The Sunday Oregonian., September 12, 1920, Magazine Section, Page 2, Image 80

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 12, 1920
SfLOW
(Tickled )
I Shocked j
fke
tment
c
BY ETHEL. THURSTON. i
THREE dainty, sparkling: young
women walked Into the office of
Special Assistant Attorney-General
Howard E. Figg in the depart
ment of Justice building-, Washington,
D. C, on a recent busy afternoon and
said:
'How d'ye do?"
Everybody gasped.
"Perfectly stunning!" observed one
or two of the men present.
"Terrible:" exclaimed Mr. Flgg.
The reader, naturally, will want to
know what it was all about and why
the sudden appearance of three
obviously charming young visitors
bhould evoke such conflicting expres
sions of opinion among the ordinarily
Signified officials and employes of
the department of Justice.
The photographs reproduced on this
page will help to explain, although
they are mere incidents In the un
folding of a quite interesting story
which involves the proper length of
a woman's skirt, government regula
tions fixing the prices of dress goods
and the efforts of the attorney-general's
department to cut down the ex
isting elevated expenslveness of ex
istence. Some time ago the couturiers of the
United States the fashion designers,
in other words who established the
styles, held a meeting at which it
was decided that skirts were too
short. They agreed that the 12-inch
skirt which became so popular dur
ing the summer months was hardly
the proper thing for autumn wear. So
they unanimously lengthened the skirt
by two Inches, making it a 10-inch
skirt, or, in other words, a garment
which stopped 10 inches above the
ground line.
Saving a Dollar an Inch,
Just about the same time certain
experts and government officials asso
ciatedwith the office of the attorney
general at Washington were trying to
think up ways and means of conserv
ing dress goods whereby to force a
reduction in the wholesale and retail
prices.
Assistant Attorney - General Figg
was one of the men who had it all
figured out that if the demand for
dress goods was cut down the prices
would have to be cut down according
ly. And when he heard that the
length of the new fall skirts was to
be increased by two Inches of ma
terial all round, he concluded that the
price of dress and skirt goods was due
for another upward bound.
So he got busy. Statistics were com
piled by several expert mathemati
cians, who have nothing whatever in
common with style creators, to show
that, longer skirts were going to re
quire more money and more material
to make. The figures showed that
every Inch added to the length of a
skirt would take a dollar from the
pocket of some poor innocent voter.
The dollar-an-inch slogan appealed
especially to Mr. Figg. The fewer
Inches of skirt the more dollars there
would be to save. ' Indeed, it might
be possible that by shortening the
skirt somewhat and thus encouraging
the conservation of dress goods.
great many dollars could be saved and
prices would come tumbling down.
The next thing to do was to get In
touch with the creators of American
la&hions and ask them to amend the
new styles for fall so that skirts
would be shortened, if anything," in
ttead of being lengthened.
John W. Hahn, secretary of the Na
tional Garment Retailers' association
was among the first to realize that
rmethiner had to be done. And it
had to be done quickly, because de
Kicrners were going ahead with the
new 10-inch skirt styles for fall and
there would be an awful mixup in the
retail trade if the designers, after
saying that skirts were to be cut
a certain length were to change their
minds several weeks later, when a
great deal of the cutting had been
done, and say that they had decided,
on second thought, to establish a
totally different length for the new
ekirts.
Those "Terrible" 18-Inch Skirts.
Among the fashion creators with
whom Mr. Hahn is associated in the
business of making clothes are Mme.
"Personally, They Are Won
derful; but, Officially, They
Are Terrible!" Exclaimed
Attorney -General Figg Aft
er the Dress Parade Special
ly Provided for Government
Officials Who Proposed to
Cut Down Dress Goods
Prices by Cutting the New
Skirts Higher.
41
ifS
J"
tat MJt&g
I t'!s. aMMrt s .. I f
Frances, Luclle, Stein & Blaine, Joseph, land decided that the best way to con
vince the department of Justice offi
cials that skirts should be longer, not
shorter, would be through an actual
demonstration.
It was admitted by the fashion cre
ators that the United States govern-
A. ,
. 5
ft
H-IQr1
Hickson, Bendel, Harry Collins, Thurn,
Hollander, Grean, Wortzman. Nardi,
Milgrim and several others whose
names are equally famous among
American couturiers.
They met to consider the problem
ment had never gained any recogni
tion as a style authority, even if it
was an authority on every other sub
ject. If Mr. Figg and some of his col
leagues in the attorney-general's of
fice could' be made to see for them
selves that If more material was re-
quired for some of the abbreviated
skirts than will be needed for the new
lengthened skirts, no further argu
ment would be needed to establish the
couturiers' point.
So an actual demonstration was ar
ranged for and it took place In Mr.
Flgg"s office. The models were pur
posely dressed in 18-inch skirts In
order to show how dreadful the short
ened skirt really would be and in
order, also, to show how such a skirt
would tend to Increase, instead of de
crease, the high price of dress goods,
to say nothing about creating havoc
with the styles for fall.
