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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1913)
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page Copyright. 1913. by th Star Company. Ore it Urltaln Rights Reserved. Abolished VP Why BR! An Answer to Edna Good rich's Now Famous Article on "Why Blondes Ought to Be Abolished " by Billie Burke, One of the Prettiest American Blondes By Billie Burke WHEN, recently, Misa Edna Goodrich, a very handsome brunette, Bald to this news paper that the blonde must go and gave her reasons for the banishing of the falr-halred -woman, I would have been overwhelmed if I had accepted the reasons, but I did not. Undoubtedly the superattractlve Miss Goodrich believed those reasons, for she seemed to have written from a profound conviction. But quite as profound is my conviction that all the scientists with whom she bulwarked her beliefs were mistaken. Perhaps every one of them had been Jilted, for good and sufficient reasons, by a blonde. Miss Goodrich's reasons may bo good if one grants her premises that the blonde is a disturbing element in the modern world. But who will ad mit that who knows how much of progress and stability the falr-halred Anglo-Saxon has given to the world? Ho moved down from the north, over flowed Europe, awoko it from its ages of long slumber and civilized It He spurred it to progress. He stimu lated it to endeavor. He roused it from a sleep that would have been the death of a world. What was truo of the early history of Europe is as true to-day. The In dividual brunette Is, as are the brunette nations, lazy. Her masses of dark hair are, as a rule, the sign of indolence. The dark-haired, dark skinned person Is as disinclined to effort as the dark-eyed, dark-skinned races. The reason? I will glvo you the reason, and it is, like those ad vanced by my beautiful opponent, scientific. The brunetto is liverish. Her liver is too largo and too lazy to do well its work. Its sluggishness colors tho character of its unfortunnto ownor as It muddles her skin. She Is quiet, heavy, inclined to melancholia. Watch the blondes and brunettes as they pass you on their way to tho shops and the theatres or on their way to their work. The blonde trips on her way. Tho brunetto drags. The blonde holds her head high. Tho brunette bends hers in pensive atti tude. The brunette is grave, tho blonde gay. The brunette is heavy hearted, the blonde light. Tho weight of the heart corresponds to that of tho liver. The carriage of the blonde Is as light and springing as a fawn's. Tho brunette's movements hold something reptilian in them. In a word, tho blonde is alert and active. Tho brunette is dreamy and slothful. If tho world's progress were left to tho brunette there would not be any progress. All of tho world's brilliant history would spell Itself backward. The blonde Is candid. The brunetto Is secretive. A brunette Inspired the saying regarding the depth of still waters and what personage therein resides. I do not wish to bo too hard on tho brunette. One trait of hers lends her lustre for some minds. She "stays put." Leavo her by tho hearthslde and she will stay there, submitting to all, Improving nothing. If domestic evolution had depended upon her for its ngent we would still be cavo women, wooed with a club, and beaten whenover hunting was bad and our gorllla-llko lords re quired exercise. The blonde does not sit still. Action Is her watchword. I'll wager that the first woman to leave her worthless husband and fare forth to build a new life for her self was a blonde. Brunettes aro 'born conservatives. They preserve fruits nnd can cus toms. But every one who thinks at all knows that preserved fruits will, in time, grow moldy, and that cus toms that too long obtain bocomo out worn and useless. Movement Is life. Inaction Is death. So, though Miss Goodrich quoted some musty, fusty old professor to prove that blondes die earlier than brunettes, at least our work lives on. What is the work of blondes? Or ganization, In the household and out of It. Who are tho best housekeep ers In a community? Blondes. Who are at the head of the charitable or ganizations and otherwise valuablo clubs? Blondes. To use a horse man's term, who are tho lead horses In tho human teams? Blondes. Who are tie followers, the wheel horses? Brunettes. Who are the society loaders of your town? Don't sneer at the term. It requires a facile brain and a gracious personality, a quickness of perception to be a society leader, and these qualities are comprised, in the blonde. Instead of the blonde going, let me suggest, no, I will most emphatically state, that tho brunette must go, Is going. For nature and progress iuu wtau -x.. D I. Glad. Tell. Why Sh abhor an obstructionist as nature abhors a vacuum. Nature has its own pitiless way of sweeping the ob struction before it. In the tidal wave of progress the brunette will bo swept away or will save