Year: 1876

lc lIlllu
American free dress league opened
Wednesday morning at Lincoln Hall,
Broad street and Paramount avenue,
Philadelphia The delegates were not
numerous at the morning session.
Twenty persons, all told-eight men,
sun burned and generally long haired;
a dozen women, some sun-burned, and
generally short,haired-composed the
convention. There was no formal or
panization, and those present placed
themselves in a circle near the stage,
against which sat three ladies clothed
in the bloomer costume, Miss Fowler,
Miss Wessles and another, all from
Vineland, New Jersey.


A general free and easy conversation
followed of the benefits and dsadvan-
taees arising from women wearing short
dresses. and while the nine with long
dresses were free toadmire and approve
the courage of the three with short
ones, they were also free to admit that
it required more resolution than they
possessed to adopt that style themselves.
Miss Wessles stated that while they
would like the actual fellowship of their
friends, they were still encouraged by
verbal approval All they asked from
the public was liberation.


Mr.. Allen said they desired to create
a public sentiment that would not com
pei a woman to be the slave of fashion
and extravaganza, but would permit her
to dress according to her own ideas OF
beauty ard usefulness. lie knew what
it was to withstand the power OF pub
lie opinion, and he had known grand,
noble, strong minded women who were
obliged to give up their chosen style Of
dress because they were too sensitive TO
endure the prosecuting gaze of the un,
washed rabble.


A lady delegate said that she had
worn the bloomer costume in the west
for several years, but had finally dis,
carded it, as she found it interfered
with her usefulness in advocating q
moderate reform. She would check
the outrageous extravaganza in dress
that was a disgrace to our women and
was running the country. She thought
more attention should be paid to the
proper wearing of under apparel, to dis
carding corsets, and that the outer
clothing was a mere matter OF opinion
and convenience.


At the afternoon session the atten
dance was rot quite so large, but made
up in spirit what it lacked in numbers
Nearly every member had something tc
say, and Mrs Tillotsons assertion that
it sho wed want of courage and strength
of mind in the advocates of reform who
did not wear the short dress, etc,
brought several ofthe latter class 10 then
feet, and they contended that 1t was
not fear of facing the worlds scorn
which prevented their adopting the
advanced reform style, but because they
considered it interfered with their useful.
ness and operated against their in,
terests.


Mr.. d. NJ. Allen, president Of the
league, said his intention was not to
enforce any particular style Of dress, but
his battle was against the abom!nab!e
public sentiment which would not let a
woman dress as she saw fit. He was IN
favor of giving woman her freedom,
not only in this matter, but in others OF
more importance. The freedom of wo,
men was his gospel of salvation.


A sedate-lookiny man, with long,
crizzled locks, contended that there was
not free man nor woman in Phiiadel-
phia or in the United States on the
question of dress. He thought the
cramping of Chinese lady's foot was
not half so bad as the American wo-
mans fashion of cramping her vital or
gans.


This gentleman, the cut of whose
clothing would have Justified Petruchio S
exclamation. "Whv, what o devils
name tailor, callst thou this p also
treated the assemblage to recitation
in rhyme, which be delivered with clos
ed eyes and frequent brushing back
of long gray lock which would insist
on coming to the front frnm its proper
position behind his right ear. His
poem was evidently original and re-
terred particularly to the motives which
actuated the lives OF his fellow beings.
He said some lived to get married and
they"cared not hoSsoon, aud finished up