Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 March 1887 — The Effect of Dress. [ARTICLE]

The Effect of Dress.

"Cleanliness is neit to godliness,” not because godliness is superficial, but because cleanliness is more than skin deep and produces an effect . upon the soul. Says a Western preacher, in speaking of the tramp: “You know how von think you look after a long journey-—you know how you think A’on feel. The outward man has relation to the inner. The slouch, shuttle, and unmanly front of the tramp is not necessarily because of tho lack of heart. The Jack of a shirt will account for it. George Washington, in continental coat,’cuffs, waistcoat, kneebreeches, silver buckles, and frills and powdered hair, fronts the world with dignity-.-But let him exchange raiment with the tramp, and the Father of his Country will not be recognized by his child. Oh, no; he will begin to shirk and shuffle, and get behind himself. He will stand uneasily, and rub the top of one foot with the heel of the other. Array yourself in stylish garments and visit a fashionable wateringplace, and mark your reception by the hotel clerk. Then go into the woods for a few weeks, and some fine morning, clad in an old blue shirt, torn corduroys and moccasins, unshaved and uncombed, appear upon the scene. The temptation to seek an entrance by the back door, and sneak up stairs anil get your trunk, is tremendous. ” Self-respect comes largely from the. consciousness of a good appearance. A man with well-polished boots will stand straighfor than he who. clumps the streets and crosses your parlor with brick-dust on his feet. A clean collar and faultless cuffs will sometimes save a man from a dirty moral job as well as from filthy things of touch. John Doe in his Sunday clothes is more polite, more considerate of others, and in every way more refined than in his torn and tattered Saturday suit. Change of dress has changed the manners. Improvement in appearance has improved the man. We need not become dudes. Neither should we decry good dressing. To teach cleanliness of person and neatness and taste in dress will sometimes be equal to preaching. We grant that the inward man controls the outward; it is true, also, that the outward exerts a powerful influence over the inward. At least, a clean shirt is in harmony with a clean heart. —Morning Star.