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Today glrla help carry tht financial load along
with their parent to keep the home Area burning
By Alice L. Tildesley
THAT age-old pulsion for arraigning youth has
lately been indulged in by Pearl S. Buck, noted
writer, In a recent article In a national mngazino.
Sho has, she says, been making a survey of young
men and women in America, and has found them
to be "charming, mild and completely selfish."
They are docilo creatures who do not rebel against
their parents and teachers as they should. They
are beautiful, strong - bodied creatures with no
angers nnd no determinations. American youth,
continues Pearl Buck, is shielded, praised, coaxed
and indulged
Madge Evans, convicted on sight of being
young, beautiful and charming, comes now before
you to defend the youth of the land.
"The charges are false absolutely false I" she
declared, raising clear blue eye from a
peruaal of them.
"Youth la not selfish it la greedy,
perhaps, Just u puppies are greedy; it
wants to taste everything to sea what
It's like. It has a hoarty appetite lor
life, but that's because It's healthy and
young It's thoughtless, but It's not
wicked.
"Selfishness belongs to older people.
When people grow old, something seems
to happen to them 1 don't know what
It Is, but they harden, become bitter and
cruel, nothing matters to them but
money. They think that what happens
to youth doesn't matter. They dont
care whether youth suffers or not. Let
youth go to war, let them do without '
Jobs, let them put off getting married,
let them tut out their hearts that') the.
attitude I AH they care about It how
much money It means to thorn,'
"That's what 1 cnll aeinshnessl"
SLIM and lovely In a dove-gray dress,
she sat on the blue couch In her living
room and fairly flamed lth Indignation.
"So we're pampered, are we?" she
orted. "This Is the drat I've heard of
It. Who are these weird young people
In Miss Buok's survey?
"We aren't a nation of Barbara Hut .
tons, you might as well say that all
Americans are rich becauso John D
Rockefeller has done very well tor him
self. The wealthy girls and boys who
are so carefully shielded and Indulged
are In aitoh a minority that they don't
oount, The majority of our young peo
ple are the Idle poor, and If you knew
how they feel, you wouldn't oall them ,
mild and without angers.
"1 don't understand the viewpoint oi.
the young people who think 'bread drops
as manna out of heaven, according to
Miss Buck, I've worked ever since 1 ,
was t year old. My brothel and I posed
for artists. We did baby books We
posed for advertisement!, when 1 war
t years old, 1 became ohlld star in
motion pictures and continued working
with, the company until I was 10.
"1 cant remember the tune 1 dldni
know that 1 had to earn a living. When
X was 10 1 went to sohool, where
made a number of young friends, who
till art very does, They have nothing
warn' inf el
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Prudence and Toughle art two Scottlcs that keep the Madge Evans
household In an uproar most of the day
to do with the stage or screen, so I feel
that when I dlecuss the youth of today
I understand the problems of boys ana
ulrls outside the aotlng profession.
"One of my schoolmates Is an Interne
in Bellevue Hospital, one of them Is In
oharge of Oamp Fire Glrla' clubs, Bhe's
staying here with me now, and we often
talk of the problems that face our gen
eration unemployment, the threat oi
war.
"I know about unemployment at first'
.land. I spent a whole year looking foi
work after I left sohool. I used to visit
igents' offices every day. ! did extra 1
work; 1 pursued managers and produc
ers. I know what it Is to be one of
twenty-five girls sent out after one
tingle Job i to be lined up In a row with
twenty-four other girls and to try to
look so different that ohoostng me would
be Inevitable. Just try to look smart
and 'different' when you haven't any
-
money I It's bad enough the first fev.
times you go, but to keep going ever
lay Is what breaks your heart,
"Then we've had It In the family, as
veil. My brother had a good Job In New
fork, but with the depression his arm
vent out of business. He tried hard, but
he couldn't get anything to do, so at
length MQther and I begged him to come
out here nnd stay with us while he
looked around. He was with us tor a
vear, going out every day to try to get
something to do. It what Miss Buck
thinks of youth wore true, he should
have been content with things as they
were, for he had a good home, plenty'
to eat, lota of entertainment. He was
deprived of nothing but a chance to
work. , ,
"But he wasn't satisfied. He made
himself dangerously 111 worrying; for a
lime the doctor wnsnt sure he could
pull him through, when at last ht got
V (21 KI
Madge Evans
Takes Vigorous Issue
With Pearl
Buck's Charge
That American
Young Folks
Are a Pampered
and Petted Lot
his chance, he recovered; now he's doing
very well and we're proud of him."
She turned her bright head at the
sound of footsteps In the hall, and
hailed their owner,
"Mother! Come In and tell us how
docile your children are I" she cried
'Tell us how you've pampered me. Sit
aown and listen to this Indictment."
Mrs. Evans, thus appealed to, heard .
It quietly. Then she said, with a smile:
"I am afraid Miss Buck is confusing this
country with China. It seems to me
that she must be thinking of my gen
eration, rather than Madge's. I grew
up In England. In my day, youth didn't
rebel against age at any rate, not
aloud. We might mutter to ourselves:
'Well, 1 don't believe that!' but we dldnt
dare soy to to the autocrats who ruled
the home. It my ohlldren dont agree
with me, they argue the question po
lltely, perhaps, but firmly.
