Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1921-02-13 | Page 11 | Prussians Hate to Give up Monocles

PRUSSIANS HATE TO GIVE UP MONOCLES BERLIN Feb. 12. An order forbidding for-bidding the wearing of the monocle bv officers and members of the security se-curity police, issued by the Prussian minister of the Interior, has brought do-wii upon the minister a veritable avalanche of abuse. It also has evoked reams of argument In favor of the ancient Institution of the single sin-gle eye-glass The minister described the weannK of the monocle as "an unbecoming habit." and attributed It to the vanity of officers rather than to any weakness weak-ness of the eye His critics accuse him of being deficient de-ficient In anatomical knowledge, of making a grand-stand play to the proletariat, and of a malicious attempt at-tempt to overthrow an old. honored, and common German institution. A man's two eyes are very seldom of equal soundness, it is pointed out, and the use of spectacles might Injure In-jure a sound eye while aiding the weak member. Therefore. It Is ar gued, the custom is wen Hiauiwuau on phystesJ grounds. The majority of the commentators scornfully reject the minister's reasons I for the order tnat the monocle Is an affectation and smacks of monarchlal ' 'times. They argue tha the one eye-J gloss custom prevails ln such demo-cratlc demo-cratlc countries as England and even to some extent ln America. One participant ln the fray thinks the monocle wearer Is not getting a square deal. Any roan who can manage man-age to hold a round piece of glass between his eye-brow and his cheek i bone ought to be rewarded with a I medal of merit for exceptional skill. Instead of being reprimanded oo