Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-11-04
SOFT sOLED SHOES.
cbtnaman Says They would Pre-
vout American Nervousness.

Arttuaman Says They would Pre-
xent American Nervousness.
"The American people are essentially
nervous people, f" remarked an educat-
Cd Chinamap to Star reporter, land
the best of physicians agree that this
nervousness is on the increase as the
country grows older. Where twill end
l. Of course. a matter Of conjecture, for
remedy. or a series OF remedies, may
he discovered as time runs along. Ger
tain il is that unless this nervousness
ran be cured the future OF the American
peonle is a very serious problem. Al
ready it is a matter Of discussion in the
medical journals, and, though hundreds
Of hooks have been written and will yet
he written on the subject, there is 10
great unanimity Of opinion as TO the
remedv Indeed the cause has not yet
been fully ascertained, though there
are a number of causes. Ihave theory
as to a great deal Of this American
nervousness. and, though many do not
aaree 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 il made. All Ameri-
cans shoes have hard, solid soles Those
who wear slippers or felt shoes fnd re-
lief, simply because the soles are soft
and Welding. There is no nervousness
among the people of Caina, and there
has been none for the past l, 900 years.
Maybe there is not as much activity
among the people of my country as
there is among Americans, but China
men are not as slow as some may sup
pose. The best Chinese writers, medical
men. say that nervousness has been
kent out of China by the fact that the
people there wear soft soled shoes. The
soles, as any one has discovered who
has examined them, are Of a yielding,
pliable character.
1.-THE benefits Of this kind Of a sole are
numerous, and time has proved 10.
Every one who wears soft slipper, car
pet or leather, appreciates this though
maybe unconsciously. He knows bee
finds a relief, but rarely realizes that il
is the softness or yielding Of the soles
that gives it. OF course it is a very
large question, viewed from any stand
point, but it is a very important one.
Ii may be going backward, as some
imagine, for the average so called up 70
date American TO adopt an idea that is
over 900 years old in China, bur l
firmly believe that the idea is very
valuable one. In past years the hest
writers have agreed that the national
disease of America is dyspepsia. ! do
not concur in this in full, though reai-
ize that there is much dyspepsia Ny
experience, however, is that there Is as
much nervousness as dyspepsia, and that
nervousness is the more damaging. The
1000 years Of civilization Of China ~
want of civilization, you may think
have proved many things that have not
been proved in other nations, and that
cannot be proved except in time. Soft
soled shoes drove nervousness out q
China, and will do the same for Ameri-
ca. A hard soled shoe, like a high
heled shoe, puts a person under a ten
sion. This tension is wearing, and the
nerves seem to wear out first. 1t is the
relaxation that is desired to cure nery-
BUSINESS, no bracing up or tension. Ny
theory may not be borne out by the
facts, but | feel convinced that it will
be. Nv Washington STAR