"We started -to show Uncle Sam's
legal department how styles should
be," relates Heber McDonald of the
Retailer Millinery Association- of
America, who had been intrusted with
the arrangements for the demonstra
tion, "but in the end the legal de
partment showed us. Mr. Figg and
Home of the others were slightly agi
tated when the exhibits were ushered
into the department of justice offices.
The skirts were short, we admit, but
It was generally agreed that they
were pleasnig rather than otherwise.
" 'Personally," Mr. Figg confided to
me, I think they are wonderful, but
officialy they are terrible.'"
It was decided, though, that the
new 10-inch skirt was not going to
increase the cost of living, but-would
rather tend to decrease it and that
as far as the amount of material was
concerned, the 10-inch skirt actually
required less than the shorter variety.
Expert Investigators for the gar
ment creators have "been doing some
very complicated figuring since then
and have estimated that the longer,
or 10-inch, skirt, is giong to cost Just
about 50 cents more than a skirt cut
two inches higher.
And designers in general have de
cided that Mr. Figg did quite the
proper thing when he ceased to dif
fer with the fashion creators In the
matter of regulating the length of
the new fall skirts.
"I am glad," one designer declared
when it was all over and the style
creators had won their point, "that
the department of justice cannot hope
to figure as a court of last resort in
the .matter of American fashions.
There are some things which the
government can dictate admirably,
but I fear that women's styles must
be omitted."
Couturiers declare that many wom
en never could wear the short skirt
which Mr. Figg at first thought
might aid in solving the problem of
the high cost of material. They ac
cented this by pointing out the very
tall women and the women with wide
hips for whom such a garment would
be impossible.
It may be interesting to note that
following the short skirt parade in
Washington, Mr. Figg attended the
fall fashion fete of the garment asso
ciation held gi New York city, as a
special guest of the skirt manufac
turers. There he had an opportunity
to study all the new styles in hats,
cloaks, coats, furs and skirts. The
display of the 10-inch skirt models
called for no adverse criticism on the
part of the representative from the
department of Justice.
And there the matter rests.
Fashion Note. The fall skirts will
be known as "10-inch skirts." The
hem will reach to within 10 inches
from the ground line. The 10-inch
skirt will require less material in the
making than was needed for many of
the shorter summer models. There is
a tendency toward a lowering of
prices for dress goods.
PARIS APACHES ARE AGAIN ON WARPATH;
CAPITAL CITY ON CREST OF CRIME WAVE
Notorious Gunmen After Fighting Shoulder-to-Shoulder With Highly Respected Citizens During "War
Return to Life of Thuggery.
fiction. The world Is ralrly well ac
quainted with the facts concerning
Landrau, the notorious "French Blue
beard." His nefarious crimes were
committed In his palatial home the
THOSE lurking gallants of the
Paris Btreets, known throughout
the ' civilized world as the
Apaches, after being practically im
molated during the years of strife, are
once more coming to the fore, much 1 Villa Gambrais. There, it is claimed
to the discomfiture of the citizens of. he murdered 12 wives and sweethearts
the capital of France. A menace to , and incinerated their bodies. He was
law and order before the outbreak of t apprehended and an investigation be
gun by the Paris police. Persons
living in the vicinity of the Villa
Gambais had become accustomed to
seeing dignitaries of the law come and
leave the villa following the arrest of
the "Bluebeard." " .
Due to this fact they took no more
than passing interest in. a large tour
ing car which drove up to the en
trance of the villa several weeks ago.
From the tonneau stepped a quartet
of .men in high hats and frock coats.
They entered the house. "Les gen
darmes encore,'! murmured some of
the neighbors who saw them. Within
a short space of time the men came
out of the Villa Gambais loaded down
with different articles -which they
placed in the tonneau of their auto
mobile. A heavy truck then drew upbehlnd
the car and under the direction of one
of the men in the high hats and frock
coats two of the truckmen started to
haul various articles of luxurious fur
niture from the villa to the truck,
hostilities in Europe, they are now
even more of a menace to life and
property and, their depredations re
newed, these children of the dimly
lighted streets of the slum sections
have started a "wave of crime" such
that Paris and even the provincial
departments, for the wave has ex
tended throughout France, has found
almost impossible to cope with.
AVhat the "gunmen" are to New
1 York, the "larrikins" to the cities of
Australia and the "hooligans" to Lon
don, so are the Apaches to Paris. And
when the'y' go on the warpath they
work with a skill and a smoothness
and show the same aptitude at taking
to cover as their illustrious forerun
ners of the great American plains did
the Indian tribe of the same name.
Feats Outrival Fiction.
Recently Paris has been startled by
a bold series of. strokes which have
been executed by these "bad men" of
the city streets. They rival in fancy
1 with scenes depleted by a writer of
upon which they leeurely proceeded
to load it. Those persons who wit
nessed their actions thought nothing
was wrong, except that the police had
come .to gather additional evidence
against Landrail. The work finished
and the truck loaded, the two vehicles
proceeded down the crooked street,
turned a corner and were lost to
sight.
