The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-07-17

dress they herald the new day The picturesque
and fantastic costumes have been discarded for
simple checked gingham frocks under all enyelop-
ing white linen aprons
In sharp contrast to these cooking school eirls
are the young women who are studying in va
rlous other branches and clinging religiously TO
the gayly Powered skirts tight at the hips. flow
ing away to volurhinous breadth and great trains
at the feet, and surmounted by the queer little
crisp cotton jackets, for all the world like badly
cut kimonos and punching up about the neck in
an ungraceful fashion, always suggesting hump
shoulders
10 make beautiful laces and fine embroideries
seems to be an almost natural art with the Fill
plho girls, an inherent aptness resulting undoubt
ediy from the unconnted generations of lace max
ers before them. The strong, supple and deli
catey slender brown fingers are steady as iron
The clear dark eyes are not tired by the intr.
cate, tedious patterns which would mean wreck
of nerves and vision of women less patient and
tranquil minded
Lace making and embroidery were not intro
duced by American teachers, but were brought
TO the Islands centuries ago by the Spaniards
According to Medina's history, needlecraft was
taught In the convent schools as 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 well 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 was restricted to comparatively
small number, it 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 ant
ness for embroidery and lace making there may
be opened UP for them a steadily remuneratiye
occupation.
In the nurses training work also the idea has
been to provide the young women with remunera-
tive work, but the beginnings in that line were in
the face of stubborn prejudice and opposition
me natives were extremely suspicious of doctors
and hospitals and 1t was quite beyond compre-
hension that any young woman of modesty and
good taste should be willing to undergo nurses
experience
campaign of enlightenment had to he car
ried on before 1t was possible to establish mrs
ing classes But the readily adaptable Filipino
once convinced that the finest of young women
became nurses among more advanced and en-
lightened people, speedily abandoned her prei
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 womena and by rare
good fortune 1t 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 jungles
Still another line of income is from the presery
ing and canning of fruits for commerce, a line
which at once makes income bearing previously
wasted human energy as well as vast fortune in
unused fruits
So summed up the training Of the young Fiji.
pino women means that when the Americans
came 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 gratiaed.