The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1930-03-21

American manhood? Wait,
now, before you give a
" q scornful reply to that ques-
VA ton! For there are GER
In n tain signs to indicate that
NNA 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 a comeback as a companion
piece to bustles. also reported to be
staging a comeback, this should bring
about a revival OF the pottery industry
by stimulating trade in mustache cups.
( ---Auxvasse (Mo.9 Review.
The other goes into the subject
more exhaustive1y and says:
Taffeta and ruff1es have been worn
before, and still there was no wide
outbreak of whiskers. We had the
long skirt for a while, too, ana few
whiskers returned. But 1t win be q
surprising and an nnhistoric thing IL
we can have black mitts for evening
and billowy skirts that sweep the
ground and these coy puff sleeves and
lace bonnets ana now 1ong-skfrted
bathing suits, even-and never a burn
side to go with them. The wax mod
els in the windows OF shop and shoppe
alike cry out for bearded company. A
woman in such apparel not only needs
an escort to the soiree; she needs
doughty blade with whiskers. There
fore, he win appear, and the motion
mi rXyf1 1rxYtp Hsn oil nTaA
In his Van Dyke.
There are portents. political and mt
Nica1. "A Paris dispatch informs as
that "'the present French cabinet,
which consists of % ministers and sub
ministers, shows not a single shaver
member" and in addition, four chief
representatives at the London parley
brought mustaches, while the fifth has
q beard Locally, every one lis aware
OF Chief Justice Hughes, Mr.. j. Ham
Lewis, Louis 'Graveure, Doctor Britton
of the New York botanical garden and
Ernest Boyd, critic fncarnadine, and
finally several tenors have appeared in
those mustaches which we associate
with barytones.
Inevitably we must return to orr
mutton chops If the spring fashions
continue back toward 1880. The short
bodice the sprigged frock, the chig-
non and the genteel black glove look
fimid 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 safety-razor-using, smooth-faced
American appears to be in the ma
FORTY 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
i1irsute styles OF the citizens OF that
nation. Now, of course, in 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 b.
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 a 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 a
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
were the magnificent mustaches.
boards and sideburns which adorned
the generals and statesmen, both Un-
ion and Confederate, during that peri
cd. A Civil war general, or even a
colonel, a 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 a
mustache 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