herself by changing her coloring nnd her character. The brunette boasts of her brown eyes and asserts that they spell fidelity. Yes? I have heard, you have all heard, brown eyes described as the eyes of sentiment. Yet Cath erine do Medici, who was said to have ordered the massacre of St. Bartholo mew, had brown eyes. So had the poisoning Borgins. Martin Thorn, who slow her lover, Guldensuppo, said he did so under the spell of Mrs. Nack's brown eyes, and those same eyes admittedly watched and directed tho dismembering of her former lover's corpse In tho lonely Long Island cot tage. In the end, I believe, Mrs. Nack did not stand by. At any rate, Martin Thorn was executed, and she, having served a short term, Is at large. Mme. Stelnhell, tho mysterious al leged murderess of her husband and mother-in-law, was a brunetto; so deeply brunetto that at her trial sh was alluded to as "Tho Black Panthot of France." Tho wicked Marqulese do Brlnvllllors, executed for hor sins, vas a brunette. Mrs. Suratt, charged as a con spirator at tho death of President Lincoln, was a brunette. Martha Place, who slew her stepdaughter be cause sho was Jealous of her hus band's affection for the daughter of his first wlfo, was a brunette. The brunette says hor dark eyes duplicate tho fidelity that is mirrored forth in the eyes of a dog. I llko Lucretla Borgia, One of tho Infamous Family of Poisoners, a Brunetto. dogs as well as any ono should. I keep four of thorn, and am In good standing with them. But knowing dogs I know tKht their faithfulness la unreasoning and not always com mendable. I shouldn't want to lovo ns a dog loves. It Isn't the highest nor most complimentary affection. Tho brunetto loves a man afi ho Is. Tho blondo tries to make him worthy of her lovo. Which Is tho worthier affection? Evory woman should bo tho inspiration of tho man who loves her. Tho woman who Is satlstlcd with him as ho Is, who regards him as a demigod, is a brake upon his efforts. I havo road that women aro of two classes tho Bword woman, who leads a man up tho height waving tho shining sword of progress boforo him, and tho cushion woman, who repre sents to him perpetual rest. Oho Is tho spirit of progress, tho other tho spirit of retrogression. Need I say that the blondo is tho woman of tho sword7 Tho brunetto says her af fections aro truer and stronger than those of a blondo. I roply that It is not well for a man to bo loved too much. Ho requires tho uncertainty of affection to spur him on to worthi ness. Men do not want to bo loved much, but sanely, and blondes are, above nil, sane. I do not caro what that nearsighted old chap with his noso betweon book covers Bald, that tho blondo's brain is smaller than that of a brunette. I retaliate with tho assertion that lb isn't tho slzo of tho raln, but tho texturo that aiguilles. There aro records at tho Academy of Medicine in New York of Imbeciles who hod bralnB larger than Napoleon's. To placo n further thorn in tho self-esteem of the brunette let mo remind her that men prefer blondes. Else, why aro so many brunottes try ing to becomo blondes? I refer you to any hairdresser In any city. Pcroxldo is for salo in overy hamlet, but no woman dyes hor hair black, except tho woman whoso hair has bo como gray. That tho blondo Is moro beautiful than tho brunette tho number of paintings of blondes testifies. Paint ers prefer to paint pictures of blondes, and tho public prefer to look at them. Catherine do Medici, Ono of Uie Cruelost Women of History, Who Was a Pronounced Brunette. Madonnas nnd angels are almost al ways painted with suushlno colored, hair. A last argument for tho perpetuity of tho blonde, ono that should ralso tho discouraged head of every Monde that has been bowed by Miss Good rich's nearly overwhelming argument I got It from tho census man. Ho says that thcro aro no blondo old maids, whllo thcro aro many brunettes unclaimed In matrimony. Tho gray halred ones, ho finds, onco had dark tresses. Let this oncourago us. For Blnce we marry and reproduce our kinds tho dreaded extinction of tho blondo will not tako place. These letters wore called forth hyj tho article on "Why tho Blonde Should Bo Abolished." iDcnr Sir Tho blondo should be abolished? Indeed! Then why; doesn't Miss Edna Goodrich havo ua nil lined up and shot? Yours, A BLONDE (Natural)-. . Dear Sir Tho article, "Why thrf Blondo Should Be Abolished," Is so Interesting that I shall refer to it inj my lecture on "Character" at the Harlem Young Mon's Christian As sociation. B. 0. A. Doar Sir Tho most beautiful women on earth nro blondes, and the writer of tho nrtlclo in the Sunday American of Mny 25 must Indeed have n horrible disposition to bo so Jealous. Brunettes, in their hearts of hearts, know that fair hair is tho crown of beauty. Otherwiso why do they lmltato them by bleaching their hair? R. M. Hor Mother's Daughter. "You must not talk all the time, Ethel." said the mother who had been