Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-09-05
BY the Req. Lucian Johnston.
COZ St. Thoma.. Church. Bal,imorsl

pY way Of obviating some inevitable
misconceptions Of the judicious
readers concerning the purpose Of
this article, allow me to state the follow
lowing PREDATORY explanations. It Is hardly
necessary to state, irst, that I am not seek.
ing notorlety by saying the sensational.
The editor Of this magazine requested the
article, believing that It might do some
good. ! hope It does, Enough I do not
share his flattering optimism.
Secondly, ! am not a professional re.
former or uplifter or Blue Law inouI,itor.
nor do look upon beauty as a snare or
upon pleasure as q sin or upon ugliness
ana gloom as virtues. l utterly loathe such
pests OF humans and such unhuman cast
OF mind. What ] say Is merely the refec.
tive comment of a plain. ordinary man
upon the indecency OF certain women
believe most women are Fundamentally
SOUND. But their public representatives
are 100 often not so and there Is danger
lest the quiet majority fall into the evil
ways OF the noisy minority.
Ana' lastly, am not at all over inquisI.
i've about feminine attire. refer here only
to- what Is obvious; what, In fact, IA actn.
any thyllst upon our gaze. And / do look
upon such pretty general indecency ia
dEess as an evidence Of an equally general
moral decay within. Were It not so !
would refrain from comment.
NOW, In a previous article 1 expressed
ine convection that this indecency In fem.
mime dreSS was q mistake IL real heauty
were the object in view, simply becamss
Inc nude human body was not as beautiful
as me clothed. Candidly, | am inclined 10
uouDt the correctness OF paying mauy wa.
men inns indirect compliment Of supposinp
aesthellcism 10 be their ruling motive.
mere are SO many evidences in favor OF
.ne supposition that the prevailing indie.
cthcF Is rather an appeal TO the baser In.
Htincts OF the male. In which case. decent
ana thoushtful men are quite apt 10 rumi.
nate upon the .capac city and willingness NJ
women 10 be q purifying and ciyilIzing I'm.
nuehce upon society In these disintegrating
times; TO question il woman is ca pable or
willing 10 rise TO her splendid opportunf.
ties for doing good afforded by her noliti.
cal ana industrial ncipatiun; TO ask
women hatly II we men are to take them
seriously as 4 new social factor for good
or 10 regard them as simply players of the
came Ola game OF influencing men by the
historic appeal or sex; TO ask plainly n
ieihale suffrage Is q bluff or q means To
Improve society.
~: that woman is now the equal OF man
IN every sense and possessor OF eyerv
.i-l. -y VA SNGIy
ilght and privilege and opportunity hither-
10 exclusively enjoyed by man. Well, then.
Is she willing and capable OF approaching
ana making use OF these serious opportu.
mites or does she prefer TO las above
statea1 pay The same old historic game
of influencing men through an indecent
appeal TO his lower self or sex? In q word
are we men to take seriously the new
woman? "
A good many men refuse to take her
seriously, precisely because they see her
at her Old game Of ~seY-appeal, OF which the
present in~decency in dress is but one man.
tory cannot help. in this connectIon "a.
fiecting upon the behavior of women In
times very distant from but strikingly aim.
ilar to our own; times when surely good
women were sorely needed 10 save social v
from ruin, but when women utterly failed
Remember that al the time when Christ