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| Drawing of Amelia Bloomer wearing "bloomers." |
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| Amelia Bloomer. |
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| Elizabeth Smith Miller. |
ABOUT BLOOMERS.
To the Editor of the Standard:
SIR:—I have noticed with much pleasure that
you have allowed to be published in your paper many interesting articles on the
"Woman Question" which is being everywhere so fully discussed, and in
the issue of Sept 23, a short sketch of Amelia Bloomer as the deviser or
inventor of the bloomer costume.
I think it may be interesting to give a true
history of this costume, as well as the real originator of it, as it is now
being so generally revived and agitated. Therefore I quote from the History of
Woman Suffrage, Vol. I, page 127, an extract from the 4th national convention
of equal suffrage held at Cleveland, O., Oct. 6, 7 and 8, 1853. There were
delegates present from New York Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio,
Michigan, Indiana and Missouri. All the ladies prominent in the movement were
present, some in full bloomer costume. Not only were all the best ladies in the
movement present, but many great men—men of high standing in the political,
religious and intellectual world—men high of thought and purpose. During Mr.
Blackwell's speech he complimented those women who were just inaugurating a
movement for a new costume promising greater freedom and health. He thought the
sneers and ridicule so unsparingly showered on the "Bloomers" might
with more common sense be turned on the tight waist, paper shoes and trailing
skirts of fashionable dress.
Then the history gives the following: The
facts of history may as well be stated here in regard to the 'Bloomer' costume.
Mrs. Bloomer was among the first to wear the dress, and stoutly advocated its
adoption in her paper, The Lily, published at Seneca Falls, N. Y. But it was introduced
by Elizabeth Smith Miller, the daughter of the great philanthropist, Gerrit Smith, in 1850. She wore it for many years, even in the most fashionable
circles of Washington, during her father's term in congress. Lucy Stone, Miss
Anthony and Mrs. Stanton also wore it a few years. But it invoked so much ridicule
that they feared the odium attached to the dress might injure the suffrage movement,
of which they were prominent representatives. Hence a stronger love for woman's
political freedom than for their own personal comfort compelled them to lay it
aside. The experiment however, was not without its good results. The dress was
adopted for skating and gymnastic exercises in seminaries and sanitariums. At
Dr. James C. Jackson's in Dansville, N. Y., it is still worn. Many farmers'
wives, too, are enjoying "its freedom in their rural homes."
In 1851 an Equal Right's convention or
rather a dress reform convention, was held
in this county when fifty women sat upon the platform in this costume, all as
enthusiastic and as devoted to their cause as enthusiastic women can be when
they know they are right, but to-day I know of but one who has adhered to these
higher convictions. She is always saying "I cannot do my work in the
fashionable dress; which is highest, to work for God and humanity, or to dress
for fashion?" Now let us give honor to whom honor is due.
Here in lovely Cortland has been a woman
brave enough to endure the brutal, rough and tough prejudice and bigotry, and
of people too who call themselves good, often enduring persecution for
righteousness' sake, but going readily on, not only in the much scorned dress,
but espousing unpopular ways and methods of doing good, always advocating equal
rights and opportunities, with a tender woman's heart and hand helping the poor
and oppressed everywhere. Is not this a better monument than granite or marble?
Gerrit Smith wrote his autograph for this
noble woman in these words: "Gladly
I improve this opportunity to testify my high regard for the ability, integrity,
and fearlessness with which you advocate unpopular truths." Another great
philanthropist writes "When I meet such as you I am strengthened in the
belief that goodness and truth are possible here."
Knowing this good woman long and closely, I
gladly say I am thankful for her life. Brave without egotism, doing what to her
is right, fearless, modest, never desiring popularity or notoriety, indeed
shrinking from it, but fearless to do even in the face of prejudice such as
this. A women here in this smiling city, a woman too who prides herself upon
her social and religion standing, once said to me, "She ought to be horse-whipped
through the streets for wearing such a costume." Once they whipped the
Baptists through the streets of Boston. Once they mobbed William LIoyd Garrison
for daring to say that "all men are born free and equal." [He] meant
black as well as white. Now the world or part of it, are daring to say all
persons are born free and equal. Woman as well as men, free to do their highest
work in any dress which shall make it easiest and best for them, especially
when it is on modesty's side.
