Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-10-10
ON DRESS AND THE MAN

| cN DRESS AND The MAN.
Dress doesn't make the man.. said
| Henry Ward Beecher. but man
! looks better dressed" Adam and Eve
! are said to have been exceedingly UNI
| comfortable running around in the
Garden Of Eden in their birthday
clothes and ii was only when Eve had
| the latest thing in fg-leaVes and
Adams dress suit of apple blossoms
| had come home from the tailor's that
they felt real comfy And yet all
| the time they were in the midst of the
! perfumes of paradise and harbored in
all the tender allurements of perfeo I
peace.
| Since then. it hath been necessary for
man and woman to dress and to dress
we'll Idle indeed il is to declare that
clothes do not make the man: that the
| prince and the peasant are alike sons
of God; that the rough exterior often
hides the honest heart; that wolves fire.
quently go about in Sleeps clothing:
that dudes are nuisances: that silks are
badges of servitude to custom. that
bosom pins are as Will-o'-the- wisps in
the depths Of the DEVILS pit; that shiny
I boots lead to the primrose path; that
neckties are pure WastefulneSs that
celluloid collars are cheaper and hence
better :han linen; that all you need is a
| coat. a hat and the bifurcat ted unmen-
| tionables-all these are either true or
| false whether You argue of man as a
| species or as a member of society.
whether he is a creature on two legs.
"a hair-crowned bubble of the dust.
an enobled lemur." or as one of a vast
| concord of sons of man, linked to-
| gether for cause beyond our ken. Man
| savage is different from man civilized.
| Man with four days growth of E.
| strings on his chin is different from
| the same man deity turned out from
| the hands of the hair-dresser. Man in
clean linen is different from man in
| soiled attire. Man well mancured is
| different from the man whose finger
nails are in mourning for his own un-
| tidinesS.
Hence it is that | emphasize the value
of a habit costly as thy purse can af-
| ford" No man in this world seeking
to push his way in business or in his
profession can afford to be outre or
unique in attire along the lines of care
lessnoss few men clothed in the Sc
sanity of genius can afford to so lily
clothed President Lincoln was given
free license to wear frock coats unbc-
comingly. Horace Greeley could wear
a linen buster with grace and
equa nimity. Rosa Bonheur could wear
the real thing in trousers off-the-plle
and no one complain. They are unique
They can make fashions look insignifi-
cant but you and l can't-if We care
to move amid the throng of busy peo-
pie seeking passage on the car OF
progress No man is so inconspicuous
as the man who becomes conspicuous
solely by his attire Let the artist
wear velvet coats, the poet and the
neasant long and beautiful hair. but
let you and me dress like other people
and observe the conventionalitieS OF the
world as the world sees fit to make
hem.
Now the idea that had in writing this
was by way of advice to young men. es-
pecally those who go away from nome
to push their way in the world
My first suggestion is to he clean-not
only in moral and intellectual ana soclai
life. but also in attire. Keep up honest
appearances. Maintain your self respect
Dress as well as YOU can. Economy IN
other things will give you means to wear
real and up-to-date attire. Inc pusi-
ness man appreciates IL; yolr trends
appreciate it: your own personal deNei-
opment sometimes depends upon 1t. The
first indica ton of a drunkard. de-
PRAYED gambler or roue Is IN SeedE at
ire If n youne man comes into your Of
flee to apply for work you took at his
clothing If it is neat but not expressed
i'm fancy: clean. weli-ordered ana pear
ino the sien-manual of the good taste OF
the gentleman YOU remark that he has
A good appearance. 1t is impossible for
a Young man with crumpled linen. solied
hands frowzled naiT. unpublished boots,
careless in all respects. 10 enforce upon
any man that he is worthy the care o.
other affairs than his own. lie may ne
n genius. but he won't look it, He may
he able to take care of vast concerns-he
who will not take care of his collars and
cuffs He may he wonder at arisi,c
effects the prince of good fellows, the
cleane.t of characteristic who carries
no outward sign of any Of them. SO
much the more reason, then, WHY ne