El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-06-28
OLD FASHIONED VIRTUES ARE NOT
DEPENDENT ON COST OF CLOTHES

COMBINES the zeal of workers IN the field of social
y upft carries them further than wisdom can justify IN
their commentaries current conditions and their causes
A few days ago Texas who is directing IN this
state for the department Of Justice the Organizing Of women
for forcing prices through economies made the fol
lowing declaIauon- IaIoIaIy among young glS looay
prevalent than II has been before and there
Is only for 1.-THE high cost Of clothes"
persons VIII concede the truth Of the first state
It is not probable that any considerable number Of
teachers preachers police judges, police matrons, Y ". C.
A. OF Salvation Army workers. observant parents could
be found who would be willing to say that immortality
among young girls today is far more prevalent than II has
ever been before"
reason for It, the high cost Of eothes-th constitutes
libel grlhood and womanhood that is all too commonly
repeated but that has little If any basis in fact
Such statement implies that feminine virtue IS mat
ter Of fine clothes; if girls afford fine clothes
they refuse to be Trtuous; that girl disposed TO EVIL
needs only to be vel dressed to keep her IN the pain OF
virtue.
Fine clothes cost considerable money but good clothes,
decent and respectable clothes costly that work
ing girls need deprive themselves Of what they need to
make good appearance the street OF In company.
VIGOROUSLY often the expensive clothes on
the backs Of those who III afford them, while the
thrifty even if able buy the costly stuff do not feel i'm
PEELED to spend all their earnings that way
Excessive vanity greed, craving for wild excitement
reckless disregard for consequences weak OF wrongful home
Influences coveousness lack Of self restraint these may
sometimes cause girls to tread IN dangerous ways grl
NAV make up mind have fine clothes she has
to sacrifice self respect to get them But virtue may
still dwell with poverty, has dwelt IN all ages and
e high cost Of clothes IS no. going TO turn any right
minded girl from the better way which she has chosen to
follow.
Girls may make mistakes through weakness ignorance
as result Of wrong training wrong environment
but If they persist wrong doing spite Of all the oppor
tuue and aids nowadays afforded to those who desire to
return normal ways Of living their choice IS deliberate
and the high Of clothes" has nothing to do with It
To permit such statements that above quoted, to 60
unchaenged is to encourage the growth Of wrong IDEAS
among young Of both sexes to tempt to use Their
e and weaken the power Of resistance Of girls already
weak through beyond the reach Of manade laws
would sad world If the virtue Of the people were
dependent on the price Of feminine decorations.
The incident may impress thoughtful people with
the desraby Of revvng the teaching Of Of the old
fashioned virtues which been fOuted less
these latter days There much Of disposition to
shift the burden blame somebody else for short
congs and those Of children There IS too much de-
pendence on man-made laws and governments and not
enough reliance On the eternal truths Of life which have
been expressed IN the codes and principles Of all religions
and noralities through the centuries
There wage bat It relates 10 physical
vel being rather than moral # has some bearing On II
teIlectual Development but decency and common
honesty are not dependent IN the United States Of America
on money. There rh people who neither decent
nor honest rich people who immoral and rch people
who are ignorant And let allow ourselves to fa
into the Of thinking that poverty implies absence OF
decency and absence Of honesty Virtue IS not matter OF
clothes, never and never VIII be.
If wilson vii Just say whom he wants he save
the expense Of the convention.
The woman who used to take stitch in time now lets
her husband buy new garment
The man with job longer envies the man with