So I hail with joy the development of the
American girl, as she raises her proud head in science, art, literature, all
the professions where brains and ability are required, taking her place humbly,
truly, well, not wishing to make the matter of dress first, but recognizing the
fact that a perfect physical development, necessary to the higher development, not
only for her own progress and the good she may do, but for the higher good of
those to come.
Mrs. Bloomer wrote in the later years of her
life, "I do not wish to be remembered by the dress I wore, when my whole
life was devoted to the cause I loved—temperance and equal suffrage." So
the world marches on. Let the croakers get out of the way. We will not stop. Is
it not grand? The great artists' highest conception is the statue of woman
lighting the great harbor. So shall the coming women hold high her torch to
lead on the whole world to better things.
Then, when our brave women did not all feel
they could continue on in the full bloomer costume they never wore the
senseless fashionable dress, but always a better, freer one. Their example has
had its good work and is meeting a hopeful issue. The good seed has been sown
and dropping into good soil has been taking root until it is trembling,
creeping into life, and who shall say, what may be the grand results? And let us all remember to give honor to whom honor is due.
A FRIEND TO THE CAUSE.
TRAFFIC IN HUMAN BODIES.
Developments
In the St. Louis Hospital Scandal.
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 30.—Referring to the
scandal at the female hospital of this city, The Republic says in part:
That the direct charges of Maggie Dalton,
alleging that traffic in human bodies was carried on last winter by certain
persons connected with the management of the institution arc true, has been
demonstrated. The graves supposed to contain the bodies of Mrs. Smith, Emma
Lewis and Helen Hopper were opened by Health Officer Francis and two assistants
and the boxes therein were found to contain, one a log of wood and another a
railroad tie, and another—emptiness.
Today the grave wherein is thought to repose
the body of a male insane patient, who died in the asylum Dec. 31, 1894, will
be opened and the health officers, in the light of developments already brought
forth, expect to find the box empty.
In any event the investigation will be
pushed to a point where it will be absolutely ascertained to what extent the
horrible traffic was carried on.
PAGE
TWO—EDITORIALS.
◘ From the cities and larger towns of the
country comes one report as to the public schools. There is not nearly enough
desk room for the pupils. Thousands must remain without instruction, because
there is not schoolhouse room for them. This is a melancholy state of affairs.
The plain truth is that the public school fund of the country has been used too
freely to provide high school and college instruction for advanced pupils,
leaving not enough for those of tender years. This was a great mistake. A human
being can get on in the world decently and comfortably if he has a knowledge of
the three R's, no more. Without that his chance is slim. The first duty
therefore of school boards is to provide ample room, accommodations and
instruction for the primary pupils, though the high school students have to go
without instruction for a year. They know enough to earn their own living
already. The primary pupils must be gathered in off the street and put under
instruction even if there should be in consequence no high school at all.
◘ There are both sense and reason in the
call of a writer in the New York Sun for the appointment of commercial
travelers as foreign consuls. They know more in a minute about trade and its
requirements than the ordinary lawyer, poet or politician will know in the
whole course of his life. What we want our consuls to do is to spread American
goods through the world and to make markets for them. Nobody else can do this
so well as a wide awake, intelligent and honorable commercial traveler.
◘ Atlanta showed its cosmopolitan character
by having on exposition opening day addresses from a white man, a colored man
and a woman.
◘ An important work of the next few years
will be the search for low grade gold veins and the invention of methods for
extracting the precious metal from them cheaply. In many of the states of the
Union these low grade veins are known to exist, but they were not thought rich
enough to pay for mining the ore. Now, however, it is different and every
indication of gold is carefully watched. It may be that the trace of gold found
in the neighborhood of Oswego, N. Y. will be worth following up. Perhaps the
veins of gold already known to exist in the province of Ontario run underground
and crop out also in New York. The sample of one found at Oswego assayed at the
rate of $20 to the ton, which would pay well if more could be found like it.
◘ Every dog has his day. So, apparently, has
every sheep and goat. The beautiful Angora goat, with its lustrous fleece, has
not been particularly profitable to its owner for some years. But suddenly a
caprice of fashion demanded that mohair fabrics should be the vogue again. The
price of the wool of the Angora goat was 24 cents a pound when fashion took the
mohair freak. Within a few months the wool has advanced 105 per cent in price.
