St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-08-09
111nnan's n1urln.
HERE IS THE LATEST ADVANCE.
Lady Florence Dixie Would Have Com
panies of ''women Volunteers"


Lady Florence Dixie Would Have Com
panies of ''Women Volunteers"
Lady Florence Dixie finds matter for
an article of considerable length in a
London paper advocating the organiza-
ion of corps of women volunteers.
She begins by saying that the pro-
posal has met with many women's ap-
prevail 90 and then proceeds to outline
her scheme. She advocates the estab-
lishment of institutions where would be
volunteers could be physically train
ed into good gymnasts and be able to
swim, ride, run, march, shoot and en-
dure fatigue. Hand in hand with these
subjects should go instructions in cook
ing, nursing, ambulance work and man
ual skill in tailoring and bootmaking,
knowledge, however rude, of these
two last named accomplishments being
at times most serviceable and useful
81 am totally opposed, - continues the
paper, ito the formation of a volunteer
corps for women either merely as a
medical one a fighting one or an am
bulance one. My idea of a volunteer
corps of women is one whose members
in time of national need could volun-
teer for all and every kind of service
and perform the same efficiently whether
it be fighting, medical work, ambulance
work, nursing or anything else, and the
unity of this volunteer corps should be
firm and strong knitted by the indissolu-
BILE tie of esprit de corps, which would
build it into powerful organization.
''It should be the great national
IL II,
en- who could depend upon receiving a
technical education if desired therein.
1t should be the national club for wom-
en- of all classes; it should be able to
furnish in case of need skilled work
women in every grade; it should have
its branches in every town or outside
every town, and it should have its great
central institution, its hall of liberty,
in London.
1.-The corps might be known as the
United Corps of Women Volunteers,
and it could be classified in companies
under different names, certain duties
being apportioned to each. These COM
panies could furnish whatever the ma
tional need required, trained and dis
ciplined bodies of women being forth
coming in any emergency to supply the
service sought.
Before Lady Dixie announces her uni
form she paves the way with an anath
ema against modern dress, and then
introduces her 'fneat Norfolk shaped
tunic, reaching to just above the knees;
knickerbockers and CATERS to match,
the CATERS to be substituted for brown
tanned top boots, lacing up the entire
front to the knee, where much riding
is necessary.
'fFor head dress 1 would recommend
a colored cap, Tam O. Shanter or Carl
ist in shape, plain round straw hat in
hot weather or helmet if deemed more
suitable. And to harmonjze with such
a costume woman's appalling headgear
must be abandoned. No head can be
truly comfortable or neat which is doom
ed to wear the present day erections and
combinations of false and real hair,
frizzes and fads, all pinned together in
bewildering confusion.
Having thus annihilated the present
coiffures, woman is urged 'either TO
cut her hair short or wear it in the
King Charles fashion adopted by the
cavaliers, or if she prefers to keep it
very long wind it in a neat coil behind
her head.
Lady Dixie admits that the move
ment is radical, and that there are
difficulties to be encountered, sneers and
jeers to be lived down, satires to be re-
futed, converts to be made, - but she is
sanguine of ultimate success and con-
meets the arrival of the women volun-
teers with great national reforms and
all the rest of it.