Interrupted. When will I be old enough to, mamma?" asked the little girt Crushing! Lady (with very bis hat) I beg your pardon, but I forgot my opera Rlass. Would you kindly lend me yours Jiut a moment? Tyrant Man (In a seat behind) -Very sorry, madam, but I need It to sit on. Why Men Get New Minds During Revolutions. By 6ustave Le Bon , ,A--fHE Psychology of Revolution" (G. P. I Putnam's Sons, Now York), is a most lntorestlng and suggestive work by Gustave Lo Bon, the author of "Tho Crowd: a Study of tho Popular Mind." Tho result of the psychologist's study of revolutions is very hostile to them. He finds that they are essentially irrational and a hin drance to rational progress, which must bo gradual and orderly. His observations aro based chiefly on the French Revolution, but they apply In various degrees to all otherB. Especially Interesting is his explanation of the strange and often incomprehensible be havior of people during revolutions. We find revolutionary crowds behaving with amazing cruelty and violence, and yet we know that they aro composed in the main of ordinarily good-natured people. The explanation Is that people acquire new minds during revolutionary disturbances. A man's normal mentality Is composed of those parts of his mental machinery which are called Into nse by his normal existence, but since all the conditions of Ufo are changed by a revolu tion, a new and unknown set of mental qualities Is brought Into operation. Fear, hatred, ter ror, greed and ambition come to tho surface, and the better qualities of the man are smothered. Every individual possesses, besides his ha bitual mentality which, when the ' environ ment does not alter, is almost constant vari ous possibilities of character which may bo evoked by passing events. The people who surround us are the crea tures of certain circumstances, but not of all circumstances. Our ego .consists of the asso ciation of Innumerable cellular egos, the resi dues of ancestral personalities. By their com bination they form an equilibrium which is fairly permanent when tho social environment does not vary. As soon aB this environment is considerably modified, as in time of Insur rection, this equilibrium is broken, and tho dissociated elements constitute, by a fresh aggregation, a new personality, which 1b mani fested by Ideas, feelings and actions very different from those formerly observed by the same Individual. Thus it is that during the Torror wo see honest bourgeois and peaceful magistrates who were noted for their kindness turned into bloodthirsty fauatlcB. Under tho Influence of environment the old personality may therefore glvo place to ono entirely new. For this reason the actors In great religious and political crises often seem of a different essence to ourselves J, yet they do not differ from us; tho repetition of the Bamo events would bring back the same men. Cruelty, for example, was displayed by tho French revolutionists in a most surprising manner, for Frenchmen at ordinary times are less cruel than Anglo-Saxons. During the massacres of September in Paris the prisoners were slowly chopped to bits by sabre-cuts in order to prolong their agonies and amuse the spectators, who experienced the greatest de light before tho spectacle of the convulsions of the victims and their shrieks' of agony. Similar scenes were observed all over 'France, even Id the early days of the Revolu tion, although the foreign war did not excuso them then, nor any other pretext, The revolutionary monster has always been easily dominated so soon as a strong power has opposed it If its violence is unlimited,' 60 Is Its servility. All the despotisms have bad It for their servant. The Caesars are cer tain of being acclaimed by it, whether they aro named Caligula, Nero, Marat, Robespierre or Boulanger. The hatred of persons, Institutions and things which animated the. men of the Revolution is one of thefca aifociivo nrjioni i wHnhaw ,tha more striking the moro one studies their psy chology. They detested not only their ene mies but the members of their own party. "If one were to accept unreservedly," said a recent writer, "tho Judgments which thoy ex pressed of one another, we should have to conclude that they were all traitors and boast ers, all Ipcapablo and corrupt all assassins or tyrants." We know with what hatred, scarcely appeased by tho death of their enemies, men persecuted tho Girondists, Dantonlsts, Hebor tUts, Robesplerrlsts, etc. One of the chief causes of this feeling re sided in the fact that these furious sectaries, being apostles, In possession of the absolute verity, were unable, like all believers, to toler ate the sight of Infidels. A mystio or senti mental certitude is always accompanied by tho need of forcing lt&elf on others, Is nover con vinced, and does not shrink from wholesale slaughter when It has tho power to commit it "If the hatreds that divided the men of the Revolution had been