El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-10-20
THE ETHICS OF WHISPERS.
Character Indicated by the Beard
American Liberality,

The question of boards has always
been one in which men have taken
the greatest interest. By turns it has
been popular or unpopular for men to
adorn their faces with hair, but great
er significance has always attached to
1t than to the mere changing of any
other fashions. In ancient times q
beard was a mark of homo" and dignity.
In oriental countries it is still regard
ed with reverence, and to pluck man
by his beard is the dea1liest of insults.
The willy Turk who sells the American
m ade Turkish rug of commerce always
swears by his beard and the beard of
his prophet when he makes an affidavit
to its being genuine oriental prayer
mat. He is talking through his
whiskers and is not to be believed.
After the period when every man was
bearded like pard there came time
when any hair on mans
face was considered rowdyish, and
a mustache indicated dashing
soldier, just as chrysanthemum hair
labels the football enthusiast. With
characteristic liberality, America has
always conceded to every~au the
right to weak beard or not, miro
pleased, and the result has been that
in no other country can so many va
rieties of architecture in whiskers be
seem In Kansas q good wind-prOof
set of whiskers is considered one of the
prime qualifications for political can
dldate. In many rural communities q
beard is still worn as q satisfactory
substitute for necktie. Among swell
young men there is great variety of
opinion in regard to the subject.
Those who desire to look French aud
wicked wear sharply pointed beard
trimmed down to q hair line. Others
who incline to the Charles Dana Glib
Snn 0f1 o0lx IL II oh Cd
q nd wear q tired and far-away look.
There are still other men who, az
preciating how little opportunity their
sex have for adorning themselves, give
variety to what would o'ten be an ex-
pressionless countepance by wearing
their boards in queer little patches,
which suggests that they have had
their faces laid out by a landscape gar
dener.
1t is the importance of the beard
that makes lawsuit recently tried in
New Jersey of general interest to all
men. A respec' able citizen OF that
state, the happy possessor OF beard
to which he was tenderly attached,
undertook short railway journey.
gang of roughs who cruelty misused
MIN, and especially vented their iend-
sh malignity upon his beard, which
hey tore out aud disfgured, making it
totally useless and valueless as means
If adornment. The man brought suit
against the railroad company, putting
,he injuries to his beard at the modest
sum of S2OO-a sum entirely inadequate
20 pay for the time and labor and
thought he had b ,stOwed upon it, as
every boy who has ever gone
the tribulation of raising his
irst mustache will agree The railroad
set up the plea that they were not en-
gagged in the. business of carrying whis-
xers: that the complainant could pre-
luce no bill of lading to show that
heir company received the beard in
good order and condition. and finally
hat they were not responsible for any
baggage over the value of 500. The
,ase was tried by jury of six clean-sha-
yed men and six bearded ones and
hey finally decided in favor of the
1eartless corporation. This will doubt
ess constitute precedent, and it is
ust as we'll for men to be warned in
lime that when they travel they
axe their boards in their handel.
Picavuna