PART TWO
SOCIETY SECTION
TheOmaha
Sunday Bee
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PART TWO
SOCIETY SECTION
VOL. XLIX NO. 26.
OMAHA; SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 14, 1919.
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One Omaha Debbie Takes
Issue With Grandma
On Immodest Gowns
A Ray of Light in the Gloom One May Now Be Both
Fat and Fashionable If You Are 25 and
Unmarried Cheer Up the Best
is Yet to Come. .
Br OABBY DETAYLS
TS THE unmarried woman, who !
I 25 yean old, out of the race,
A matrimonially apeaking? No, no,
in fact ahe it just getting up apeed,
to put it alangily. For many years
it has been customary to consider a
woman who had reached this age as
a cranky, crochety old maid which
she was not at all. But as a great
many customs, this one has gone
out, of atylt and several new ones
have com to fill its place.
Therefore, Gabby has taken It up
on herself to cheer a number of
Omaha maidens, whom she' knows
are past the fatal birthday and who
are yet unmarried. Yea, indeed there
are a number of them. Gabby, how
ever, believes in the old saying
that "while there is life there is
hope" and to prove ahe will tell of
the following:
One of the most, beautiful, ro
mances of real life was the marriage
cf Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett, the great English poets,
which took place when the bride was
43. Neither the supposed handicap
of years nor the real handicaps of
illness and a tyrannical father pre
vented this union, which began as
an elopement and remained as an
example of almost ideal happiness.
Another English woman of letters,
George Eliot, was married at 61 to
J. W. Cross, who is known to have
admired her profoundly, although
he was considerably younger.
One of the original founders of
the American Woman Suffrage as
sociation, Alice Stone, married
Henry B. Blackwell when she was
37. A graduate of Oberlin and for
years the editor' of the Woman's
Journal edited for this generation
by Ker daughter, Alice Stone Black
well the marriage of Lucy Stone
Blackwell was entirely successful de
spite the advanced age of the bride.
Another educator and worker for
the interests of women, Alice Free
man, -president of Wellesley' col
lege, became Alice Freeman Palmer
it the age of 32.
It was only a few months ago that
the love match of Princess Patricia
of Ccnnaught. cousin of King
George of England, was announced.
Called "the most courted princess in
Europe," Princess Patricia was not
afraid to send away suitor after
. suitor and to wait birthdays or no
birthdays until . at 32 she might
wed the man of her choice.
Mrs. Frances Bowes Sayre, for
merly Miss Jessie Wilson, second
daughter of the president, was 26
when she became a White House
bride.
One of our most deservedly popu
lar novelists. Mary E. Wilkins. was
40 when she became Mrs. Mary E.'
. Wilkins-Freeman. And Geraldine
Farrar when she wed that matinee
idol of the feminine heart, Lou
Tellegen he has been called "the
most rapturous kisser on the Amer
ican stage" confesseff on the ap
plication for the marriage license
that she was 33--a year older than
the bridegroom.
Doesn't it almost seem as if she
marries best who marries last?
THERE are some brand new
coiffures invading our midst.
x They have centered on only a
few of our ultra or advanced maid
ens but watch for them at the dinner
dances, the theater parties and some
are being tried out at bridge parties
where only the female of the specie
may criticise. ,
Beside the chic bobbed head the
contours for the winter are showing
- adaptation of the Grecian knot to
the modern coiffure.
With the bobbed hair we have a
covering of the ears, but the latest
tendency is to let at least the lower
tip of the ear lobe show below .
soft roll of waved tresses. This re
turn of the ear to view has already
made earrings, and especially ear
pendants, popular once more in east
ern cities, and the jewels for the
coiffure are now attached with a
pair of long-hanging, gem-set ear
pendants. -
The Spanish style headdress, one
that is famous through the art of
tfce painter as well as the dancer,
has entered the field, and the open
filigree of a highbacked comb now
makes the dividing line between a
smoothly brushed head and a large,
loose knot in many a fashionable
headdress for the evening.
DIMPLED knees may be heard
but not seen in high school
gymnasiums in the east The
authorities say so, and it is also de
clared that the roung women who
have found it quite nice to roll their
stockings down during exercises will
obey the edict, however reluctantly.
