The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-28
ARE WE SLANGYP
That Is Whnt Mrs. Muy Wright Sc
wall Declares.

Mrs. May Wright Sewall has been say
ing things about American women who
talk slang. She said them at the Milwau-
kee convention in her official capacity as
the President Of the International Council
Of Women, and naturally her words have
been copied far and wide. In referring to
the lady's remarks a writer in the "Chi-
cago Chronicle has this TO say of the
matter:
Mrs. sewall admonished her Milwau-
kee sisters. telling them plainly and in so
many words that 1t is not at all good form
to gay OF neighbor. or even of a stranger,
she has q bat In her belfry' American
women. remember this: When at cecep-
ton, no matter how unbecoming the hos
tess gown or how poor the refreshments,
never remark in however guarded an I'M
dertone, Wouldn't that rattle your sIats?'
Mrs. Sewall says these very expressions
have marked America all over the world
as-well as American women.
Mrs. Sewall. encoura ;;ed by her pensive
auditors, went further in her arrangement
OF the American women. She was telling
OF the women's international exhibit in
progress in Earlscourt, London. The ex-
hibit is one which women prominent in
the affairs of their sex have been fostering
for number of years. Mrs. Sewall has
herself taken a keen interest in the af-
fair. What, therefore, was her horror
upon visiting the exhibit to find American
women portrayed in wax and life size in
the act of hammock swinging and chewing
gum. This figure was one Of a series Of
wax portraits of the women Of various ma
lions setting forward their national pas
times. American women do swing in
hammocks and they do chew gum-no one
can challenge the statement-but that
these are their characteristic pastimes
one hesitates to believe. Mrs. Sewall,
even though she believed it to be true,
shuddered when she remembered the wax
lady at the London exhibition. Thought
lessly Mrs. Sewall did not tell what make
of gum the wax lady preferred-the curl
osity of Milwaukee women and the women
of other cities throughout the country
will never be satisfied on this question
for, of course, everyone realizes that the
wax lady must have expressed prefer
ence-it would be impossible for her to
escape the versatile advertising spirit of
the gum dealers of American.
1t seems that Mrs Sewall does not agree
with the English woman who came TO this
country in 1893 to see the Worlds Fair
and its builders. Coming west from New
York the English woman was hungry and
bought 10 cents worth OF the one article
the train boy had to sell-chewing gum
All the passengers bought chewing gmum,
and. as they were oil hungry, the English
woman thought 1t must be food. So she
ate her 10 cents worth and was surprised
that it did not satisfy her appetite. When
she later saw someone chewing the gum
she was overwhelmed with admiration.
"Ah." she said. laughing. who but an
American would have been so clever?
However did you know to chew it?''
If all English women see the gum habit
from this happy point OF view the wax
lady with the hammock and the chewing
gum must be the belle OF the wax wom-
ems congress at the London bazaar. and
II that is the case shall We take Mrs. Sew
a!,'s scolding to hearth