Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-08-02
SAYING TIT CHILDREN.
PHYSICAL CULTURE TO WARD
OFF TUBERCULOSIS.

-
OFF TUBERCULOSIS.
The Children's Athletic Club of Phil
adeIphia Marks ain Important lnno-
walton in the Charitable Work of
cities-Some Methods Used.
An athletic club, which fixes its
dues at the extortionate figure of one
cent a week, suggests an unusual
departure in the world of clubs. More
over, for many other reasons, the
Children's Athletic Club of Philadsl-
phia, composed entirely of the chill
dren of the poor, organized to dsht
By physical training tae ravages of
tuberculosis, marks and important in
novation in the charitable work of
that city. Mrs. Florence l.. Williams,
the founder of the club, has certain
definite objects to accomplish with
the sixty little pupils under her
charge That she is able not merely
to bring muscle and health in place
Of weakness and even disease through
q careful system OF physical culture,
but also to develop trick team ca
pable of performing acrobatic feats OF
not little difficulty, proves the efficacy
of her methods.
For her clientele Mrs. Williams de-
ponds entirely upon the children CT
the crowded quarters of the city,
where poor food and unhealthy sur
roundings render child life unwhole-
some and make physical development
impossible. From the children of
these quarters OF the city Mrs. Will
fans has organized her classes, the
membership of which has grown from
three to sixty. But even here the
selection OF members is made from
the weaker and the more anaemic;
from the children who already show
signs of the invasion of the great
white plague" whose tiny arms and
hollow cheeks indicate lack of vital
ity.
With such subjects " is natural
that at the outset the exercises of
the classes should be of the mildest
sort-five minute drills with the
lightest of dumbbells, inregspersed
with frequent rests. Special breath
ing exercises are prescribed for the
new members, and they are expected
to continue this exercise at home.
One of these exercises consists in the
usual exhaling and inhaling, but the
Ilethod of accomplishing it is novel
The children are ranged in rows,
with their hands on their hips, and
each child puts quill toothpick in
it's mouth. Then, at word of COM
mand, they inhale deeply through the
nostrils and then exhale slowly
through the toothpick, this device
making the exhalation slow and avoid
ing all chance of strain.
The fire drill is another important
exercise in the development of lung
power AS the little arms and IS
get hard and the chests are developed
the more advanced pupils are taught
to take the weaker ones across their
shoulders and carry them out of the
reach of the fancied flames. But the
ideal of all the children who belong
to these classes is to develop strength
and skill enough to join the trick
team, for when the danger of dis
ease has been banished, and the puny
little figures with narrow chests and
round shoulders have been develop
ed into erect, sturdy bodies, then the
gymnastic feats of the mere preten-
tious athletes are attempted and
achieved before admiring public audi
ences.
The development of muscle is at
tended with a similar stimulation of
t.le moral side of the child, and it is
to accomplish the latter that the
penny weekly fee is charged, giving
the children a sense of membership
and rightful claim to the advantages
of the club, which is lacking in the
mere charitable work, which does not
permit even the slight contribution
of the children themselves. The re-
suits of this physical training are
striking. Children who, when they
joined the club, were too weak to en-
dure even the least firing of the ex-
ercises, under this regimen develop
strong healthy and even athletic
frames. Moreover, the tendency to
consumption is checked and with the
increase of physical strength there
is a corresponding mental and moral
development Finally, the lessons Of
the gymnasium, the knowledge of the
proper method of breathing and of
walking, are remembered long after
the actual class work has ended, and
serve to keep the health the exercise
has won.-New York Tribune.