St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-03
MoDEsTY OR PRUDIsHNEss?

1t is still an open question in the
minds of some of our st. Paul people
whether the principal of ohe of the pub
lie schools has proper appreciation of
modeSty,or whether he was guilty of an
exhibition of prudishness. when he pub
licly reproved one Of the young lady
pupils for having classified, in her essay
on Modern Reforms" Mrs. MILLER's
''diyided skirt as one of the reforms of
the age. The public is not sufficiently
informed as to the merits of the gar
ment to know whether the classification
was correct or not; but the controversy
hinges upon whether an allusion in this
connection to an undergarment worn by
ladies was immodest, or even indel-
lcate. 1t is not often that parents
find fault with teachers for Installing
ideas of propriety into the minds of
children, and as rule, they would pre-
fer that the extreme in the direction of
prudiShnesS should be reached than in
the opposite direction. And yet there
are those who strictly maintain that
there is such thing as being radically
prudiS and it is that class who take
issue with the school superintendent
and his followers, and who sustain the
young lady in her right to use the term
''divided skirt without being drawn
over the Goals before the whole school
for the exercise of her womanly privi-
lege. Those who are partisanS of the
young lady in this controversy are those
who believe in calling a.spade spade,
and who hold that it is lawful to make
use of good old Anglo-SaXon language
whenever occasion requires it. They
also affirm that whatever article of food
or raiment is useful to man or woman
deserves name, and that there can be
no breach of etiquette in calling proper
things by their right names. The only
criticism that they have to make of the
young lady is that she did not speak of
Mrs. MILLER's invention as ''divided
petticoat;;" for, in their opinion, the use
of the word skirt was itself prudish
attempt to conceal the real name OF the
garment.
The GLOBE does not propose to be-
come partisan. nor even to take part
in the controversy. 1t is matter of
small consequence to us whether the
teacher was right OF wrong in his posi-
ton. But aside from this immediate
question and its connections, we are
impressed with the belief that mis-
take is made by parents and teachers in
the rearing and education of children
in not taking more pains to acquaint
them with facts, and to familiarize them
with things of which they must learn as
they grow cider. 1t is infinitely better
that they should learn these things at
home, and hear them from the lips
of parents and instructors, than that
they should be left to learn from those
who are not fit to give instruction. That
modesty which prompts the withhold
ing from children of that knowledge
which is important TO their well being
is not only false, but dangerous. In
this respect. at least, the accepted ideas
of propriety need reconstructing.
1t IS believed that the man who man.
ufactures new Jokes, to get into the al
MANAGES and places to make men laugh.
should be classed with the admitted ben
efactOr who makes two spears of grass
grow where only one had been able to.
PHILLIP Ell. WEIGH should then rise to
the higher grade. He has for several
years been doing great part of the
funny work that has gone the rounds of
the press and made half continent
laugh. He died the other day with can