T
4 THE SUNDAY OREGOSIAX. PORTLAND, OCTOBER 10, 1909.
IHrass ress MlMed- ateAmazoniaiis of ilcb'
tAT&X J2VVJSYJ!S ill III ."I
BACK to the. days when in coat of
mail the Amazon bore her share of
irars onMaughte, the fashions of
today hav taken the fair aex.
The 'cuirass" dress, as it is called by
' fome, or the "jereey" suit, as it Is named
by others. Jo nothing more than a modi
fication of the old-time- coat of mail that
f1TUJs In representations of the deeds
of warlike maidens.
It is nothing; new for fashion to con
sult history for lde.
A fashion now passing, the Empire,
was a revival of what deemed good
form In the. days when Napoleon, new to
' the throne, vm striving to impart orig
I ieallty to his court. "W hat is known as
i the Kmpire vogue represented more than
! a n.ere woman's whim of how she should
' dress.
It wss a part of a historic system.
; and tb ohs-tvanee of it was almost a
; test of loyalty to the fortunes of the
,' Corslcan.
Napoleon did not originate hls fash-
nn. 'With Its slashed skirt, snowing
the lower part or the leg of the wearer.
! the so-called beaih gown was an idea
. brought from ancient Greece when it sn
thought no harm to display th physical
i beauties of the most perfect bodies that
the world bas ever known.
Now the coming of the cuirass dress
1 means another excursion into history. In
fart ft go's still farther back, for It in
reality embraces a trip into the realms
of mythology.
Everybody l.a seen the cuirass drees.
It fills the streets, it Is to be seen at the
theater, in the restaurants, everywhere,
tt is the excitement, the sensation of the
Fall and Winter modes, it will he fol
lowed in its original forms and adapta
tions by every daughter of Eve who
has the instinct of her sex to want to
be strictly in the fashion.
The distinctive part of the dress is the
upper part, to describe it according- to
strictly masculine standards.
The waist part fits very closely to the
body, much in the way that a sweater
would do. or the old-fashioned jersey that
hss always had a certain popularity.
Then it is drawn in sharply below the
ws!st. like the bottom of a sweater, and
then the skirt flares out as in the case
' of any other dress.
The striking feature of the gown Is
its very close adherence to the form of
the fair wearer. In this respect it Is very
much like the sheath skirt in the ex
citement it has created, though whether
or not it is properly a subject of criti
cism depends entirely on the closeness
with which the individual wearer has
elected to have hers cut. Some are un
doubtedly a little bit extreme, others are
in good taste and deserve only praise.
The main charm of the gown Is in the
silhouette. It must make a classical out
line, to he the. proper thing, and it Is
once more a fashion that docs not play
into the her.ds of the stout woman. In
fnct. she of the superfluous adipose is
seldom consulted when the dictates of
fashion are planned, but it is the tall and
willowy lady t ho gets all the better of
the modes from year to year.
If it ever happened that some fashion
was designed specially for those who are
too richly blessed in flesh there would
be a chorus of thanksgiving go up all
over the country, and a monument would
be. the inevitable reward for the designer,
man. or woman.
Fut returning to the curiass. or the
Jersey, or the sweater, or the robe Dago
bert, as it Is variously called.
A curiass was the protection of the
knight in the Middle Ages. It sufficed to
protect him. for all he then had to deal
with was the arrow. The modern fire
arm, which would send a projectile
through any armor, was not then in
vented. This 1th century garment belonging to
the male persuasian has been borrowed
by the lady of the 3tHh century, but if
she be spurred to prove her right to It
and to dispute its masculine origin, she
ran do it most readily by invoking the
testimony of mythology.
In that wonderful legend of the Xiebe
v lung ring, which Richard Wagner took
from the Norse, lore, and made the sub
ject of hia marvelous music drama, the
ILLINOIS SUFFRAGISTS BECOME AGGRESSIVE
Push Question Under Noses of Obdurate Man on Every Occasions-Saloon Question to Be Fought
Out in Chicago Methodists Clean Church of Scandals Awful Total of Deaths by Accident.
