Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-03

NM SHEN France went to war she
Nk\H abolished the. introduction of
NAV coiors into all apparel. When
England went to war she did
not change jot or iota of her life in
any manner. Mr.. Wells. with his facility
for telling the truth in the guise of fic-
ton. has shown us in a novel picture
of England and her greatest war.
When America went to war she in
troduced the red, white and blue into
women's apparel to such an alarming
manner that one critic truly said that
II this exploitation of the flag continued
Americans would soon prefer to see the
enemy's flag to their own.
How America received the war is one
Of the amazing psychic developments in
the. consciousness of our race that
should be written up by some one as
great as Mr.. Wells.
Everywhere we wore the colors. They
not only fioated from the windows. COW
cred the facades of houses, swung from
every public building and hotel, orna-
mented railroad stations and draped
themselves around monuments, but they
were carried by every motor car. by the
of boys, by the hucksters on their little
carts and even by the bootblacks' boxes
on the corner stands.
When France went seriously, sadly.
terribly in earnest to meet the enemy
in the shape of the gray fog that
rolled through Brussels she did not
exploit one-fftieth as many flags as one
city in America during the first week
that war was declared: for in addition
to all the methods by which the flag it
self was exploited. several million peo-
pie wore the colors in their buttonholes.
wrapped about their hats and pinned
to their shoulders.
One young woman even took 1t upon
herself to pin the flag on it's standard
to the shoulder of her coat suit. and
from that point of vantage 1T has float
ed ever since the war began.
Billions of buttons showing the flag
were sold in two weeks, and then the
dressmakers and designers of all sorts
OF women's apparel saw to it that the
co1ors would be introduced into their
field of work.
BY this time one begins to feel that
that critic was right If we do not sue
coed in stemmng the tide Of clothes
made in the red. white and blue we
shall all become an animate flag NOV
ing across the continent, made up of
few million human beings appearing
as parts of the whole.
The day that Gen. Joffre arrived in
New York it was the delight of the
women to wear the red. white and
blue. in every possible way. and some
of the smart set launched fashions that
may become part of the seasons styles.
There were flag blue frocks of silk
with brilliant red belts or sashes and
white star embroidered on each
shoulder, and there were caps taken
from those of the French Guard of 1870
with the wide strap under the chin
and the red, white and blue cockade
floating in front.
There were red, white and blue sun
shades to match handbags. There were
army capes of every kind in dark blue
lined with red and showing white satin
collars. There were military suits of
blue serge with lapels and cuffs of red
and white striped silk, and there were
visored caps iof red satin and patent
leather trimmed with a dark blue band.
, AS Gen. Joffre rode from the city hall
TO upper 5th avenue he must have Won.
dered at the overwhelming display of
his own colors, perhaps not realizing
that America was exploiting herself as
well as France.
It is no longer question as to