2 NOVEMBER 1912, Page 32

TEE IDLE RICH.

[TO THE EDITOR 07 TEl " 87scraTou.'n SIR,—In your criticism of Mr. Arthur Ponsonby's book, "The Decline of Aristocracy," you say "The ' idle rich' are a small and insignificant minority, who do not count in the esteem of sensible people, and the only way they can cease to be ignored is to cease to be idle." What are they to do I Two cases I know of in which two " idle " rich, grown tired of "idleness," ceased to be idle: one got himself appointed manager of a bank in a small country town; the other, who was fond of boys, became a master in a school, much to the disgust of many who thought that wealthy men sliouId remain "idle" and not keep poorer people from promotion or from