Some of the girls found it con
venient in their "gym" work to roll
their stockings to a point below the
knees to afford more freedom and
incidentally to save tearing expen
sive silk hosiery. The custom spread
to the various classes as soon as
the girls found it worked well
But now the authorities have
frowned upon the custom and the
knees have been covered. Some of
the girls have protested, saying that
what is right at the seashore ought
to be right in a high school build
ing. They say that on "gym" days
theV will have to wear cheap cotton
hosiery, for they cannot afford to
spend $2 a pair for silk ones and
have them go throuah every time
they bend their knet '
JUST a few evenings ago, one of
Omaha's prettiest "debbies"
donned her newest dancing
frock and tripped into Grandma's
room to receive due admiration.
"What in the world are we coming
to?" gasped the astonished grand
mother as she noted the sleeveless,
decollete gown.
"Indeed," said the granddaughter.
"Just remember your own gowns
which you wore to balls." And
thereupon, Miss 1919, to prove her
point, brought forth from its secure
hiding place Grandma's scrap book.
Yes, yes, how well the kindly old
lady remembered that violet bro
cade frock she wore the first time
she met grandfather. It was such
a beautiful thing, a charming hooped
affair, with yards and yards of skirt
but with no shoulder covering at
all. Not even so much as a beaded
strap was used and the neck was
cut ever so much lower than the
"bud" of today would dream of
wearing.
When the comparison was fin
ished, Grandma was forced to ad
mit that we are not "coming to but
coming from," and .being a fair and
a broadminded woman, she gave to
the girl of today all just praise.
Those who have been fretting
over our fashions should take out
the family album and soon they will
be convinced that the gown of the
present is quite modest when put be
side those of 1860. The modern eve
ning gowns are just right and the
fact that they may be made in any
style pleasing and becoming to mi
lady is another thing that is "just
right."
IT is easy to-be fat and still be
fashionable, at least Health
Commissioner Royal S. Copeland
of New York thinks so. Wear silk
hose, short, flimsy skirts, V-cut
waists, high heels, corsets, veils, and,
yes even paint with his consent,
if you like. If graveyards ySwn for
the wearers of the modern not-much-of-anythfng,
or if the insine
einporiumsi are overrun" with" de
vote of the high heel and tight
corset, Dr. Copeland knows nothing
about it. In fact, the whole solution
of the female apparel problem is ad
justment. If we wish, we may attire
ourselves as Eskimo or Fiji Island
ers with equal certainty of escaping
ill-health; by accustoming our bodies
to whatever we wear.
A few years ago we heard of the
danger of wearing high heeled shoes
the spinal column was to ' be
thrown out of proper alignment, se
rious nervous disorders were to fol
low, and even mental derangement
was to result from this o-called
serious attack against the nervous
system. In spite of high-heeled
shoes, however, the sanitariums for
nervous people and the insane asy
lums have received no unusual num
ber of patients. -. , .
Later, the face veil, especially the
veil with large spots on it, was con
demned as a factor in impaired eye
sight and even blindness, on the part
of the fair wearers. We continued
to wear veils, and no oculist will
contend for a moment that eye
troubles are now or were ever more
prominent in women than in men.
. Always, there have been those
who fought against the use of cos
metics and face powders, but no seri
ous harm has resulted from them.
When it comes to a question of
the use of hair dyes the doctor balks.
He admits that many such dyes con
tain harmful ingredients and their
use may result in injury to the en
tire system. However, such dele
terious effects perhaps are suffered
by men as well as by women, as the
use of hair dyes is not confined to
one sex.
Bless my soul I If the dear ladies
want to wear silk stockings and
high heeled shoes or aught else that
appeals to their feminine hearts, let
them indulge the desire and forbid
them not. There is, after all, same
thing wonderful about the powers of
the human body. Nature has
adapted the human animal to live in
every condition of civilization or
barbarism. Our powers of adapt
ability are unlimited. We can con
form to any environment, to pomp
and circumstance, and to any style
of dress or undress.
WOULD you like a bit of infor
mation about" the prince of
Wales, how he acted whom
he rushed, etc? Dolly Madison,
who writes the gossip for the New
York Evening Mail, says:
"What a gorgeous sight it was
a sight which will never be for
gotten by those fortunate enough
to have been present
"Dolly is raving about the won
derful ball given last evening by
the dowager Mrs. Reid at her
palatial brownstone mansion on
Madi son avenue, in honor of his
royal highness the prince of Wales.
"Not in the last balf-a-century
has metropolitan society attended
such an elaborate function. s
"Mrs. Reid, very simply gowned
and wearing but few jewels, .re
ceived the prince and the guests in
the sumptuous drawing room. Her
daughter, Lady Ward, assisted her.
Lady Ward was resplendent and her
diamond bandeau was a wonder to
behold.