The mohair weaving firm whose mills cleared them $5,000,000 in less than five
months can afford to take a trip around the world. It is agreeable to know that
a little of this prosperity will also reach the man who raises the goats and
the wool. The Angora goat has been bred in the southwest more extensively than
elsewhere in this country. One ranchman in Texas was fortunate enough to have a
flock of 1,000 of the goats at the very time this mohair craze struck. The
fabric formerly called alpaca is that now known as mohair.
◘ The crowning achievement of the German
language has been reached in the following word: Leicheuzugageschwindigkeitsfortbewegung. In English it means "the speed at
which a funeral procession moves."
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| Louis Pasteur. |
WILL HONOR PASTEUR.
France
Proposes to Give Him a State Funeral.
BURIAL
AT PASTEUR INSTITUTE.
Widow of
the Distinguished Man Declined the Offer to Inter His Remains In the
Pantheon—Sketch of His Great Life Work.
PARIS, Sept. 30.—Professor Pasteur, the eminent
bacteriologist, has died at Garohes, near St. Cloud, in the environs of this
city.
Professor Pasteur had suffered from
paralysis for a considerable period of time. About eight days ago he sustained
a violent paralytic stroke and Saturday suffered still another severe attack.
He grew worse rapidly and remained in a comatose condition during his last
hours.
His wife devotedly watched his bedside. His
son, his daughter and his son-in-law, M. Yalleryradot, and two grandchildren,
as well as Dr. Roux and Dr. Chantemesse, were present when he passed away.
It is believed that the funeral of M.
Pasteur will be national in character.
Louis Pasteur was born at Dole, Jara, on
Dec. 27, 1822, entered the University in 1840, became a supernumerary master of
studies at college of Besancon, was received as a pupil in the Ecole
Normale in 1843, took the degree of doctor in 1847, and was appointed professor
of physic at the Faculty of Sciences, Strasburg, in 1848. At the end of 1854 he
was entrusted as dean with organization of the newly created Faculty of
Sciences at Lille, and in 1857 returned to Paris and undertook the "scientific
direction" of the Ecole Normale. In December, 1863, he was appointed professor
of geology, physics and chemistry at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and was elected
a member of the institute.
The Royal society of London, in 1866,
awarded M. Pasteur the Rumford medal for his researches relative to the polarization
of light, etc. He was decorated with the Legion of Honor on Aug. 12, 1858, was
promoted to be an officer in that order in 1863 and a commander in 1868. In
1869 he was elected one of the 50 foreign members of the Royal society of
London.
M. Pasteur wrote numerous works relating to
chemistry. In 1874 the National assembly accorded to M. Pasteur as a reward chiefly
for his investigations on fermentation, a life annuity of 12,000 francs. He was
raised to the rank of grand officer of the Legion of Honor on Oct. 24, 1878. His
reception into the French Academy took place on April 27, 1882, when he
delivered a panegyric on M. Littre, to whose chair he had succeeded.
In the same year the council of the Society of
Arts awarded the Albert medal of the society to M. Pasteur for his researches in
connection with fermentation, the preservation of wines and the propagation of
symotic diseases in silkworms and domestic animals.
In 1884 he laid before the institute a method
of curing or preventing hydrophobia by inoculating with the poisonous virus in
an attenuated form, and the commission of investigation declared the method
efficacious.
The Pasteur Institute at Paris was opened
formally on Nov. 14, 1888, in the presence of President Carnot and other
distinguished persons.
The government has decided to hold a state
funeral for the late Professor Louis Pasteur, the eminent bacteriologist.
Professor Pasteur's wife has received telegrams
of sympathy from President Faure, from M. Challemel La Cour, president of the
senate, and from all parts of the world.
The government desired to inter the remains of
the distinguished savant in the Pantheon, but it was the family's wish that he
should be buried at the Pasteur institute.
The obsequies will be held at the cathedral of
Notre Dame, probably on next Thursday.
BREVITIES.
—The book-keeping class at the Y. M. C. A.
begins to-morrow night at 8 o'clock.
—Teachers' examination for second and third
grade certificates will be held at the Normal building Friday and Saturday,
Oct. 4 and 5.
