Show SO ii NoA f y i a T-D T There Was When the Legged Bare Row Row- Miss Helen Morton one Beauties here Pictured Students at Staid of the rowing g beauties ing as A f P s whose pictures made so much trouble for Swarthmore m my more and its friends be y tJ Conservative Old Swarthmore J i cause use while they live h ht t f J r the borough of more they are NOT stu 4 a kw k 4 dints dents of the college there Anxious parents of Swarthmore students were amazed and indig in dig v Fie W y k pant nant Could it be that the college d dW dy l H to which they had theirs their s children had become a su sus s school for bathing beauties t tl tto e J Y t y Zw ZwY A e y d m N 11 I I I I I a It 1 1 I 1 11 t rp L 1 r i F 4 w fy 1 I ill V I I l I I IJ w rl J J Q atE A I I k b r tiU tiUI Y r K r rK ro o n e c i S V 5 yi yil Y l y 6 F Fro Q w wry ry ro t p iy y u y A a E F Y r r P t tr y s t i is s rt w waSa aSa w a t kl o- o os s I h A s af i A ik iky f t k 1 y B Q QA A 4 q THEN HEN thousands of the grad grad- graduates grad of Swarthmore College Collego and hundreds of the parents of boys and girls and enrolled at this well known Pennsylvania institution picked t up their newspapers not many days ago they saw something that filled them with amazement amaze ent and in m most cases with in- in indignation in indignation It was as the picture of two tv-o very Tory pretty oarswomen omen wearing costumes quite as asI I abbreviated quite as ai liberal in their dis- dis display display dis display play of bare flesh as the male mal members of college crews wear near But what hat stirred the feelings of the tho alumni and friends of Swarthmore to such a high pitch vas as the reading mat mat- matter matter matter ter that accompanied the photographs of the sc clothed rowine rowing beauties The caption under the pictures read sub sub- substantially substantially sub substantially like this Miss Ruth Sharpless and end Miss Helen Lt Morton two charming of S S s College Collete setting getting the kinks out of their mu muscles cles in III preparation for forthe forthe forthe the opening of the th college rov rowing mg sea sea- season season ton sea son Parents v worried for the safety of their children and alumni jealous of the tho good name of their cherished alma mater read these words over andover and over again hardly able to bele believe belee e that their eyes saw law aright They t ud not recall hav having heard that Swarthmore had gone in for rowing as a recognized sport for its girl stu- stu students students stu students dents And even if it had what were ere the tho college authorities thinking of to allow an any of the tho candidates for the crew to appear in III such shocking costumes as these Was old Swarthmore at last succumb succumb- succumbing succumbing ing to the wicked in influences of this jazz age Had it censed ceased ed to be a place lace where here con con- cond con minded fathers and mothers could send tend their boys and girls without anxiety Was it going to shame its alumni by abandoning its proud traditions and be- be becoming be becoming coming a v s ugar school for bathing beau beau- beauties beauties ties To understand how disturbing were ere the questions that filled the th minds of thousands of friends friend of Swarthmore liS as they gazed on the th new newspaper paper pictures of the charming but cry sery cry en- en clothed candidates for the th girls crew it must be explained that the college collego h is i a II Quaker institution institution- conducted under the tho auspices of the Re Reformed formed or branch of the th So- So Society So Society of Friends Swarthmore is one of the sturdIest most respected members member of the Ameri Amen American American can fellowship of colleges It has haa ha cl- cl al always ways ays been famous not my for the th V soundness of its curriculum and the beauty of its location but for the hIgh moral atmosphere it maintained and for the conservative e way ay it frowned on the sensational fads which haie hase proved C j xv as iW aa r sa sar a r hGr H a i J f i al tE el elL L Lt Lc c t HJ 3 A k Jp ar ey wa tJ r 1 j F n y yr r l Y w I 7 Ir i J A N Wp C Miss Ruth Sharpless the theother other gul girl in the photographs that brought more College unwelcome publicity the undoing of so many other higher in- in institutions in institutions of learning At first it was a school only for men Jut but for some som sears ears past it has been fO co- co coeducational co coeducational educational The admission slon of women omen to its classic halls did nothing to mar marthe marthe marthe the dignified d serenity of the tho college life but on the contrary seemed to Increase the tho institutions institution's prestige It hero was pre eminently a college parents felt they could s send nd their boys bos and girls with Ith a minimum of danger to their morals and with Ith pretty 0 assurance of great benefit to their minds and bodies Is it any wonder then that the de- de de devoted voted toted friends of Swarthmore v were ere deep deep- deeply deeply deeply ly shocked by the association of the col- col college col college lege with two rowing girls whose hose socks were ere rolled down and chose who hoo e pants were rolled up as far as they would go The staid old Quaker institution had always elwa's been to have as little In common with things of this tillS kind as asKing Ring Tut's Tut mummy has with one of our ely IJ Stage stag beauties The result was as that before the news newspapers papers Japers printing the disturbing pictures had been very cry long in circulation tion the students at Swarthmore the president and dean of the college collece and the varIOus professors were ere being overwhelmed with letters and telegrams demanding an ec e- c of the photographs and the th incriminating captions that appeared with them Of course the faculty and students had already seen the pictures and were ero almost as as is much upset ups ct about them as their friends outside In fact hardly anything except the abolition of football foot foot- football football ball or the expulsion of the whole hole stu- stu student stu student dent body could