Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-01
Little Bare Logs.

Miss Susan Wight has been teacher
| for twcnt! -one Years III a girls public
| school III NeS York. She is now th,.
principal cf tho primary department.
\ short time ago she wrote letter To-
the Board of Health. in which she said
that Tia short n;esse5 worn by many Of
the girl pupils did taore harm than bad
plumbing and defective ventilation, an !
that the fashion made tle chill trrn IL
bic to rheum0'iSm, consumption, rneu-
monia, and other diseases, which ace
the result Of exposure. Her letter
closed Us follows:
MY sympathy for the ill,used chill,
dren of the rich and poor 'mpel~ me
to ask your attention to this CRYING
abuse, ard to risk the appropriately Of
putting the blame where it rightly be
longs-npon physicians, too tender
pocketed to make parents full sharers
in the blame which belongs to neglected
buildings and ignorant teachers, i'll this
murder Of the innoconts.
The Board of Health referred the
letter to the Society of Prevention Of
Cruelty 10 Children. Mr.. Elbrilse L.
Gerry, the President of the Society,
returned IN answer, in which he wrote
1t is impossible for the $ ,ciety to IN
terfere upon the general complaint pre-.
ferred by Miss Wright. If she will
furnish evidence OF Hny specific act of
willfnl cruelty, the case will be prose
cuted ut once"
Miss Wright said afterward to u SIM
reporter, that even where poor children
in her school had been given dresses Of
n proper length they had returned next
day with the dresses cut short. The
children Of wealthy parents were
poorly clad in this respect as the poor
children. The stockings might be of
finer Quality, but there WAS no more
warmth il them. Mothers cover them
selves with levy hanuels and furs, ard
yet they send ont their delicate little
girls with their legs exposed, in some
cases even ab)v the knee, TO the cold
winds. 1t is simply foolish desite,
Mics Wright said, to be in the fashion.
Years as" girls wore long dresses, n Il
were then sufficiently protected. Ger
tuinly girls are not harder low than
they were then. She had lately seen
very small children WHO wore socks
which left space OF bare flesh exposed
above them. Little boys with kuicker
bockers generally wear listers, and are
thus protected. Tho cold Is much
more injurious to girls than to boys.
"A great deal of sickness in tho schools,
Miss Wright said. arises from tbis
cause. In regard to the answer Of the
Society, she said that she could not,
with pr"priety, give the names of par
ents of illclad children. Tue Society
could see tine children anywhere in the
streets. She hoped tOaccomplish muc!s
by calling the matter to public notice,
and believed that when parents learned
Of the wrong they were doing their
children, they would seek to remedy
the evil.
a physician skilled in childrcns
diseases said that it WAS undoubtedly
unhealthy to expose amy portion of the
body to Id. 1t affected the lungs and
heart, and was liable to bring on diph
theritic and other complaints. All
children should wear heavy under
clothing and warm WOODEN leggins IN
cold weather. Stockings are very III
sufficient protection in cU!,l wind. 1t
was wrong to blame the doctors for the
short dresses. They do not set the
fashions. and are only asked for advice
when the child becomes ILL.,