Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-11-01

ST irt6 reaching to the gfonno, weighing
from six to eight pounds in AL and put
them on and try 10 run or climb4 tree
ard then you will have no trouble in
understanding why woman does not
take these privileges.
MIR. Tremblelimb smiled little but
didn't mention that he would try the
experiment. The man at the lower end
of the car withdrew his head from the
paper, for the first time. at this point OF
the conversation and | discovered that il
was the Rev. Mr.. Shailowhead, whom
had had conversation with on similar
subject only a short time aga. He looked
daggers at me but WASH at all afraid
Of him and kept right on with my argu-
ment Now, said I, how soon hey
will feel his freedom with his first pair
of pants, somehow, unconsciously at first,
he begins to ape the fashion Of those wht
have gone before him He begins to
climb trees. play ball, run, scream, cry,
laugh, in fact there is not muscle in hi
whole body, that IS not called into use,
from this time forth.
q But why does he do this:' asked Mr..
Tremblelimb. May it not be because
nature has developed in him desire for
these sports peculiar TO boys?
:" No it may not said l, nature had
nothing to do with it; it was fashion
Do you think his father would have
bought him pair of pants if it had not
been the fashion for boys to wear pants or
do you think he would have tried any OF
these sports peculiar to boys" as you call
them, if he hadn't seen all the other boys
trying them?' l asked rather emphatically
so, of course not, said he We all
follow some example,
We'll, what is the result of this
fashion for boys? 1t is the perfect develop
ment of body and mind. Now compare
it with the fashion for girls. She is early
taught that all out door sports are unbe-
coming TO girls, so she spends most OF
her time in the house, learning to cook
to sew, with an hour or two at the piano
and by and by her waist is drawn in, her
skirts are made longer and consequently
heavier, until at fifteen she is model
woman. The result is too evident-shc
becomes weak, her school life is burden
she loses her vivacity, her friends remark
that she is not we'll go, yes | am" she
bravely replies and musters up what
little physical strength she has and makes
one more desperate struggle to keep Cd
with her class but all too soon she is
obliged to surrender to the inevitable and
the world tauntingly remarks that she
has reached the extent of her mental
capacity. Now suppose we were to
reverse the fashion? Do you think, in
ten centuries we would have Il man
superior to woman, both mentally and
physically?'
8 But that will never be, he said, evad-
ing my question.
No, said I, Fashion never takes any
steps backward The bloomer is the out
come of the struggles of women, for gen.
erations. 1t came of necessity. The
question has long been before the world
- why this decline of physical strength in
women but the answer was not easy to
find. Great men have talked about it,
physicians have looked for it, students
have studied for it and women have
thought about It,.
And is it found?' he inquired.
" O. believe it is said /. The world Is
on the verge of Il new era for women.
The cause once found, we must set our
selves speedily at work to remedy it, and
it Is only a question of time, now, when
we will have woman equal to man, both
physically and mentally. But men take
very unkindly to the bloomer. They seem
to regard its advent as 4 sign of tyranny
they point the finger of criticism and
call her tho new woman, the modern
Eve, J." and all sorts of cowardly things
they ridlcule her through the press and
even make laws forbidding her to appear
in certain places in boomers
"Nr. Tremblelimb scowled and said he
was not aware that any such laws had
existed. But they have existed, said I,
only year ago a certain city issued laws
forbidding any woman, dressed in
boomers TO appear within the city limits
stating that they regarded it as detri-
mental ITO the morals of the people
signed, "city officials but the strangcst
coincidence was, that at the same time,
a law case. of the most sensational kind,
was being tried and the newspapers We're
allowed to print the evidence word for
word, aud day after day, it was put into
the hands of the newsboy and sold to the
people--and these were the morals that
could be SO seriously injured by the
appearance of a woman in boomers.
But do not mean to say that | think the
men have been the only factors in trying
to suppress the bloomcr. Far from that
some women have done even more but
that is the result of their mental weak
ness We are not to blame for what we
don't know you see, and any woman who
can't see that the bloomer is the crown.
ing glory of the nineteenth century is
more to be pitied than blamed. 1t means
freedom ! said, vehemently.
=" Freedom from what said he, and he
looked as though he wanted to say, There
it is--tyranDy again.
80 Freedom from skirts, said smilingly.
He looked just little bit 'squelched' but
made no audible reply. The Rev. Mr..
ShaIlowhead removed his head from the
paper again at this point and INDUCED in
a little giggle but l couldn' exactly tell
whether the giggle meant that he could
see the point or not.
%" But the bloomer has come and come to
stay, said /, and if some men prefer to
eat sour grapes, they had better take them
right off where they can enjoy them all
alone, or we don't want any, said / get
ting a little excited.
But the change is so radical, said Mr.
Tremblelimb that the world can hardly
accept it without some comment.