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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1913)
-B5- Ihe Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Paoe Copyright, 1111, by the BUr Company. Great Britain Rights RaiervaO. NewThia&NotFouQd iQ Anv Book: 93 t 2 r Why the College ATHLETE Makes a SICKLY Business MAN rHE3 collogo athlete, meaning the young man who was a lender In collcgo at rowing, track ovcntB or football does not dovelop Into as healthy, rugged a business man as the college youth who did not go in for athlotlces or find a placo on tho 'Varsity crew, eleven or track team. This will bo denied, as It has been denied right along by trainers and athletes In general, but tho mod leal exportB who have had occasion to Judge honestly, the men who havo studied these collcgo athletes ton or fifteen years after thoy loft collcgo and went Into business, ngroo that thlB 1b tho truth. Physical examinations of a group of collcgo men who wero graduated at about tho samo tlmo show that tho young men who did not flguro In collogo athletics aro in far better health a dozon years later than their companions In tho collcgo who won great honors through tho skill of tholr muscles. At first all this sounds Improbable, but tho facts remain and tho explanation Is so logical that thcro seems llltlo doubt of it. Ono of tho best authorities, Dr. Harlow Brooks, professor of Clinical Medlclno at tho New York University, took this stand in an ad dress beforo tho Now York Modlco-Surglcal Society Bis OVER-DEVELOPED BODY Needs More Exercise Than a Business Life Affords not long ago and explained In careful detail Just why the collcgo athlcto loses his excellent physical con dition in after years whllo his less actlvo companions are fairly sound and healthy at middle ago. Dr. Brooks examined twelve famous athletes among a great many others In a regiment of militia which is mado up chiefly of collcgo graduates- Only one of this twelve could bo rated high physically, that Is, was found to be In anywhero near as good physical con dition as those collogo men of tho average ago of the twelve who bad not figured in athletics. And this one thleto of a dozen who did rato as well physically as tho non-atblotlo men, died of acuto diabetes in his enrly thirties. Dr. Brooks Interviewed other distinguished medical men and learned that they had found exactly the samo rule, that his own observances woro by no means an exception, but tho rule, "Tho distinguished college athlete," says Dr. Brooks, "after ten years of severe business Ufo is physically below the average collego man In his physical pos sibilities and In tho mcasuro of his rcslstunco against disease Ho may oven fall below tho lovel of tho entirely non-athletic man. Tho defects I havo obsorved aro chiefly confined to loslous or disturbances of tho heart and other circulatory organs, to adiposity or to Joint disease." Tho explanation of this Is simple enough. Tho athlote does not, and cannot, If ho must earn his livelihood by business, contlnuo his oxcrciso. Tho ro suit Is that his well being demands tho oxcrciso that ho, cannot take and deterioration of cortaln muscles and organs of circulation bcgltiB. Undor modorn business conditions It Ib manifestly impossible for a mnn to contlnuo his exercise, his sports, hlB rowing or running or Jumping or vaulting or football exorcises. Time will not permit. The IS V COLLEGE ) The college athlete's heart and mu cle are overdeveloped and need con stint exerclte. Putting; him in but! ne ii like putting; a meadow lark in a cage, successful business man must stick to his god of mental strife and worry. Again, ho hesitates to en ter Into contests if ho hns a record behind him of collego days for he knows ho cannot como up to that and naturally prefers to live In tho glory of his past collego performances. The average college man goes into business. Tho avorago college man is not a man of great wealth. Ho has to mako his own wealth and to do this ho must Join tho swivel chair and desk squad. This is vastly different from training, from dieting, from pulling an oar dally, from sprinting against tlmo dally, from struggling with a mass of healthy, eager young hu manity for tho advancement of tho pigskin across a certain goal line. Tho collego man who was unable physically to get into the group of athletes, who so proudly and with such honor upheld tho prestlgo of their unlversityt or who through choice, refrained from all of that, does not mind tho change from collogo days to offlco days. But for tho athlete it is like shutting tho meadow lark in a cage, putting an Indian into a steam-heated