as took place during the French Revolution.
They are fortified in their opinion by the lavish and irresponsible
way in which the wealthy use their money, and they are tantalized by
the display of luxury which, if times are hard, are in aggravating
contrast to the hardship and suffering of the poor. The scale of
living of the millionaire cannot justify itself in the eyes of the
man who finds it difficult to make both ends meet. Undoubtedly society
will find it necessary some day to devise a more equitable method of
distribution. But it is a mistake to suppose that most of the rich are
idle parasites on society, or that their service, as well, as their
wealth, could be dispensed with in the social order. In spite of the
impression fostered by a sensational press that the average person of
wealth devotes himself to the gaieties and dissipations of a
pleasure-loving society, the truth is that after the self-centred
years of callow youth are over most men and women take life seriously
and only the few are idlers. If the investigator should go through the
wealthy sections of the cities and suburbs, and record his
observations, he would find that the men spend their days feeling the
pulse of business in the down-town offices, directing the energies of
thousands of individuals, keeping open the arteries of trade, using as
productive capital the wealth that they count their own, making
possible the economic activity and the very existence of the persons
who find fault with their worthlessness. He would find the women in
the nature of the case less occupied with public affairs, but
interested and enlisted in all sorts of good enterprises, and, while
often wasteful of time and money, bearing a part increasingly in the
promotion of social reforms by active participation and by generous
contributions. The immense gains that have come to society through
philanthropy and social organization, as well as through the channels
of industry, would have been impossible without the sympathetic
activity of the so-called upper class.

221. =Who Belong to the City Aristocracy?=--Most of those who belong
to the upper class are native Americans. They may not be far removed
from European ancestry, but for themselves they have had the advantage
of a rearing in American ways in the home, the school, and society at
large. They are both city and country bred. The country boy has the
advantage of physical strength and better manual training, but he
oft