Women' Accomplished Aidca.
'Then the real police came and dis
covered that, they had one more
mark against notorious Apaches. A
short while following this incident in
a series of crimes the police arrested
four women and three men who had
been raiding hotels along -the Medi
terranean coasfT. This catch, it is be
lieved, will go a great way towards
ridding Paris of much of the crime
which has run ramjfant through that
city since the signing of the armis
tice. In the possession of the seven
were found passports and identifica
tion cards bearing photographs of
different members of this particular
game. There were also false military
certificates and letters of recommen
dation from German personages,
which latter were proved by the po
lice to have been forged. One of the
women usually posed as a descendant
of Louis XVI, and is this way won
the sympathy of the victlms-to-be
of the band.
Women work with the Apaches of
France to a greater extent than they
do with similar outlaw bands in other
countries. These women in a way
are what the destroyers are to a fleet
of light, speedy scouts In naval war
fare. They skirmish about to ferret
out their victims and then lure them
on where the heavier vessels go on
with the real work In hand. (
The way of" Paris crookdom are
devious and versatile in the extreme.
One of their most favorite methods
of relieving a person of his posses
sions is one that is probably not In
vogue in any other country.
The prey in such cases, having been
spotted by a female member of the
band, is waylaid as he reaches a
dimly lighted section of one of the
city's twisting narrow and deserted
side streets or in the suburban parts.
Usually two men operate with the
woman. One of the' men is armed
with a strong cord, or something
equally pliant. He hides in the
shadow of a tree or building and
awaits the prospective victim some
portly bourgeois homeward bound
after dark. As the victim Is about
to pass, the man in hiding suddenly
steals out behind him and flings the
cord about his neck. He then turns
his back on the victim and jerks the
cord. Back to back he then pulls the
cord and hoists the unfortunate in the
air, where he is held, the tautness of
the cord causing him to choke and
gasp. The second crook then ap
proaches, frisks the pockets of the
victim and hands the spoils to the
waiting female. The latter moves
slowly away, taking a roundabout
route to the point at which a divi
sion of the "swag" Is to be made,
while the men remain long enough
to make certain that their prey will
not too rapidly recover and give the
alarm.
In the slang -of '-the Paris under
world, this stunt is known as "Le
coup de Per9 Francttls." The coup
literally, translated blow Is clever
as well as cruel. .'However, it is only
one of the methods used by the
Apaches, and Is only called into use
when simpler methods might not
prove effective. It was a well
known trick of the Apache before
the war, and has been revived with
many another method of robbery In
the period succeeding the armistice,
the period which has seen what is
Vaguely described as a "wave of
crime."
The daring feats of the Apaches
since the conclusion of hostilities is
of greater interest to Americans
than were similar feats before the
war, due to the fact that there are
many Americans said to be operating
with them.
California's "Forty-Nine"
Mines Still Hold Gold.
Pioneers. Engineer Say. Took Pay
IMrt From Shallow Pockets.
Conditions iu Irkutsk Ghastly.
TOKIO. The Kokusai News Agency
in a dispatch from Harbin quotes a
former officer of the Kolchak gov
ernment, who escaped from Irkutsk,
as saying, that the conditions there
were "ghastly." The bolsheviki, he
said, seize the greater part of what
little food is available. The rem
nants of the "intellegencia" live in
constant terror of persecution.
357,143 Unemployed In Berlin.
BERLIN. The number of unem
ployed in Berlin on July 15 was 357,
143 as against 320,126 on July 1, ac
cording to official statistics.
POKTERVILLE, Cal., Sept. 4. Many
old California gold mines, which
produced millions for the "forty nin
ers" and the men who followed their
trails still are able to produce mill
ions more, according to mining en
gineers of this section of California.
The pioneers, the engineers say, in
most instances, took gold from the
shallow pockets or surface veins
of high grade metal, leaving millions
of dollars of gold ore under the old
workings.
Engineers point to Calaveras coun- '
ty to prove their point. W. J. Loring,
they say, after inspecting several
of the old diggings there, opened
up one old mine and found rich ore
in the lower depths. During the last
twelve months this old mine, it is
said, produced over $1,000,000. Anoth
er instance was the opening of the
old Kelly-Rand silver mine at Rands
burg. According to reports here, it
has produced net earnings of over
$1,000,000 during the last fourteen
months.
Following the announcement that
some of the old Calavera mines
are again producing, came word of
a rich strike in some of the old
shafts in the famous Blue Moun
tain district ,of Kern and Tulare
counties. Engineers say one old Blue
Mountain mine has produced ore
assaying as high as $8000 per ton.
This ore was in a pocket, but se
lected samples taken at various places
in the diggings are running from
$800 to $2000 per ton.
As a result of the finds, the old
Vulture, Dreadnough and Grizzly
mines of the Blue Mountain coun
try again are' being; operated.