The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-11
LABOR IN Vain,
Those Women Who Devote
Most of Their Lives to
n tfs #tt flffge fs.ertt Nt
UnesSentia1 Things.
SOME SENSIBLE CHANGES IN STYLES.
But the Unhealthy Train Still
Sweeps the Streets
Fashion Notes.

we are constantly Detug reUlnuou 1uao
silk is superseding the thin materials
which have been so popular for summer
wear for years Why is il? Surely there
is no prettier picture than adainty woman
clad in soft white lawn or muslin. But
the fact remains that soft thin six has
been gaining in popularity steadily.
There is q reason for this in tEat the
wash goods" soil more easily than the
silk, aud not n gown out of ten but is a
disappointment after this process. some
say to shrink the material first: do this.
and a great deal of trouble Is avoided,
but the material loses its pristine fresh
ness. 1t the material is not shrunk, it Is
either made loose enough to allow for
shrinkage and does not fit during It's first
stages. or fitting. is washed and ironed d,
and the result Is that the curves at the
waist line reach halfway between that line
and the shoulder. lt Is u dis-
couraging thing, all around. One
qeta thee dresses with the idea that
they will staud good wear, they can
be so easily washed, one thinks, betore
the process. But with modern laun-
dresses, ths result is usually d~isappoint-
ing. They get either too limp or too
stiff, and then remind one of the stiff
white u~nderskirt-. without which a
woman would nave felt LOST u few years
ago. / remember experience pg some
surprise myself, not So very long ago.
when q sensible woman declared That she
never bad her white understands starchsd
above the hem. But" ! demonstrated,
suhey must be very limp" "Precisely,p
She answered. Il have a good figure ahd
I am not going to kin L. just because
other women are foolish enough TO do
So"
THE WHITE SKIRT DISCARDED.
Thus my friend spoke. ;tud now five
years after, sensible women are ABANDON
ing the whit 9 skirts, the thieves OF time
aud strength, altogether. they die hard.
There is a something so f=minine aDou.
them. so many dainty lace rufies and
fGrbelows, that the average woman finds
1t difficult to resist them. But, In the
loss what does she gains How long does
the white skirt keep wearable on tue av-
eragea And it is not generally the
woman WAC EMPLOYS help to iron her
white skirts who resents the change. it is
more likely to be the one who
irons and washes them herself. The for
mer will see the artistic effect of
the silk skirt, but with the latter
the white skirt has gined G eat favor,
prohably bee ause il has caused so nue.
LABOR; just as 40 ugly patchwork quilt is
preferred TO a beautiful bought Que, be-
cause it is the Labor of ones hands,"
That Is all well enough IN it's wav, but
have these things a right to steal 20 much
of womau's time? Is it worth while In
the ends Women nowadays u read
the papers. They are not expected to sit
by as men discuss the Reading Combine
or the Homestead strike. and perhaps
look up once In a while with an express
sion of "Do tell' on th cir faces. Life is
worth more thaa to waist 1t on patchwork
quilts.
HER LIFE WORK
The other day a young girl showed me
a bit of crochet work which was the be-
ginning OF a bed spread. She had just
completed u similar one, with snams.
She intended to Ii;aAe two more sets.
One set TOOK mouths OF steady work, not
leisure hours, while chatting, bur Keep
ing at 1t steadily. This girl was in 1883
the valedictorian in d leading Eastern
college. Her essay WAS in Latin, her W
composition. She had spent Il great deal
Of money and time on her mu fc. She
rarely touches The piano now. She reads
almost nothing. Her life is dwarfed, all
the elements which elevated it during her
school days seem forgotten. A letter
which she sent Inc recently shows faulty
Eugiish. And yet this girl was an able
scholar, What is the cause OF it all, you
ask. l answer, ~crochettinR. She loves
it, ana although to Il moderate extent all
women love GH1S W0lHduly drG, surely
when it robs a life of what is best for il. it
is time to call d halt. l felt tempted to
burn the beginning Of the new spread.
Another instance OF woman's folly was
demonstrate to me The otner day by q
mother who has three little girls. She
dresses them in white ali the time anil as
a result mas about twenty-five dresses III
the Wash every week. She cannot keep
servants; they complain of the excessive
laundry, aud yet that spatiens mott .r
hates to see her children in colored gin -
hams aedwastes her strength and enere1.a
AS for the children, / wAlllwuger that
they would prefer to be les to make mud
piegiu one thin flannel dress than lie
botherei Unto trying to keep clean in
fifty white frocks. ttD faE 4
So much OF woman's labor Is in vain;
SO many mothers have foitied their hands
in eternal restin the prime of woman
hood and lefb their bHilns to shift for
Themselves all because Of energy mis-
directed. Many al hour which might
have been pleasantly spe mt with the Gull
dren. sharing their Joys aud sorrows, has
been given for them. In the former case
the children would have the recollections
of a mouuer's sympathy. viii e the latter,
to u great extent, il "love's laoour lost"