The Washington times., 1919-09-20

out Of the resOunding ayes" answer
ing the question put by the chairman
Of the meeting, DR.. Edith Hale Swift,
on whether the young girl should
be deprived Of her stays, there was
just one dissenting voice. That came
from DR.. Effe L. Lobdell, OF Chicago,
who refused to change her mind or
her vote, even when DR.. Anna L.
Brown, chairman OF program, appeal
ed to the presiding officer to try to
make the vote against corsets unani-
nous. Dr. LobdeIl stood her ground
firmly and declined to yield even so
much as a whalebOne or a hook.
Representatives OF Italy France,
Sweden, Norway, Japan, China, and
other foreign countries took part IN
the discussion arranged by women Of
high standing in the medical profes-
sion in various parts OF the United
States. At times the discussion ap-
preached fever heat, but the pulse OF
the meeting was quickly restored by
DR.. Swifts calm words.
Chinese Women Horriaed.
The eyes Of the two Chinese .dele~
gates, who were seated in the front
row, expressed. pain and horror as
they watched a woman lace herself
into a pair Of sO-called perfect stays
The model, who was past thirty, wore
a pink silk combination and a pink
corset laced in front. None Of the
foreign delegation seemed to approve
even OF her comfortable garment, in
which she said she could easily sit
down or even scrub floors. The spec
tatOrs looked skepticaI and felt en-
tirely so after inviting the model to
stoop over and pick up a handkerchief
without bending her knees. She
couldn't do il, but explained that she
had never learned the exercise.
That settled it with the foreign
physicians. II you cannot perform
such a simple exercise in a corset
then the corset prevents development,
they argued. And they are all for
proper muscle exercising. which will
make cOTsets an unnecessary adjunct
to the modern wOman's wardrobe.
DR.. Clelia LOllini, Of Rome, spoke
disapprOvingly Of the corset, though
she admitted that she had worn one
for few years. Dr.. Dagny Bang,
OF Norway, declared that il was
vanity, imitation and stupidity that
made a woman want to wear a corset.
Let US hang the corset up on the
walls as we do the straight jacket
and consider il a relic OF barbarous
days" suggested one Of the members.
High Heels Also Doomed.
THE high heeled shoes and the
corset are doomed, so why discuss
them any more?" asked DR.. Brown.
"Corsets are only for the unshape-
~ and the middle aged" declared
another. And she added that she had
never put one on herself until after
she reached fifty, and then only be-
cause an operation made such a sup
port necessary.
But, when the corset is abolished,
the skirt band must also 60" warned
the physicians, and everything must
hang from the shoulders, for a tight
skirt band on an UncOrseted figure
can do more harm than a corset"
Then the women were treated to a
display Of proper dress and proper
shoes, the models having been care
fully selected by Dr. Swift and DR..
Eleanor Berthe. with the assistance
Of Miss Lucy McGinnis, OF Boston,
whose duty it was to see that the
cOlors were harmonious and showed
the result OF intellectual effort.
The proper shoe, according to Miss
Harriet Wide, in charge Of this fea-
ture OF the program, must have a
flexible arch, low flat heel and a !
straight inner line with a broad toe.
The ideal evening shoe was exhibited !
with some pride, and this had all
the requirements to make for health, |
according to her standards.
Favor Oriental Sandals.
One Of the mannikins wore a low
heeled tie on one foot and a high !
heeled lace shoe on the other, hopping |
about to demonstrate how much more |
she could be in the pair |
Of the lower heels. Even bedroom
slipper heels should be banished. Miss !
Wilde declared
"The very best slipper for this pur-
pose v the Oriental straw sandakl