The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-03-07
KANSAS COMNENT
A DIFFICULT TASK.

A society of New York ladies' tailors
mas decreed that the skirts for the COM
than the ones now seen in large cities
ana the fashion magazines This may not
pc attempting the impossible, but it will
De some chore. AS fashioned now the
ultra-fashionable skirt permits the wearer
to sit down with some difficulty, and she
can even walk in poor, weak way, but
1t is sufficiently limited to afford consider
able handicap, and bar her from Marathon
matches. That, however, is the present
status of the skirt which is already suffi-
GENTLY narrow gauge to go a long ways
towards putting the petticoat mauufac-
turerS out of business.
And a reduction of six inches is surely
some -shrinkage from the present restrict
ed dimensions. Unless it be made of an
elastic material, it will be difficult for
the Wearer to sit down, and she will have
to be equipped with caStOrS II she is going
to get anywhere not reached by some of
our well-known common carriers, and she
may have to take her meals from the
mantel when fashionably atJ1red. Indeed,
on further consideration of this six inch
reduction, it is hard to figure how she is
going to get such garment on, even
with the aid of shoe horn. A puzzHnS
problem it is indeed.
In fact, if the decree is enforced, there
doesn't seem to be any answer other than
that the woman herself will have to do
some shrinking on her own part after
placing the order with her dreSSmaker,
and the manufacturers of ant-fat are
sitting up and taking notice and advance
orders. Men are not SO modest as they
let on, and won't be greatly shocked by
the glove-fittng garments, but they are
going to be hardship to the woman who
wants to be fashionable. and also we'll
fed. But they should bear up bravery, Tor
this latest edfct of fashion reaches the
limit. which means that the next move
will swing them back the other way, and
that gowns may gradually be broadened
until they reach the statewide standard
of the early SOS, when it was necessary
to wear hoopslzirt to keep from walking
on the surplus. But that is some time
ahead, and women should either get au-
tomobiles or learn to walk on their hands
until it gets here.-Atchison Globe
PATENT1OVERNM DEVICES
You can't make men good by passing
laws. By law you can check intern
perance and gambling, but something
more is required than a mere statute.
1t is the VIII, the desire of the man to
comply with the letter and the spirit
of the law. And it is likewise so of
cities. municipalities are made up of
men. They have, in many ways. the
strength and the weakness of men. 1t
is we'll to remember this when planning
for municipal reform. Neither the
commission government plan, the fed
eral plan nor any other patented
scheme of government will of itself
automatically make cities better. You
can't adopt a new charter, and then
sit back supinely and expect a revolu-
ton to occur. No matter what form
of government city has, two things
are imperatively necessary in order to
bring about reforms: Good men, hon.
est men must be chosen to office. The
whole citizenship must watch closely
the actions of their officials and bring
upon them the full force of an active,
wide-aWake, democratic public opinion.
Wichita Beacon.