The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-11-07
THE BAREFOOT CRAZE.
Kneipping Is Fad Not Likely to Last
Great While.
Nickel Magazine.

And now comes Rev. Sebastian
Kneipp, of Woershaven, Bavaria, with
a pleasant cure for the ills of the flesh.
In his own village Father Kneipp has
for several years been directing the
sick and infirm into the paths of Wig
or, and his cures have made no little
noise. We shall soon know for our
selves IL his system has merit, fol
Kneipp yereins are already numerous
in this country. ''Kneipping" is what
his disciples term the practice of his
teachings. One of these teachings is
that men and women may be cured OF
many Ills if they will walk barefoot on
the dew-wet grass in the early morn
ing. There are other articles in the
Kneipp creed, but cold water exter-
nally applied is the basis of his doc
trine, and its application to the feet,
either by standing in water or by
walking over damp lawn is its main
tenet.
This exercise fills the lower extrem-
tiles with purified blood, it is claimed,
and new yigor is thus brought into
the system. After a patient has
toughened his feet and fortified his
blood sufficiently he may walk through
the snow in bare feet, and still fur
ther invigorate himself. We should
be 10th to discourage any believer in
Father Kneipp's system, for it is diff
ficult to see how any one could be
harmed by it-barring occasional stone
bruises or ''stubbed" toe-but the
word "fadn obtrudes itself persistent
ly as we read of the mutatinal bare
foot strolls of the Kneippists, and we
cannot be sure that it does not do so
intelligently.
In New York city certain stretches
of lawn in Central park have been
thrown open for this purpose, and
each morning a band of ardent en-
thusiasts there divest themselves of
shoes and stockings and glide solemn
ly over the sparkling grass. The sem
sation is not unpleasant, as any man
who remembers his barefoot days will
attest. The contact with the earth
is stimulating of a surety, though on
cool mornings it is apt to send chill
through the frames of the sensitive.
Even hardened boys with whom bare
footedness is chronic are not imper-
vious to this chill, as the writer is
ready to affirm. When he, however,
ventured out of an early morning at
the age of IL, there was relief at
hand which is denied to the Kneip-
pists of Central park.
He found a ruminant and recum-
bent COW and ruthlessly drove her
from her night long resting place.
And, as she fled affrighted in the gray
dawn, he stood on the spot made
warm by her body and was happy. He
little dreamed, however, that the pro-
ceeding had sanitary value and he
little dreams now that the grown-up
barefoots will continue to Kneipp af-
ter the sun of common sense has dried
the dew off the novelty of the thing.
An ordinary bath tub is an excellent
place in which to seek contact with
cold water, and it has the superior
merit of not limiting the surface to be
treated.
The Kneipp cure will benefit the
Sunday newspapers, because it will
enable them to print and illustrate
articles entitled, ''Society's Latest
Fad; How Darling of the 400 Per-
forms Her Pedalian Additions in Cen
trail Park" But in little time it
will fall into the well of oblivion, at
the bottom of which lies the ssblue-
grass craze" 1t is extremely doubt
full if there is any easy, simple way for
the flesh to dissipate it's inheritance
of ills.