The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-04

Every woman has either crooked legs
or crooked arms" As soon as she had
an opportunity she tried 10 straishten out
one arm, and found that it formed quite
an arch at the elbow, stretch il as hard as
she could. She then stretched out both
arms with the palms upward. They were
parallel only to the elbow There they be-
gan to diverge until there was difference
of at least six inches at the end OF the
little fingers. She felt that she was de-
formed. She went around the circle Of her
acquaintance and found only one young
woman whose arms would stand the test,
and she was knock-kneed. Uhe arms Of
her men friends she found TO be as
straight as an arrow She asked a profess
sional athlete about it and told him what
the man in the cable car had said.
1T is not strictly true" said the pro-
fessor, but the fact is that the great
majority of women are either knock
kneed, bow-legged. too fat, too lean, unde-
veloped or disproportoned in some way,
and I rarely see a straight arm on a wo-
man."
why. then do most men have straight
arms and legs?' she asked.
men are often crooked in their legs.
this country. But their arms are straight"
''Why are their legs crooked?"
For the same reason that women's legs
are crooked, because there is nothing done
to straighten them and because of neglect
10 babyhood. The English are more care
full than the Americans. The little cartil-
ages of babies are soft and unable to bear
the weight of the body and bend one way
or another. If they bend inward the chill
dren become knock-kneed, and if outward
they are bow-legged. Before the bones
form is the time to train the little bodies.
The legs should be bandaged TO be kept
straight until they are strong enough to
bear the weight of the body without bend
ing. You never see a crooked legged Ger
man. They would not be taken into the
army. And look at the Indians of Amer
ica."
But you wouldn't bandage the arms,
too, would your"
NO: but 1 would massage them. I be-
gan with my own baby when she was only
few weeks old. and massaged both her
little legs and arms besides bandaging
the legs every day. Now she is as straight
as can be. 1 gave her little dumbbells.
too, when only six months old and taught
her how to use them. She knows all the
movements and exercises now, and she is
only 2 years old"
Then you say that women's arms are
almost always crooked, while mems arms
are almost always straight. Why is
that?"
For one thing, men exercise more and
heir
try lass She is as straight as a die 1t
is untrammelled nature that gives her
her wonderful figure, which is almost per-
feet. She lives in the air. as her brothers
do; jumps fences, climbs trees. walks.
leads the horses to water: and does a
thousand things which develop her body
unconsciously. 1t is not that the farmers
wife knows more about the proper devel-
opment of her child. but nature is allow
ed TO help the good work on. Most coun-
try girls have splendid figures. When
they walk they swing the arms from the
shoulder, with every muscle relaxed
Sometimes they carry a pail of milk in
each hand or swing on the branch of
tree, stretching the arms out perfectly
straight Then, again, the country girl is
not cranped by the fashions-tight sleeves
and tight waists and laced corsets These
things all make the arms crooked restrain
their free action. and force them into
false and crooked positions The country
girl wears her clothing loose all over as
it should be. Th5nk Of Venus i'm corset
and tight sleeves, The country girl can
reach ar where with her arms and can
lift any weight above her head easily.
while her city cousin has to be an ac-
complished contortionist in order to get
her nat and veil arranged. As to her legs,
the low-heeled shoe or none at all, is re-
sponsible for their straightness."
Then you think these crooked arms
are the results of our fashions do your"
AeS, OF the tight sleeves and the Way
they are put into the waists so one can
not life the arms only so high The tight
waists also pull across the shoulders
ana hold the arms in the wrong position
The shape of the sleeve holds the arm
wrong. You cannot straighten out your
arm ia tight sleeve, and il grows crooked
like the sleeve. Everything carried in the
arms or hands when so confined is a
strain which deforms the arms. 1t is bad
that the tight sleeves are coming again
into fashion. They spoiled the arms of
people who wore them the last time thew
were in style, and now they are coming
again TO spoil all these arms which have
been untrammelled in the popular shirt
waists so long. The shirt waists have
done much 70 help out the uudeveloped
forms by allowing them freedom. The
young girl who lives in the city, especial
~ in fiat, has no chance. Nature can
not help her as she helps her country
cousin. Her mother does not know the
danger, and neglects her, and so she
grows, like Topsy, and grows crooked
Such girl needs physical culture along
certain lines to take the place of the
natural exercises and games out of doors
which she lacks"
lis not house work in it's various phases
a solution of the problem for this city
girl?"
mo. for homework once begun must
be finished and cannot be dropped when
the requisite amount of exercise or train
ing has been accomplished. 1t must be
finished, even if it costs exhaustion. In
order 10 correct defects the exercise
must be taken with discretion and not
overdone. This should be done at as
early an age as possible. There is one
class of children who are never neglected
and those are the children of athletes
circus riders, trapeze performers, and
other professionals. These are brought
UP with absolutely perfect bodies, straight
legs, and arms These people recognize