The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-03-03
Poor South Sea Island Ladies
Good Conscience and Sluggish Liver Spell Their Doom
Read and Weep

Civilization is q great thing but you must be able 70
Stsud IT, Official word from the British South sea
Islauds that civilization is killing of the natives The
OOoanut groves Win be neglected and worthless, unless
Chinese and japanese can be brought IN to take care
ts and the natives don't want Asiatc labor competing
with them
The trouble, according to British official is TOO
MUCH CLOTHING. In old days, when the English Bishop
Of Kew Guinea could say truthuly: "a ball Of Irvine
would clOthe my flock Of Papuans'" the people were
healthy the population growing.
But somebody told the natives that they could not be
really Christians unless they cotton Mother Hub
hard for ladies' cotton shirts and trousers for men Thus
covered up the population is dying of because fresh air
and sunlight are kept away from bodies accustomed to
both.
You would think lady would get enough fresh air
wearing only cotton Mother Hubbard but it seems not
In civilization if you weak they give you sun baths and
air baths nothing but sunlight and air. The poor South
Sea islanders die unless their life is one long air bath
In the old happy days of simple clothing the natives
rubbed their bodies with cocoanut OIL which made the rain
sip of and protected them from cold and sudden chs
Now the cotton Mother Hubbard gets soaked with rain
The woman doesn't bother rub her body with cocoanut
oil since nobody how shiny she looks She shVers In
hsr wet Mother Hubbard, gets pneumonia and dies
Some of the old have refused to become Christians
70 the extent of wearing clothes.
The intelligent special correspondent Of the New York
Evening Post says that aged native gentlemen can be seen
miles ont at sea- fishing all kinds Of weather with nothing
on They live indefinitely The young Christian fisherman
sitting IN the next boat himself up and dies Of
phthisis
Il is mixedup situation there. Government officials
who want labor make the cocoanut groves profitable tell
the natives to little possible The missionaries
each Sunday tell them that is SIM especially for ladies'
not to be covered up completely
And to make it surprising and complicated, sta
tcs show that South Sea ladies who the least cloth
ing are the most moral
Here in civilization it works the other way at least
the Woman's Republican Club Of New York says that
ladies' wearing the most are moral But how you
tan?
The Door South Sea Island ladies and gentlemen, in
the happy healthy old days danced violent Dances good
for the liver but of them better than they
should be- quite immoral the missionary said and bad
for the conscience So the dancing has been stopped The
ladies and gentlemen told that they persist in dan
cling through the hot nights Of the South Sea
TsndS they would do their dancing in hotter place
later on Conscience became active and the active liver
Gnggish.
The government authorities interested in dividends
from groves say that they would let poor lady
dance IA the odaShoned way she would get enough
20 dry ont her damp cotton Mother Hubbard But they
won't let her dance She sits down. shvers by and by
che dies and there's cocoanut grove "hand" gone
Civilization and immortality not simple things. But
IN the long they probably Just what the world needs
ReIentlessy they have killed of the least IT. those
able 20 stand progress including morals and Mother Hub
bsRdS