"The prince and his suiteNarrived
about 10:35 o'clock, arfd he wore the
conventional evening attire. Lady
Ward introduced him to all of the
debutantes, and he very graciously
Heart Beats
By A. K.
Every great man
Must have a mother
Every great plan
Owes success to none other
Than Mother Idea.
Yet
Each time Idea
Gives birth to a Plan
Full of promise
Abounding with purpose -Good
citizens laugh
In their sneering way '
Jest and joke
At the foolish Mother
Who'd bear a child
Unlike their own
More advanced perhaps
Less understood.
But Mother Idea
la a. brave old soul
Determined and stubborn
And wise
While the public laughs
She nurtures her infants
Works on queer lines
Of development
One of her odd
And curious sona
la the Airplane
A marvel machine
That dips with the birds
Communes with the clouds
Holds all his critics
In awed amazement
One child she mothered
The wireless-Marconigram
Was irregular
Eccentric
Uncontrollable at times
And we Rubes all turned
Our small noses skyward.
Because we did not understand
Now that wizard
Wireless machine
Saves human lives
When ships are doomed ,
Its wild S. O. S.
Brings help in distress
And defeats
The treacherous ocean.
It has winged love messages
From trenches to homes
Sent comfort
To those in despair. .
Each new invention
Every accomplishment
Is-a.4utuxin2-xhili.
Of Mother Idea.
They who laugh last
Laugh loudest we know
And while we are cackling
And lagging away
Those grotesque offsprings
Are growing each day
And may leave us behind
In the race.
asked not a few of the happy young I
maiaens xo aance. ine tuture king
of England is evidently very fond
of dancing, and I rather imagine he
honestly enjoyed himself more last
evening at Mrs. Reid's ball than at
any other function arranged in his
honor thus far.
"He displayed none of the nerv
ousness which was so apparent at
the gala performance at the Metro
politan opera house on Tuesday
night, and he became quite chummy
with Flora Whitney, Mrs. Harry
Payne Whitney's daughter. Flora,
who is "pep" personified, seemed to
fascinate the young prince, as she
has fascinated so many of the New
York-Newport 'cligibles.'
"There is no disiiuiiiic the fact
that 'Hoi a ii the puts big 'success'
of the younger sets. Every one is
simply wild about her and her un
affected manner, and Mrs. Whitney
is to be congratulated on the sim
ple way in which she is raising her
children. But then. Mrs. Whitney
always was, and always will be, the
most democratic of all the Vander
bilts. "Supper was served throughout
the evening at small tables on the
second floor, and along the walls of
the grand stairway and the upper
halls were hung priceless tapestries
which Mrs. Reid has been years
collecting. .
"It was an early hour this. morn
ing before the last guest had de
parted from the Reid mansion and
last night's ball for tjie young prince
will go down in social history as
'the greatest event of this genera
QUEEN WILHELMINA of Hol
land is in a pickle. Her sub
jects in the East Indies want
her to make them a visit, are insist
ent upon it, in fact; but the queen
is afraid to go. Not because the
East Indies would do her any harm.
Heavens, no I They are too loyal
for that But the queen has noth
ing fit to wear, nor has she the prop
er kind of boat to make the voy
age in.
It should not be forgotten that
the ideas of the people of the East
Indies pn the. subject of royalty are
very different from those of the peo
ple i ius western, wory, Qa th.ii
side of the world a king or queen
is just an ordinary mortal, but royal
authority in the Indies ia bound up
with visions of vast wealth, splen
dor and pomp.
To go on a visit to her subjects
there, Queen Wilhelmina would
have to dress up in (ilka and satins
and jewels, and bring a herd of
white elephants with her. More
over, s"he would have to clothe all
her courtiers and ladies jn royal fin
ery, and, instead of bringing only
a few of these along with her, cus
tom would require that she be at
tended by at least 200.
And, outside of the question of
dress, how .would the queeo, make
the trip? . In an ordinary passenger
boat? Perish the thought In a bat-
Ueshipi but it ffiujt bj w
membered that the East Indians
have seen American and English
dreadnoughts and a Dutch battle
ship beside these would look like the
fabled piece of cheese and would
make, the East Indians ashamed of
their sovereign.
Considering these, and other
things, the queen, it is reported, has
about made up her mind to send het
regrets to the East Indians. Maybe
the old excuse, "press of business,"
will save the day.
So many girls' clubs have been de
pleted in membership almost out of
existence by matrimony, that the
Pennsylvania . League for Women
Workers has decided that marriage
of its members shall not bar them
k051 the organisation. w
Cripples Are
To Be Cured
In Omaha
Mrs. A. L. Reed is Working
With "dures for the
Curables" and the
Unfortunates.
