Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-08-03
Fl TraiIina Dress find No Pocket.

Behold the fashionably dressed
woman fastening down the street to
catch car In one hand she has her
umbrella, pocket book. card-case, fan
and pocket handkerchief, and with
her other hand, resting on her spine,
she holds up her trail. Reaching the
car she drops her skirt, seizes the iron
railing, aud endeavors to step on, but
just then the car starts and she falls
TO the ground, scattering her possess
sions and spraining her ankle. The
ever courteous sons of Adam pick up
her and her belongings and bear them
for repairs to an adjoining drug store.
This is real picture of what hap
pened to one Of my unhappy ac-
quaintanees, who has been lame ever
since. The present dress of woman
is inconvenient, ridiculous and in
artistic When fashion decided that
the skirt was TO be perfectly smooth
in front, the pocket was necessarily
sequestered in the gathers at the back
but when the decree went forth that
the skirt was to be smooth all around
the death knel OF the pocket was
heard throughout the land Behold
the hats towering up foot or more
above the head with laces. bows of
ribbon, flowers and feathers pointing
in every direction, looking more like
the head-gear Of an Indian chief, than
that OF the daughter of a modest Pnr-
itan. Ii fashionable women had any
sense Of the comical, on meeting each
other they would burst into roar of
laughter
The worst Of all this is, that all
classes OF women follow this example |
Professional women, teachers, those
in the various industries, and even
those in domestic service, all sacrifice |
comfort and convenience to be like
their supposed superiors. and more
surprising still, women demanding
the right OF suffrage, go before com
mittees Of Congress, and State legis- |
latures and conventions in the same I
absurd attire | rejoice that the SEN |
ior editor Of the Woman's journal I
has made his protest against the trail /
ing skirt What should we think of /
our sires and sons if they were the
slaves to the behests of fashion? Sup
pose some French Beau Brummel /
should send forth a decree that they |
should have trailing RULES on their /
trousers and the upper gear should e
rs smooth as the skin banishing the |
fourteen pockets from their usual hid
ing places; with all their appendages,
pocket book, knife, pencil, letters and
cigars stuffed in the crown of their
hat or the top of the trousers. I'M
agine our beloved lords of creation,
rushing to and fro in the busy marts
Of trade, with their hands behind |
them holding up their ruilled trousers;
heads decorated with feathers and
flags. We may laugh at the picture,
but our women look quite as ridlcu
lous. The men could no longer offer
an arm in an emergency to a feeble
sister, but at the risk Of trailing their
ruilles in the dust
Thus, as citizens Of a republic in
the good time coming, we should be
obliged to 20 single Tile to the polls
on election day. And still worse with
these restricted attitudes in both sex
IS, the next generation Of children
would probably be ushered into the
world, with Withered arms trem-
bic to think what l have done to get |
the suffrage for women, fearing all
the foolish fashions they might by |
law cause to appear among us.-Eliz-
abeth Cady Stanton in Wisconsin
Citizen.