The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-11

Roughly speaking, the average Eng.
)ishman is pretty certain to make one OF
two remarks when he gets up in the
morning. If the sporting instinct is
strong in him-and it is in most Eng
,ishmen-he exciaims: Let's go and
kill something" But. if he is animated
by desire to set the world right, he
soliloquizes thus with himself: go
10, now; let us stayt a reform
movement" Next, perhaps to killing
something, the Englishman most loves
to compel a lot of other people to be-
good, or at least better than they were
before, according to his way of think.
ing. 1t makes no difference that the
people ho sets ont to reform may not
be such q bad sort-that, on the whole,
they measure up fairly well to
the standard of average worth
and responsibility. They do some
thing, OF perhaps only think
something, that the reformer has de.
cided must not and shall not be done
or thought. SO lie starts movement,
with himself rs leader, establishes a
propaganda, forms a society with q
name as long as the moral law, and
then goes up hill and down dale making
converts. The number of movements
that blossom out in England every year
into societies, with paid officials and
portentous reports of good work done,
is past computation. Many Of them. it
IS true, are closely related to the for
ward movement of humanity, and ara
deserving of all the support they re.
ceive, but others are purely fantastic
and visionary, like the Society for Pro
testing Against the Evil of Using the
Right Hand in Preference to the Left.
as Contrar to Scripture and Common
Sense" But, however visionary such
societies are, they all get support and
make numerous disciples.
Here, for instance, is Lord Ronald
Cover. q somewhat well-known figure
in the social and aristocratic world Of
London, coming forward with a brand
new movement of abolishing the plug"
hat, on the ground that it is a 'mest
uncomfortable and hideous headgear,
worthy Of q scarecrow, but not of q
human being" These be swelling
words, and it may be true words, but
what are they going to amount to?
Does Lord Ronald Cover seriously ex.
pect to convert the Angle-Saxon race
frem the plug" hat habit? If SO, he
isnursing achimera of the most chimer-
ical kind. Even the Grand Old Man
himself wouldn't succeed in such
crusade. For, mark you, tho "plug"
hat is strong in its very weakness, and
sits securely On the head Of the Eng
race, not because it is
the ideal hat, but because it isn't. It
is uncomfortable, says this lordly re-
former. OF course it is, and therefore
the average Englishman will wear 1t
and nothing else when he is dressed up
and ON public parade. If he wants to
be comfortable. he goes home and gets
into his dressing gown and slippers.
The fact that the plug" hat is uncom-
portable is the best possible evidence
that it must be good form. And when
a thing is good form, what more can you
ask?
But, continues the critic, the ''plug"
hat is hideous. The word "hideous" is,
perhaps, little strong; "ugly" would
be nearer the truth. If, however, Lord |
Ronald Cover thinks that the English
peoplewill give up the plug" hat when |
he tells them it is hideous or ugly he |
makes the mistake of his life They !
kiow already that it is ugly, and that is |
why they wear it. If it was a dream OF !
artistic beauty they would have none Of !
it. The descendants of the old sea kings |
Ere no mollycoddles; they are not go !
ing to go around wearing beautiful |
hats. Outside, beauty is snare; what
matters it, indeed, how ugly your hat
is If only your heart beats true to your
native land? Such would be the average |
defense Of the plug"
hats ugliness, if he ever thought il
worth while to defend what needs no
defense. The plug" hat is both IN
and ugly. Very true.
But it Is an evolution of Anglo-Saxon
It was not reasoned into
is present shape, and it is certain that
1 will not be reasoned out of existence,
ven though parliament and the bench
# bishops should start movement
With that object in view.-N. Y. Trib-