Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-17
HEALTnFUL JOYS OF WALKING
Pleasures Of F'Oting It Along City Streets
or Rural Highways
BETTER THAN MEDICINE FOR MANY ILLS
"FittinE = sound Body 60 n sound
Mind, II Pacines n Ruined Tenn
per and Clears the Tired
Brain of CObwebs.v

No corporal exercise is better adapted
to promote health. none more reluctantly
practiced. than walking, writes Louis Wind
muller In Review OF Reviews. Americans
Will patiently suffer the indignities that
public vehicles innict rather than move
their feet. They use cars which are close
in winter, draughty in summer. to bring
them from airless workshops, where they
have passed their day, to spend the night
In unventilative homes. Ask for directions
In any city and you are carefully told what
trolley will cOnvey you. When you in
quire how to reach your destination afoot.
the same courteous stranger is apt to leave
you without reply. but with a suggestive
Shrug Of his shoulders; the man who per-
sists in walking where he can ride is con-
sidered a fool.
The t~ortures endured by frequenters Of
the trolleys Of cities during rush hours
are circulating; many passengers could
lessen by their absence the pressure. II
they would walk all reasonable distances.
They rather permit insolent conductors to
elbow and jostle them in a crowded car
which Jerks at every stop and turn with
such violence that hapless strappers are
huddled together, or thrown on the knees
Of compressed %sitters, while they must
listen TO the familiar ejaculations: Move
forward" step lively" and Fares" The
pedestrian independent OF motors strides
over comfortable sidewalks and looks with
complacent pity on the, often slowly, pass
ing victims Of their Incidence.
Avenues like Commonwealth In Boston,
Delaware" in Buffalo, which are beauti-
fed by art or nature, are practically de-
serted, while the Champs Elysees" in
Paris and the ''Thiergarten strasse'' in
Berlin are frequented by appreciative
p~romenaders. Our parks-"Central" In New
York. Lincoln" in Chicago and Fair
mount in Philadelphia-are chiefly patron
ICED on fine Sundays by persons who at
other times are confined in tenement house
districts. In those retreats they refresh
their eyes by the verdure Of vegetation and
their brains by freedom from agitation.
City lungs are a blessing to the poor, who
would not find their equal on country
highways, II they could reach them.
Pleasures to BE Shared.
We may enjoy the beauty OF virgin ma
ture In secluded forests when we climb
mountains. but the qualification becomes
tiresome when we find nobody to share IL.
Even Mr.. Burroughs has been Obliged some
times to content himself with the company
Of his faithful dog. A comrade is always
welcome but not indispensable in streets,
where the pleasure of exercise is height
ened by ~ever-changing sights and sounds.
The most harmonious cries Of street vendors
are less sweet than the melodies Of singing
birds; flowers that greet US from windows
Of houses lack the fragrance Of nature. But
l consider the melodious chimes of city
churches preferable TO the thunder Of
Niagara, and the friendly look of a charm-
ing woman to the vista from Pixies, Peak.
Dickens found in every street OF London
q subject worthy of description by his
marvellous pen; personal observation
enabled Victor Hugo to delineate the old
streets of Paris, as II he had lived at the
time Of Quasimodo.
Most Americans dress on streets as they
do at home. Even in Washington, uniforms
are conspicuous by their absence. 1 re-
member that policemen and railway men
objected against donning such livery"
until pub~lic-spirited citizens, to demon
Btrate that 1t would not degrade them,
wore II at public functions. But on the
streets OF Continental Europe uniforms are
In evidence wAsrever you go, and Of the
young wearers too many are inclined to
swagger.
1t is amusing to watch the promiscuous
variety of teams that pass through our
thoroughfares-beer wagons and trucks,
ambulances and fire engines, freely inter-
mingle with autos. aud in man streets pre-
dominate, while In fashionable thorough
fares and parks carriages are in the ma
JoTity. Vehicles used for business purposes
are seldom prohibited in a country ruled
by business men. On Rotten Row In
London, the "Cascine" in Florence. a hired
hack is not tolerated. Private conveyanoes
and riders absorb the driveways, PRONE
naders the sidewalks.
Architectural MixuDs.
? In no other cities d. we nnd buildings
OF such different architecture as on the
busy streets Of Chicago and New York.
squatty houses. built long ago for resi-
dences, have been altered into warehouses,
or are being demolished to make room for
modern structures; lnterplaced between
them and the storehouses Of 4 past gen.
station, often overshadowing them, are the
tall buildings called skyserapers. that give
to narrow streets, where they prevail. a
gloomy appearance and a baroque aspect
TO the rest. The monotonous uniformity OF
brown stone and brick houses In residen-
tial thoroughfarss Is gradually changing