flat or keeping a healthy, actlvo boy forever "after school." "It Is a law of physiology," declared Dr. Brooks, "that a useloss tissue deteriorates; the greater loss In function, then, the greater the corresponding waste of tho tissue in its future possibilities." The fate of tho muscles that have been trained to exertion and constant activity Is that without this exertion thoy begin to deteriorate, thoy begin to be come loss and less healthy and useful. Evolution and progression Is the law of nature. Nature does not stand still; either the body improves In health or tho health lessens. Every muscle of the athlete sup plies more of Its own peculiar strength and cunning aa tho athlete trains, but nature does not glvo some thing for nothing, it demands more and mora exercise for the muscles that give more than tho normal work. When tho demand is not filled these muscles begin to fall back, begin to become moro and moro useless and unhealthy. Tho business man cannot maintain the high-geared tissue without hlgh-jeared training and exerclso, and the business man cannot exercise. Under theso cir cumstances tho degeneration must and does occur, r no matter whether the tissues concerned be of the kidney, liver, heart muscle or voluntary muscles. Tho over-development of any part of the body or any function of tho body Is always at tho expense of some other part of the body, Just as tho loss of ono of the senses makes tho othor senses keener, tho loss of the use of one's legs results in making such a person'B arms doubly powerful. There are great advantages in being ono of the leaders in college athletics, such as contact with wealthy alumni, higher regard of fellow collegians and of the faculty and tho honor of helping maintain college prestige, but in after life it is tho plodder who did not wear the laurel wreath of athletlcB at col lego who becomes tho sturdy, rugged and successful business man who wonders vaguely why "So-and-So" should havo died at such an early ago when ho waa "ono of our healthiest and strongest men in college." "Physical training." Insists Dr. Brooks, "must take place along slower and more general and more normal lines, It must bo designed toward tho evolution of tho strong proportionately capable human body, not to the production of a human greyhound or buffalo. We must learn to secure In collego athletics tho groatest possible benefits for tho many without tho great de fects for tho few. In athletics as in education the collego should equip and prepare for tho moBt effl cient life, and not strive for Immediate scholastic or athletic records." Why a HEN Cannot Lay a THOUSAND EGGS IT haa probably boon tho droam of every poultry breedor to brced a spoclos bt hen that will lay lndoflnltoly. "My bens lay uplondldly up to a hundred and fifty and oven two hundred eggs, then, thoy stop," explains tho poultry keeper. "Why cannot I' get my hens to lay five hundrod or a thou sand eggs?" Tho answer is ns simple as Nature llsolf; for naturo portions a deflnlto, measured quan tity of germ plasm to each of her chlldron, and allows a handsomo margin for accldentB. But whon that supply 1b exhausted no moro Is to bo bad, When tho chick stops forth from' tho shell It is already endowqd with' all tho eggs it can ever lay, nor can any dovlco of tho human mind add . so much as ono yolk to that number. ' Farmers watch their hons, and finally thoy will nay, "Wo had hotter kill this hen she has stopped laying." Of course, tljbro is good judgment in that,, for the-hon brings no moro profit as an egg-laying fowl. On tho othur band, sho is so much added expense,' for sho must bo fed. Naturally, tho profit thon Is .In making tho hons lay tholr eggs as rapidly as possible thon killing thorn for market. By meana of selecting good stock and food Ing proporly, expert poultry brccdort) can mako tholr bona lay nil tholr ogga in two yeans. Somotlmos a hon" will lay all her eggs in a year. Leghorns lay about 150 eggs. Brahmoa lay about 200. As far. as known, no breed of hens will do much bettor than 200 eggs. Now, Naturo did not Intend the hen to lay 200 bgga in a year. Sho intendod theso eggs to bo produced In about flftcon years. Our hcnB como from tho wild junglo' fowl of India. In tholr native stato thoy llvo tifton or six teen yoars and lay their eggs throughout all What Insanity Is Costing Us IT has been computed that it costs us moro to. caro for our insane each year than tho annual oxpenso of tho Exec utive, Legislative and Federal departments of our government. Thirty-two millions of dollars is tho actual cost of caring for tho Insano in our various public Institutions in