Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-06-14
TRAINING THE PHYSICAL MAN.
The Muscle ms Well as the Mine should
Have Their Qualities Drawn Out.

Have Their Qualities Drawn Out.
Exhibitions of remarkable skill and
endurance on the stage or in the cir
Gus ring, however useless the feat per-
formed, may have a certain value TO
the thoughtful as demonstrations of
the perfection to which the machin-
cry of mar may be brought by con-
slant drill and exercise. The gym
nasts, acrobats, dancers and jugglers
do things that seem almost impossible,
simply, because they have for years
trained their eyes aud muscles TO per
form "A limited number of operations,
have practiced necessarily and made
their movements almost automatic.
Ii men can do these things, that
simply serve 10 amuse other people,
they can, by similar perseverance and
practice, perfect themselves in useful
occupations. Leaving out of consid-
Grafton the arts (wherein, however,
technical skill is almost as much TO
be desired as natural taste or talent
there is scarcely a mechanical occu-
patton that could not be elevated and
improved by such devoted practice
as the professional acrobat gives to his
feats of agility. A juggler practices
certain movements of the hand al
most necessarily for years before lie
becomes so highly skilled as to be able
to deceive spectators by his sleight of
hand performances. A mechanic
equally devoted to the business of get
ting his hand trained TO do his will
would become a remarkable workman
in much less time.
The fact is that too little attention
has heretofore been given 10 the pos
siOilities of hand training for useful
work. The stage and the circus ring
have for years shown us that there
is scarcely any limit TO be put to what
man may accomplish through the
training Of his Muscles. Crowds have
wondered at and %applauded perform
ers with no greater intelligence than
the average spectator, and have never
thought of applying the lesson TO
themselves and making better use OF it
than that of posing for the amuse-
ment of the public. The gymnast, the
acrobat, the juggler + men who
have learned how 10 use their mus
cles, who have trained their eve to
quick seeing, their judgment to
prompt decision, who have taught
themselves TO keep control of their
wits in an emergency. and who have,
above all. practiced certain move
nleuts SO diligently that they a per-
form them without effort. almost UNI
consciously. They have not assumed
that education is TO be applied only to
the mind, but, frequently to the neglect
Of the latter, have applied educational
methods 10 the muscles of their body
which other people neglect. One may
easily imagine a skilled juggler who
would wonder quite as much at a
schoolboy's ready answer to questions
in arithmetic as the school boy would
al his feats of balancing or sleight of
hand. The wonderment in each case
is dependent upon the ignorance Of
the one and the skill of the other in
fields that are open to both. Until re-
cent years it has been assumed that
the muscles need little training that
cannot be acquired in the ordinary
course of life without special instruc-
ton or effort. The results achieved
by specialists should, however, correct
this view.
The Germans have carried this
thought TO a logical conclusion by
providing more generally than other
people for the training of hands and
eyes in the kindergarten and for carry
ing on similar exercises in their turn
ers' schools.
The object is not to make gymnasts
or acrobats Of the pupils any more
than the teaching Of drawing in the
public schools is intended to make AZ
fists of all who receive such instruc-
ton. The purpose is TO give health
full and useful exercise, 10 train the
muscles, and lay the foundation for
the development of skill Of hand in
any undertaking. This is not done
at the expense of mental education,
but, as experience shows, by pro-
noting the physical health. il quick.
n and strengthens the mental facul-
ties, at the same time giving them
needed relief from too much strain.
All the tendencies of modern educa-
tlonal thought are toward a broader
and more liberal education in the di-
rection, not Of multiplying mental
studies, but of extending school tr T.
ing TO hands and eyes as well as to
memory. Baltimore Sun.