"In my day, If a girl had said to her
parents: 'I'm taking an apartment away
from home. I'm going to be on my
own' the parents would have said:
Nonsense!' and yanked her home by
the baok of her neck, Today, such an
announcement would be received calmly.
Madge Evans, de
lightful to look at,
lovely to know
'Very well,' the parent says, 'but see
that you settle the bills yourself. Ill
support you at home, but when you
leave, you're Independent.'
"A mother of yesterday dldnt permit
her child to try her wings. She was
afraid her darling would bump her head
or bruise herself out In a callous world.
Today, she knows that her child must
learn how to take core of herself, that
she cant be protected forever. Though
It hurts, she must stand back and let
the child alone."
"We're both soft and mild, are we?"
Madge conned the article again. "I
can't believe the writer has met any of
the girls I know She seems to be talk
ing of girls of another era, Olrls like
Agnes In 'David Copperfleld.' She was
sweet and faithful and pleasant. She
was devoted to her father and she waited
for David, patiently, until he was able
to afford to marry her All very com
mendable, perhaps,
"But today, Agnes would not have
wasted the years. She'd have gone out
after a Job herself and they'd have
pooled their salaries and made a home
She might have had to spend the day
with a crabby old man who expected her
to get out letters like a multlgraphlng
machine, and she might have had to
market after she left the office, and then
prepare vegetables and salad, cook the
hamburger and fix gelatin for des
sert when she got home, but at least
they d have been together.
"The old Idea was that girls must
marry as soon as possible to get off the
family's back. They picked out a young
man whatever young man was In sight
and they got him If they were lucky,
transferring themselves from Father's
shoulders to his, but not altering the
fact that they were burdens. Today
they help carry the load."
'TlHE defender of youth began to at-
tack the prosecution.
"They sacrifice themselves tor us, do
they? Not that I've noticed.
"Look at the captains of Industry, as
they used to be called; those 'great men'
who had pieces written about them In
success magasln.es telling how wonder
ful they were I They rose from news
boy to head of the establishment; they
built empires;' they acquired holdings so
vast that they couldn't count them. And
they dldnt know enough about manag
ing their businesses to prevent their
crashing and wrecking the world I
"Age should be condemned, not youth
"The war was brought on by gray
jeards, to satisfy their greed. Youth
had to do the fighting. That was to be
a war to end war, a war for humanity,
a war to make the world safe for de
mocracy. It settled nothing.
"Everything that happened afterward
was blamed on war-flaming flappers,
th depression, unemployment. And
s
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"If rebellion against the old order of
things is what is wanted, I'll get up on
a soapbox and 'spout' it," declares
Miss Evans
now maybe they are going to have an
other war and kill some more young
people. Age never learns. Experience
teaches them nothing!
"If rebellion Is what is wanted by
those of Miss Buck's generation (who
are responsible for the frightful mess
we're In now), I'm going to rebel when
war comes. I'll get on a soapbox and
talk against sacrificing youth until
somebody cracks me down. Youth knows
there's nothing to be gained by war, 11
older people dont."
Madge sprang up from the couch.
"That's Ruth coming In now! Ill get
her. I'll let her tell you about young
people today. She's the Camp Fire Club
girl I mentioned "
Ruth Stevens, tall and dark and calm
beside the golden Same that was Madge,
read the challenge quietly.
"Ruth attended the Youth Today con
ference, all the big youth conventions,"
explained Madge, eagerly.
"At one convention the viewpoint of
more than 200,000 young people was rep
resented," said the calm girl. "It seemed
to me that they were bewildered, rather
than mild. They were anxious, worried,
suffering. Their chief demand was for
Jobs. They wanted to work more than
anything else In the world,
"One boy got up to address the con
vention In reply to attacks on youth.
'We don't want to be like you older peo
ple!' he said, looking straight down at
Newton D. Baker and the other officials.
I think that expresses It as well as any
thing else. They'd like to do something,
but they havent the power.'
uvmiAT chance has youth?" Madge
' asked. Indignantly "No man gets
Into a responsible position until he's
. 40 and that's young for most political
Jobs. They say he has no experience,
but by the time they accept him, he's
lost that One keen sense of what Is true.
His belief In righteousness has dulled.
That terrible something that happens to
older people has overtaken him.
"Look at college elections, as compared
to national ones. At college, they may
argue as to a candidates fitness for of
fice, but they don't Indulge In personali
ties. No one says: 'He can't be presi
dent because of his religion.' 'We wont
elect him because his sister was In a
scandal.' 'He wont do because he's re
lated to so-and-so. He's elected on his
merits, because hell make a good officer,
and for no other reason.
"How does that compare with cam
paigns tor national offices? They're un
fair; they're filthy; they drag In things
that have nothing to do with the case.
"Youth Isn't afraid to try something
new."
"Not so long ago, students all over
America staged a rally against war. They
were rebelling against something that
you'd think would gain them the re
spect of every one not actually In the
monster class. What happened? They
were arrested, clubbed, called 'Reds' I
Some were expelled. They had to take
them back again and admit they werent
Reds,' but doesn't It make you think?
"It's the young people who will have
10 fight If we have another war. Yet
older people have the nerve to talk of
how they have pampered us, Indulged
us, sacrificed for us.
"Give us the world, and tee what wall
do with It. Olve It to us now. We cant
do worse with It than they have donel"
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