Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-06-05
USE THE RIGHT HAND
A PREFERENCE THAT is SHOWN IN
NEARLY EVERYTHING WE DO.

hands with n self possessed young gen
tleman." / received from him the left
hand for salutation. and his ruvorod
paren. instantly remarked, THAT IL the
wrong hand. Before had well gotten
out Of my mind the thoughts stirred up
by this expression. I saw a carpenter
driving nails with his left hand in the
most enSy going fashion. There arc left
handed players in tho baseball field. in
tho cricket field and In the tennis court,
and II is curious 10 note the changes
mndo In the disposition II tho "held"
IN the FIRST two cases and the evident
discomfort Of tho other players IN the
third case. Wemay even SEQ left handed
gunncrs in Tho sporting clubs, but the
bystanders instinctively draw back when
one appears on the line, MS II they wcro
afraid that the weapon held in the left
band might shoot round tho corner.
These things, and many others Of lil,o
kind, are considered nlnormalitios. for
men and women nrc supposed 10 DO nor.
mally right handed aud not loft handed.
Thcrc arc, however. some marked incon.
sistoncies. as, for instance. that wo must
hold our knife in tho right hand aud not
eat with IL, but with the fork held In
our left. while n spoon must be held IN
tho right hand, and the soup conveyed
90 the mouth by that, for every eye ni
tho table would be- turned ON person
who ycnturcd TO uso tho spoon In the
loft hand.
Tho results Of the prevalent RICH,
handedncss Of man are shown In many
curious ways II We look nc dress, we
And that mans buttunhulos arc ON tho
loft, while the buttons arc on tho right
"a man in buttoning grlvps the button
IN his right hand pushes Il through
with his right thumb. holds tho button
hole open with the left and pulls all
straight with his right forofngcr. Re
verso tho side and both hands at once
seem equally helpless" Not very long
ago the buttonhoics and buttons Of
womcn's dress were ON opposite sides 20
those Of mon. IL may bo NO 20 largo
extent oven now. hut 1 am told on very
good authority that with tho introduce
IL going out Of vogue. II 80. this last
badge Of masculine superiority ia
doomed. and the future man win have
but little difficulty In DOMINIC tho coat
Of the now woman. 4 man generally
carries his loose cash In his right hand
pocket In order that he may reach u
with ease His pocket handkerchief IL
placed In the right pocket Of his sack"
coat II low down, In tho left breast
pocket II higher mp for similar reason.
His railway ticket and nickcls for car
fare OCCUPY middle position ON the
right hand side. Ia order that thoy may
b. handy" A soldier wears HIS sword
on the left for convenience; the driver
holds his reins In tho left hand. while
the right carries tho whip a hiswcapon
OF oiiense.
The right hand is the seat Of honor at
banquets and ccrcmonicS and the
phrase has como into use for the post OF
dignity in matters both sacred and socu-
lar We hold ont the right hand OF fol.
lowship, not so much perhaps from any
sense Of its superiority rs because In
days gone by It was found that II IL
was extended In greeting It could not
bo used 10 grasp tho sword and thus
give an unforeseen blow.
In tho way Of tools, screws are made
70 be turned by the right hand, and
that useful article at picnics--a cork
scrcw--is fitted for doxtral and not sim
istral use. Clocks and watches run
round from left 10 right. ~ the sun ap.
pears 10 do. although the earth. whose
time they aro Keeping. ~ 80 perycrso as
10 move from right 20 loft.
In walking down the strcot we keep TO
the right hand, and that IL the rule II
the road in driving, NJ well az tho way
In which trains move along the track.
When we come 90 augury, matters
become mixed up. Tho Romans held that
lightning flash from left 10 right was
propitious, while ono FROM right To left
was unfayorablc. Il may hayo been be-
cause. ~ the lightning was supposed 10
DO hurled by Joye, from left TO right
would be the way In which II would DO
seen II the Deity had his face toward the
suppliant, but II Joyo turned his back
ON the watchers the lightning hurled by
his right hand would move from right
20 left
But why is there this difference In our
hands ut ALP The truth IL. our bodies
arc one sided. The heart Is, after all, "a
very important item In man. An in
Jury TO IL is fatal. Hence even savage
man found out that he had TO defend II
and devised tho plan of covering the re-
gion Of his body where 1t Is located with
u shield. Blows. therefore, were struck
by the right arm. and soon right showed
might With frequent use In this way
followed adap,ability in other ways,
and ns each generation of the initiative
genius followed not its own bent, but
tho practices Of It's predecessors. right
handedness became the mark Of the in.
diyiduals, and, although there might bo
less necessity for striking blows with
each generation. the right hand did not
''forgot its cunning" Civilization has
adopted the principle as u law Of polite
society, and therefore 10 be right handed
IL right, TO DO left handed Is wrong.
must cut my food, write my letters.
greet my friends and do a thousand 9TH
err things with my right hand. In tho
main, must tell the truth, for that IL
right; but, according to u certain phrase
OF the code, may tell an untruth II
qualify IL by tho phrase tower the left. -
Philadelphia Press.
MAURICE HEALY.