The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-27
ON GOING BAREFOOTED.
How Health Is Promoted by Contact
With the Earth.
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
Contact with mother earth is the
finest tonic. Every boy ought to be
made to go barefooted until he reaches
his tenth birthday. He will save his
parents much worry. He will never
have a cold. He will never have corns
or chilblains on his feet. He will save
500 in shoes and 5000 in stockings.
He will improve mentally and physi-
cally, and turn out to be an ornamental
as Well as useful member of society.
Where do you suppose all these mill
lionaires that came from the country
got their hard sense, their strong phys
ique, their magnificent staying quail
ties? Let me tell you: from contact
with mother earth. They went bare
footed till they left the farm, walked
in the cool burrows in blowing time
and waded in the branch, made mud
cakes with their toes on the creek
banks and raised dust in the big road
with the hollows of their feet.
/ know a little fellow in New York
who never had a shoe on his foot till
he started to School at the age of 8.
His feet are models for an artist. They
are big, broad, well arched, perfect.
There has been no cramping of toes,
and every one is as distinct and in
dividual as a finger. The Board of
Education decreed shoes He had to
put them on. For a month he could
hardly walk. Now he is begging to go
barefooted again. The moment school
is out off go shoes and stockings, and
he is temporarily happy. Other chill
dren, shod brutality from infancy, stare
with amazement. The boy is a little
giant He never had a cold until he
put on shoes and stockings. His fav-
orite sleeping place Is on the floor
that is, it was. He would drop down
on the carpet, on the bare boards, on
the stoop, on the hearth-any old place,
and sleep day or night without ever
a pain or ache. Since he put on shoes
and stockings he is becoming like other
children-whiney, peaked churlish,
subject to colds, sleeps poorly and has
nightmares.
Leather and it's limitations are not
the best of conductors. On the sole
of the foot they oppose entrance into
the nerve center beneath the plantar
arch of that electric fluid which means
all to health. Children who wear rub
Der shoes or boots habitually go blind.
There is complete insulation. Leather
and its limitations mean partial insula-
ton. Look daily at the children that
pass you on the way to school Many
wear spectacles. Why? They have
never come in contact with mother
earth. They are bred in bricks and
mortar and reared on asphalt. What
hope for them? The loveliest women
in the world. the strongest mentally
and physically and at the same time
the womanliest, are the fine ladies of
Brazil, who never wear a shoe or
stocking in the privacy of home. The
female members of Dom Pedro's' fam
ily went shoeless and stockingless ex-
cept when entertaining, or holding a
public function.
Where are the Kneippists? The Kay
neippists, l should say. There was
some evidence of following the famous
therapeutist of stefansreid in this
country a few years ago. Persons
were caught daily in the act of creep
ing over the dewy lawns of, Central
Park in their bare feet-poor old feet.
bunioned, corned, chilblained. cramped,
squeezed. misshapen, equity. tender
soled-feet such as beast would not
claim, feet that would kill beast.
Father Kneipp was nearly on the right
track. His error was in trying to
cure. He should have started in 10
prevent. If the deluded mortals that
became his followers had gone bare
footed for ten years they never would
have needed the Kneipp cure. They
tried to fool mother earth. If they
had come in contact with her in early
youth they would not have needed her
in old age.
You never heard Of a wild animal
that had rheumatism until II reached
captivity and was kept off the earth.
You never heard of horse that had
rheumatism until II was shod with iron
and kept of the eartk You never
heard OF a dog that had rheumatism
until IL became household pet and
was pampered--kept of the earth. The
heathens OF Africa and the Pacific Is
lands never had rheumatism, 30 far rs
we know. until they got 10 wearing
sandals or shoes. ] once knew a fool
man who. whenever he got sick would
dig "a trench in his garden, lie down
In Il and have his wife cover him with
fresh earth aF far up as his chin. He
would remain there for an hour or two,