Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-01-28
THE NEW WOMAN.
Was the Humsn Body Created to Show
OFF Clothes?

conclude that the oaiccs of creating the
human body, especially a woman S body,
was that it might slow off clothes.
overheard two girls talking lately con-
cerning bicycle riding Ole of them had
taken her first lesson. "What you going
to wear?" asked the other 'tOb, I got
my bicycle suit first thing as soon as /
made up my mird 10 learn to ride
It's And then followed descrip-
tion of skirts and waists and hats and
belts and bicycle shoes and cuffs and
gloves so elaborate that eli experienced
wheelman would question the sanity of
a young woman who proposed to carry
all that dry goods about her on bicycle.
A fashion article noticed the other
day gives q most astounding conglomer-
alton of stuff for the really swell wheel
woman's garb. Her jacket and her
blouse were to be bewildering array
of lace and silk and wool and velvet and
embroidery that would look overloaded
anywhere. even upon milliner's dunn
my. Her hat must be Of light straw
"ornamented with loops of ribbon and
closely fitting flowers The skirt, what
ever the material, must always be lined
with flannel. " The knickerbockers must
beof the same material as the skirt. and
oh. ye powersl-'' lined with wash
leather. (" Underneath the compilation
of lace and silk and embroidery and vel
vet which form the jacket and the shirt
waist the fashionably attired wheel
woman was to put long sleeved, high
neoked, thin jersey and slip bodice
over the woolen corset. Think of the
young woman going out for a so mile
spin with, above her ordinary under
clothing, woolen corset, a jersey, a
slip bodice, shirt waist and jacket,
with knickerbockers lined with wash
leather, her already heavy skirt lined
with flannel and straw hat tell you
there are occasions when even women
give me that tired feeling. On the whole,
it is not strange that men sometimes
consider women too idiotic to vote in
telligently. The original and only true
object of dress was as covering for the
body. The only healthful and suitable
clothing is that which impedes the ac-
tion of the body as little as posi- BILE.
This can be made thoroughly tasteful
and artistic too. Instead of piling clothes
upon our bodies as our great-grand-
mothers piled bed coverings upon their
families when they slept we should wear
just as little as is necessary for comfort.
Let us not clog the millions of pores of
our skin with dust and lint from textile
fabrics any more than is necessary. The
lighter the clothing, so that it is COM
Portable, the healthier and handsomer
the human body will be.
Miss Edith A. Reiffert, plucky and
persevering girl who has made her own
way in the world altogether as well as
helping others, has just been admitted
to the bar to swell the list Of women
lawyers in New York city.
Apropos of these political times, do
you know the difference between plu-
rality and a majority?
The German university of Bonn, on
the Rhine, is now open to women in all
its departments. One by one the stiffest
Of the old strongholds falls.
Grace Barton Allen, daughter of that
sweet and gifted poet, Elizabeth Akers
Allen, is proving that she, too, has gen
ius. She not only writes strong and
dainty verse, but she is an admirable
painter in water colors and is making
her art successful commercially. One Of
her most beautiful recent pictures is a
Study In Pansies, published as sup
plement to an art periodical. The young
lady has caught the very expression of
these picturesque and splendid blossoms.
A Tammany man and Democrat the
other day advanced one of the very best
arguments for woman suffrage / ever
heard. Itwas that the greater the num-
Der of voters the harder it would he to
buy them all up. Therefore he favored
women voting
Remember when you use those nice
smoothing irons that come in box,
with one wooden handle to fit into them
and take out and put in as fast as one
gets cold and you need hot one, that
this convenient arrangement is the in
vention of woman, Mrs. Potts. Bless
ings on Mrs. Pottsl
The new American university at
Washington, which promises to be the
most complete in the country when it is
finished, has three women on its board
of trustees. They are Mrs. John A. Lo-
gan, Mrs. Matthew Simpson and Mrs.
Elizabeth Somers.
Miss Rebecca S. Rice, principal Of the
Girls Collegiate school, Chicago, is q
trustee of Antioch college. at Yellow
Springs, O.
One of the ablest text and reference
books published recently is The Speak
er of the House of Representatives" +" by
Miss M. P. Follett.
Over and again. with George Sand, I
say I crave not jewels and dresses or
society. What long for is liberty
Two-t thirds of the schoolteachers in
the United States are women, yet in
teachers meetings these intelligent
women sit dumb and blind and let the
few men do all the talking, arrange all
the courses of study and fix even the
wages.
It gives me pleasure to write that
three women who are praoticing law
have been appointed receivers Of firms
failing in business in New York city
1t is too bad that firms have to fail;
but, when they do, like to see women
lawyers have fair chance. Mrs. E. S.
Werner is receiver for a saloon that
failed, Mrs Anita Haggerty is receiver
for livery stable, while Miss Rosalie
Loew has received similar appoint
nent in case of third firm in difficult
ies. ELIZA ARcHARD CONNER.
An Incomplete Funeral.
One fault too often does occur,
As plainly we can see.
Too many plays have been rehearsed
When buried they should be.
Brooklyn Life.
Ar Der