Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-05-09
THE RINK CRAZE.

preached a sermon Sunday night on
"The Modern Craze" referring to
the roller rink mania. He took fol
his text a passage from Ezekiel
"They turned not as they went, but
to the place whittier the head looked
they followed; they turned not as
they went"
This is an age of rush and risk
High specnlations are rife on every
thing from grain to grace, and from
racing brutes to racing women
More money is exchanged on risk
than on the staples of body and soul
EVERYTHING to be done at all must be
done at full head of steam and Oh
$50 time. The higher pursuits Of
life for bread and brain justify tc
a certain degree this madness, but
who dares to say the roller craze has
anything in view to justify the mad
ness it engenders. Five Kinks erect
ed in this city in ten months and
only one church debt paid and no new
churches built 1t is the extremes t(
which we carry most of our pleasures
that arm them with stings, resulting
in remorse and often agony of body
and soul.
Many Of you are already determin-
ed that you will continue your pet
craze, right or wrong, so long as you
do not see signs of danger. IT'S the
drunken man who imagines he is
the only sober man of the company
and he will often abuse the lamp.
post against which he thrust himself
for striking him.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF SKATING.
Let us confine our thoughts to the
physiological and pathological eff
fects of this craze:
|. In a child 5 to s years OF age
The peculiarly delicate texture of
the female upon whose most unprO.
tected parts falls the greatest dan.
ger, suggests a female for my argu-
ment, but does not free the stronger
sex, who are as likely to overstrain
as the female. The highest function
aud pride of every woman is to bear
healthy children and her greatest
joy, if she would permit herself to
live long enough, to see her great
grand children perfect in physiology.
In child the bones are plastic and
the ligaments supporting the organs
in question are very elastic; hence
if she be allowed to over-exercise
herself she is likely to induce curva-
ture of the spine and various other
sufferings. We stand by the grave
of the young mother and wonder
why she was taken and her little
babe left for the wolves
to suckle, forgetting that Gas man
soweth he shall reap" A little strain
in jumping the rope or treadlng the
rink arena filled with hurrying mad
men and women tells the story at
the post mortem, but not often at
the time of injury. Those plastic
bones, two hundred and eight in
comprise the most wonder
full piece Of machinery under heaven.
A few bee-stings will often produce
death before reinforcements can
reach the point of attack. The stump,
ing Of the toe may produce Bright's
disease OF the kidneys. Oh! then,
why not lecture on stumping toes |?
Because they come to us i'll the nee
essary duties of life. We come from
far and near to see a semi-nude
woman skate Oh rollers, but where is
the champion woman for doing bak-
ing and broiling on the same fast
line? I'll pay hundred fold the or
binary admission to see her, and
then | would steal behind the curtain
after the orchestra ceased and say,
" God bless you in your noble en-
deavor to domesticate woman back
to her first sphere
EVILS OF PRoMISCUoUS ASSOCIA-
TIONS.
III. A child of s to ID years.
She is growing rapidly and form
ing all her habits of future life. If
she be allowed to mingle too freely
in mixed crowds she will soon learn
to think, as none at her age should,
Of matters which should concern only
mature womanhood. The boys, yes,
dear, manly, gallant fellows they are,
but mothers apron string should not
be too long here either. The boys
is the sole topic in MANY groups OF
girls yet in childhood and short frocks
to the neglect of study and the true
business of this period, namely, the
uninterrupted development of physi
illogical growth. At this age there
is always tendency when once ex
cited, to reach after that which God
has put beyond the reach of lassies
and striplings. When the age of Ii
to II is reached the mother should
be an everwatchful guard to keep
Off the causes that so often hinder a
graceful transition from childhood te
wOmanhood. A few overdoses oil
roller skating at this point will hin
der the girl from becoming a woman
and the rose leaves her cheek anG
pain comes to the back and head
and right on the threshold of bios
soming into sweet, healthy woman
hood the modern craze stands tt
turn her steps still further in the di
rection she has turned her head. A
few more doses given by quack no
toned liberals will invite quick con
sumption of the once beautiful CIR
and in three or six weeks she is fol
lowed to an early grave by the fool
ish mother, wailiDg, "would l had
died for thee" when few days Of
common sense living in the interests
of her dear idol would have saved
her life.
The publicity of the rink is a mat
ter which every thinking lady should
thipIy n houf coharIx Drop,;cououe