The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-07-17

dress they herald the new day. The picturesque
and fantastic costumes have been discarded tor
simple checked gfngham frocks under all envelop-
Ing white linen aprons
In sharp contrast to these cooking school girls
are the young women who are studying in va
rious other branches and clinging regiously to
the gayy fowered skirts tight at the hips flow
ing away to voluminous breadth and great trains
at the feet, and suTmounted by the queer little
crisp cotton Jackets for all the world like badly
cut kimonos and punching up about the neck in
an ungracefu fashion, always suggesting hump
shoulders.
To make beautiful laces and fine embroideries
seems to be almost natural art with the Flli-
pino girls inherent aptness resulting undouht-
edly from the uncounted generations OF lace MAX
ers before them The strong supple and delk
cately slender brown fingers steady iron.
The clear dark eyes not tired by the intri-
cate, tedious patterns which would meal. wreck
OF nerves and vision of women less patient and
tranquil minded
Lace making and embroidery were not intro
duced by American teachers but brought
to the islands centuries ago by the Spaniards.
According to Medinas history needecraft was
taught in the convent schools early as 1880,
and Retana in the early eighteenth century wrote
that the girls easily initiate the laces and en-
broidery of Europe" and that they perform such
work fairly we'll In little time
The foundation being laid, It was an opportu-
nifty quickly seized by the American teachers.
and while the instruction under convent teaching
necessarily restricted to a comparatively
small number II is the hope OF the instructors
OF these days that needlecraft speedily shall be-
come of universal knowledge among Filipino
women. Also 1t is hoped that through their apt
ness for embroidery and lace making there may
be opened up for them a steadily remunerat.ve
occupation.
In the nurses training work also the idea mas
been to provide the young women with remunera-
tive work, but the beginnings in that line were in
faCa NJ itdio md
The natives were extremely suspicious of doctors
and hospitals and 1t quite beyond compre
henson that any young woman of modesty and
good taste should be willing to undergo nurses
experience
campaign OF enlightenment had to be car
ried on before 1t was possible to establish nurs-
ing classes But the readily adaptable Filipino
once convinced that the finest OF young women
became nurses among advanced and en-
lightened people. speedily abandoned her pref
udice The set OF the wind is now as strongly In
the opposite direction and the vocation OF
trained nurse has so caught popular fancy that
the number OF applicants each year is far greater
than the capacity OF the training school
In basketry and rug weaving another profitable
line has been opened for women. and by rare
good fortune IL happens that the islands produce
in lavish quantities all OF the required materials
which with their commercial values unknown
hitherto were permitted to rot in the junges
Still another line OF income is from the preserv-
ing and canning OF fruits for commerce. a line
which at makes income bearing previously
wasted human energy well a vast fortune in
unused fruits.
So summed up the training of the young Fiji
pino women means that when the Americans
TO teach them the desire for better meth
cd OF living the new and strangely benevolent
conqueror showed them at the same time how
the desire might be gratifed.