The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1903-12-16
10 eArAe. on Nor no aATAEa

Chicago scientists are always play
ing to catch the attention Of the gal
lery gods, but that one should make
so direct an appeal to the preiudices
OF the great unwashed as one Pro
fessor Robertson has done, was hardly
TO have been expected even from
Chicago scientist. The professor says
that tt isn't right TO bathe at all--that
to bathe is to be dirty. Cleanliness is
said to be next to godliuess, but wheth
er Professor Robertson's neculiar
ideas Of cleanliness will get next to
/, tAe gallery gods or NOT we can't
prophesy
"To bathe, says this learned doctor
Of the schools, lis to be dirty, for you
thereby make sewer Of the skin. ="
! Furthermore. he denounces the TAX
j ing Of dry baths, and says that rub
bing the skin with a rough towel or
anything like that removes the scales.
| II may be that that is the reason why
most folks rub the skin with a rough
towel BIT DR.. Robertson says that to
get the scales all rubbed of Is to en-
courage the growth of bacteria on the
skin. Ho winds up his impassioned
plea for man to mend his WAYS and
free himself from superstition by tell
ing of the tragic death of an unfortu-
nate Eskimo. The Eskimo hal lived in
Greenland all his life, entirely uncon.
tamnated by contact with civilization
or soap. but in an unfortunate moment
came TO Boston. Boston beaned him
and bathed him. and he died. Whether
it was the beans, the baths or the ira
ditional Boston temperature we can
not say, but DR. Robertson says It was
the baths
It was only two days before DR. Rob
ertson broke loose with his scathing
denunoiation Of the bath that New
York doctor announced that baths
would cure anything on earth, and
were particularly beneficial in the
cure OF insanity. SO there we have It.
Scientists never get together on this
kind Of a thing anyhow, and the pub
lie 81 luld exercise great discrimiua-
tion 4. picking out the particular
brand of science which It is going to
swear by.
Yet we must admit that there are
many arguments which might be
brought forward to bolster up DR..
Robertson's view of the subject
Baths and national deterioration
have always gone hand in hand. so 70
speak Tae Romans of the early Gays.
when "ecmans were like brothers, Z"
were a husky set Of ruffians, never
bathod much. and Rome waxed strong
Later. beths became The fashion. Ey-
aryone who made any pretensions at
all to style spent a great part Of his
time at the baths. National decadence
set in, and when the brawny, unwash-
ed barbarians from the north came
across the Alps they found Rome easy.
Look at Turkey today. The original
Mongols who got converted to Ma
homet's doctrines had never had
bath before they began to fight for
the Crescent, and their original vigor
stayed with them for centuries, ana
helpei them 10 conquer many nations
for MosleKlism, even after they adop-
"a the Arabian faith and habits. Then,
when they took to bathing with such
abandon that they actually had kind
of bath named for hem. a decline set
in. The Turk today is a degenerate.
So through all history
Yet it win not do to draw hasty con-
lusic1s. Thc1rleo which look all
g1 on paper don't always work out
j practice; and anyone who is unprin-
cipled enough can prove anything he
vans TO hy history We are inclined,
after considering the matter pro anil
con. to believe that DR. Robertson's
s verg scaly doctrine.