of rational origin they would not have lasted long, but, arising from affective and mystic factors, men could nelthor forget nor forgive," says M. Le Bon, "their sources being identical In the dlffoernt parties." Fear, according to M, Le Bon, plays almost as large a part in revolutions aa hatred. Dur ins tho French Revolution there wore many examples of (treat individual courage and many exhibitions of collective cowardice. Facing the scaffold, the men of the Conven tion were alwavs brave in the extreme; but before the threats of the rioters who invaded the Assembly thev constantly exhibited an ex cesslve pusillanimity, obeving the most absurd injunctions, as wo shall see If we re-read the history of the revolutionary assemblies. All the forms of fear were observed at this period. One of tho most widespread was the xcac at snoearlrut moderate. Members of tho assemblies, public prosecutors, representatives "on mission-" Judges of the revolutionary tri bunals, etc., all sought to appear more ad vanced than their rivals. Fear was ono of the principal elements of tho crlnios committed at this poriod. If bv some- mlraclo It could have been eliminated from the revolutionary as semblies, their conduct would havo beon quite othor than It was, and tho Revolution itself would havo taken a very different direction. In normal times the Influence of various affective elements, such as ambttlon and envy, Is forcibly contained by social necessities. Am bition, for Instance, Is necessarily limited in a hierarchical form of society. Although the sol dier does sometimes becomo a general, It Is only after a long term of service. In time of revolution, on tho other hand, there Is no need to wait Every ono may reach the upper ranks almost Immediately, so that all ambi tions are violently aroused. The humblest man believes himself fitted for tho highest employ- ments, and by this very fact his vanity grows out of all measure. All the passions being more or less aroused, including ambition and vanity, we see the de velopment of Jealousy and envy of those who have succeeded more quickly than others. Tho effect of Jealousy, always Important In times of revolution, was especially so during the groat French Revolution. Jealousy of the nobility constituted one of Us most important factors. The middle classes had Increased In canacttv and wealth to the notnt of surpass ing the nobility. Although thoy mingled with the nobles more and more- thov felt none tho less, that they were held at a distance, and this they keenly resented. This frame of mind had unconsciously made tho bourgeoisie keen sup porters of tho philosophic doctrine of equality. Most entertaining Is M. Le Bon's contention tiua a typical revolutionist Is really a mystic. llko tho loader of a new fanatical faith, and not a roasonor. Tho chief characteristic of the mystio tem perament consists in the attribution of a mysterious powor to superior beings of forces, which aro Incarnated in the form of idols, fotichos, words or formulae. Tho mystio spirit is at the bottom of all re ligious and most political beliefs. Theso latter would often vanish could we deprive them of the mystic elements which are their chief support Graftod on the sentiments and passionate impulses which It directs, mystic logic consti tutes the might of the great popular move ments. Men who would be by no means ready to allow themselves to be killed for tho best of reasons will readily sacrifice their lives to a mystio idea which, has become an object of adoration. Tho principles of the Revolution speedily Inspired a wave of myBtio enthusiasm analo gous to those provoked by the various re ligious boliofs which had preceded It All they did was to chango tho orientation of a mental ancestry which tho centuries had solidified. So there Is nothing astonishing in tho sav age zeal of tho men of the Convention. Tho principal horoos of the Terror Couthon, Saint Just, Robespierre, etc, were apostles. Like Polyeuctos, destroying the altars of the false gods to propagate his faith, they dreamed of converting tho globo. Tholr enthusiasm spilled itBelf over tho earth. Persuaded that their magnificent forraulao were sufficient to over turn thrones, they did not hesitate to declare war upon kings. And as a strong faith la al ways superior to a doubtful faith, thoy victori ously faced all Europe. The mystio spirit of the leaders of the Revo lution was betrayed in the least details ot their public life. Robespierre, convinced that be was supported by tho Almighty, assured his hearers in a speech that the Supreme Being had "decreed tho Republic since the be ginning ot time." In his duality nt High Pontiff of a State religion he made the Con vention vote a decree declaring that "the French People recognizes tho existence ot tho Supremo Being and the immortality of the soul.' At the festival of thU Supreme Being, Boated on a kind of a throne, he preached a lengthy sonnon. i