BY 'JONATHAN PALMER.
CHICAGO, Oct. . (Special.) Head
quarters for the woman suffragists
of Illinois have been opened in Chi
cago. A permanent and aggressive cam
paign Is to be carried on. If hard effort
and money will do it, the purpose is to
make this city the head base for the
cause throughout the country. Hence
forth It is not to be the placid fight of
the old days. Suffragists home from
London have come to the conclusion that
to wrest the franchise from male legis
lators it Is absolutely necessary to em
ploy something more forceful than wom
anly grace, pleading, cajolery and gentle
argument. To map out new lines which
will be effective the best thought of the
suffrage leaders will be put to the test.
The screaming, biting, noise and gen
eral "rough house" business which has
been a feature of the movement abroad
Is decried. That system will not be re
sorted to here. But the leaders believe
they have learned something from I Lon
don methods. They are persuaded that
the men must be confronted on every
possible occasion with a demand for
equal suffrage. "Keep the thlntr con
stantly In the minds of the legislators
and would-be legislators," is the motto.
Drive It Into them, not with sledgeham
mers but with the gentle but cumulative
force of dropping water that is the
Idea.
Merting-4 by Thousands, Big Parade.
With this programme In view the Illi
nois Equal Suffrage Association, expects
to hold Vi parlor meetings to engage
the interest of the largest possible num
ber of women. Then there will be 00
hall meetings of both sexes, to be fol
lowed toy as many more propagandist
meetings in front of factories. A hun
dred, gatherings are planned for Ubor
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woman with a cuirass plays a most Im
portant part.
From the first act. from the prelude,
the heroic warrior maidens are prom
inently In the action.
They wear the cuirass, which has been
modified for Jhe use of their sisters of
today.
Brunnhilde. the great principal figure
of the drartia, when she makes her en
trance in the first act of the "Valkyrie."
standing on the mountain, and sending
forth the wild battle call to her wild
sisters of the air, is equipped in a coat
of shining mall, and all who have seen
some of the great interpreters in the
role, beautiful women like Brema, I.em
man, Gadski. Ternlna, Xordica. or Klaf
sky. will recall what a superb picture is
presented by the daughter of Wotan as
she steps forth- in her "white robe, her
head topped by a white feathered helmet,
spear in hand' and her chest covered by
the shining cuirass.
It is not out of the possibilities- that it
was this wonderful picture'that set some
of the autocrats of fashion to work to
suiting some form of the same garb to
the clothes worn by the woman of today,
for grand opera is essentially the place
of resort for those who follow closely
the trend of woman's taste, and design
the fashions for the coming years. v
Not only Brunnhilde. but all her sisters
of the air. the other Valkyrie maidens,
have the same shield, helmet, cuirass and
white robe.
The cuirass used in these music dramas
follows very closely the form of the
wearers, and it is only necessary to
imagine metal instead of some soft dress
material to picture some of the beautiful
society queens of today in the heroic
roles of the greatest of all German mu
sicians. The cuirass of Joan of Arc has some
relation to the problem, although that
unions, polite inroad Is to be made upon
tbe churches and there will be a count
less number of open air and street rally
ing places where enthusiasm within
womanly bounds will be exploited.
When the "psychological day" comes
there is to be "the biggest street parade
ever held in America in the interest of
suffrage for the fair ones." The leaders
will not attempt this demonstration un
til they are reasonably assured that 50.
000 to 100,000 women will take part In it.
Then it will be advertised as the. one
great rally for the cause. . The active
workers will organize ward and county
clubs and every effort will be pointed
to the procuring of 300.000 signatures de
manding that the Illinois Legislature al
low the women to vote for everything
for which men have the ballot. -
Newspaper advertlsmg space will be
taken, liberally If sufficient funds are
raised. Streetcars will be used for elo
quent posters, billboards will tell the
tale, balloons and kites will fly banners
with appropriate inscriptions, office
buildings will be snowed under with cir
culars, and the suburbanite who leaves
his train at 7 o'clock In the morning to
repair to his office will be confronted
with the ubiquitous demand. Important
in one way, but quite incidental when
measured up to the full scope of the am
bitious planning. Is the fact that Mrs.
