Evening star., 1922-05-21
A Page for Girls: Flappers and Otherwise
Conducted BY Helen III Fetter. .


- vented there has always 'been1
one particular species of hu-
manity that has recognized
the fact that it was made primar-
lily to give support to human beings
whose backbones. for one roason or
another proved insufficient and Its
Secondary duty was to cast hight upon
srhe highway, The type mentioned
would hardly include the While Bax-
ters of the world. but. rather. the
Hueklcberry Firms of the main street
i'm every village, town and City.. They
differ from Mark Twain's famous hero
principally in that, while lazy, they
have a most extraordinarily devel-
oped sense OF costume designing.
Il v
IN Washington the 1929 model is
known as the ''cake-eater." 1t has
ems to become a rather weedy peren-
nial The latest model differs from
last years. in that collegiate" is the
password. and the ctethiag follows
the box coat. Norfolk jacket effects
rather than the slightly rufsied, high
waiStcd style. Ties are more wildly
brey Beardslcy's most nightmarish
creations. and shoes are as heavy and
clumsy as can possibly be made OF
leather. The more battered and
wiped i'm -the-uust the hat may be. the
more correct, according to the code
Of those who tw5ne themselves about
street lamps and car signs or drape
graceful lengths over trash boxes
along F street and vicinity.
Many of these youths engage in no
useful occupation, but allow their
families to supply such support as
isn't afforded by a lamp. post. Not q
few make 1t their rule to try gold
digger tactics on unsuspecting little
seminary girls. who think they are
doing something wildly Daring and
improper when they take these boys
to lunch or treat to snndae and
percentage manage to scatter little
actual work into the midst of the
busy day of lounging.
& < X X
T,VEN VIXEN working the eake-eater
l. seeks what might be termed
gentleman jobs One unique case
was that of cale-eater who secured
position selling perfumes and pow
ders in a local department store. A
select little coterie emphasizes the
beauty-loving nature of the cake
eater by exhibiting plucked eyebrows
and carefully marceled hair of patent
leather gloss. The eternal boy will
crop out even in the most tenderly
nourished of ,cake-eaters. however,
and it is regrettable fact that with
all their fastidiousness Of dress many
of these boys forget to clean their
finger nails.
IT is the fiappers who are blamed
for the entire tribe of cake-eaters
and their habits. As the old adage
of melodrama goes. "It is the woman
who pays" And. according to Lady
Astor: it is she who really should pay;
for girls must lift the standards and
hold the national ideals above. the
contamination of just such things as
cAke-eaters and their lazy methods,
or they will not be lifted at all. When
the girls and women fail the country,
then the nation sinks rapidly into
oblivion. as witness those most IA
nous examples. Greece and Rome.
1t is, of course, true that with cake
eaters one may recognize a specimen
very easily by his exotic appearance
and peculiarities of manner, Unfor-
tunately, this is not true of his feni-
nine counterpart. for all girls of flap
per. age, including those of serious
purpose. dress alike and even act
alike to a large extent to avert, if
possible. the much-d dreaded stigma of
being ''old-maidish." Girls are liable
to be supersensitive, but they must get
over il.
IF, as Basil King says. the women
are running this country, they
must run it right, and the first thing
is to develop the individual abilities
and traits of the girls who stand for
the right things and not be afraid to
show that they stand for them. This
can only be done by being differ
ent." but if enough will do so the
stigma on the fiapper of today, as
exhibited in PLAYS, moving pictures.
books and magazine stories, will be
removed, and. among other things. the
cake-eater will vanish completely, for
he cannot exist if the girls will not
take him on joy rides in their cars.
let him jazz to their monographs,
and, above all, feed him cake in their
homes
The girls really do not want the
cake-eaters any more than they want
10-cent-stere earriAgs or other cheap
novelties. Cake-eaters, as such, are
Just a fad, but it. is a fad that may
have dangerous consequences, in spite
of the fact that few little brothers
look to their cake-eAter elders with
the slightest respect or admiration.