by
conviction, and for this reason their views are worthy of
consideration. They fear that any radical change will exert an immoral
influence. Their minds are swayed by ancient thought which throughout
all ages has cast its baleful shadow over the brain of the world. They
are held under the spell of a conservatism which unquestioningly
tolerates established institutions and existing orders, but has no
confidence in aught that proposes to break with these, even though the
new has reason and common sense clearly on its side. Thus time and
again fashions have been tolerated, although known to be morally
enervating and singularly repulsive to all refined sensibilities;
while proposals from without for reforms based on the laws of health
and beauty have called forth the most determined opposition from this
conscientious class, merely because the proposed innovations have not
conformed to ideas entertained by virtue of prevailing fashions, and
have been therefore regarded immoral. And herein lies an important
point to be considered. Anything which is radically unlike prevailing
standards or styles to which we have become accustomed will impress
most persons as being immodest or indecent. _The unusual in dress is
usually denounced as immoral_ because we are all prone to allow our
prejudice to obscure our reason and o'ersway our judgment. This point
_must_ be recognized before any real reform can be accomplished. When
humanity has grown sufficiently wise to reason broadly and view
problems on their own merits, aside from preconceived opinion or
inherited prejudice, real instead of false standards of morality will
prevail, and we shall cease to condemn anything as pernicious simply
because it is unusual, radically unlike that to which we have been
accustomed or revolutionary in its tendency. Let me make this if
possible more apparent by an illustration, because it bears such an
important relation to the main issue. If men had for ages worn long
flowing robes, completely enveloping their bodies, but on a certain
day with one accord exchanged them for a costume similar to that now
seen throughout the civilized world, society would experience a
distinct shock; immoral, indecent, pernicious, and vulgar would mildly
express the sentiment of conventional thought, until the same society
had become accustomed to the change. To us at the present time it is
difficult to conceive how women of sense and refinement submitted to
the swinging-