—A special day of prayer will be observed by
the Woman's Christian Temperance union in their rooms on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 2
P. M.
—The fifteenth anniversary of the marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. L. S. Watkins was celebrated by a few of their friends at their
home, 28 Groton-ave., Saturday evening.
—Iva May, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
John B. Leonard, 64 Hubbard-st., died yesterday morning aged seven weeks. The
funeral will be held tomorrow at 11 o'clock A. M.
—George L. Wilber of Oneonta has been
appointed by Governor Morton, as a delegate to represent New York state at the
farmer's national congress, which meets at Atlanta, Ga., in October.
—Miss Alice G. Bothwell, teacher of literature,
rhetoric and history in the Oneonta
Normal school, has resigned on account of ill health and intends after a brief
period of rest to go abroad for a sojourn to be spent in study.—Oneonta Star.
—Mr. Charles Eno Barber of New York City,
Mrs. G. B. Howe of East Orange, N.
J., and Mrs. E. B. Hinton of Homer add their names to the list of fifty who
promise to give $5 each year upon Oct. 1, for five years to the Cortland hospital.
—Luigi Santangelo, the Italian who was
charged with stealing a sheep from Frank
Welch, came before Justice H. A. Dickinson this morning for trial. The matter
was settled without a trial by consent of the court and the defendant was
discharged.
—A cloth covered grocer's passbook has been
found and is at the STANDARD office. The name of the grocer and the name of the
owner of the book are both so indistinct that we cannot recognize either, but
the loser will doubtless identify the book and can have it by calling for it.
—The body of Miss Nellie May Hammond who
died in Hudson Friday, aged 17 years, was received at Fletcher & Blackman's
undertaking rooms Saturday night. A short funeral service was held from 18 East
Court-st. this morning and the body taken to Marathon for interment.
—William E. Scripture of Rome was Saturday
afternoon nominated for supreme court justice at the Fifth judicial district
convention at Syracuse. The convention began its session Thursday morning at 11
o'clock and the 168th ballot which was the last, was reached Saturday afternoon
at 8 o'clock.
—The Industrial Edition of The STANDARD was
started last spring by Messrs. Haines and Grant who canvassed the town for
"write ups" and advertisements. Mr. Haines left before the work was
completed and we arranged with Mr. Grant to close it up. We understood, however,
that all the business men had been called on and their patronage solicited. We
have since learned that some were skipped. We shall do no more canvassing or
soliciting, but we wish to say, if there are any of our business men or firms
who desire to be represented in the edition and have not been called on, we
would be very glad indeed to receive their orders at once. After the
edition is published and people see what it is, we want no one to feel slighted
because he has not been solicited to take space in it.
E. &
C. N. Y. R. R.
Injunction
Modified—Judge Eggleston Referee—Bridge Building Begun.
The injunction which was recently secured by
W. R. Randall and others against she E. & C. N. Y. R. R. was argued before
Judge Walter Lloyd Smith at Elmira Saturday. The plaintiff was represented by
T. E. Courtney and by Mr. Fred Collins of the firm of Reynolds, Stanchfield
& Collins of Elmira, and the defendant by I. H. Palmer, the railroad attorney.
Judge Smith directed that the railroad company
be allowed the use of the tracks already laid for one week. Judge J. E.
Eggleston was appointed referee to take testimony as to the occupation of the
premises in dispute, as to the fencing thereof, and as to the adverse possession
of said land by defendants, to report the evidence with his opinion on the same
on Oct. 5, and that said injunction as so modified stand in full force and
effect until the coming in of said report and until further order from the
court.
The work on the road is progressing rapidly.
The engine and all equipments for driving piles arrived Saturday and the work
of pile driving was begun this morning at the river [near Kellogg Road] by Contractor David Murphy
of Syracuse. A part of the force of men engaged on the grade beyond McGrawville
has been transferred to the river to assist in driving the piles.
A
Business Change.
The Grant-st. grocery of D. C. Beers &
Co. has been sold to Messrs. J. W. Brown and
W. W. Watkins and possession was taken this morning. Mr. Brown is a contractor
at the Cortland Wagon Co. and Mr. Watkins, who was the partner with Mr. Beers
and has had charge of the store for the past year, will be in charge of the
store for a short time until Mr. Brown can give his attention to the business
also. The firm name will be J. W. Brown & Co. and these gentlemen will,
without doubt, sustain the already good reputation of the grocery.
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