Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-12
THE DECOLLETE DRESS.
VIEWS OF DR. HOWARD CROSBY GIVEN
 IN A CANDID STYLE.

l
 Influence Upon Young Girls Brought Up | in SOciety's Whirl-Rather a Severe Com | ment on Men Who Attend Some Thea l tres-A Puritan for Himself Only
 The decollete dress now used by women for evening wear is simply an abomination. will not denounce all the women who wear such dresses as immoral. That would be unfair. But do contend that they are all shamelessly immodest. I can readily under stand how young girl, brought up in what is known as fashionable society and accus- toned from her childhood to the appearance of her mother during the evening in this | outrageous costume, should come to regard the exposure of her arms and the upper part 1 of her bosom as eminently proper and modest l Perhaps she would never think about the | matter at all. But this unconsciousness on | her part does not make the exposure any the | less immodest, any more than the uncon- | sciousness of the native woman of Africa, l who appears in a state of nature and walks about in this unhampered condition, robs her exposure of every immodest characteristic l suppose this comparison will not be con- sidered fair one by great many people. | But if the opportunity which a wealthy
 
 ment is considered, to say nothing of her Christian training, which should be hers, and can be hers for the asking, is considered which enable her to distinguish between the modest and the immodest, these people will if they are not biased, admit that the com parisonS has all the elements of truth To | my mind, there is very little difference be- tween a poor, uneducated African woman with absolutely no perceptions of right and | tian woman of the Nineteenth century ex- posing her breast
 EVIL MINDED MEN.
 So much for the immodesty of the ques tlon. Its immortality is attributable partly to the women who wear it, but chiefly to the men who countenance and encourage them. The women who eagerly seize on the pretext which this costume affords for the exhibition of their physical attractions for tho purpose of capturing the attention of men, thereby knowing full well what the influence of such a display possesses, are, l am very happy to say, in the minority. But they do exist, and the costume in their hands and worn by them is instrument of the devil. The chief cause of its immortality, however, resides in the filthy irnaginations of the men.
 All men are more less immoral in thought, if not in deed, and there Is abso- lutely no exception to this rule. If it is not so, why do men frequent theatres where the exposure of half naked women in tights colored to resemble human flesh is the pre- vailing and predominant feature of the per formancess They go there simply that their unhealthy and uncleanly imaginations may have full play, and if the exhibitions on the stage do not minister to their diseased fancy and appeal to their sexual passions they are voted dull and commonplace and left without patronage.
 Nowadays men often frequent drawing rooms for the same reason that they frequent the theatres. There they meet women, their social peers, it is true, dressed, or rather un- dressed, in evening costume, and find food for their imagination precisely as they do when they attend ballet or a spectacle Then comes the talk of the clubs. The bust, the formation of the arms, and the more or less voluptuous curves of the figure, all fur nish themes for subsequent comment. The points of a new debutante are estimated by these men during drawing room converse tions, with all the care and skill exhibited by an expert in horsehesh, where the merits of horse are under consideration And the ob- servations carried away from these drawing rooms are made afterwards the subject of club gossip, and form the basis of compari- son when the excellencies of rival beauties happen to be mentioned.
 HAS SEEN IT HIMSELF.
 If young and innocent girls could but hear the comments and criticisms which are made on their figures by club men around the card rooms and at club windows, and could listen for moment to the minute analyses which are made of their physical attractions left exposed by reason of the decollete dress, no argument that could possibly be advanced would induce them to continue the wearing of this apparently popular and fashionable garment. And when I speak of the un- licensed way in which men talk in the club rooms, am not drawing on my imagination. was 35 years old before became minister, and during that time had ample opportuni- ties for observation, and 1t Is what 1 saw and heard which now furnishes me the basis for the conclusions Ihave expressed.
 The underlying principle of all nude ex- hibitions whether on the public stage or in private life, is dirt. Even if legislative in- reference were possible, however, in the matter, any attempt to exert it would be foolish. The folly and indecency of the de- collete dress have been pointed out by the press and by the pulpit ever since it has been worn, and never with any appreciably good effect. prefer to let the women who wear them severely alone. If people want to live ln pig sites let them live there. For one would not attempt to compel them to live elsewhere. I am no Puritan except for n.y. sef.-Howard Crosby in Cincinnati Com mercial Gazette.