The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-03-21

IA ton! For there are GER
I'm N tain signs to indicate that
AM the idea is not so fanciful
as it may appear to be at
the first superficial thought.
Do our newspapers accurately re-
fleet contemporary American life?
Consider, then, two newspaper items.
One reads as follows:
Apropos the rumor that whiskers are
about to do come back as a companion
piece to bustles. also reported to be
staging comeback, this should bring
about revival of the pottery industry
by stimulating trade in mustache cups.
-AuXvasse (Mo.) Review.
The other goes into the subject
more exhaustively and says:
Taffeta and ruffles have been worn
before, and still there was no wide
outbreak of -whiskers. We had the
long skirt for a while, too, and few
whiskers returned. But it will be a
surprising and an unhistoric thing if
we can have black mitts for evening
and billowy skirts that sweep the
ground and these coy puff sleeves and
lace bonnets and now long-skirted
bathing suits, even-and never burn
side to go with them. The wax mod
alike cry out for bearded company. A
woman in such apparel not only needs
an escort to the soiree; she needs a
doughty blade with whiskers. There
fore, he will appear, and the motion
picture doctor will no longer be alone
in his Van Dyke.
There are portents, political and mu-
steal. A Paris dispatch informs us
that ''the present French cabinet
which consists of % ministers and SUBJ
ministers, shows not a single shaver
member" and in addition, four chief
representatives at the London parley
brought mustaches, while the fifth has
a beard. Locally, every one is aware
of Chief Justice Hughes, Mr.. j. Ham
Lewis, Louis Graveure, Doctor Britton
of the New York botanical garden and
Ernest Boyd, critic incarnadine, and
finally several tenors have appeared in
those mustaches which we associate
with barytones.
Inevitably we must return to our
mutton chops if the spring fashions
continue back toward 1880. The short
bodice, the sprigged frock, the CHG
non and the genteel black glove look
timid with no protective whiskers
above them, yet here they are. And
when whiskers come back, mark your
grandfather's words, so will chaperons
New York Herald Tribune.
There you have it-from both the
rural and the metropolitan press, rep
resenting both the country and the
city! However true it may be that
the ety-razor-using, smooth-faced
American appears to be in the ma
jority today, is it beyond belief that
he may choose to return to the be-
whiskered glory of the past? History
shows that the facial adornment of
the ruler of a nation usually sets the
hirsute styles of the citizens Of that
nation. Now, of course, in a democ-
racy such as ours the citizens are not
likely to initiate the example of their
President as are the subjects Of a
monarchy to follow the mode set by
their king or emperor.
But the fact remains that during
most of our history Americans have
in general followed the style in regard
to whiskers or no whiskers as set by
our Presidents, although that may
have been only coincidence. Our
early Presidents from Washington
down to and including Buchanan were
all smooth-faced and most Americans
of their times were, too. Abraham
Lincoln was the first President with
full beard and during his administra-
ton the golden age of whiskers began.
Not the least of the elements which
made the Civil war so picturesque
We're the magnificent mustaches,
boards and sideburns which adorned
hn lie of In
ion and Confederate, during that peri
cd. A Civil war general, or even
colonel, major or a captain without
whiskers-well, the picture simply
isn't complete, that's all
Lincoln's successor, Andrew John
son, was smooth-shaven, it is true,
but his successors more than made up
for his deficiency In carrying on the
tradition. With the Inauguration Of
Grant, whiskers came definitely into
their own and for the next thirty years
they were much in evidence in both
the White House and the Capitol.
Grant, Hayes, Garfield and Harrison
all wore full boards. Arthur wore q
Inustache and sideburns and Cleve-
land wore a mustache McKinley's
smooth-shaven face marked the end Of
the beared era, but Roosevelt and
Taft symbolized sort of hang
over with their mustaches.
The present smooth-shaven era be-
gan with Woodrow Wilson and has
continued through the administrations
of Harding and Coolidge down to the
election of Hoover. Now that we have
had nearly twenty years Of smooth
shaver Presidents is the pendulum
about to swing back again. and give
us another bearded President to set
the style for his fellow-Americans?
And if whiskers are to stage a come
back. what are to be the most popular
styles? -
Look at the portraits Of the be-
whiskered notahles shown above and
pick out your own style. The full,
flowing "chest-protector" beard worn
by Edwin NJ. Stanton, secretary of
war In Lincoln's cabinet. is not only
typical Ct Ike style most popular in