The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-03-03


who 20 through the streets In great stripes
Of color like animated checker. boards.
say these things bscsuse I want TO show
you that am impartial in my discourse,
and that both sexes, In the language Of
the Surrozate's Office, "shsre and share
alike"
Al God may help me am going to sst
forth the evil effects Of improper dress or
an excessive disciplsship Of costume. It
Is simple truth that you all know, al.
though the pulpit has not yet uttered II,
that much Of the womanly costume Of our
time 10 the cause Of the temporal and stsr-
nal damnation Of . multitude Of men.
There Il . snamelessness among many In
what IL called high life that calls for We.
hement protest. The strife with many
seems to be how near they can come to the
verge Of indscency without falling over.
The tide Of masculine proAigacy will never
turn back until there is q decided reforma-
ton in womanly costume. am in full
sympathy with the oficer Of the law,
who, at . levee in Philadelphia last
winter, went up to q so.called lady, and,
because of her sparse and incompe-
tent apparel, ordered her either to
leave the house or habilitate herself imms-
diately. 1t Is high time that our good and
sensible women make vehsm emit protest
against fashionable indecency, and, II the
women of the household do not realize the
deplorable extremes Of much Of the female
costume, that husbands impiead their
wives on this subject, and that fathers pro-
hibit their daughters. The evil 10 terrific
and overshadowing.
suppose that the American stage Is re-.
sponsible for much of this. do not 60 to
theaters, SO must take the evidence of the
actors and managers of theaters, such IS
Mr.. John Gilbert. Mr.. A. M. Palmer and
Mr.. Daniel e. Bandmann. They have re-
Gently told US that the crime Of undress is
blasting the thester, which by many is
considered school Of moral, and, indeed,
superior to the church and forerunner Of
the millennium.
Imust take the testimony of the friends
Of the thsater and the confirmation which
see on the board fences and in the show
windows containing pictures Of the way
actresses dress. suppose that these rep
reservations Of the play house costume are
true, for if they are not true, then these
highly moral and religious theaters ARE
swindling the public by inducing the peo-
pie to the theater by promises Of spectacu-
lar nudity which they do not fulfill. Now
all this familiarizes the public with such
i'm proprieties Of costume and depresses the
public conscience as to what Is allowable
and right.
The parlor and drawing room are now
running race with the theater and opera
bouffs. They are now nearly neck and
neck in the race, the latter little ahead,
but the parlor and drawing room are
gaining on the others, and the probability
is they will soon be even and pass the
stand so nearly at the same time that one
half Of pandsmonium will clap its hands
beca use opera bouffe has beaten and the
other half because the drawing room has
beaten. Let printing press and platform
hurl red hot anathema at the boldness Of
much Of wemanly attire. I charge Chris
tian women neither by style Of dress MOI
adjustment Of apparel to become ad.
min istrative Of evil. Show me the
fashion plates Of any age between this and
the time Of Louis XVI. of France and
Henry VIII. Of England, and will tell you
the type Of morals or immorals of that age
or that year. No exception to II. Modest
apparel mean . righteous people. Inn
modest apparel always means . contain
mated and depraved society.
It is not only such boldness that 10 TO be
reprehsnded, but extravaganza Of costume
This latter is tho cause Of fraud unlimitablt
and CHASTITY. Do you know that Arnold o.
the revolution proposed to sell his country
In order to get money to support his homs
wardrobe? declare here before God and
this people that the effort to keep up ex.
pensive establishments In this country Il
sending more business men to Temporal
perdition than all other causes combined
There are clerks in stores and banks OF
limited salaries, who, in the vain attempt
to keep the wardrobe of their family a
snowy 40 other folks wardrobes, are dying
Of NUTS, and diamonds, and camels' -hail
shawls and high hats, and they have moth.
ing left except what they give to cigars
and wine suppers, and they die before theiI
time, and they will expect US ministers x
preach about them a. though they were thu
victims Of early piety; and after a high
class funeral with silver handles at tn,
side of their coffin Of extraordinary bright
ness, It will be found out that the under
taker is cheated out Of his legitimate ex
penses! Do not send to me to preach tn,
Twill blurt out the whole truth, and tel
that he was strangled to death by his wife,
ribbons. The country Is dressed to death
You are not surprised to find that the put
ting up Of one public building in New Yorl
cost millions Of dollars more than II ough,
to have cost, when you lind that the maj
who gave out the contracts paid more thai
5000 for his daughters wedding dress
Cashmeres of thousand dollars each ar
not rare on Broadway. It is estimated
that there are 5000 women in these tw'
cities who have expended on their persona
array 5000 year. &
What are the men 10 do in order to keel
up such home wardrobes! Steal-that Is tn
only respectable thing they can do. Dur
ing the last fifteen years there have beel
innumerable Ane business men ship wrecks
ON the wardrobe. The temptation come
in this way: A man thinks more Of hi
family than all the world outside, an,
il they spend the evening in describ
ing to him the superior ward
robe of tIs family across the stree
that they can not bear the sight Of, tn
man is thrown ON his gallantry and hi
pride Of family, and without translatin
his feelings into plain language he got
into extortion and issuing of false stoc