tho Unltod States. It . does not cost quite as much aa that each year to carry on the construction of the Panama Canal, and yet this $32,000,000 la only a Bmall part of tho actual cost of our insane. Tho total cost haa been estimated at 1164,000,000. Tho manner in which this astonishing amount ia calculated is on the worth of each adult between tho ages of eighteen and forty tiro. Long ago It was carefully ascertained that tho average value to the community of tho normal adult botween tho ages of eight een and forty-five waa ?700 per year. Counting tho number of people who have been withdrawn from tho community because of -insanity, peoplo of the seven hundred dol lar per annum value, the loss is $132,000,000. This, with the actual cost of caring for the insane-, brings the total up to tho 1164,000,000 mark. The first cost meana a per capita cost of about thirty-three and ono-third cents for ub, or that overyono in this country, if the cost were evenly divided, would have to pay thirty-three and one-third' cents each year for tbo care of the Insane. The total coat of this Is more than the ontlro valuo of tho wheat, com, tobacco and dairy and beef products exported each year from this country. thoso years. But thoy do not lay any more oggs than tho hen in tho poultry brooder's yards who produces all nor egga within a year and a half. Consequently, tho domestic hen of tho poultry fancier Is dead at two yours, or thirteen yoars ahead of her t,lme, as fur an tho reproduction of her kind Jb con cerned. s Bocauso tho wild Junglo fowl of India lives fifteen yeara and lays oggs every year, tho bollof long provallod that those fowl laid from a thousand t6 fourtoon hundred eggs during lifetime-. Intor It was learned, howovor, that tho hon In its wild 'stato layBsltn Cclutch" or- nqsttul of n xlozon or .about that number of oggs ovory season, nnu no moro. If theso munO'Wlld fowl woro put In tho 'yard urid tholr eggs taken from thorn every day, thoy would contlnuo to lay right along, Instead of a dozon or so a year at tho hatch ing soaspn, until their supply was exhausted, and that would bo tho end of it. Thoy might Uvo ilfloon or twenty yoars thoro would bo no moro eggs. 'Until man can induco Naturo to provide" tho hon with a thousand gorm pjasmB, iristoad of with -less than two hun dred, ho cannot mako tlio hen lay moro than tho two hundrod eggs. Thus far ho has suc ceeded only in making tho poor, ovor-workod hen dollvor her flftcon years supply of ogga In about ono year. YOU MIGHT TRY--- "Pressing" a Fur Coat. OK course, fur-lined coutB cannot bo Ironed, as it spoils tho skin, but wrinkles may bo removed by thoroughly sponging the outside and hanging the coat on a form to dry out of doors. Place for the Thermometer. IF you havo only ono thormomotor, sacrlflco your curiosity as to the out sldo temperature and hang it in your living- room, that you may pro aorvo your health by koeplng tho room "Just warm enough." Handling Paper Patterns. EVERY woman who cuts out from paper patterns knows of tho bother in pinning It flat to tho cloth. Take a hot Iron and smooth the tissuo papor pattern over the cloth and It will remain Hat without pins. If a Lamp Is Too Full. MANY still ubo 'olf lamps for night burning or the store room, if you fill them too full thoro is no need of soiling everything by tipping them up to pour out sorao of the oIL Take an old medl clno dropper and remoyo-somo of the oil. Sharpening a Knife. IF you havo no whotstouo handy, you can sharpen a knife easily by passing tho cutting edge back and forth across the unglazed end or bottom of a .crock, bean pot or any'auch stoneware Jar. Chasing All the MICROBES Out of Your TOOTHBRUSH N I To Remove Iodine Stains. F Iodine Is spilled on linen or cotton, pour boiling hot starch over the stain. Ropoat this twice within an hour and tho stain will disappear. This will removo nearly all kinds of ink stainB also. pOT long ago quite a hue and cry was raised In England over tho claim of a scientist that every brlstlo in every toothbrush that has been uaed a couple of days is alivo with bacterid. Tho sclontlst went on to explain that by means of a num ber of rigid bacterlologlc teBts ho had found that tho average toothbrush (meaning every used brush ho had tested) contained many germs. Whon theso germs wero placed In a proper medium, a luxuriant growth of bacteria was noted within twenty-four hours. Then nroso tho question among a few, "Ib not the tooth brush moro of a menace than nn aid to mouth sanitation?" It might seem that It. Is, wore It not for tho fact that other scientists havo come forth to remind tho public that every mouth