Parkhurst and Mrs. Snowden, of Eng
land, are scheduled for reverberating suf
frage volleys in the near future.
' Women. Slaves to Bridge.
Simultaneously with the news of the
suffrage plans comes a magazine attack
on the women brldgeplayers of Chicago;
an attack which has caused a lot of agi
tation because It was made from a half
dozen different angles by well known
home folk who say they know whereof
they speak. For Instance. Eames Mac
Veagh.' son of Secretary MacVeagh and
conspicuous, la recent years as a leader
was not mail. That was solid armor, that
weighed a considerable amount, and cov
ered virtually the whole body of the
'blessed maiden."
Redfern Is given the credit for having
first seen the possibilities of the new
mode. The name was in its favor, it had
a knightly sentimental ring, it recalled
the glories of a time when knighthood
was in flower, -when men for the favor
of some fair lady were willing, to essay
any peril, asking no other reward than
the smile of the divinity.
Redfern began by applying the actual
colors of the cuirass as It hart been worn
by the Amazons of the myth stage.
He had recourse to old paintings and
tapestries in his research, and the colors
were daxzlingly brilliant, the .most strik
ing being those made of the gold and
silver net, which at a small distance look
strikingly like the actual coat of mall
shown In venerable art works.
weiRtiod a considerable amount, and cov- II " o , , IJ IC l , I fs . J
!5ota 01 the. ; ' - Ml '?F'' I
Redfern te given, the credit for having II 1 w f . ?J Igt .S XMi $f ; ?4 , 4 1
Now the cuirass has become a vital
part of the glory of the Fall and Winter
season, and a place crowded by a com
pany of women dressed in the mode
brings back a host of memories of his
tory's romances, tales of valorous deeds
performed by heroic women -who took
the place of men In the defence of their
hearthstones and their families.
It is a fashion to" be revelled n by the
woman o'f good figure, and is also to be
commended by those who are constantly
crying for simplicity of outline - in the
dress of the fair sex.
Nothing more severely plain, nothing
closer to the classical ideal of beauty
unadorned, could well be Imagined than
the plain unbroken front presented by
the cuirass.
In their suggestion of tbe warlike the
new styles should especially commend
themselves to the woman suffragists, for
with them It Is possible to be the style
and wear a fighting dress, too.
of cotillons, turns from the social whirl
long ' enough to deprecate woman's
slavery to the game" and to inform the
world he has it. from a young woman's
own lips a United States Army General's
daughter that she makes enough money
playing bridge to buy all her gowns and
other sartorial trappings. Mr. MacVeagh
diplomatically refrains from mentioning
the name of the girl, but he gives the
clew that she dresses richly. It is told
of another woman that she sold nearly
all the furniture in her home to get
money with which to play.
"I do not come In contact with these
cardplaylng women." said Mrs. Edward
L. Upton, president of the Chicago
Woman's Club, 'ibut from whaj I have
heard of them they must be in a fright
ful state mentally."
Rev. Z. B. Phillips, Episcopal minister,
deplores that all the time formerly given
over to charity work is now devoted by
the cardplayers to the diversion of their
game, the excitement of which seems
necessary to high-strung, nervous or
ganizations. Another minister remarked
with some sarcasm that the game had
not hurt church work because the play
ers never did anything for the church
anyhow. Meantime the lid is clamped
down harder and harder on the male
gamblers. The latest raid was "pulled
off" In a leading hotel. '
General Fred Dent Grant has made it
very clear that he does not care a rap
what certain liquor Interests or "personal
liberty" gentlemen think of his having
headed the abstinence parade in his full
Army uniform. In taking this attitude he
has acquired a personal poularity whlcn
he did not enjoy before In the same de
gree. All of which. Is another evidence
that the saloon interests are face to face
with a condition and not a theory In this
city.
