Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 March 1912 — EARRINGS KEEP EARS OPEN [ARTICLE]

EARRINGS KEEP EARS OPEN

Italian Girl Tells Court That’s Why They’re Worn—Not Needed on Mouth. > Kansas City, Mo.—Why do Italian* wear earrings? Style, you say. Not a bit of it. Listen to the explanation given by Rosa Bruno, 15 years old, to Judge E. E. Porterfield In juvenile court. The judge wanted to know why an Infant in the arms of Mrs. Pasquale Bruno, Rosa’s mother, wore two big gold hoops which dangled al* most to its shoulders, and Rosa re» piled: “Us Italians, you know, we are 'dif* ferent from you people. We don’t believe in our babies’ ears stopping up. So we put In the big earrings to pull down the corners and keep ’em open, see?” “Quite an idea,” agreed the judge. “But what do you Italians do to keep their lips from growing together?” “Oh, d^S-funny.” -laughed Rosa. “Dat’s a joke. The baby he cries with his mouth too much, or we’d hang earrings there, too. Maybe sometime baby he cry with his ears and then we throw away hoops altogether.” An attache of the court hereupon stuffed his handkerchief in his mouth, but despite this precaution he led the laugh id. which the court joined.