swarms with bactoria. This does not mean that tho bacilli aro of the deadly or dan gerous varioty. Nor doos tho claim that the bacilli found In tho toothbrush are of the deadly variety. Thoro Is no mouth, however healthy, it is said, but what contains bacilli In Infinite va riety, and tho germs found in tho brushes are merely transferred In the brushing from mouth to brush. There should bo no scare over this, according to tho experts. It should T Do FACTORY WORKERS Ever Get USED TO NOISE? UK introduction of machinery into tho realm of labor, which Is- not bo very long ago, aftor ati, is beginning to show Its effects In many ways which had not been considered. Ono of theso Ib tho general result of tho roar of machinery. Employers 'of labor aro beginning to' find that thoro is a bettor output of work in thoso parts of tho factories whoro tho nolso of machinery is not deafening. Ono Gorman manufacturer, perhaps thinking of his employes as well as his own pockot, cased aa much of tho machin ery as waa posslblo In sound-proof covers and without paying any moro wages found that tho output of his factory increased sovon per cont tho noxt year, and that his employes wero better off. Porhaps tho most tiring part of work cortalnly of monotonous work Ib the need of constant attontion. Tho moro varied tho work tho' easier It is to give attention to tho ditto rent kinds of things to be done, and honco work that is varied, though It be hard, ia loss fatiguing than work which Is monotonous, though It bo easy. Thoro Ib less niontal effort needed to con contrato the attention upon tbo thing In hand. Nolso 1b detrimental because it brings in an ele ment of distraction, and It Ib especially disturbing whon tho noise is irregular and Jerky as in shirtwaist making machines and highly speeded mechanisms of that kind. Tho same thing Is true among men workers in sawing and planing mills, and the clamor amid which Ironworkers toll is ono of tho most brutalizing influences of tholr life. The belief that "operatives got used to It" simply Is not true. On tho contrary, exhaustion follows rapidly, and as tho man or woman gets moro and moro tired, tho nolso acts with greator effect upon tho nerves. Many a norvous system haa been shattered by tho din of a modern Industrial plant, and many a man has taken to immodorato drinking to got. as one man phrased It, "tho row out of his ears." The ellmina tlon of unnecessary nolso from tho workshops of tho United States Is ono of the most important things to be striven for in tho casing of tho terribly hard condl tiona of labor demanded by modern industry. Why SINGING Will MAKE YOU HUNGRY SINGING, It haa been discovered, Is a great appeti zer. No Iosb an authority thuu Dr. Cyril I tors ford of tb'o Royal Hospital, London, declares that this Is truo. Dr. Horsford-haa mado a studyot singers, and also of tho effects of singing upon peoplo who were not, until ho bogan hla experiments, in the habit of singing, and ho Is cortaln that singing is a great aid In Increasing tho uppetitc. Tho fanioiiB old Baying "Laugh and Grow Fat" has a splendid running mato In "Sing and Orow Hungry." Thoro is tho soundest of loglo in Dr. Horsford's claim that singing aids the appetite One connot sing very long if ho is despondont, melancholy, blue or grouchy. Singing will drlvo away more gloom In ten minutes than meditation could do In ten days. Every physician will tell you that the condition of the mind has a very great effect upon tho appotlte. No ono enjoys a meal when all- la gloomy and silent, but let ono havo pleasant companions or bright and cheerful conversation, and the food tastes better, and one eats more and feels better in every way. Singing thon makes tho mind brighter, nnd tends to happinesB. Happiness mcatiB a hotter enjoyment of food. This is one of tho reasons why song will mako you hungry. Of course there Ib a physlclal reason as well sb a mental reason. This la mainly In the deep breathing. One cannot sing without taking deep breaths. Deep breathing, us every one knows, clears tho lungs and Increases tho circulation. Tho proper tucreaso of the circulation calls for more fuel for tho body. Food of course, ia the "fuel" nature calls for. Singing; expand the top lobea of -the lung, which ordinary breathing will not do. It has been pointed out that a very good example of the advantages of singing may be observed In choir boys. Many an aenemlc little lad has gono into a church choir, upon careful trial of tho choir master, and taken great prido In his singing. Then in time it haa been noticed that In almost every case such boys 8eemod to lmprovo remarkably in