Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-05
Woman's Longing for a Place in
Which to Garry Things.
NO BETTER OFF THAN EVE
Story of the Rise and Fall of the
Necessary Pocket.
MANS MANY ADVANTAGES

|
woman or some woman or other be mascu-
line enough to demand pockets? Suffrage
Is all very well, but pockets are the in
alienable right of our sex. What a poor,
| pocketless, Lucy Locket set we all are
Any one Of us might be arrested for shop
| lifting and convicted circumstantial
| evidence, for cruel necessity compels US to
| conceal Our belongings in all sorts of queer
| places. Button hooks we stick in our
gloves; handkerchiefs do nicely to fill out
the big sleeves; bonbonnieres and watches
| tend to make our waists of the prescribed
| measurements since we have taken to
| poking them in our belts, and our pocket
| books "a misnomer, as we possess 10
pockets-are carried loosely clasped in our
nngers temptation to the needy and an
invitation to the unprincipled.
Mans Advantages.
| Not even the man who carries aces I'D
| his sleeve would submit to the inconyen-
| fence Of carrying a handkerchief there, and
| until we get back the pockets of our grand
mothers, the less said of the progress of
| our sex the better. And to think that we
| talk of taxation without representation
and argue that we are the equal, If not the
| superior, of our brothers. A woman with
| no pocket the equal of a man with seven
| or eightIt is absurdly unlogical Any one
| who has ever been able to get as far as
| double equations in algebra can see the
| fallacy of the statement. Let stand for
| the woman without a pocket and for the
| man with seven, and then prove equal to
| y If you can. Algebra can be made to
prove many strange things, but it can't
go quite that far.
If we want suffrage, 1t is not worth while
| to fly in the face Of the ruling powers like
tie, I,4l r1N H. ny Ia
go step by step. An appeal in behalf of
pockets would be a good initial measure, for
| 1t would not Immediately arouse the opposi-
! ton of men. They would like for us to
| have pockets: 1t would relieve them of the
| bother Of taking care of our fans and opera
| glasses and other theater essentials. And
after we once got them. then We would be
prepared to pocket the ballot. both literally
and metaphorically.
Instead Of fighting men, we should be
| fighting the modistes. OF course we have
been doing that all our lives, but we could
concentrate our criticisms upon one point,
the absence of a pocket. That would be a
great relief, too, to the dressmakers. for
heretofore we have fought on no particular
issue; we have simply designated our gowns
as "frightfully botched" and been hysteri-
cal over them.
The Earliest Pockets.
The rise and fall Of the pocket is a very
Interesting study. Eve had none in her
tend that we will eventually get back to the
original state Of affairs. Undoubtedly, the
forefather Of the modern pocket was the
hunters bag, rudely fashioned from skins.
The Greeks and the Romans knew only
this detachable pocket but then, who ever
thinks of Greek or a Roman carrying
anything but a dagger or a scroll of man
uscript? It would seem-as absurd to think
Of Caesar jingling a bunch Of office keys as
it would to imagine Grecian maiden, in
flowing robes, cooking a substantial dinner
of potatoes and cabbage.
The word pocket Is derived from the
French, and signifies a pouch or bag. At
first. women wore them tied around their
waists. under their gowns. an opening in
the skirt corresponding with one in the bag
Frequently there were two of these hung
like John Gilpin's bottles,
- on each side
To make the balance true"
- Oh, little maid, who bushes to think that
she once smoked a cigarette. your great
grandmother carried a snuffbox in that I'M
calmly pocket! Yes and knitting shield,
and calamus root, and several other things
The Decline.
Later on the bag was sewed in the skirt,
and still later the patch pocket made its
appearance, a square stitched on the out
side of the garment. The pocket was in the
zenith OF Its power when 1t reigned as
reticule, for then 1t combined ornamental
ton with utility. The most approved sort
was of canvas deliberately embroidered in
beads. This beaded reticule was the swans
song; the glow Of glory that battles the
earth ere the setting of the sun. From it
dates the decline of the pocket As lone
as 1t was open and above board 1t was a
blessing to womankind, but when II he
came thing to be hidden in inaccessible
yt,o& l,rl
places, wnat dark thoughts of murder and
revenge 1t put into weak woman's mind, To
attempt to put ones hand into her poclet
and not be able to find it was Sometimes
very embarrassing, especially If the con-
usher balancing the contribution boy Re-
fore one. The skirt dance probably had its
origin in the frantic endeavor Of a woman
70 locate pocket hidden under mysterious
draperies. BY turning the gown wrong
side out and clinging on to the pocket we
could occasionally find the opening on he
other side. but the process was altogether
too trying on our tempers, and we con-
cluded that the peace of the communitr
oepenaed upon Its adjustment.
The Boston Bag.
We tried all sorts of substitutes, notably
1.-The eminently respectable BOSTON h.o"
The trouble with it was that we were ant
to pick it up by the wrong end, and the
contents OF woman's bag, exposed to
public view. were rarely a credit to its
owner But what a convenience they were,
The young woman in the department. who
heretofore had been undergoing a gradual
starvation process rather than carry a
substantial luncheon. abandoned the little
slice Of bread and butter which ALWAYS
warped before noon. and concealed a regu-
lar dinner in tho innocent-looking black
bag.
The chatelaines which succeeded it were
too small to be Of much use, and, besides.
they made US feel sporty" They 1ingled
like the trappings of silver-mounted har-
ness, and involuntarily we threw back our
heads and stepped high. Finally, we real
lied that they did to wear at the races but
were not CONNIE IL faut at any other place.
SO gave them to our maids.
But any sort Of a pocket was better than
none at all. Think of the pleasure a boy
derives from his pockets! Think of the in
dependence a man feels who possesses
half a dozen, and think of us, poor, long
suffering daughters Of Eve. who have not
where to put a penny! But man and mag
istrate are with u.s. Across the waters Mr..
Hanney Of Marlborough street is preaching
pockets to prevent the snatching of purses,
and no doubt our own police officials would
gladly contribute funds for a pocket cam
paign.