Litchfield enquirer., 1879-02-27
They will not try it for week

can be no doubt in the minds of those who have given thought on the subject that tight clothes are slowly and surely running the health of American women. If we could con- vince them that change must take place. and quickly, too, or the consequences will be frghttul to themselves and all posterity, we might have some show of compliance. When we contemplate how many people can inherit disease from one ancestor, we cannot be too careful to prevent ourselves from being source of suffering to coming generations A slight change in Womans dress would make great change for the better in the health of the whole people, and it seems very little favor to ask of a woman that she should try for such great good when the sacrifice is so small" | ''Now am going to be severe," said MT. Ainslee after all had acquiesced in Dr. Greens remarks. 'I have listened to this dis cussion with the hopeof becoming enlightened and am convinced that Mrs. Bacon Is right | in attributing the ill-health of our women | largely to their injurious manner of dressing But must give it as my opinion that the blame lies largely at the door of the doctors 1 If every physician would talk to every woman under his care, in the same manner as Mrs. Bacon and Dr. Green have talked to us here, l believe that the good sense of the average Woman would prompt her to give up luxury which is running her own health and that of | her descendants.
 ''The trouble is," chimed in Dr. Green, ''that the ladies have never thought much about it. 1 hold that they are not more the slaves of fashion than we men are, but their fashions happen to be more pernicious and it is hard for them to run against the dead wall | of custom"
 ''That is true'' said Ainslee ''but the doc tors might remedy that reluctance in great | degree, for women have the reputation of fol- lowing doctors advice implicitly. l am sor- " to have to say it but I must perforce believe that many doctor has kept a patient along, dosing her on drugs and tenics, prescribing journey abroad or sojourn at the mountains, when, if he had said it to her (before it was too late) Wear your clothes SO loosely that you can breathe deep down from the lungs, and | keep clear of any article of dress which pre- vents you from bending your body in every directiOn,' he would have saved ten lives where now he saves one A doctor who neg lects the laws of health from ignorance ought never to be allowed to practice and one who does so from design should be obliged to reform by force of public opinion"
 But you must first reform public opinion !" exclaimed Dr. Short triumphantly ''public opinion, sir, which now tolerates and coddles these very men"
 Are not the doctors the ones to do thls ?" asked Ainslee; ''certainly no class of men have wider influence in the community, in matters of health, and if they would exert this influence for good public opinion would soon be reformed"
 "Alas" sighed Dr. Mercy; II suppose then, | in few years we shall have our ladies ap- bearing in the streets in something worse than bloomers-all charm and beauty gone ]"
 'Not at all" answered Mrs. Bacon; ''Dress Reform does not mean, Tn my mind, an abandonment of grace and beauty in the apparel. It means no corsets no tight bind ings to confine the muscles, restrict the breath ing, and displace the internal organs; no drag gling skirts to gather moisture and keep the ankles and feet damp for hours at a time ; and no heavy trimmings to drag on the hips and assist the mischief which the corsets have begun. 1 should never advocate an outre dress; it would do more harm than good by frighten- ing women away from it's adoption. The beautiful ought to be worshipped, but it does not seem to me necessary to sacrifice beauty by assuming healthful costume. Loose un- der garments short skirts suspended from the shoulders, light trimmings, and dresses made to fit the form instead of the corsets, is all the change needed to transform woman's present dress into Dress Reform Costume Not so very horrible after all, Dr. Mercy !' she con- | cluded
 Dr. Mercy thought ''the evil was exagger- ated," and Dr. Bacon turning to the others continued:
 Il agree entirely with you, MT. Ainslee, in laying the chief fault at the doctors door, What responsibility rests on us When we l think that upon the health of American women depends the health of all Americans both men and women, we certainly ought to fling away all thought of self-interest and strain every nerve to turn the stream in the right direction. l Women, as you say, are excellent followers of doctors advice. Let us then give them good advice Let us, if need be, frighten them into sense of their danger and the duty they owe to their unborn children.
 "But," she added apeogetically 'I did not mean to give you lecture, and my only excuse is that the subject is such vital one to me, that 1 must siege every opportunity to make converts. If even we four doctors alone should resolve to work in that direction, we could do an 1ncalculable amount of good"
 ''As for me" said Ainslee though 1 am not in the profession 1 mean to do what ever can to forward this reform, for dislike above all things to see my sister and lady friends in such poor health. l mean to give them good talking to. What do you say, Morey?"
 "Well, as said before," answered young Harvard 'I think the evil is greatly exag- gerated, and l cannot pledge myself
 So saying he sauntered off, and Dr. Short looking after him. said, ''The fact is, Mercy would lose all his patients if he should go into this business and for the matter of that, so should l: for l tell you, women will turn off a doctor that talks reform to them. They prefer medicine to change of habits. That's been my experience !"
 Did you ever try to reform them asked Mrs. Bacon.
 ''Well, no, not much," he confessed; ''and I'm too old to begin now," he added with some asperity, walking off to join Dr. Mercy.
 "That is the class we nave got to contend with" said Dr. Bacon. Do you think we shall ever be able to surmount the difficulty, l Dr. Green ?"
 ''It is a tremendous one" replied the old man "but we must try. And you, Ainslee," he continued, ''must see what the persuasions of young enthusiast can do."
 l "Yes"he answered; ''but first think must l get some reinf0rcemens. am afraid it would be undertaking an Herculean task, alone and singly attempting to convince women that they are doiug wrong;
 "Ah! that is the trouble, sir" said Mrs. Bacon; i've can all blame the doctors for neglect of duty, but what can we do with the women who will not follow our advice and with those also who are under no doctors care ?"
 s'Then it is the women themselves who are to blame ?" asked Ainslee in despair
 ''Yes, partly" she replied; ''but the men who demand such following of the fashions must also share the blame"
 l 'Dear me, said Ainslee ''everybody sems to be ,culpable and nobody willing to acknewl- edge itl"
 ''That is about it!' laughed Dr. Green; l you have got formidable task before you sir. You may be able to convert the men, but if you convince the women that they are wrong, you shall have monument" | Then the three separated and Frank Ainslee, convinced that greater question than ap pearance or economy was involved in the re- form of woman's dress, resolved to sound the matter still further and try to ascertain why women do such things. Said he to himself:
 ''The Candid Man condemns Woman Neither solves the problem and neither sex allows that itself is in the wrong Dr. Bacon confessed that women dress to please men and excuses them for so dolng while they continue dependant on mans opinion. Dr. Mercy on the other hand, thinks women should be inde- pendent of mans opinion and at the same time r Hikes to see woman well-dressed .. c. in the fashion. Dr. Short is afraid of loosing patients