their health. Their cheeks ure red, their oycB aro bright, and they lose their aenemlc appearance. Tho singing has been tho chief cause of this. This Improves their lungs, quickens their circulation, and this in its turn de mands more food. It is a well-known fact that a great many physicians have advised patients with tubercular tendencies to tako up tho practice of wind Instrument preferably the cornet, and there Ib no doubt but a great many young men have been prevented from getting consump tion solely through the constant practice on a cornet. The exorcising of tho lungs, of course, has been re sponsible for so strengthening these organs so that they could ward off the germs that threaten tho lung cells. Whether playing wind Instruments or singing a great deal the result is tho exercising of tho top of the lungs. In ordinary breathing it is the middle and tho bottom of the lungs that expand and contract It takes a deep breath to so Inflate the lungs that the narrow top portions are exercised, !t is well-known that thla top part of the lungs are almost always, without fall, the first section to become infected with disease. Consequently there is no mystery, but a lot of good sound logic to Dr. Horsford's claim that sing ing makes you hungrv , bo remembored that the mouth is always septio and cannot bo perfectly sterilized by the use of any antiseptic whatever. But because the mouth la swarming with bacteria It does not follow that thero is dan ger, for there are bacteria and bacteria. Not all Is harmful; In fact, tho greator share Is by no means harmful. To refrain from brush Ing the teeth becauso thero aro bacteria in the mouth would be as foolish as to refrain from washing because thoro are germs in the water. Care should be taken to keep the mouth clean. A quantity of bacteria in tho mouth does not mean an unclean mouth. The fact that one can never hope for an entirely anti septic mouth does not mean that one should not keep the mouth as clean as possible at all times. And without tho toothbrush the mouth cannot be kept clean. By taking care of tho toothbrush there la little, if any, danger that any germs on the bristles will harm you. Just becauso a brlstlo of the brush may penetrate tho lining of tho mouth it does not follow that you will be hopelessly Inoculated with germs. But there are always a number of good rules to follow with regard to the care of the toothbrush. First, all toothbrushes would bo practically safe If boiled five minutes before and after use. - Second, n new toothbrush can bo used ovory day; penny brushes being made for 1 "Js P"rPOse. which serve quite satisfactorily. Third, thoso wishing to use a toothbrush quite a while can rlnso tho brush in one per cent creosoto solution or allow it to stand be tween use in ten por cent formalin. A healthy mucous membrane is tho foun dation of a .successful hygiene of tho mouth, and if the normal secretions of tho mouth find tho tissues In a healthy state these se cretions havo the power of overcoming tho poison germs. It Is both useless and daneeroua to use strong antiseptics as a mouth waBh. Among the things that medical expertB havo de clared should not bo used extensively for mouth washes are alum, formaldehyde, Iron salts, salicylic acid and,- above all, no chlo rate of potash. Laziness Due to Poor Circulation MANY a poor lad haa been berated by his parents and others and accused of downright laziness when tha little chap did not havo a grain of lazlnosB in him, whon ho was fil of willingness to work, but lacked tho physical ability. This is a thing that frequently happens with boys botween the ages of eight and twelve. At that tlmo It is not uncommon for tholr bodies to grow faster than their hearts. A little boy's heart may ho unablo to keep up with tho rapid growth of his body. The result is that the heart is overworked keeping up the circulation of the blood. As everyone should know, any sort of ex ercise out of tho normal taxes tho heart and makes it work harder. A boy whoso heart has not developed as fast as his body finds it actually impossible to do a lot of extra work He will sit about and Join In forms of play that do not need too much exercise. Nature is tho best guide for all this. It will not let the boy do it voluntarily; it will mako him feel like keeping quiet. To do mand such a boy to split a lot of wood, carry up a lot of coal, run on long errands, do a lot of hard chores, is all wrong and may re sult very badly for tho little fellow. And then to add to his physical Inability, a bitterness to his soul by unjustly accusing him of being loay ia altogether too rough on the youngster.