel shoes ft except that he is either too lazy, or too incompetent to make enough mon ey to dress decently ? If we look shabby it profits us nothing, noth-ing, in the eyes of the world, to have diner! on ierrapin and champagne where as a sniar appearance is a .'et-iter .'et-iter of credit the world over -QJhis makes the wisdom of the poo. young I man putting his money in good clothes instead of rich food a mattei beyond r rgument. j Indeed a whole new Sar'or Resortuti .might be written on the moral effect of j creased trousers, and the latest th ng in ties, and silk shirts They are the magic spell that hypnotizes our fellow creatures Before them servants are I polite, restaurant waiters civil, oflice .boys open doors for them, customers I are considerate Employers pay m"re money No human being treats a "swell dressed' individual the same 'way that he does a shabby one. That's why it's more important for a man lo dress well than to eat well ; when he can t do both. As for the kind of a husband a man will make who will dine at cheap ies-taurants ies-taurants in order to wear tailor made suits, 1 do not know. But one thing 1 do know, and that is that .f I vas engaged to a man who had that niuCh grit, and determination and etipabi.ity of self denial, and that much long headedness, I would be getting ni-e ready to rise in the world with him. oo |