New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-22
TPHONIS BTCTCLISTIREM'

There is no canon of art under which such
a name a. HYPNOSIS hcyc,tarum" can be con
sdcr,d beautiful. Speak it you will, IT -
an offence 10 tongue and ear But that very
fact demonstrates rs fitness for existence AMI
Tor use. An ugly thin should have an ugly
name And If human Irrycrsity Ia, invented
anything much uglicr than that for which this
verbal cacophony stands. the fact Is not re-
corded i'll the annals OF the CLOSING century.
Unhappy, the thing itself i not a. unfamiliar
~ il. name b:t obtrndcs it, dcformity upon
the outraged eye in every hour at every turn
ins. /, is one of the characteristic evil, of IN"
age, and in the name Of It's mutltudlnous vic
tins, subjective and objective, requires immc-
diafc and severe repression.
"Kyphos- hicycli-tarum,' then, being in
terprctcd. i. "bcycc-ridcr, stoop' and what
that l.. mono but the blind VIII ask. Many
men. We might perhaps say tho majority of mon,
especially If they h, Young learning the
graceful and useful art of bicyclr-rldng, APPEAR
10 FORGET that they wcr. made IN tic IMAGE OF
their Maker, and intended to be ply scally up
right Instead, they diligently ~eck to trans
form themselves into the image OF some creep
ing thing The head -ocs down, the back /.
bumped, the arms assume the position Of fore
legs and the once erect an. graceful Antlnous
becomes IA wrctchcd traNrsty ot Qua-imodD.
pom aesthetic grounds alone no rcprobAtlon
Of this attitude can b. too strong. Ihcr" l. no
Uglicr object outside "A freak museum than even
the handsomo>t young man l'ndInS III cohcky
curvature over tic stccr.'-bir But other ana
gfavor considerations arlsr. The chest l. con-
tractcd aud the lungs cramp"i. th" spine Is
permanently curved and perhaps otherwise in
jurcd. and thus not Only the good effects
of bicyclc-riding prevented, but positively evil
effect, are brought ABOUT. Physicians of the
highest standing testify that dor>al curvature
p"-tcriory, once rare, il now alarmlngly con-
mon especially anon. young riders Of the
wheel. 1t Is thus an actual ami most serious
fact that this pcrycrson of bcn"iccnt siit
threatens the world with race Of narrow
chcot"d and humpbacked men
civ and pcrncious "a this habit is, 1t IA no
les unnecessary. In racing a wh"rlman may
bend forward ~ 10 offer IN" less resistance
20 the air. a. one walking stoops low when
facing a furious storm. But otherwise there Is
no eAcu~, Tor 20 DOM. In ordinary wheeling
an erect attitude gives one even better command
of the wheel than does stopping, a. the elements
Of natural philosophy readily prove Women
who ride wheels do not stoop. They sit erect
and graceful. Yet they ride as securely aud,
in due proportion, as strongly and swiftly a.
their brothers.
The secret Of the evil probably lies in the
general proncncss of the masculine spine toward
relaxation Observe am number Of average men
sitting on benches that have no backs. How
many Of them are erect; or. rather. how few?
Their backs are bowed their shoulders drop
forward, they seem to emulate the attitude ;of
frogs And 70 they do when they get upon
BICYCLES and thus give TO the world "kyphosis
bcycistarum" -the name and the disease. By
all means. ont upon it! 70 squat bumped up he
fits the tramp on the park bench. But the
energetic young athlete, riding his steed OF STEEL,
should remember that h. has muscles in his
back as well AZ in the calves OF his legs. Shoul-
dcrs back Chest forward! Eyes 'front.' No
"Kyphosis bicyclistarum'!