The Washington bee., 1899-06-10

renewed in very high official places,
and that it is being fought as it was
never fought before. The Oakland
Health Club has given out this en-
phatic official statement:
1T is known fact that there is
more sickness among women than ever
before. One scarcely meets a healthy
woman. The corset represents a large
measure of the responsibility of the
Ills to which woman is heir"
The Oakland Health Club suggests
Grecian costumes for women. The
costumes of the ancient Greeks re-
quire no fitting to cOrsets."
The Saxony Minister of Education
prescribes the mode of dress for school
girls. The girls are required to wear
a lOOse-titting jacket or blouse, with
short, full, round skirt, loose at the
belt. The Russian Minister of Public
Education offers no substitute for the
corset nor cOncealment of the uncOr-
seted outlines. He confines himself to
the decree He only offers the explain
alton that he has spent much time in
visiting girls schools, and reports that
the corset is distinctly prejudiciaI TO
the health and physical development
Of the wearers."
DR.. J. III. kellogg is one of the lead
ers of war against stays. DIR. kellogg
has a formidable trail of titles which
add weight to his words. He is life
member of the British genealogical
Society, member of the SOciete dHy-
giene of France. of the American Med-
ical Association. the British am Amer
lean Association for the advancement
of Science, the American ClimatOlOgi-
cal Society, the American Social Sci
ence Association and others. He is
the author Of a work on THE Evils of
Fashionable Dress" that created de
cided stir and a shOrt-lived dress re-
among women few years ago. He
has Just now published a work on the
form among women a few years ago.
He has just now published work on
the same question entitled, THE Infiu-
ence of Dress i'm Producing the Physi-
cal Decadence of American Women"
1T is not worth while to spend any
time i'm demonstrating that women are
degenerating physically" says DIR. Kel-
logg in his treatise, for there has not
been medical convention dinner with
i'm the last quarter of a century ut
which was not heard the toast, 'WOm-
an. Gods best gift to man and the
chief support of the doctors?
II recently addressed an audience of
seven hundred women. / asked how
many women present believed they
were physically superior to their moth
ers \ bare half dozen raised their
hands. and two or three looked timidly
about. apparently as if to see if any
one present was prepared to contest
their claim. This was significant of the
present attitude and the present
strength of women. A falling off in
the birth rate amounting to several
million within the last ten years is
one of the terrible evidences of the
decline of stamina in American wOm
en-"
DR.. Kellogg says that to compression
of the waist is due
"First, downward displacement Of
the abdominal and pelvic organs. and
numerous functional and organic dis
eases growing out of this disturbance
of the static relation of the organs.
Second. lack of development of the
muscles of the trunk. which by long
compression and disuse lose their
functional activity. resulting in drOOp-
ing shoulders. fiat or hollow chest,
sunken epigastrium and straight spine.
Third. an ungraceful and unnatural
carriage of the body in sitting, stand
ing and walking.
Fourth, an abnormal mode Of res
piratiOn.
"The strong and beautiful curves
which are observed in a spirited horse
are not only attractive from an aes-
thetic point of view, but are also of the
highest significance from a psycholOg-
zeal standpoint. In the healthy. yigOr-
lous animal one observes that the head
Is held high. the neck and back strong
Iy curved. the limbs firmly set. and the
whole expression indicates yigor and
strength. The same is equally true OF
the female body.
y can erect head, well-curved back.
prominent chest, retracted abdomen
and firmly set limbs. are Indicative OF
an energiZed carriage Of the body
which is characteristic of health.
'HThe fiat chest. posteriOr dOrsal
curve. projecting chin. protruding alb
tdomen are equally Indicative of a re-
Taxed and weak carriage of the body.
"The splritless and tired horse holds
his head down: he lacks the vtgOr and
disposition to hold IL up."