old and heat; secondly,
for comfort; thirdly, for decency; and, fourthly, for ornament. Now
does the dress of Americans meet these requirements?

First, as regards the weather, does woman's dress protect her from the
cold? The fact that a large number of persons daily suffer from colds
arouses the suspicion that their dress is at fault. The body is
neither equally nor evenly covered, the upper portion being as a rule
nearly bare, or very thinly clad, so that the slightest exposure to a
draught, or a sudden change of temperature, subjects the wearer to the
unpleasant experience of catching cold, unless she is so physically
robust and healthy that she can resist all the dangers to which her
clothing, or rather her lack of clothing, subjects her. Indeed ladies'
dress, instead of affording protection sometimes endangers their lives.
The following extract from the "London Times"--and the facts cannot be
doubted--is a warning to the fair sex. "The strong gale which swept
over Bradford resulted in an extraordinary accident by which a girl
lost her life. Mary Bailey, aged 16, the daughter of an electrician,
who is a pupil at the Hanson Secondary School, was in the school yard
when she was suddenly lifted up into the air by a violent gust of wind
which got under her clothes converting them into a sort of parachute.
After being carried to a height estimated by spectators at 20 feet, she
turned over in the air and fell to the ground striking the concreted
floor of the yard with great force. She was terribly injured and died
half an hour later." Had the poor girl been wearing Chinese clothing
this terrible occurrence could not have happened; her life would not
have been sacrificed to fashion.

As to the second point, comfort, I do not believe that the wearer of a
fashionable costume is either comfortable or contented. I will say
nothing of the unnecessary garments which the average woman affects,
but let us see what can be said for the tight corset binding the waist.
So far from being comfortable it must be most inconvenient, a sort of
perpetual penance and it is certainly injurious to the health. I feel
confident that physicians will support me in my belief that the
death-rate among American women would be less if corset and other tight
lacing were abolished. I have known of instances where tight lacing
for the ballroom has caused the death of enceinte women.

As to the third object, decency, I am not convinced that t