Not the "George Washington Times," you'll note.
MEN AND THINGS OF THE MOMENT.
[Mr. Punch cannot hold himself responsible for the views expressed in the following correspondence.]
The Mallaby-Deeley Emporium.
Dear Mr. Punch,—I want you to use your influence with that great philanthropist, Mr. Mallaby-Deeley. I know that he is too modest to claim to be a benefactor of the race, but I am at least right in calling him "Mr.," for that is how he describes himself on his shop-window, and he would never have done that if he had not desired to avoid confusion with the common tradesman. Well, I want you to enlist his powerful sympathy in the cause of the struggling middle classes, to which body I belong. I refer particularly to our crying need for dinner-jackets at reasonable prices. I am one of those who spend their holidays at seaside hotels, where people make a point of dressing for dinner in the hope of giving their fellow-guests the impression that this is their daily habit in the home circle. In view of the early advent of Spring I approached my tailor, the other day, with inquiries as to the cost of an abbreviated dinner-suit. His prices were as follows:—jacket £10 10s. 0d.; waistcoat £3 3s. 0d.; trousers £4 10s. 0d.; total £18 3s. 0d. I am old enough to recall the time when the most élite tailors of Savile Row charged no more than £10 10s. 0d. for a complete evening costume, uncurtailed.
I am all for the cheap supply of "gentlemen's lounge-suits" for the so-called working-classes to lounge in. I know of no surer antidote to the spirit of Bolshevism. But let us not forget the claims of the middle classes, who are the backbone of the Empire. If Mr. Mallaby-Deeley cannot help us in the direction I have indicated, then let Mr. Kennedy Jones, on behalf of the Middle Class Union, put a hyphen to his name and open a shop for the sale of evening wear at demi-popular prices.
Yours faithfully,
Surbitonian.