Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-04-23

CudIdCLSE anu dUAAAIy.
The question is sharply raised by the news
of a banquet which was held this year by
unique organization in the University of Ne
braska. It is known as the Order of the
Golden Fleece, and its membership is COM
posed entirely of young women whose hair
belongs to one of the many shades vulgar
ly described as red. According to authori-
tative reports the members are classified on
the club rolls under the following color head
ing: Squash, carrot, pumpkin, orange brick,
scarlet flamingo, maroon, copper, auburn,
henna, mahogany, magenta, sorrel, strawber-
ry, roam, russell, cerise, carnation, salmon,
shrimp pink and pink. Lemon, ginger, in
sipid brown, and chemicals of all kinds are
barred. Prizes are awarded at the annual
events for the brightest flame of color, the
greatest quantity Of hair and that of the most
beautiful shade.
This organization is interesting and per-
haps alarming to the general public as an
example of one more kind Of class feeling. 1t
is well known that class feeling and the ten
dency to organize on class basis are on the
increase. We now have associations not only
on capital and labor, but also mothers
leagues, parents leagues, consumers
leagues, writer's leagues. There are leagues
based upon every possible role which one may
play in life, whether in business, politics, So
ciety, marriage or sport; but heretofore, so
far as we can learn by exhaustive research.
there has been no effort to organize on a
basis of physical characteristics If few
jolly Fat Mems Clubs be excepted.
Another Red Menace ~.
This tendency to organize on a basis of
hair color, therefore, is thing of great and
alarming possibilities, especially if red-head-
ed women take the lead in the matter. Imag-
inc If you can an insurrection of the Inter-
national Order of Red-headed Women!
And this organizing of red-headed women
into clubs will undoubtedly intensity what
you might call the hair class-feeling. The
Order of the Golden Fleece will no doubt
make pretty thorough study of all the
data bearing upon red-headedness, and each
member will come away from it's gatherings
with clearer notion Of the special destiny
which her flaming top has prescribed for her.
There seems long to have been a sort of
general agreement that red-headed persons
have peculiar characteristics. It is general
ly believed, for example, that they have hot
tempers, and strong emotions generally. In
The last century smile in common use was
"easy as making love to a red.headed girl"
Since the rise Of the NietZsche-Sh Shawn encken
school of philosophy, which holds that wom-
an is a dangerous predatory animal bent in
hunting man down and making slave of
him, this has been generally revised to read
dangerous as making love to red-headed
yirl."
Whatever basis this saying may have in the
experience Of man, it is ample evidence Of
.eneral popular feeling that red-headedness
a quality of the mind and temperament
as well as of the hair. For some reason,
there is no similar popular idea about other
hair colors, but scientific research shows
that hair is great revealer of character in
an indirect way. That is, 1t shows what race
predominates in the makeup of the individ-
ual, and therefore what racial traits he may
be expected to have.
This IT. annears is lass true If the red
headed than of either blondes or brunettes
Red-headedness occurs in both blonde and
brunette races, as a sort of sport-color. 1t
does seem to be generally associated with GER
tain emotional and nervous characteristics,
but these are peculiar to the reds of all
races. That they are by no means necessarily
d1sadvantageOus is shown by the great num-
Der Of successful red-headed men and the
well-known popularity of red-headed women.
But black hair Or blonde hair is distinctly
indicative of race, and it is only by such phys
ical characteristics that race may be detect
ed these days. Race now conforms to ma
tlonal boundaries very little. 1t would be
easy to find an Irishman and a German who
were of exactly the same racial type, and two
Irishmen who were as different racially as
an Italian and Swede.
Race and Hair
There are three principal races in Europe
according to the anthropologists-the Nordic
Nordics are the tall blonde men with long
heads native to the north, as for example
the typical Prussian or Norwegian. The AL.
pines are short stocky race with brown hair
and flat heads inhabiting east central Eu-
rope, as for example typical Swiss peasant.
The Med1terraneans are short, dark, long
headed race inhabiting the south Of Europe,
as for example typical Italian. In addition
to these there are many other races in small
er numbers, such as the Old Black Breed in
ireland and the ancient Iberian race in Spain,
but these have had relatively little influence
on the mass of European and American pop
ulation. The other three races are badly
lixed up all through central and western
Europe and in the United States,
Hair color is significant as showing wheth-
er Nordic or Mediterranean blood predomi-
mates in the individual. 1t does not reveal
the presence of Alpine blood so readily for
the Alpine stock usually show brown hair of
an intermediate and indeterminate shade.
The shape of the head would be more valua-
BILE in detecting that particular strain.
The Nordic and the Mediterranean stocks
have different qualities, according to the
anthropologists. The Nordics are noted for
their combativeness, their organizing ability
and their sense of order. The Mediterranean
race on the other hand, is noted for it's artis-
tic and musical ability, and it's creative gen.
ius generally, while in war and Government
it is not so conspicuously successful. It is
the theory Of some scientists that nearly all
of the great European Governments were or
ganized by Nordics. They claim that the orig
inal Romans were Nordics from the north,
and that when this stock died out due to an
unfavorable climate, the Roman Government
collapsed. This pretty theory has never been
proved.
In fact the whole matter of race charac-