Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-03-24
Frederic Haskin's Letter
CLIPPING THE F LAPPER'S WINGS.

New York. March 22.-The day 81
the overjoyed. overdressed. dear
young thing. full Of sentiment and
illusion, is drawing to q close,
"Gladness" and glad rags are 60
ing out Of fashion.
According to Miss Jane d. Rip
pin. national director Of the Girl
Scouts, within the next 10 years
women are going to abandon all
creative attempts at illusion, and
live q peaceful, thrifty existence,
like men. They are going to wear
plain business suits and severe
hats, adjure high heels and cosmet-
les and exercise restraining in
fiuence on their exuberant glad
ness, especially while at work. Miss
Rippin herself is doing all that she
can to bring this admirable reform
about.
Every day." she says. I'VE are
teaching the girl that her body
isn't a Christmas tree on which to
hang a lot of ornaments. The
young Scout becomes accustomed to
the wearing Of her own simple uni
form and sees its value. OF course,
she cannot wear it always, but she
is taught that the next best thing
is a plain one-piece dress with a
belt. Her scout shoes are big and
broad with low heels, and she
knows the dangers Of high heels.
AS for cosmetics, every one of our
girls comes to know that girls who
wear artificial things on their faces
have artificial things in their char
acters."
By taking them while they are
young this way, and intoxicating in
them a wholesome respect for
grim and. even occasionally home
ly reality, it is hoped that the too
glad" outlook can eventually ba
stamped out. Miss Rippin is aid
ed and abetted in this useful cam
paign by various women's clubs, in
GLIDING the Wall Street club, the
Irene Thrift club. an organization
of chorus girls, and A. Mitchell
Palmer, whose interest is In
squelching not so much gladness
as extravaganza.
While the campaign is invading
even our drawing rooms, with the
idea of clothing them little more
fully and less fancifully, it Is par
ticularly directed at the modern
working woman. Young women
who wear distracting clothing to
the office, whose gladness effer-
vesces and spills over into the
sober working hours, and who mo-
nopolize business telephones for
protracted, mirthful conversations
with their various acquaintances
and who insist upon joyfully vamp-
ing the boss when the poor man is
anxious to get through dictation
and out to his golf, are not expect
ed to occur in the future. The
Wall Street club is taking those
species of gladness under its wing
in the hope of definitely saddenine
them.
Miss Elizabeth Sibley, president
of the organization, has very de-
cided views on the subject, which
she confidently expects to impress
upon thousands of young women
employed in the Wall street dis.
trict, during the coming year.
Not everything that it is neces'
/ - l. if ic RI Cnrnnnd in
business Office is taught in pre-
paratory schools or business
courses" declares Miss Sibley
There are questions of dress and
department which are most i'm.
portant. Older women who have
gone through the stage of office
work, which these girls are jus,
entering, can give them a word OF
two of advice, which we feel should
be of some value"
As it is, conditions are so shock
ing, according to Miss Sibley, thai
one woman, the head of a large
banking house, recently became sc
embarrassed at the diaphanous at
tire of the other feminine workers
that she raised all the windows il
the Office and then tactfully sug'
tested that the girls put on theil
coats so that they would not take
cold.
At the recent convention Of thu
National Federation Of Bushes.
and Professional Women here
where the subject of dress reform
received a great deal of discussion
Mrs. Christine R. Kefauver, super
vising inspector Of the Bureau o
Industrial Hygiene Of the New
York Department of Health, Great
ed a mild stir by her assertion tha
many a wife becomes unduly sus
picious of her husband if he has il
his employ agirl who dolls up lik,
a fashion model" In her opinion 1