Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-24

1.-The American people are eSSehtidhS
nervous people" remarked an educated
Chinaman to a Star reporter. land the
best of physicians agree that this nervous
ness is on the increase as the country
grows older. Where it will end is, of
course. q matter of conjecture. for reme-
DIV. or a series of remedies may be discov-
cred as time runs along. Certain 1t Is that
unless this nervousness can be cured the
future of the American people is very
serious problem. Already it is a matter of
discussion in the medical journals, and
though hundreds of books have been writ
ten and will yet be written on the subject
there is no great unanimity of opinion as
to the remedy Indeed. the cause has not
yet been fully ascertained. though there
are a number of causes. 1 have a theory as
to a great deal of this American nervous
ness and though many do not agree with
me think it is the right one. My idea is
that it is caused by the shoes the people
wear-not the shape of the shoe. for they
are of all shapes. but the way the shoe is
made. All American shoes aaye hard, solid
soIes. Those who wear slippers or felt
shoes find relief. simply because the soles
are soft and yielding. There is no nerv-
business among the people of China, and
there has been none for the past 1,UD
years. Maybe there is not as much activ-
lily among the people of my country as
there is among Americans. but Cinnamon
are not as slow as some may suppose. Inc
best Chinese writers, medical men, say that
nervousness has been kept out of China
by the fact that the people there wear
sOft-soed shoes. The sOles, as any one has
discovered who has examined them, are of
q yielding. pliable character. The hene-
fits of this kind of a sole are numerous,
and time has proven it. Every one who
wears soft slippers. carpet or leather, APP
preCiattS this. though maybe unconscious
ly. He knows he finds relief, but
rarely realizes that it is the softness or
yielding of the soles that gives it OF
course. il is a very large question, viewed
from any standpoint, but it is very i'm
portant one. 1t may be going backward.
as some imagine. for the average so-called
up-to-date American to adopt an idea that
Is over 1000 years old in China, but L
firmly believe that the idea Is a very valu-
able one. In past years the best writers
have agreed that the national dis
ease of America is dyspepsia l do not
concur in this in full. though l realize that
there is much dyspepsia. My experience
however, is that there is as much nerv-
BUSINESS as dyspepsia. and that nervous
ness is the more damaging. The 5000 years
OF civilization of China, want of civili-
cation You may think. have proven many
things that have not been proven In other
nations. and that cannot be proven except
In time. Soft-sOled shoes drove nervous
ness out of China and will do the same
Tor America n hard-sOled SHOE like a
hlEh-heeled shoe. puts a person under a
tension. This tension is wearing and the
nerves seem TO wear out first. 1t is the
relaxation that is desired to cure nervous
ness, no braCing up or tension. Ny theory
may not be borne out by the facts hut
1 feel convinced that il will be-"
K x =
l am glad 10 see that The Star in It's
SOCIAL Items invariably uses the word and
In connection with marriages instead of
to. explained a weIl-knOwn literary man
to a Star reporter The ordinary para
grapher in referring to a marriage and the
marriage notices that appear in nearly all
the newspapers, advertisements and an
nouncements nearly always say that Mr.
John Smith or Mr.. James Brown was mar
red 10 Miss Nellie Green or Miss Fanny
" hlte. 1t would lead one 10 think that the
man only was married, while the fact Is
both were married. The woman is as much
married as the man. The man was not
simply married to the woman. The woman
and the man We're married. and the an
nounce meEt should be that Mr. So-and-So
ana Miss SO-and-So were married Rev
Dr- Sunderland wrote 81 series of articles
On this subject some years ago which were
puDlshed in this city. He laid down the
general principle that he did not marry the
man to the woman, but that he married
the man and the woman. and married one
just as much as he did the other He dis
countenanced the issuing Of wedding
cards by parents that their daughter was
married TO any particular person. and said
ne uld not want TO perform any marriage
ceremony In which any such announce
meIt was made
x x y
1t Is bad practice TO be continually
setting watch by the stem setter" OBJ
served watch repairer TO a Star reporter,
for it has a tendency to wear out the
hand thai attaches the hands TO the pinion
The hands are frightened to the pinIon as
hrmly as they can be, and every setting
io0sens them somewhat. There IS a class
OF persons who set their watches every
Jay rather than give a little attention TO
the matter OF regulating them They find
mat the watch gains or loses a minute or
& few minutes in each tweaty-four hours.
and instead of curing this by the regulator,
which is put III the watch for that express
purpose and no other. they force back or
1"rw the bands by the stem setter or
by key. If the hand plaion wears ont
Men I frequently does il is considerable
OF job 10 put in new ore or place rev
EdndS Oh II, and the work necessarily COSTS
something, Tor watch rcDai-c.s have TO
charge Tor their work. II a person knows
mat watch gains or loses certain
amount IN each day il is better TO caIcIl-
tate BACK OF lOi ward than to be continually
Setting It A little study Of the regulator
viii do the work much better without the
FISK OF wearing out anything"
Though many efforts have bee, made
In that direction. it has been found that il
Is not practical to organize the shocrnak-
ers and cobblers in the various cities" said
q prominent labor organizer 10 a Star re-
porter "All other kinds of workers man
age TO agree upon certain lines. hut the
Cobolers here as organizers are not IN II
for q minute. Though their interests are
somewhat identical. or at least it is SUD-
posed they are, there does not seem 20 be
any general ground upon which they can
agree. The shOemakers in factory towns
are wonderfully We'll organized, but It is
because they work for some one else The
moment they open up business for them
Selves they drop all union ideas and strike
out independently every one for himself and
against every one else.
The result is that the cobblers do about
the same kind and amount of work at all
Kinds OF prices. The repair while YOU
walt cobhl,rs have 10 sympathy with The
olc-faShicHed cobblers, who work sitting In
cObbler's stool The repair while Won
wait Cubhler is somewhat Of an fnu6ya-
ton. but he already controls the repair
business in this and many other cities. He
Is usually an Italian