Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-04-17
YOUNG LADIES DRESS PARADE,
A YigOrous Letter from President Sprague
of Mills CoIIere

The REcoRD-UNIoN has on several oc.
casions advocated the prohibition of expen.
sive dressing OF pupils at graduating exer.
cises, and given ample reasons therefor
The following communication from Presi.
dent Sprague to the Examiner is terse upon
the subject:
SIR | am glad to comply, however briefly.
with your Kind request that / would give my
views upon exI ensive dressing at graduation
exercises. Time foTbids me to go into detail
will merely enumerate some OF the Objections
to dress parades' AT the commandments OF
female seminaries:
L. To many parents, even in good pecunisrv
circumstances, it is a burden to provide the
costly dresses sometimes worn on such occa.
sions; but 10 poor man it is an ntolerable
hardship. However painful il NAV he to de-
prive his children Of education. they must he
Withdrawn before graduation day comes with
lts costly rings, pictures, presents and dress
parade.
2. This clothes nuisance takes too ,nuch time
A pupil whose soul is absorbed in dress is worth
less in study. Days and weeks in II any schools
are annually thus lost, or worse than lost; for,
g. In place OF the true, the beautiful and the
good II erects an altar TO the worship of Fashion;
ana, OF oil slaves, the Fashion worshiper is the
most pltlacle and incoTrigible
4 Honor, admiration and popularity too often
come 10 the least deserving, ii richly clad ::
while pity, neglect or contempt seems too often
ahe sva lot OF Of the plainly dressed. Such
envy and heart-burnings
5. What are we to think of the sincerity of
tnOSe VINO profess all the year TO inculcate sim
pliclty and to discourage vain show to teach
the young 10 be rather than 10 Seem and then
nulllty 1t all at graduation by permitting the
butterflies to shame the bees for,
b. IL Is gratuitOus cruelty to allow the daugh-
tiers Of the rich to wear their expensive fnery at
graduation. while beside them are classmates
utterly unable to afford anything of the kind
ted?
7. Candy or expensive dresses on such oeca-
sions, ike the war-psint of an Indian, are evil
denee OF lower civilization shoddy, heather,
s. Such extravaganza disgusts sensible men
with the whole business of higher female edu-
cation, and many good institution suffers be-
cause once or twice year it ministers or defers
TO this girlish vanity
For the foregoing, among other reasons. l
have thought it expedient to send to parents
circular letter OF which l suhloin a portion.
Yours truly, HOMER b. SPRAGUE.
Mills College, April s, 1856.
The following is the extract referred to
desire further to secure your cooperation
and influence as opportunity may offer, TO cOun-
teract an injurious impression that prevails in
many parts OF this coast, to the effect that stu
dents of this seminary are too much given TO
crpcnsire dressing and fashion. | found such an
opinion in Washington Territory, in Oregon, in
southern California, and in this vicinity. Other
persons have repeatedly told me that they had
met the same objection 1t must have arisen,
not from The dresses worn daily but from those
worn on public occasions, and particularly at
graduation.
purpose to enforce strictly the standing rule
printed III the catalogue, and to allow no stu
dent wearing snowy or expensive dress to take
part in the commencement exercises. This is
the more important, as it always happens that
some Of the graduating class are poor, and it
would be wrong 10 wound their feeling by re-
minding them sharply and painfully of their
poverty in the presence OF 4 large number of
observers. such cruel reminder would be I'M
avoidabie, If their classmates are to appear in
gay or costly attire
| regard silks ard satins and other expensive
arb as out of place among our pupils. Occa-
sions may come when they may be worn prop
erly enough, but not by young ladies while par
ticipaing in the literary exercises in this school.
be better for US all.