"I would gladly give up my Army uni
form and make . great costly personal
II - - - ' 4; 1 - ml ill 'Wr"ik vi - . v - r-,,-
I - . , r r m i i i hm - .
I I
sacrifices if I could be Instrumental In
putting a stop to the liquor traffic."
said General Grant. "It is bad moraily
and bad economically. I am not a crank
or a fanatic on this subject nor am I
looking for public preferment. I am a
teetotaler,. It is true, but I am not de
voting my time to arguments for the
temperance cause. Sooner or later the
public conscience will attend to that.
Meantime I am on the abstinence side."
The -supreme effort of the abstinence
folk is to be made to rid the city of
saloons by vote next Spring. Petitions
are now in circulation for signatures ask
ing a popular verdict on the proposition.
Those in charge of the movement fear no
difficulty In getting the required number
of names. Looked at from the standpoint
of today It seems altogether unlikely that
Chicago will vote against license next
April, but the liquor element is prepared
for a surprise in the registering of the
sentiment of the people. Gypsy Smith !s
here carrying on one of the greatest re
ligious revivals of years. He Is counted
upon to help shape the popular mind
for voting against saloons. There arc
other strong influences at work some
of them purely economical In aspect
and if the anti-saloon forces should come
anywhere near winning a victory, Chica
go will be the first great battleground
preparatory to attacking the liquor
strongholds all over the country'.
Scandals Among Methodists.
After an exciting series of . sessions the
famous Rock River conference of the
Methodist Church has put its house in
order for another year. . In the cleaning
several of the ministerial brethren were
given indulgence and bidden to go their
ways and sin no more. Not in y.ears
have so many ' unsavory subjects been
dealt with. Some of the conference
members protested against what they
called an "omnibus policy of whitewash
ing," but for the good of the church, the
majority deemed It best to deal merci
fully with human fralllties. Thereby It
is hoped more than one scandalous
charge has been buried for all time.
Rev. John D. Leek, ex-pastor of the
Western Avenue M. K. Church, whose
name was linked with that of Mrs. Mary
A. Lavender, was permitted to resign the
ministry and his membership in the
church. Rev. Perley W. Powers, form
erly occupying the pulpit of the Oliver
street church,, was discharged honorably
from the conference, retaining his min
isterial capacity. He had caused the' ar
rest of Mrs. V. Boak-Fenner on a charge
of attempted extortion. Because of the
publicity growing out of the case, the
woman took her own life.
Rev. E. B. Crawford, who was charged
with violating a confidence reposed in
him by Mrs. Lavender in a church con
fession, escaped with name unscathed
when Mrs. Lavender withdrew her accu
sations of maladministration.
Rev. John E. Farmer, pastor of the
De Kalb church, who was charged with
making trips to Chicago with the lure of
a beautiful woman to coax him on, was
privileged to quit the ministry. Farmer's
wife and children left his home months
ago because they did not believe his con
duct comported with that of a Christian
minister and faithful husband and father.
The minister declared he was - black
mailed. X
Workmen Slain by Accident.
Chicago was startled by the assertion
of Ethelbert Stewart, special agent of the
Department of Commerce & Labor, that
during the year ending September 1,
600 deaths were caused by accidents in
the city's industrial plants. The fatali
ties, of course, include those of men em
ploved in factories and In the construc
tion of buildings. The published records
in the newspapers do not show such mor
tality, but it is a well-known fact that
a great many, if not a majority, of the
deaths by accident never reach the ears
of the public. Many of the victims are
quietly sent to their homes and. while
the accident becomes a matter of neigh
borhood knowledge, it is not generally
known. Claim agents effect a settle
ment with the - families, usually on a
small monetary basis., thus averting an
undeslred publicity In court.
Mr. Stewart's figures are being gath
ered as an argument in favor of an em
ployers' liability law which the next Con
gress probably will be asked to enact. If
the alleged Chicago proportion holds good
in other industrial centers, the death toll
throughout the states is confessedly en
ormous and larger than the public had
suspected. -
Freight Subway Does Not Pay.
