Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-06-11
Physical EaucatfOr,.

a.. L. s.
valid makes vigorous plea for the better phys
ical education of children and youth. The
subject is one which ought to attract Wide
public interest, and be taken up by teachers
preachers and other agents for Influencing the
popular mid. There Is danger, with the hot
house processes for forcing mental gro With In
our schools, and the great demands upon the
brain and The small demands upon the body
MADE by the business life Of mea who are not
farmers CT mechanics. tnat we shall become
an ef1emiEate nation. The aim Of most OF our
educational institutions Is 10 cram the pupils
minds with memorized facts and forms,
selves. In the boys schools there is a
chance for athletic exercises, such as ball
playing and rowing, but only. a few STU
oents engage In these sports. The lad who
OF the professors Is usually the one who gives
his whole time TO study and recitation. Ia
some OF the schools for girls mild form CT
but 1t goes for little In the way of thorough
ply sicai training. The ordinary movements of
the day give the schoolboy or schoolgirl plenty
the arms. In running about The house and to
school and back the LATEST Child performs the
feat Of supporting and propelling the body
Win Win one loot remaining on the ground at
arms done in the meanwhile? Carried a chair
aero IS the room perhaps, held book, and con-
yeyed food to the mouth. To equallze this dlf-
ference between the arms ana the legs DR..
oswald thinks, should be the primary object OF
Physical culture. He advises the hitting up ia
every City house OF special room for arm ex-
and gives some practical suggestions as to the
apparatus needed.
An old bolster and cushion target, he says,
VIII do for the proputSVe exercises. There
should be a pair OF swinging rings suspended
about four feet above the floor, over stratum
OF old quilts and carpets. Health-lifJ5 can be
with strap handles. He would add a knottei
rope. fastened TO the ceiling by means OF q
scfew-hook, and hanging down In a single or
double Chain, which children soon learn to
climb by the hand-oVer.hand process thus
streDgthe ming the bicepS and fleXOr mus cles,
TO whose development the quadrumana owe
their peculiar arm power. Thea he would en-
courage the youngsters to turn the hall into a
race course In cold weather, and to get up run
Mig matches out-of- doors when the season
permits. In its general invigoratlng effect on
The organic system, he says, running Surpa5Se5
every other kind OF exercise
An in. door gymnasium for older people can
De Itted UP, Dr. Oswald tells US. Tor $780, and
he thinks vii! be as useful as private library.
The following his description OF the essential
features OF such promoter OF health aud long
life: /. spring BOARD and ieap1ng- gauge; 2.
An iicliiied ladder; ). A horizontal bar; 4
Swlnging-rlnge; 5. vaulrng horse (rough
hewe0:l &. cneaI-eX pander elastic anu with
handes;} and, Z. A pair OF Indian clubs. Buck
cts Hlied with Shot or pig iron Will DO Tor q
heal lit. With this simple apparatus An In
finite vaii ~ OF health giving exercises may De
performed Without much risk: on the borIZ On
TAI bar alone jain and Salzmaan enumerate
not less tnan 123 different movements, most Of
Itch have proved very useful In correcting
:! eciai malrormatlon. For general hygienic
purposes, DR.. Oswald AIDES, a much smaller
| number viii be SUFFICIENT, especially where the
neighborhood affords an opportunity for occa-
| sional outdoor SPORTS for an indoor gymnasium
| Is, after all, only a preparatory school, or at
best substitute for The pal;estra OF Nature
| the woods, the seashore. and the cliffs of q
| rocky monntain.range. But in large Cities he
| SAYS, even the poorest ought to procure few
gymnastlc implements; no dyspepttc should be
without spring board and some sort OF health.
| lift.
The need for thorough reform in popular
| methods OF education Is hardly overstated by
DR.. Oswald. He finds that in Massachusetts,
| Ohio and North Carolina which are taken as
| representative states OF their respective Sec
tons Ds, only three schools In thousand pay any
| essential thing vi all ia neglected and Left tC
chance-s5oH log children and young people
how to build up strong bodies and teaching then
the primary laws OF health. There is no end
| OF schemes and systems for training the MIND
| and saving the soul, but small attention is paid
| to the fact that without a sound body to WORK
| In neither mind nor soul Is Of much account
| N. 7. Tribune.