The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1895-04-27
DEGENERATE MAN COMING
Mrs. lease Sees Him Wheeling
in on the Bicycle.
viii &c. Here at About the Time the
Advanced woman Arrives As
the Sturdy Oak He Will
Be a Failure.

Topeka, Kas., April 22.-"Men are
last getting down on all fours." said
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Lease. as a nan
on a wheel sped by on the Quincy street
asphalt. He was bent nearly double,
his face distorted and firm set, his eyes
standing out and his legs moving like
the eccentric of a steam engine. She
watched the spectacle until 1t had dis
appeared down the hill toward the Kaw
river, and then went on: of present in
dications are worth anything. the man
Of the future will be a rara avis, and
the 'clinging IVY type of woman either
will be out of date or will have no sturdy
pax to which to cling. 1t is no longer
possible. no matter how suggestive or
repellant the thought may be, to ignore
the fact that men are undergoing a
steady transformation, mentally and
physically. Thai they are decreasing
In stature and strength is easily proven
by a glance at the colossal figures of the
knights of the Crusades. The heavy
coat of mall, the chain armor and the
steel plated breastlets and helmets Of
the period of Richard III would weigh
our modern mosquito legged men to the
earth and give them la grippe.
Three factors are contributing to The
steady change that IS taking place, al
though the marked deterioration largely
Is attributable to habits of vice and to
the reckless renewal of Individuals by
the morally and physically unfit. The
bicycle. which Is doing more to emanci-
pate women from the thralldom Of
dress n custom than all other agen-
cies combined. is claiming mar as It's
victim. Note the erect position, the
FVaa1nro ovid fhn
that characterize a cyclist, es-
pecially If she have the good sense to
wear the costume necessary for the ex-
srcise. Then compare her with the
Average nan on a bicycle, the man who
has just rolled by, for instance. He
lunges forward. ben to an angle OF
torty-ive degrees, and uses his limbs
not unlike a huge ~grasshopper. This
ungraceful picture is making itself man
fest in his walk. He is becoming stoop-
shouldered, and looks down as If in
quest of his feet.
Secondly. it is a provision of nature
that the teeth must be used upon hard
substances to keep them white and
strong. Our cave ancestors had the
strong, glistening teeth of wild animals,
but, also, while toothache was unknown
the entrances to their cave dwellings
were streeWn with bones that had been
snawed and polished oft and long. The
use of warm drinks and soft cooked
food are surely and comparatively rap
Idly destroying the teeth. Civilization
brings it's penalties. Dentists are in
creasing and their vocation is more
complex. An ppe and sometimes an
under set of artificial teeth are not UNI
usual among men who have not reached
middle life; or if they haven't the arti-
fetal teeth they ought to have them by
all means.
Thirdly, the unnatural temperature
Of steam heated offices and the bad Gus
tom of wearing almost constantly close
lifting warm h%eadgear are robbing men
Of natures covering, and unless some
radical change is brought about by the
new woman 1t is inevitable that the
coming man will be toothless and hair
less and Will walk upon all fours, not
with the easy Looping gait that Darwin
ascribes to our ancestors in primeval
forests, but rather with the jerky,
~grasshopper jump of a later Kansas
day.
What about the new woman?' Well,
can best answer that by giving the
definition used by my little daughter
Louise. when asked that question.
Mamma she said, the new woman is
the same old familiar article, only she
has more brains and Is using more COM
mon sense Women are growing more
sensible, n while not an iota less
womanly, are steadily advancing and
succeeding when equipped with the
necessary qualifications of fitness"