The San Francisco call., 1896-03-20
MAY GIRLS WEAR STEELS?.
School Director DR.. Myra Knox
and Professor Mead OPP
pose Them.
SPOIL ELECTRIC EXPERIMENTS.
High School Girls Must Choose Be.
tween Correct Scientific Results
or Prevailing Fashions.

OAKLAND OFFICE SAN Francisco CALI
90S Broadway, March 49, !
This city is very fortunate in having a
woman on the School Board, for question
has arisen that only woman can handle
with propriety.
A very delicate subject is now engaging
the attention of the girl pupils in the
High School. 1t concerns the wearing of
corsets.
Yesterday afternoon DR.. Myra W..
Knox, who is also a School Director, de-
livered a lecture before the High School
girls on the commonplace things OF a
girls life. After discussing the questions
of diet, sleep. housework and other mat
ters she referred to the subject of dress.
"A gentleman connected with our city
schools" said DR.. Knox, ''has repeatedly
said that our High School girls dress too
much. He is man of judgment and
good taste, and is deeply interested in all
that pertains to students.
81 sincerely hope he is mistaken in this
for several reasons. First, it reflects on
your good taste. Second, you are setting
bad example. If you dress suitably for
the schoolroom you may help some one
else to have the moral courage to dress
within her means. And may speak of
your graduating dresses? That is serious
question twice year to quite. number. L
hope the coming class will set an example
for all future classes in inexpensive SIM
plicity, for simplicity is not always In ex-
pensive. OF course youknow as well as
do that corsetS should not be worn by a
growing girl. She should have chance
to grow and expand as nature intended
she should, and as boy does. Imagine
boy in corsets. And why not? IT they
are good for a girl, why not for boy !?
Suggest it to your brothers.
SIN many ways we might improve on
the way of wearing garments. Skirts
should be light and fastened to waist.
Warmth should be supplied by the un-
derwear. Your costume for the gym
nasium Is the best possible, for it is made
for purpose and gives absolute freedom
to all parts OF the body"
After the lecture DR.. Sarah /. Shuey
read the following questions to the girls
and asked them to answer on blank slips
of paper:
have you attained during the past year?
2. How many hours work in manual train
ing have you taken?
3. Do you breakfast before coming to school?
A. What does your usual breakfast consist of
s. Do you take warm luncheon at school?
g. At what hour do you retire?
z. Are yon often up later than that hour?
8. Do you help your mother at home?
Nearly all the girls answered the ques-
tions, but some of the older and more
fashionable misses seemed to consider the
questions too personal, and did not reply.
''There was only one other question, :"
said DR.. Shuey, land. 1T was perfectly
proper one to be addressed by physician
Ia woman-to class OF girls. Meth er
Principal McChesney nor any other man
was in the gymnasium at the time.
heard no protests, and do not know if any
of the girls were indignant. At the time
talked to the girls about the wearing OF
corsets, but see no harm in that. have
more than one reason for doing that.
Professor McChesney tells me that the
girls cannot take the course in electricity
perfectly because the steels in their corsets
act as magnets"
Some time ago the girls complained to
Professor Mead of their inability to OBJ
tain correct results in the electrical expert
ments and the professor stated it was due
to the presence of steel in the girls cloth
ing. Yes; told the girls they could not
wear steel corsets and try to make accu-
rate experiments with the galvanometer,"
said Professor Mead to-day. lit is I'M
possible to do SO. The boys are forced to
discard their steel knives and anything
else of steel in their possession during ex-
perimepts with the galvanometer, and the
girls will have to do the same. told
these facts to Miss Palmer, who conducts
the physical exercises, and asked her to re-
quest all the young ladies who worked
with electricity to cease from wearing
steels."
The matter was revived by yesterdays
lecture, and now that science and fashion
have collided there will probably be some
rule framed that will fit the case.