Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1914-07-25

dress they herald the new day The picturesque
and fantastic costumes have been discarded for
simple checked Bingham frocks Under all enyeIop-
ing white linen aprons
In sharp contrast to these cooking school girls
are the young women who studying in
rtous other branches and clinging reiefously to
the gayly lowered skirts, tight at the hips,
Ing away to volumnous 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
To make beautiful Iaces and fine embroidertes
seems to be almost natural art with the Fill
pino girls, inherent aptness resulting undoubt
eddy from the uncounted generations of lace max
ers before them. The strong, supple and deli
cately slender brown fingers are steady as iron
The clear dark eyes not tired by the intri
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, need1ecraft was
taught in the convent schools early as 16so
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 a little time"
The foundation being laid, 1t 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 it is hoped that through their ant
ness for embroidery and lace making there NAV
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
The natives were extremely suspicious of doctors
and hospitals and it quite beyond compre-
hension that any young of modesty and
good taste should be willing to undergo a nurses
experience.
A campaign of enlightenment had to be car.
r1ed on before 1t was possible to establfsh nurs-
ing classes But the readily adaptable Filipino
became nurses among advanced and en-
udice- The set of the wind is as strongly in
trained nurse has caught popular fancy that
the number of applicants each year is far greater
than the capacity of the training school
In basketFy and rug weaving another profitable
lime has been opened for women, and by rare
good fortune it happens that the islands produce
in lavish quantities all of the required materials
which with their commercial values unknown
hitherto permitted to rot in jungies.
Still another line of income is from presery-
ing and canning of fruits for commerce, line
which at makes income bearing previously
wasted human energy well fortune In
unused fruits
So summed up the training of the young FIJI
Pine that when the Americans
to teach them the desire for a better meth
cd of living the and strangely benevolent
conqueror showed them at the same time how
the desire might be gratihed.