Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-10
DELEGATES SPLIT
ON DRESSSTYLES
Young Women Attending Baptist
Young Peoples Convention Are
Interviewed at Chicago.
IMMODEsT, NUMBER DECLARE
While Others Hold That It's Ones Own
Affair How She Should be At
tired in Public.

| LIbu HI ubhSs
Chicago, July 10.-There is a divi-
sion of opinion among the young wom-
en- delegates to the Baptist Young Peo-
pies Union convention as to whether
the dresses worn by the women of to-
day are immodest or the proper raj
ment for advanced woman, especially
| the one of chic and modish tendencies,
to bedeck herself with. Some frankly
and emphatically declare the extreme
gowns not only immodest. but worse
than that: others opine that they are
/ immodest as those who gaze upon
them are evil-minded, while a few say
they are no worse than the hoopskirts
of long ago.
AT the downtown hotel where /
have been stopping" said Miss Fran
ces E. Smedley of Philadelphia, Il
have been shocked by the gowns l
have seen women wearing. Some
were startling and worse than i'm
modest. Most of the girls in my
party felt ashamed of our sex, if
what we have seen here represents
the best in it. l am told that many
| of the women wearing these shame
| less costumes were actresses. l hope
/ it is true, as they do not represent
/ what we regard as best in woman
/ kind
WOman's Own Affair.
| Miss Teresa Knight of EmporUs
Kan, did not exactly agree with Miss
| Smedley. It's a woman's own affair
what she weaEs," said she. She may
wear what some women might con-
slider immOdest and yet be sweet and
pure. 1t is narrow for us to criticise
what our sisters wear, as our stations
in life and our surroundings are so
different. l am for letting girls wear
what they will within reason, and TO
leave the rest to their consciences.
When l hear women rail at present
day styles l am reminded of the
phrase Evil be TO him who evil
thinks of it,
IF l had my way" said Miss Fan
ME Humes of Bucyrus, Ohio, Il would
have law making it a punishable
otfense for woman to wear dress
shorter than the one she wore when
a little girl, and l have seen many of
that kind in Chicago Immodest? |
My gracious, yes. Positively shock !
ing in many instances, and so I'M
Womanlyi"
ITO the pure all things are pure"
declared Miss Alice Watson of |
Mauch Chunk. IF one regards the |
daring gowns worn by girls of the city |
as immodest, then they are. If one |
sees in them propriety and charm, |
then they are that. Oh, that the |
young woman of today might give as |
much thought to the salvation of |
their souls as they do to dress. That's |
all l have to say
Her Eyes on Higher Things.
Miss Katherine Singleton of Mil
waukee took another view of the
matter. Il for one" she said, have
my eyes on higher things than the
dresses that women wear, even in
Chicago, where it is said one sees SO
many immodestly gowned women. 1
don't care what a woman wears if her
heart is right
Il am just little country girl from
Kim allton, Iowa." said Miss Esther
jacobson, and l am not supposed to
know about these things. Some of
the girls l have seen here in short
skirts looked cute, and some looked
just awful and would cause many
bushes on the streets of Kimballton.
where all the women dress mod
estIy."
Declaring that she didn't come to
Chicago TO act as a judge on women's
gowns, but to further the cause of !
Gods kingdom, Miss Flora Engel-
hardt OF Mankato, MINI, further
said: Il think your question is
foolish one and out of place on Sun
day OF all days. If L have any time
for idle thoughts it will not be de-
voted TO crltlcIsIng my sex but to 7
Uplifting it in soul and body" :
Same Styles in Fargo. 7
You may not think it, said Miss c
Anita kempster of Fargo, n. d..
but we have just as stylish girls S
n Fargo and just as startling gowns
is you have here in Chicago. l do L
lot exactly disapprove of the way I
lp-to-date girls of today dress. al I
hough l wouldn't want a daughter S
# mine TO be seen diked up as l have l.
cen girls here in Chicago, and in v
largo for that matter" Z
4 guess the day of the old-fash- e
oned, demure and modest girl has p
assed," was the opinion of Miss "
fracla Tompkins of Detroit. They b
ress dowadays as if they didn't a
now the meaning of the word mod p
sly. 1t isn't conducive to good it
lorals and it isn't in good taste" t.
Miss Dorothy Eby of Camden, n. J.. il
vas radical in favor of keeping p
way from the dress question. NV tt
lother is a dressmaker" said she
lughingly, and for me TO criticise fl
he way the modern girl dresses a.
'ould be like putting sand on nv u
read and butter"
The Bible says that women should
ress plainly, and that's all I've got &C
say" was the reply of Miss Faith &C
lewellyn OF Terre Haute, Ind. he
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