St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-24
BAGGY KNEES.

Mr.. Orville Ardmp UnfoIds Fl is
Little scheme to MIR. Spotcash
Chicago Tribune.
MIR. Spotcash sat in his private Office.
He had been out to lunch, had returned,
and was picking his teeth and m1dita-
ting on the condition of the spring
trade.
There came a knock at the door and a
man entered.
The caller was attired in once gen
teel, aud still carefully groomed, SUIT of
black, and had brisk, buSIneSslike air
about him.
This is Mr.. Spotcash is it not?" ne
asked.
at is"
''My name is Ardup-Orville Ardup."
Well, sir, what can L"
80 come TO the point at once, Mr..
Spotcash, you are not averSe to invest
ing your money in venture likely to
offer large returnsH
"Well?''
"Well, L am the inventor of device
t that Will require little capital to de-
Yelop 1t, but there is big fortune in it.
and am willing to go shares with any
man that Will furnish the money. |
ave come to you first, because of your
we'll known"
skip ali that. Come to business
Yes, sir. Briefly, Mr.. Spotcash, |
have hit upon an idea which, if carried
into practical effect. will prevent trou-
serS from Dagglng at the knees. 1t will
absolutely and forever do away with the
unsightly-"
"Pshawr
Hear me out. Mr.. Spotcash. The
great disagreement of masculine attire
today IS baggy-kneed trousers. Every
tailor, every man of fashion, every per-
son who has given the subject any
thought Whatever. will tell YOU the
same thing. Witness the efforts made
by well dressed men to overcome this
defect. Observe how carefully some of
them pull up the garment at the knees
when they sit down. See what pains
others take to retain the fore-and-aft
crease up and down the legs. CandidIy,
MIR. Spotcash, do you admire creased
pants-I beg pardon rouserS?'
"Wny-"
''Of course you do not. Four or five
years ago a man with pair of creased
trousers would have been blackballed
by any club, and would have been
steered into back seat by the usher at
any fashionable church as a second-rate
chap who wore hand-me-downs. How is
it now? | know men personally, Mr..
Spotcash, who make practice of fold
Ing their trousers at night, and placing
them under their mattresses so
that the crease shall be
there in the morning. Others
put ironing boards or long wire stiffen-
ers inside the legs of the garment for
the same purpose. But it doesn't work.
sir. 1t Is only a makeShift. 1t merely
puts of the catastrophe. The baggy
knee is Inherent i'll the garment itself
as now made. Mark mel say as now
made. Ny plan is to attack the evil in
the beginning-to destroy the posi-
OIlity OF baggy knees by making the
fabric OF something that will not bag"
That Is simply preposteI--"
Il beg your pardon, MIR. Spotcash. 1t
seemed so TO me at first. But nothing
is insurmountable to a man OF energy
and resources. The idea occurred TO
me at first of fastening small elastic
rubber bands or strips on the inner side
of the knees, but l soon saw this would
not do. Then thought of the plan of
weaving the rubber into the cloth
itself, but this would be equally objec-
tIonable. 1t would make the cloth
wrinkle uneQuaIly and look odd. Finally
the idea struck me of having the fabric
Itself woven more tightly at the knee
than anywhere else, so 1t could not give.
You see the philosophy OF the thing.
There is more strain at the knees than
any other portion of the garment Make
1t absolutely unyielding at this point,
and the question is solved. 10 do this.
of course, VIII require special machin-
cry applied to the looms nowin use,
and this is where the expense"
But look here"
+ 81 know what you are thinking of
now. You are wondering why the rest
of the garment could not be shrunk in