Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-26
The Lean and Hungry Caricature of
Uncle Sam Is Not at all Appro-
pirate in These Days.
STATESMEN GETTING HEAVIER,
Women Are WillOwy in Their Days Of
Youth, but Unwieldy With the Com
ing Of Aiddls Years.
Bic PEOPLE AREN'T GOOD NATURED,
Aaipos. and Brsins Do Not Bear N Inverse Proportion b
Each oths
rwkITrEN FOR THE D1srAroH. ]

Inere u ceTIaln NiQely-knoWn carlca-
ture which for at least 80 years has been ac-
cepted as typical of the proportions and per-
Bonal appearance of John Bull aud Brother
Jonathan respectively. The first figure is of
& short, thickset little man with an enormous
paunch supported by his corpulent limbs
that is John Bull. The second figure, that
of tall fellow, lean to emaciatlOn, with a
hatchet shaped face and spare, pointed
goatee, represents Brother Jonathan as be is
no longer.
With the passing Of time John Bull has
not altered his characteristic shape, but
Jonathan has changed his until he resem-
bles the beefy Englishman ofthe carica-
ture more than the lank Yankee of yore,
and Mrs. Jonathan has pumped up" even
more than her mate, SO that while specimens
of the elongated, skeleton-lIke Brother JON
Ethsn may still! be found among US, the true
type of the lend of the century" American
Is more like the rotund and unwieldy John
Bull than the original apothecary-Iike JON
sthan of the picture, which is as much out
of date now as the Stars and Stripes of
which his costume is composed.
Except the letter carrier, no class, NO
calling is wholly exempt from this a fliction
of too much flesh. From the President
down to the ash man all are more or less bur-
deued with fat President Arthur suffered
from it. SO does Mr.. Cleveland, and Presi.
dent Harrison keeps his corporosity within
reasonable bounds by walking three or four
miles daily. This exercise he never negIects,
no matter what the state of the weather may
! ~ A..
Republic. They say be walks at three
mile an hour pace, This pedestrianism
only is supposed to counteract the effects of
the pie which be is reported to eat a. every
meal.
Fat People of Washington.
In the United States Senate the heavy
weights are largely in the majority. Frank
G. Carpenter says, in recent letter to The
DISPATCH, that "Philetus Sawyer Is as
broad as he is long, and shakes like bowl
of jelly whenever ne lsughs;" that Frank
Hiscock weighs 225 pounds and his cheeks
fairly bulge out with good living" The
easy life, the certainty of income, absence of
care and constant good living in the capital
are provocative of corpulenee, hence the
tendency Of our representatives to fatten up
in Washington. There are, of course, some
men among them who would not latten un-
scaling high.
Statesmen Are Growing Heavier.
Senator Allison weighs 80 pounds more
than be did when he was elected. Senators
Manderson and German are fast becoming
heavy-weights and George Vest re-
quires much more vest than he did two
years ago. Leland Stanford lately spent a
summer at the German Springs in the hope
OF reducing his ponderosity. Frank g. Car
penter adds: 81 might give many more in
stances of increase in the Senatorial body,
but it sufices to say that the average weight
IN the United States Senate is at least IT'S
pounds, and is even more than that IN the
Supreme Court. There is not Judge on
the bench, with the exception of Bradley,
who is not heavyweight"
So completely has IhInneSs ceased to be
typical of the American that foreigners are
beginning to wonder at and comment upon
our national bulk. In no other country.
not even in adIpose England, are there sold
SO many nostrums for the reduction of
corpulenee as In the United States This
disposition 10 take on" fat, more especially
In middle age, is attributable to many diff
ferent causes, the first OF which is the drink
ing of beer. Next comes the consumption
rich, fat-forming foods, com plicated with
the Incidence induced bv luxurious living
and lastly, the lack of exercise, all of which
are the direct results OF our having become a
rich nation. Those of us who are obliged
70 work hard are not prone to become
obese.
The Girls Are Still wilowy.
Our girls, thaak goodness are still
slender and willowy, but that condition, as
rule, does not ouilast their first youth
Like her English sister, the American wom-
an, as she approaches middle age, loses her
n1l nf nd lrv L.,
fore that dreaded time is reached becomes
plump, and afterward bv easy stages she
grows little TOO feshy, then decidedly
stout, and finally, 10 her horror aud con-
Eternation, she finds herself fat, absolutely
and frequently abnormally fat Then there
Is a rush for 'obesity cures" ''anti-fat
remedies" and reduction movements" but
alas the mischief is an accomplished
fact" and she learns to her cost that getting
fat is like getting married, easier done than
undone.
To convince yourself that we are no longer
q thin people, go into any of our great dry
goods stores or ladies' restaurants in the
large cities, or stand on the corner of some
fashionable street trequented by ladies, and
you will be obliged TO admit that the num-
Der of obese women who pass is in excess
of the slim ones, and these latter are almost
always young. In stores where scales are
Kept they are in such constant use that the
stout shoppers-slender women seldom
weigh themseiVes-stand around in a crowd
waiting their turn TO use the apparatus
which has TO be repaired every few months
in consequence OF being continually jumped
upon by the iair and fat
hiding Adipose by Means of DresA
But not in the stores, restaurants nor upon
the streets can an accurate idea be formed of
the ponderosity OF the average American
woman, because when she takes her slow
and heavy footed walks abroad the much |
abused corset braces her up and hauls her |
into the smallest endurabe point and the |
Kindly undivided skirt covers q bulkitude |
o. skin unsuspected by the locker on. In |
the Turkish bath when she stands uncon-
cealed, save for a solitary Sheet she who |
runs sheeted into the hot room may read |
that as nation we are indeed on the increase. |
In addition to the ridicuie to which corpu- |
lent persons are subjected, there are many |
minor dlscomforts to be borne. The heavy |
lead OF nesh TO be carried is one of these, the |
shertness OF breath and inability to move |
Caiekly are others. Stout women are very
hard" on all articles of clothing, which |
they can seldom buy ready made.
Women are more prone TO fall into flesh
than men, especially after they reach their /
IortIeth year. No woman can be strictly
beautiful who answers Swift's description |
O. a thin woman, skinny bonia, snrp and
!eani certain roundLess of outline en-
hanceS the beauty of the female form,' The
d nculty is to preserve the juste milieu,
Forbidden by Law to Get Fat.
In men the OFT alluded to Zone onnce of
flesh" is detrimental to per;ect
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