The Saint Paul globe., 1903-12-20
Campaign Against the
Corset Is FruitIeSS

Enthusiastic meetings have been held
of late in London, Leeds and elsewhere
in England to wage war against the
corset. The promoters Of the move
ment are making their fight on the
proposition that woman's health is in
jured by the pressure of the corset.
Something of the same kind has been
heard before, but novel statistics are
presented now.
Thus the pressure of the corset, ac-
cording to one leader, varies any,
where from twenty-one pounds to
eighty-eight pounds to the square inch
and the extent to which it impairs the
organs of the body is terrible"
That the Leeds campaigners are In
earnest is proved by the statement that
they propose to ask bachelors not to
marry women who wear corsets. Just
how the bachelors are to go to work
to settle the delicate question of which
women do and which do not wear cor
sets is not pointed out.
AT the risk of making American
women seem unprogressive. it must be
confessed that if there is such thing
as an anti-corset league in this city,
1T is managed SO quietly that none but
members are any the wiser.
Il can't imagine why those women
over in England are making a hue and
cry against the small waist" COM
mented one of the most expert Ameri-
can filters. Why the small waist went
out long ago. The heur-glas figure is
no more, and all because of the straight
front which, however must it may COM
press the figure in some places, is not
conducive to a fragile waist
L am not informed as to what sort
of cOrsets English women wear. but
1 do know one thing-that it is not
The fashionable set which is represent
ed In the anti-corset leagues. To my
way of thinking the middle-cIass Eng
l1sh women is the sIoppiest-and by
that I mean the least stylfsh-wornan n
on earth, while with us style is by no
means confined to the smart set
instead of being knocked out, the
corset habit is growing in America
Even the immigrants succumb to it
before they are here six months, and
they look the better for it, too
For one thing, the corset has re-
formed, or been reformed Nowadays.
instead of a stiffly boned structure. cut
on lines which seemed good to the
makers, we have dozens of models, and,
moreover, corsets are made to order
and f1tted over to suit purchaser until
wearing the thing is a pleasure instead
of a penance.
The manufacturers are experiment.
ing all the time, and as result new
models come out every three months.
And even the very cheapest grades are
not badly cut these days.
"Corsets injurious! Well, it can't be
proved by the New York or Chicago
women. have been fitting gowns and
cloaks for nearly twenty, years, and
every year it seems to me women get
bigger, taller, stronger.
The younger generation come tow
ering in nearly six feet high. I was
saying the other day that pretty soon
we will have to get stepladders in or
der to fit them. AS it is, we nearly al
ways have to ask the younger women
to sit down While we fit their shoulders.
yes, every one Of them wears a cor
set and always has. l don't fit three
women in year who go without one,
and they are the sort who don't care
particularly whether their gown is
short in front or not or whether il
says more on one side than the other.
Let me tell you one thing: The
present style of dress is responsible for
the corset, and not the corset for the
present style of dress. just as soon as
Greek draperies come back again or
Mother Hubbards come in fashion, cor