The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-07

the nappef, with her elaboran
makeup, her daring clothes. her
bold and confident carriage. b sup
pressed - . menace to the nation's
morals. or. celebrated rs it, chief
claim to art and beauty!
The question seems to b mp for
debate. The papers are full-of
scandalised protests against the
way the nappers dress. and there
are movements on foot for making
high school girls, once girls. shop
girls and girls in general, dress
more modestly. The retormers,
who are back of this movement,
proclaim that. the morals Of the
American male are menaced, that
he is upset and led astray by the
spectacle Of feminine beauty ct it,
most striking. Counsel for the de-
Tense asserts that It is the inalien-
able right OF woman to make her
self just As attractive ~ she can,
that the man who 10 morally ruin
cd by lipstick and silk stockings
has no soul worth saving anyway,
and that most Of the reformeFs who
attack feminine dress are old Ia
dies, in spirit II not in fact, who
are envious of blooming youth.
They assert that the modern flap
per has done nothing less than to
add to the Joy and the beauty Of
the world by learning how to make
| herself attractive, You have only
to look at some old pictures, they
say, to realize what an enormous
Transformation has been worked in
20 years, and even in 10. Who, they
ask, really wants to 60 back to the
days of cotton stockings, skirts
dragging in the dust. hair pulled
tight and shiny nose?
Down With Paint-Ana Skirts.
For some reason, the cosmetics
and clothes seem to have attracted
more scandalfxed attention than
any Of the other flapperisms. Per
haps her critics feel that il she
could be fully clothed and denied
the use Of cosmetics, reform would
follow as a matter Of course. At
any rate, many high schools are
now trying 1t. School authorities
in various cities have recently
come to the aid of distressed par
ents by insisting that "immodest''
clothing. rouge. powder and lip
sticks be barred from the schools.
In the fashionable seminaries the
same sort Of embargo has been
hastily reared.
Yet the fiapper il not without her
defenders, even among her own
sex.
"All this hue and cry about cos
metics and clothes is outrageously
silly in my opinion" declares a
New York society matron, whose
sub-deb years occurred about the
time Of the Spanish-American war
t"It's worse than that; it's base
ingratitude. Why, the new flap
per has performed q great service
for her country by raising the
standard of feminine beauty. You
should have seen. US back in 1896
plain and prim and proper. II
was all right il you happened to
be born beautiful, Of course, but
If you didn't happen to be- there
was not a thing you could do abou,
it. Rouge and lipsticks were out
Of the question, while hair-dye was
; uncomfortable even in the family
circle.
Here, look at these" she said
handing US an old-fashioned album
containing laughable portraits O
the pompadour period.
There am at eighteen" sait
. the hostess, pointing to the photo
graph of a sad-eyed damsel, bear
ing with a patient smile the weigh
Of tremendous, straight pompa
dour. Il hate to confess it, bu
that is who it is. That expression
Of patient sweetness must hav,
belonged to that period. l am SUR
it couldntAe reproduced now. Well
} there is some consolation in grow
. ing old these days-the older VI
grow the better looking we be
come.
Guess who that IT," continued
, the hostess, pointing to anothe,
, photograph Of an old-fashione,
happer, with large eyes. straight
;. finely chiseled nose and rathe
heavy chin, q
Rather pretty, but insipid," SAT-
= someone.
A Famous Beauty Of Long Ago.
8 That's Lillian Langtry," ex
: planned the hostess, Laughing. "The
4 did not think she was insipid ther
' The, greatest beauty of all ages
r they called her. The Jersey Lily
4 The woman who was one Of tn
\ first to have perfumes and boot
named after her. songs dedicate