The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-12-02
BARE KNEES AND
SHORT SKIRTS
Indications of Greater
Modesty, Instead
Of Less
; DEFENDS THE FLAPPER
Present Fashions Far More
Graceful Than Those
of Old

Grandma has no right 90 criticize
tho modern college girl don't
think bare knees are any moro I'M
modest than the stately hoopsklrt OF
half a century ago."--Prof. Burgess
Johnson Of Vassar college.
80 much has been said about the
yanitos Of the modern girl that It is
only fair to point ont that the aver
agc girl of today IS fur better
equipped mentally than the girl Of
'gonsration ago. The girl OF today
wants 90 be useful as well as oTna-
montal"-President Guth of Gou-
cher College.
when we were young we care
fully covered our legs and feet and
left our ears exposed. our daugh-
tors have simply reversed the GUS
tom and how are we to blame
them Mrs. Catherine Grieble OF
tho state Agricultural College OF
New Brunswick, n. j.
Three distinguished champions Of
the much abused modern daughter
have been heard from to tho above
effect within a week writes Mar
Earot Alarshall In the New York
]
girl Of today were no longer to be
the goat. Since / personally never
have believed her "as bad as she IL
painted" l was delighted TO reael
few Kind words for her at last; and
IN order to hear a few more | went
10 the most accessible Of her three
defenders.
Burgess Johnson. humorist. auth
or and professor Of English at Vas
sar college, had this to say:
"Nothing 10 Work. About"
"The modern girl Is nothing to
worry abOut--at least. so far as
have been able TO Judge from daily
observation OF some eleven hundred
girls" Professor johnson assured
me, with calm decision And.
what her critics seem to forget is
that even If she has been going
through a period of reaction, II her
conduct has been characterized by n
certain laXity--mind, don't say this
IS SO. hut only II 1t be so--the blame
should rest not on her, but on her
mother.
1T is said that the girl Of today
Is suffering n reaction from the war.
But | should say that whatever re-
action may exist Is from the old
standards OF family discipline. And
who Is to blame for the lowering Of
these standards, except mother-and
fathCr2"
II have heard women say that
they cannot control their daugh-
ters." It was suggested.
(which Is silly" blandly COM
mented Mr. johnson. 81, too, have
heard n mother say that She just
couldn't bear to interfere with her
daughters fun that she wanted her
10 enjoy life as much as the other
girls In. other words, that mother
and some other mothers seem TO
have reached the point whore they
are perfectly willing to lie down and
quit"
"But why?" he was asked What
is the matter with parental morale p
IT'S hard TO define in SEN
tenCc," thoughtfully answered Pro-
fessqr Johnson. But a wave Of in
dividual freedom has swept over the
world in the last few years. This
freedom should not mean that min
ors are absolved OF certain oblica-
tions to their parents. The parents,
however, have seemed so to inter-
pret IL.
Fashions Nagarlcs%
The fact az II they were afraid
20 interfere. They have lost their
nerve. Some OF them, moreover
don't want TO be bothered. Father
would rather 20 fDOtpring noths 10