The morning call., 1891-04-19

friend asked him If they did not have horses
he replied with emphasis that they had
nothing of the kind. ''We used to have
EN-" sadlhe, ''but for more than two years
all our cars have been drawn by electricity,
and a good deal of the machinery in the city
is run by it. We have good water-power
we get by means of dynamos, the cleo
tricity that runs our cars, our factories,
and everything else where power is needed.
New York is behind the times in sticking
to horses; it ought to move ont West
and get breath of our progressive atmos-
phere." The Western man was right, as
the city that sits on Manhattan Island is
considerably behind the rest Of the country
in many things. Other cities had demon
strated the advantages of cable railways be-
the mileage of cable railways in tbs city is
very small. A few attempts have been
made at running cars by electricity, but
they have all failed and the cars are now
standing idle in shed in the upper part Of
the city. In the suburbs there are some
electric lines, but it is safe to say that not
one in a hundred of the Inhabitants of New
York has ever seen an electric car and
considerable part Of the population has
never heard of one. Every attempt to inn
prove travelling facilities meets with great
opposition, partly from men whose interests
those who wish TO be Thought off," and
partly by those who believe that anything
which has suffieed for their fathers is good
enough for the people of the present day.
Practically of Modern Dress.
Does the reader of this paragraph fully
realize what convenient age he or she
lives in as regards the matter of dress,
and especially the masculine half of the
community? Look through any history of
fashions ard compare former days with
these. Think of the ruffs and trunk hose,
curlrd wigs, velvet doabletS and other in
cumbrances that formed part of the dress
of men two or three centuries ago, and even
much later. Even the wigs, powdered hair
aud other adornmeuts of our grandfather5
in the early part of this century required q
considerable outlay and no little attention,
which are altogether out of the calculation
of the well-dressed man of to-day. Ready
made clothing Is an innovation oil the pres
ent century, and has received its greatest
DEVELOPMENT in the last twenty-five years;
the fashion of mems clothing is far less ar
btrary than it was in the days ''befo' de
wah," and man may now wear suit OF
last years vintage without hesitation
through fear that its cut will reveal its an
tiquity. And as for the masculine dress suit,
it is the perfection of comfort in being with
out change for all but the pronounced
''swels" of society. The strict society man
must have new dress suit every year; but
he who is not swell may keep his until it
is useless only from shabbiness, or being
outgrown at the waist, whether it be two,
five or ten years. Women are held far more
IN the bondage of fashion than are the men,
though they have been vastly emancipated
since the days of Queen Elizabeth and her
immediate successors. For them there is no
ready-made clothing-store, though there is 4
slight approach 10 1t in some of the large es-
adjustments, where the skirts of dresses are
kept on hand ready-made ana subject to al
teratiou, while the waists will be made to
order at short notice. The reluctance OF
nearly every woman to wear a dress that
resembles that of any other of her sex is a
great bar to q reform in this matter, and
until women are as Indifferent as men are
on this point their troubles about their ward
robes cannot be removed or materially mitl-
gated. II Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Brown acct
dentally discover that their new suits have
been made from the same piece of goods it
does not give them the least concern. But
let Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Brown, or Miss
Iopes and Miss Robinson make a similar
discovery regarding their new dress. and
but We will draw a veil.
Copyright, 1897.