o hase hav upset the college collego more While the college collego authorities had not had time to complete completo their investigation they had gone far enough with it to prove that they were guiltless of any wrongdoing and had haa had been the tho th Victims of a gloss imposition Swarthmore hada had hada a complete alibi to offer that brought Intense relief to its thousands of friends Ruth Sharpless and Helen Morton It v was as said id are residents of the tho village of Swarthmore but Lut they are arc not now nor base ha they ever eser been students of tho th o l Z college Even If they had been students they would oud hardly have hase been b en allowed to continue so if they persisted in wearing such abbreviated costumes when they went ent rowing on the Schuylkill River These facts were ere quickly y eo communicated mum sated to the anxious parents and alumni They were positively ey assured that Swarthmore S had not made mado the tho departure from its long-honored long traditions that tat its girl students were vere all most modestly and conventionally attired and that the college had nothing but cen- cen censure censure cen censure sure for such a n spirit of undress as the photographs of the tho ro rowing ing beauties manifested But this tins first soothing statement was wa not considered sufficient to allay tho widespread fears fears that had been aroused It was followed follo by the broadcasting of the following official statement signet by Professor Prof sor Raymond Walters dean of the college collego faculty We intend if possible to sift this matter to the bottom Since the pictures were printed we have had every day in- in indignant in m indignant letters from all nil parts of the country Most of them have assumed that the pictures were ere frauds but some demanded to know if Swarthmore S was going back on its traditions From our point of yew view it is the 1110 most t harmful kind of publicity and utterly ut- ut utterly ut utterly terly unjustified unjustified Swarthmore is not one of those colleges which gise e courses to bathing beauties We ate ale and always have been a rather demure institution But seeing these pictures any one ono un- un un unacquainted acquainted with the college might n might t assume unreasonably assume that the tha campus life is pretty much as ns l life e Is reputed to tobe tobe tobe be in Hollywood Cal According to all the th college authorities ties ha have base e been able ablo to find out the im- im imposItion imposition im imposition position on the tho college was due to no fault of the tho many newspapers that print printed ed cd the offending photographs nor of the syndicates that offered cd ahem them for sale salo throughout the country The blame seems to rest either cither with the girls for misrepresenting themselves as college collego students or with the photographers photographer raphers for ha having haling mg through error or de deliberate liberate liberato intent given the pictures mis mis- mis leads g captions On one ODe of the first warm Sundays Sunday of spring two enterprising Philadelphia photographers set let out aon alon lon the embank embankment ment which borders the Schuylkill to see ee what hat interesting i pictorial material the they could 1 find dud nd m in the tho th awakening life of the river They found only mediocre subjects for their cameras until they reached a point near Swarthmore There on the land landing ing of a certain boat club they came upon pon a II sight which evert evell their Jaded eyes eves found good to look upon It was two o young oung women omen who ho lay stretched out on the planking enjo enjoying ml 2 a the warm sunlight sunlight- sunlight two to h 0 girls of certa certain certainly n ly not more than nineteen years pretty of face andell and well ell form formed d dof of body But what attracted the photographers at attention more than the good looks wag the quite extraordinary extraordinary nary way ay they were dressed Sports shirts and very diminutive pants such as racing oars oars- oarsmen oarsmen oars oarsmen men wear short socks and nd no shoes at nt all all- all that the was girls only visible means of CO covering And they had made their costumes seem eem more mor ab- ab abbreviated ab abbreviated by up the pants and roll rolling ing the socks down just as asfar asfar asfar far as they could The Th g girls i r 1 s sv v nero ero qUite quit de dc delighted lighted to pose poso for a n few snap snapshots shots Fir First s t they jumped in- in into in into to rowing and showed how hov they looked bending to the tho oars Then they faced the cam camera era cra standing on the tho wharf with the long oars upraised beside them Ono One On of them borrowed a in from the club club h h o 0 Use u s e and J t li r I j ro t t 11 rv I i n ni II t tt tt t t r r tE t f I M fM w ii 4 1 c n rr i h uY K x xa a 4 k f r M Still another of the disturbing snapshots of Miss Morton and Miss Sharpless shouted directions through it to an ha- ha im imaginary crew cre while the tb shutters of the lenses clicked When the photographers had exHaust exHaust-cd ed their supply SU py of plates they begun began to think of getting the necessary captions for what hat they were vere sure was as a 11 series of pictures that would find a 11 ready market The girls gave their names as Ruth Sharpless and Helen Morton and said they lived in the Borough Dorough of S arth Swarthmore Swarthmore more Do you vou oU go to business or to school asked one of the photographers or are aro arou you ou home girls o To this question the photographers lla have ve said in signed statements supplied to the college authorities that the tho girls We are aro students at t Swarthmore Col- Col College Col College lege The parents of the girls On the other hand stoutly declare that their daugh daugh- daughters daughter ter never said anything ot oJ the tha kind The Swarthmore authorities bare hao ceased to worry about the th truth ot of this matter They are satisfied if they have convinced the country that their college has lost none of its time old demureness nor into a olo frivolous s school for bathing beauties 9 |