((T OWN everything I ttn priv
I leged to use, whether the
title stands in my name or
not," says Edmund Vance Cooke,
speaker and writer. Under that in
terpretation, the public library is his
with its wealth of literature,' the
giant engines which puff their way
across the continent, the smooth
highways . bordered with stately
trees, art museums, street cars, om
nibuses and elevators, all are his,
so far as he cares to use them.
How wonderful it is to consider
these institutions and industries as
operating for us individually and
personally. In the light of imagina
tion, we see the wheels of factories
turning for the express purpose of
weaving the silk we shall wear to
our next bridge tea. We hear tho
buzzing of machinery as it whirls
and spins in its haste to provide a
gay flower for the spring bortnet.
Our hearts leap when w think of
the miles and miles of shining rails
laid just to carry us from Nebtaska'a
wintry chill to Florida's warmth and
sea. We are appalled at the dream
of mighty Niagara, rushing, boiling,
seething, in its mad desire to create
the power which shall provide Ltt us
a delectable breakfast dish
Marvelous things! Mighty age!
But greater than these, more potent
than black engines, more fascinat
ing than shelves and shelves of
books, more beautiful than pictures
in their gilded frames, or lofty ar
chitecture and chaste sculpture, is
man himself, created in the image
of God. A lithe, straight form, he
firm muscle, the bright eye and
glowing cheek 1 It is an inspiring
sight. But, alas, the form is not
always straight, the eyes not always
bright nor the cheek ruddy. There
are those who may be seen "lean
ing all awry," the weak, pale,, dis
heartened, the crippled in body. And
there are in this number of unfor
tunates many who could be restored
to physical perfection, if proper sur
gical skill- and medical attention
were given at the right time. hzU
wr; create highways aut "atlorn our'
cities? Yes. . But shall we, while
doing this, shrug our shoulders and
pass indifferently by when we see
a misshapen body? "
The Society for the Relief of the '
Disabled has answered. It says that
where braces, even though costly,
will straighten a curved spine, when
instruments, however delicate, will
strengthen a useless arm or length- "
en a shortened limb, or when cor-,
rective gymnastics will restore, to
his normal vigor the broken soldier
lad, that all these shall be forth
coming, at least so far as Omaha is
concerned. The rubies and dia
monds of a king could buy no more
than restoration to health, and the
opportunity to secure this boon will
be at the disposal of the poorest
man, woman or child in need of
'orthopedic attention.
All this, if the society, ee-operet-ing
with the Visitmg Nurse associa
tion, the University of Nebraska and ,
Creighton Medical departments,' as
well as the leading surgical experts
of Omaha, is able to bring its plans
to consummation. A most earnest
member of this organization which
sprang into being last September,
one who with a group of active
women is endeavoring to inaugurate
the work in this city, is the member
ship chairman, Mrs. A. L. Reed.
She knows of the work to be done
here and means to pursue it to a f
successful conclusion. Already one
remarkable cure has been effected
and it is anticipated that hundreds
if cases will be cared for in the
months to come.
Mrs. Reed is one of the gems that
sparkles in Omaha's crowa) of
charity, not the charity that makes
beggars, but the service which en
ables people to retain their inde
pendence, help themselves, nd be
come worthy members of society.
She has unselfish interest in many
causes, including especially the Child
Saving institute. The duties of a
membership chairman are arduous
and responsible. There is a feeling
of security among those interested
in the Society for the Relief of the
Disabled, that Mrs. Reed is at the
membership helm.
The day of miracles has not
passed.. Medical and surgical wiz
ards perform new ones continually.
Omaha is about to witness triumphs
in this field and all because there
is a society here which has seen a
vision. Blessed are we that they
have, for "where there is no vision,
the people perish." .
Famous Women
Saint Cecilia.
The lovely creature who looks at
us from the canvas of Raphael, the
chef d'oeuvre of the Bologna gal
leries, gives us an infinite horizon.
The young saint, the patron of mu
sic, is casting down her musical in
struments of earth to listen to the
heavenly choirs. Cecilia was a Ro
man lady of noble birth and lived in
the third century. Those were the,
days of red-blooded moments, of
stout faith, of abandonment to love
Divine, days of the martyrs! In the
Sixth Persecution under Maximinus,
Cecilia was left to expire gradually,
being but half decapitated. Her
love for music had brought down an
angel from heaven to listen to her .
lute. Poets have taken ber for their
themj; Drydjn, Pope, Addison,
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