The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-16
MEN SWAN-NECKED
 CRAVING AT GOWNS
Race of -Giraffes Predicted Unless Women Modify <
 Dress
Longer Collars Worn-Mil- Waukee's Health Commis- sioner Careful to Protect Himself from the Growing Evil.

Milwaukee, Aug. 16.-Men are De-' coming swan-necked from staring at fetching women in Empire, Princess and Molineux gowns. Continued neck straining is forcing the muscles and cartridges of the neck to expand ab- normally, with the result that the swan-neclxing process is going on con- stantly. Men also are engaged so in dustriously in turning quickly to look at women in, tightly-fitting gowns that they are discarding suspenders, be- cause they interfere with such obser- vations. Those are discoveries made by Dr. Gerhard A. Bading, Commits eioner of Health in this city He has already announced his findings
 Unless women change their styles of dress, the Commissioner says, this country soon will be peopled by men with necks four feet long inclosed in collars which resemble lengths of stove pipe in everything except the color. The doctor says mems necks already are becoming so long and so weak from stretching them in the street and elsewhere to look at shape ly women in the tightly fitting gowns now in vogue, that double-th.ck col lars are needed to hold their heads up. He calls particular attention to the fact that most of the high collars now sold are of the roll variety.
 Such collars supply two thicknesses of gtarched linen to keep the heads Of the long-necks upright. The situation has become such that Dr. Bading Is alarmed. He deems it his duty to
 sound a note of warning to both men and women. Until the tightly-fitting gowns have given way to others less
 clinging the doctor says, the neck
 lengthening process must continue In
 this country, and soon it will be dfm-
 cult for a naturalist to tell freckle-
 faced man from a giraffe.
 The Commissioner of Health Is so
 careful about his own neck now that
 when he sees a handsome woman wear
 ing one of the tightly-ftting gowns
 approach he closes his eyes until she has passed. As result of that pre- caution he still is able to wear a
 turn-down collar and suspenders. Dr.
 Bading has no desire to lead in re-
 form in dress which will detract from
 the pleasing appearance of women
 He says the gowns should be made as pretty as they can be made, but with more regard for showing the material of the dress and less for showing the anatomy of it's wearer.
 About year ago the Commissioner of Health noticed that the necks of sev- eralI friends who are not averse tc looking at comedy women, were get ting longer. He watched them closely and saw that whenever a woman ap- preached wearing an Empress, Prin- cess or Molineux gown. they stretched their necks to the limit in trying to get a good look at her. After that ht | induced his friends to permit him to measure their necks. The measure ments he set down in a small book. Six months later he measured then again. On the average the necks hai | increased two inches in length in si1 months from those measurements and h. figures that in ten or twelve year. nine-tenthS of the men in the countr, | TxvlII fo0 | long, because after the muscles an( ! cartridges have relaxed and the necl | is free to grow longer without mucl | resistance from the muscles and car | tilages, four or five inches in si, months may be the rule rather thai | the exception.