The Wahpeton times., 1913-11-06
his widest efforts. One does not
need to walk many blocks to see
dresses that have crossed the line

ufeSSeS JlaC nave crossed the line
of decency..
"Schopenhauer says: In al
most every age we find that if a
thoroughly wrong idea or fash
ion or a manner is in vogue it is
| admired. Those Of ordinary in
telligence trouble themselves in
ordinately to acquire it and put
it in practice. The intelligent
man sees through it and suppress
ses it. Consequently he remains
out of fashion. Without attempt
ing to discriminate between the
! intelligent woman and the one Of
!! ordinary intelligence, l believe il
is. a serious matter for girls to
wear present day styles.
Social settlement workers in
New York say that an alarmingly
large number of respectable girls
had been approached during the
last year on the streets of the city
by men who mistook them for
residents Of the underworld be-
cause of their style of dress.
Right here it seems to me is the
most alarming phase of the whole
situation. Can any American
girl keep her high moral standard
if she dresses in STYLES belong
ing to women of low character,
No matter whether the girl her
self is to blame for donning such
garb or whether her mother
has been criminally negligent for
permitting it, the effect on the
wearer will be the same. Look
at the school girl of today who
agects the extreme styles of mar
row slit skirts, displaying trans
parent hose that are a rival of
the peek-a-boo waist, low cut
dresses and hair in sky terrier
effects. We are told that mode
sty is a matter of custom-that
the South Sea Island girl thinks
she. is modestly attired in her
fringe of grasses about her waist
because she conforms with the
customs-that the American girl
will wear anything. that fashion
dictates, with no feeling of self
CONSCIOUSNESS or immodesty. ~
II believe Ruskins advice to the
English people regarding the ed
ucation Of their girls will apply
equally as we'll to the American
people regarding the dress of
their daughters. He urges that
the range Of literature given to
girls be such as is calculated to
add the qualities of patience and
seriousness to her natural poig-
nancy of thought and quicknkess
of wit, and to keep her i'm lofty
and pure element of thought. He
deplores too much novel reading
because he says it renders the or
binary course of life uninterest-
ing and increases the morbid
thirst for useless acquaintance
with scenes in which they shall
never be called upon to act.
Note the qualities Ruskins EN-
Observation-Disclosures lofty
and and pure element of thought
Can a girl live up to such a stan
dard if she is attired in cos
tune that subjects her to insolent
stares and impudent remarks
a garb which she finds ridiculeG
and caricatured in every paper
and magazine-a dress that can
not fail to make a girl self-con-
scious because she knows she rs
! wearing CONSPICUOUS attire? Al
the risk of being called old-fash-
! ioned l am willing to assert that
a girl of today dresses to con-
form to modern styles cannot
keep the same high standard OF
morality as did her sister school
girl of some years ago, who wore
her hair in smooth braids and
wore dresses that, were modest
and inconspicious. Frivolous
clothing is not conductive to high
thinking.
LET me quote from Ruskin a.
! gain substituting dress where he
/. says teach. He is criticizing the
English people for their lack ser
iousness in training their daugh-
ters and comments as follows
You dress your girls as if they
were meant for sideboard orna-
; ments and then COMPLAIN if theil
! frivolity. Give them the same
advantages that you gave theil
brothers appeal to the same
; grand interests of virtue in them
i Dress them so that courage anc
truth are the pillars of their be.
ling. Do you think they would