Half a dozen years ago the Chicago
freight subway was heralded as one of
the commercial and transportation
wonders of the world and as a carrying
device which was destined to do away
with heavy teaming traffic in the down
town streets of Chicago. It is a bore 0
miles long duplicating every street In
the business district SO feet below the.
curb. Little freight trains operated by
electricity and carrying half a dozen
cars each are used. Competent engineers
said it had capacity to care for all the
freight of downtown Chicago now and for
years to come, including the transfer of
mail and merchandise from ri-epot to
depot. Some financiers believed it would
result in the making of many million
aires. For some reason not clear to the lay
man the subway lias not fulfilled the rosy
propheoies made for it. It never has
paid interest on the bond issue, to Pay
nothing of the stock. The shares, once
quoted as high as S5. have lately fallen
brlow 10. A iow-water mark of 6 was
reached the other day. Traffic is in
creasing steadily, but it never assumed
the fine proportions expected of it. At
the present growth it will be years before
dividends are paid on the shares. The
stock has been controlled for some time
by E. If. Harriman, now the H-irrinian
estate, and J. Ogden Armour. For sev
eral years these two capitalists have
gone down into their pockets to pay the
deficit on bond interest. Now that Mr.
Harriman Is dead, there Is much spec
ulation regarding the fate of the prop
erty. Receiverships and reorganizations
are bruitfd, hence the tumble in the
price of the stock.
What an agent for good the subway
might become to Chicago is' illustrated in
the destruction of the Sherman House.
Llterallv the veteran hotel is sinking by
chute out of1 sight of street pedestrians.
The debris Is shot- Into cars in the sub
way, carted to the lake front, there
loaded on scows, taken miles out into the
lake and dumped. The process does not
interfere in the slightest with surface
traffic. The salvage goes out through
the tunnels to other depositories and is
hauled away, occasioning a minimum of.
Inconvenience, to the public. If tho sanm
Idea were applied generally to freightage
In the business district, one of the most
perplexing problems with which Chicago
lias to deal would be simplified. But, t
repeat, for some reason the thing lias not
worked out In practice as beautifully as
it looked in theory, although the highest
officials of a dozen of the railroads are.
directors of the subway.
Building is not always tho true nv-a-suro
of general prosperity in a city like
Chicago. Construction goes on on a lai-pn
scale in the face of financial stringency
and hard times, but w iien the Increases
are as great as they have been In th
last nine months they are definite, clews
to a genuine revival of business and In
dustrial activity. Official records show
that permits have been taken out in Chi
cago in the last nine months for buildings
with a total frontage of 211.205 feet or l
miles, and an estimated cost of ?70.K"5.ii".
These figures compare with a cost of
l5,449,nt& for buildings for which permits
were issued during the con-c.ponding
months a year ago. For September alnne
ilie. figures grow from $5.147, nr) to JT.T-'".-500,
The total for the calendar year will
be close to I100.000.000, a sum which would
reproduce 50 of the biggest and finest
skyscrapers in the city and leave a nice
surplus in the treasury. With nearly
ftioo structures going up in a sinsle year,
the possibilities of deaths by mishaps of
one kind or arother begin to be under
stood. . '
Governor Dcneen will call the legisla
ture together in special session to try tor
the fourth tin e to have a primary elec
tion law enacted that will stick. In the
present-day perspective it looks as if lie
would have a hard row to hoe If he docs
not throw his influence just as slivnigly
in favor of permitting Illinois citie.s to
adopt tlie commission form of govern
ment, at which nearly a score of them
are willing to take a fling. He will en
counter still further trouble by not lend
ing his friendly offices in favor of legis
lation empowering Chicago to build &
subway for passenger service. The latter
two subjects appear good "log rolling"
or trading propositions for city and coun
try, which have been more or less at
swordf-' points ever since Chicago passed
the million mark In population.