RAISING OF HATS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19311, 26 April 1926, Page 7

RAISING OF HATS.

Sir, —The " Victim of Etiquette" is evidently unobservant, because a very large proportion of New Zealand men never lift their hats to a lady. They perfunctorily raise a hand which sometimes reaches the hat brim, but, ivhich, more often, only gets half-way before falling listlessly. It would be apparently quite (asy for him to fall into the New Zealand custom and have one suffering less to moan of. courteous. Sir, —"Victim of Etiquette" evidently comes of a hardy stock. Eight years ago. New Zealand men in the World War stood the snow and rain on their heads and faces for days and nights without complaint, and now "Victim" complains of the dangers faced by paying a time- , honoured mark of respect to his mother's sex. My sincere advice to him and others of his opinion is to forget their views and to take more water with it and thus obviate, or at least minimise, the strain necessary to preserve their equilibrium which is so easily upset. "Victim's" arguments are too absurd for further comment—let us continue the time-honoured custom and be men, even at the expense of an occasional hat and a cold in the head to the weaklings of our once hardy sex. Anyway, a man with "Victim's" views does not deserve to have the opportunity to raise his hat often. Sanco Panza. Sir, —I feel quite sorry for "Victim of Etiquette." It must be a bother and very cooling to his nerves to have to remove his hands from his pockets on a 1 cold day, merely to raise his hat to a lady. lam sure if the lady in question knew she would tell him not to bother, not even for the fraction of a minute that it takes But I have often seen a man vainly trying to light a pipe or a cigarette on a cold, windy, wet day, and he never heeds that the rain is pouring down his sleeves for perhaps ten times as long as it takes to lift his hat. And how many lift the hat high enough off the head to admit one drop of rain? I think "Victim of Etiquette" is plainly tired and lacking in courtesy to the gentler sex. There are still a few ladies left. It would be a good plan for him to join the hatless brigade and so keep his hands warm and save expense. Admire:! Os - Courteous Mex. Sir,—" Victim of Etiquette" deserves congratulations upon his commonsense and courageous attempt to unfetter other mem-' ■ bers of his sex from shackles imposed upon then in past ages when men presumably were conscious of humility in the presence of a lady: I doubt not that he has already freed himself. It is certainly time, now that woman is generally obsessed by the idea of equal rights and equal treatment with man, that men mado an organised attempt to escape from the tyranny of etiquette. Examples of such tyranny can be cited ad infinitum. * To quote an extreme case: why should I. though subject to co'ds in a somewhat illclothed head, be compelled to remove my hat in a lady's draughty drawing room? ISo, for our emancipation it need;: only that a sufficient number of us met join the ranks of the many more advance of the present generation, who have tins moral and physical courage to assert their* rights and who do not hesitate to eject tobacco smoke, should they be smoking, into the faces of chance-met lady companions, to retain well-earned seats in the presence of standing women, and to precede these latter in the. evening scramble for tram or bus—and it takes no little courage to brush aside a determined woman. By such means we surely can convince women that they are not deserving even of the consideration involved in the raising of tho hat, which is objected to by " Victim of Etiquette." S ANITAS.