Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-09-07
SOMETHING Of
STYLES AMONG
OUR S.A.SISTERS
BY MARGARET MASON
written for the United Press)

They say the two Americas,
The South one and the North,
Will get more chummy from now on;
And so I've sailed forth
To learn if We'll take ipsfrom them
Or we the tipsters be
In fashion, Drama, Art and Life,
I've gone to sea to see.
Aboard S. S. Verdi, bound for Bahia,
Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires
(By Mail Aug. With the closer
union of North and South America,
our getting together with our South
American cousins, we in Oshkosh,
Seattle, Miami, Buffalo and Topeka
are much concerned.
The cracker barrel oracle at the
corner grocery has settled the Mexican
question and the European horror, but
is all fused up over the interesting
possibility of Brazilians and Argen-
tinians and Chileans getting right
pally with New Workers and Hoosiers
and Kentuckians. The DANES in the
Ventura Club are all agog about Gross
on South of Panama" and at 42nd
street and Broadway a discussion of
the drama in Rio and Buenos Aires
has "When / was with Sothern and
Marlowe" pushed clear into the last
trench. No wonder then that my
Woman's natural curiosity is awaken
ed, (not that it ever snoozes) and that
| have decided to see for myself or,
in more expressive parlance, to give
our South American cousins the once
over before we get all chummed up.
Consequently told the passport man
my right name, the color of my hair
in the original, the number of my
chins and the date of my birth-but
why go further. Take it from me, you
need four season repertoire of
clothes, a bathing suit, macintosh
and a bottle of Mothersill's if YOU
contemplate a brief trip down this
way. Food for thought and also for
the fishes is the necessity for Mother
sils. Heavy garments are essential
because June, July and August are
the winter months in Buenos Aires,
and brides and roses bloom contrari-
wise in December. Thin clothes are
needed because Rio has a tropical eli
mate, smuggling as it does just with
in the torrid zone. A macintosh
comes in handy because as you sail
near the equator, where often the
coolest weather of the trip is encoun-
tered, the showers are as frequent and
fieeting as any of our April best. AS
for the bathing suit, it is indispens-
able first of all because of the advent
on board of Neptune and his daugh-
ter Aphradite. They appear as the
equator is crossed and initiate into the
mysteries of Neptune's court all those
innocents who never have crossed the
line before. They cross the line but
they do not draw the line and no mere
sex will gain you exemption from the
rites. Neptune's vigilant police are
no respecters of fine apparel and tho
you duck and run in all the grandeur
of your festive togs, they trail you to
your stateroom's lair and lead you to
be ducked again. IT'S a neat and
simple service: You first say show
dy" to Neptune and Aphrodite. Aye,
then comes the rub. You are smeared
with a lather of -four and water and
shaved by Neptune's own barber and
then promptly ducked in the canvas
swimming pool set up on the lower
deck. After being duly ducked you
are handed an deliberately engraved
certificate signed by Neptune Rex, the
skipper and divers lesser official lights
which entities you to cross the Equa-
tor unmolested for the rest Of your
days. l for one emerged strong for
preparedness and convinced that a
bathing suit in time saves nine-tenths
of the wear of a salt water dip on
perfectly good dinner gown. Your
bathing suit comes in handy yet again
to be donned when masticating man
goes, which are purchased in great a
bundance and juiciness at Bahia, Bra
I'll, the first port of call. When eating
this tropical fruit you are bound to be
covered both with embarrassment and
mango.