St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-02-26

lOcaGleh OF a WoHanS QlgeStlVe or
gans who was attired in the fashion
able manner Of the day.
But the student Of physiology
knows where these organs are-be-
girdled and bound down BY the un-
yielding grip of the corset, the lungs
must expand doWnWardly and upward
" and the congested circulation of
the blood that ought to flow so free
" is retarded and reduced to a point
almost unbelievable. The pressure
forces the internal organs downward
and in this unnatural position and
weakened state they must perform
the work Of sustaining life.
The permanent effect upon life is
not to be considered, for must we not
be FASHIONABLE and Up TO DATE?
The threat to the unborn infants
of the coming generation is merely a
secondary matter, the awful sin that
is being committed rests lightly upon
the c~onsciences of our women; for
each one imagines that she is exempt
from the harm, but why any woman
with an ounce of brains could think
herself an exception to the laws Of
nature is more than we can tell.
One physician of renoWn has said
that it is not the use but the abuse
Of the corset that has caused so
much harm. This is probably true;
but the writer would ask, how many
are there who do not abuse it?'
An eminent authority has stated
that many women who claim freedom
from the evil of tight-lacing cannot
fasten the clothing that they wear
with the indispensable article Of fe-
male attire" when that article is alb
sent.
Now let US look into a fashion
magazine. Here is a popular style
of corsets. The writer has in mind
as he writes a plate he saw giving
an Illustration the beautiful figure
that a certain brand of corsets would
give to a woman. The fact that
God made the woman's form one way
and that the corset will mash and
twist it into another is not men
toned. One advertisement calls at
tention to the new popular styles Of
long, ti~ght-laced corsets that give to
the female figure the charm that will
attract the masculine eye.
And not content with this, the
manufacturers Of this atrocity furth-
er call attention sto the use of
their three-ply elastic abdominal re-
Queer. Not content with forcing the
internal organs in n direction they
must be forced in another and com
pressed into a space that will be
small enough to meet the successful
examination of FASHIONS ARGUS EYE.
The enormitY Of this crime can not
be computed. And the horror Of it
is that thousands of mothers are
allowing their daughters, yet in their
teens, to assume the habit that their
figures may be beautifed. Doubtless
their theory is that "a tree should be
bent while it is young"
It is awful to think Of a young
girls growing body and physical de-
yelopment being confined in this
abomination Of Fashions most de-
testable creations.
But the mother merely smiles and
says "0h! she is almost a woman
now, and she must be properly
clothed" And the helpless girl who
has no knowledge Of the probable re-
suits of her act, copies the example
Of her older sisters and the founda-
ton is laid for some family physi-
clans future practice that will help
to educate his boys in a medical col.
lege, for the harvest is great
There is a strange contrast b.
tween the figures of the modern and
the ancient woman. The statue d
Venus, the form Of Cleopatra, the
portraits of the Greek women Of the
time Of Plato. produce a startling
effect upon the eyes that never saw
any other than those used to adver.
tise BLANK & Co.'S New Departure