The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-06-13
HOW THE TRAILING
SKIRT is DANGEROUS.

During the winter and spring just
passed grip and pneumonia have pre-
vailed to an extent never before known
In this country. At one time in New
not hearses enough to bury the dead
While this condition existed a promi-
nent physician announced his intention
OF having introduced into the state
Legislature a bill prohibiting women
from wearing trailing skirts upon the
streets because of the contagious dis
ease germs these sweeping garments
gather and spread into homes all over
the city.
A man has, say a violent cold, the
beginning of Pneumonia. He expecto-
rates upon the sidewalks and even upon
floors and staircases, according to the
loathsome American habit. Along
comes after him woman with train.
skirt partly up, but there Is only pre-
tense. In every case It dips down
here and there. gathering In it's cloth
or silken folds the deadly pneumonia or
woman whose childish vanity is strong
er than her common sense always let's
that foul skirt mop the floor so that
she may show 1t off. Men and wo-
men kick 1t out of the way. mutter
imprecations on It or mayhap step
upon 1t not more than half by accident
always. At times this is done pur-
posely. / have heard a gentlemen say
that the sight of one of those filthy
skirts makes a clean man sick.
At any rate. the woman drags the
skirt after her for hours in public
buildings and into private homes. BY
the time she reaches home she has
scattered germs of fatal and disgust
ing diseases enough to infect a whole
city. Perhaps she wears low shoes
and thin hose. She has upon her feet
and ankles more dirt than would find
lodgment upon clean woman's body
In whole year. The very thought
OF Il makes clean woman shudder.
That fine gentlewoman of the old
school. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, had so
high sense of physical purity in her
person and in her home that at last she
declared she would cease to permit any
train wearing woman to cross her
never got of without "wigging''
she could not forget Mrs. stanton had
the eye of an eagle In reference to un-
cleanliness, and street dirt ~ the worst,
most dangerous of ALL Yet Mrs. Stan
ton herself occasionally wore royal VEL
vet or satin trains, but never upon the
street and never away from home un-
less she rode in a carriage to the place
where she was going.
Trains are graceful enough indoors
II one is willing to put up with the
bother but they are only In place In
a house or in a carriage. In no sro'
are they more Of a nuisance and n
menace to the public health thar IN
the church or theater. Many an un,
fortunate has caught pneumonia from
the train of some woman's dress ia
church.
1t is time the clean, refined, senslhle
women OF our country took the matter
seriously in hand and put a stop to
this public nuisance. There nre
enough of them to- do It. A skirt IL
instep length may now be worn a "
where even by a fashionable woman.
One of the odd features connected with
the thing is that the longest of the
vile trains are frequently made OF very
cheap material. showing that IL is the
poor women who sport them. Perhaps
they think they are showing off high
style. Again. the aesthetic sense is
outraged by seeing exquisite and cost
~ fabrics used as brooms to sweep the
filthy STREETS Worst of all half the
time these trains, besides being covered
with dust and CRIME. are ragged ana
torn. Mary Gould Lyt;e.