CULT OF BEAUTY.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9386, 4 March 1909, Page 2

CULT OF BEAUTY.

CURIOUS DEBATE IN THE PRUSSIAN DIET.

Miss Oiga'Desmond, a young lady of graceful figure and other personal charms, looked down with wide-eyed wonderment on the members ot the Prussian House of Deputies, ihey were engaged in discussing a Question that very nearly concerned herself, The last time she and they met, the roles were to some extent reversed. On that occasion the Deputies were the observers, ana Miss Desmond the observed. Moreover, they saw a great deal more of her than she could see of them ' to-day, for the lady then wore a garment which represented absolutely' the extreme minimum to which attire can be reduced if it is to" serve any purpose whatever. . The fact is that Miss Desmond is a disciple of the “nudity movement,” and was seeking to persuade Parliamentarians, grave and otherwise, that the cause of most, if not all, of the ills to which flesh is _heir is onr habit of covering it up. Time was when Miss Desmond danced be- , fore any Hans, Carl, or Friedrich Who chose to pay an entrance tee, without even the sartorial minimum referred to above, but we must J* 11 compromise to some extent with the prejudices of our,':follow-creatures, and the putting down of the indignant interpellation which was discussed this afternoon, and certain, oilier indications of public idisapproval, induced her to abate a little —a v6ry little; be it repeated—ot the rigidity of her principles. ; DEPUTY'S INDIGNATION.

The lady’s amazement at the course of the discussion was not unnatural, for she haard performances, tor which she disclaimed any hut moral or artistic values, denounced in most unequivocal terms. A National Liberal, who -was a spectator of her exhibition, declared that there was nothing artistic about it, that, on the contrary, it was distinctly indecent, and calculated to offend the susceptibilities of a healthy minded man. He had felt shame to the depths of his soul for the many women of all ages who were also present. a Herr Roeren, the introducer of the motion, it may be recalled, is the same Centre member whose coniflct with Herr Dernburg led up to the dissolution of the Reichstag in 1906. He was not less sparing of the feelings of Miss Desmond, The movement, he declared, was making rapid progress, and numerous societies existed with hundreds of , members for the purpose of holding socidl gatherings at which those taking part appeared without a stitch of ' clothing. In one of the publications of the movement he had found that its aim was “to Ilbeiate people from the unhealthy asceticism of Christianity. ” ~ It was true, "he said, that the type of entertainment 1 known as a “beauty evening” was no longer classed with picture exhibitions, but with theatres and music halls, and consequently now required a permit from the police, but the authorities had been very slow in interfering. Herr Moltke, Minister for Interior, said ho quite shared the standpoint of the Centre speaker, but-the task of the police in this case had not been an easy one. The first “beauty evenings” had been advertised as only accessible to members of the “Association for Ideal Physical Culture,” and were consequently private performances. In such a case the police had ho power to interfere. It was only discovered later that membership of the .association could be obtained instantaneously by paying a modestv fee at the door. But now the exhibitions were only allowed with the minimum of clothing prescribed by the authorities, which, it may be added, differs materially from that alluded to above. MINISTERS’ VIEW OP ART.

Having got 33 far as this, Herr Moltka sent a shudder down the hacks of Conservative and Centre members by a sadden deviation from the path of Ministerial response in a quite unexpected direction. “Now, he said, I come to the critical side of the matter. As to Che limits of what is perihissiblo in the representation of the nude, opinions differ widely. My own judgment on this point is unalterably settled. The beauty of the human body as God had made it is as incontestible as it is harmless. To' represent the human body in its beauty has always been the highest aim and the justifiable endeavour of every serious and scientific art. . Who cqnld feel anything but ideal emotions at the sight of the Venus de Medici and other immortal works?” Herr Moltka would, perhaps, have done better to have suppressed this Baiaara-like blessing, where he was expected only to curse. It was in vain that he denounced “beauty evenings” as an abuse’,of a good principle and a danger to public morality, in vain that he implied his disapproval of the refusal of the Courts to order the confiscation of a certain pamphlet. The lighter-hearted ot hjs auditors roared with laughter at this olap-trap, but graver deputies were not at all merrily disposed towards the Minister. The first of the latter to speak his mind was a Conservative, Herr Henning who declared that portions of the Minister’s speech were simply unbelievable. “Is it true, as we muat T assume. he asked in stern tones, that the attitude of the Minister is connected with the sympathy of highly-placed ladies and gentlemen from our upper aristiooraoy with these beauty evenings? If. so. then I ask, Who are these aristocrats? Out with them. ” The, speaker became more and more vigorous in his denunciations, and the bulk of the House shouted their agreement when he asserted that, ladies of nobility who had taken p-rt in private “beauty evenings” nwne noble ladies. “These dis-rd-ifs” he protested, “have no artis-■■-tie “significance, for the human form i* always imperfect,” which Is certainly as true in Germany as it is anywhere else. Herr Moltke was swift to reply ! tli-'t liis views and his actions had iy?li approved by numerous artists of unquestionable respectability and ■= bority, and some attention had -i o paid to opinions of such people. Wibhout having reached any very ioouoieta result the debate was ad- •] indefinitely, and Miss fiioud went home to think it over.