The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-11-11
A MERE MANS OPINION
WOMAN'S LOVE OF COSTLY
CLOTHES CENSURED.
Feminninity's Love of Dress
and Decoration.


IN the American Magazine is an
article by Prof w /. Thomas of the
University if Chicago. in which he
analyses and discusses motives UNI
derlyins the feminine portion of HUI
manitys love OF dress and decora-
ton. Prof. Thomas is the writer who
stirred up much discussion early in
1907 by his views concerning femi-
ninity.
The professor points out that the
advances of modern life over saw
agery are represented at some points
by a very thin line" Man, nat
uTally one Of the most unadorned of
animals becomes. thanks to his
hands, the rival of lower animals
and of birds in decoration. The
waving Of plumes." he says, lis so
near the type of interest of the saw
age and the fine lady, with their
paint and feathers. and even of the
goth century melodrama, with it's
calcium lights and chorus girls, that
you could not put q knife blade be-
tween them. Clothing, as distin-
guished from ornament and dress.
had a particular development in cold
climates. But the ingenuity of man
has found place on woman's dress
for every object worn by savage man
and for those for which no other
place was found he has devised the
hat. Men would prefer her more
simply dressed but this is her game
indeed, it is almost her business.
Pointing out that ''as society ad-
vances there is tendency in man to
give up ornament and in woman to
take on more of it," the professor
finds that woman, with no special
lied skill, with not even life to edu-
cate her in the broad sense in which
men encounter it, and limited in her
interests by the proprietary tastes
of man, finds her occupation is to
charm. But in this development
there is. however both retribution
and irony in the fact that man pays
the bills"
Business, Prof Thomas demon
strates, is largely carried on for the
qualification OF Woman's love of
dress. Yet woman has become only
pawn in the industrial game played
by man. Fashions are made by die
tators and women do not wear what
they want. but what the manufac-
turers and tradespeOple want them
10 want. The people who supply
them also control them" He pro-
ceeds to show how one desire for
finery gratified becomes the cause of
further IuKures The battling ar
ray of silver at the 20-cOurse dinner
and the costly box at the costly opera
are equally part of woman's dress,
IS one Of his illustrations. And he
asserts: This situation is the de-
spair OF men. but it is society.
That the effect of this situation
on the character Of woman is alto
gether bad" is the professors con-
elusion. One interest" he says,
expeIs another or prevents its de-
Velopment. The prOverbiaIly hollow
mind of the very beautiful woman
is not due to the exhaustion of ma
lures resources on her exterior, but
to the fact that her attention is so
bound up with the expression of her
own charm that it stops at that.
The role of half-angel and half
bird is pretty one, if you look at
it in that way; but it denatures wo-
HIdH' IL ledNtS society SnOrt-handed
and the struggle for life harder and
uglier than it would be if woman
operated III it as the substantial and
superior creature which nature made
her. We have a machine-made civil
ization, which has introduced class
inequalities, hatred and suffering I'M
known in savagery or barbarism.
We are wealthy, but not humanized
Man is pursuing business on the same
pitiless principle that he formerly
pursued game.