The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-02-26
ABOUT WALKING STICKS.
Fashion Condemns Them Except as
an Accessory to an Outdoor
Promenade.
6anished From Business Life and
Formal Occasions of Social
Life.
Tho Evolution From = Physical AID to a
Tho Evolution From = Physical Aid to a
Matter of Ornament and Its Ap-
proaChipg Exit.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Fashion has set its seal of condemnation
on the cane except as an accessory to an
outdoor promenade. 1t is banished from
business life and from all formal occasions
OF social life. A man is not expected to
carry a o6ne to n wedding or to church or
to q reception or to 4 tea or any other so
cial event, but only when he is taking n
stroll or Ia out for a walk with the inten-
ton TO return to his own house. and not 10
stop in somewhere to meet ladies.
This is the other extreme from the exces-
sivs use of the cane which reached its
height eight or ten years ago, and has been
gradually diminished since. Gamer are
still tolerated with walking gloves and
walking clothes, but not with u dress suit
or formal apparel. A cane Roes best with
mixed goods.
The decree Of fashion this winter marks
the ebb Of the cane habit. In the time of
the Rrandfathers the cane was used as a
physical aid. and less as a matter of orna-
ment or fashion. The cane then was a staff
or stout walking stick. with a head which
fitted into the palm of the hand for a good
grip. In fact the cane was usually called
in those days q walking stick. and its chief
use was as an aid in walking.
From that it came to be affected by
young men who did nosneed its assistance.
The size and weight of the old walking
that day, who turned the walking
stick ipho a switch or rattan
. aAa.-IHhich was much in vogue
during the period of the Crimean war,
and was most popular with officers and
military dandies. The rattan cane was
,,,,,1- az orpvynauk and plnytbJOy. "a il
would bend too readily to be of any use as
. support.
The fashionable reaction from the slen-
der and bending rattan swung to the oppo-
site extreme and brought into fashion huge
canes with a big knob on the end. These
canes were made of stout wood an inch or
more in diameter, with elaborate horn or
silver handles. Their weight ran up into
the pounds, and they could be used as
weapons in Il riot. They %pnrtook of the
nature of clubs which primitive man used
in combats.
80 great was the size of these canes that
they could be used for receptacles for things
men use, as a woman's bag is employed to
carry around all sorts of feminine things.
Some OF the canes we're hollow inside for
the reception of liquids, and their tops
could be unsorewed, making 1t unnecessary
for the owner to carry another flask. Or
there was ample room to put in a knife,
which came up when a spring Was touched,
on the principle of the old sword canes.
The carving of some of the handles was
elaborate; all sorts of figures were used Rnd
worked out in silver and ivory.
The next step in fashion was the natura'
wood cane with a band of silver. These
bands sometimes had the shape OF q silver
snake, which coilsd up around the stick,
Nowadays if a man is going to carry a cane
at oil he should have a natural wood stick
or a slightly curved stick with a shepherds
crook. The cane should be simple and in
conspicuous, not suggestive of any Other
purpose than its natural one. OF course. it
should not look cheap. for one of fashions
first rules is that nothing which looks
cheap should be worn. Still there ia nc
reason for the cane manufacturers to be
discouraged.