Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-12-14
TRAINING
THE LEFT
HAND

right handed persons the left half or
the brain is better nourished Than the
right half. because that hemisphere re-
ccives richer blood supply Lued-
DICKENS. in his wogk "Right and Left
audeducss. establishes the truth Of
| this thcary by % series of experiments
He shows further that not only the
/ left half of the brain i'm right handed
/ persons is better equipped. but that the
whole left side is favored. Left and
fright hauIcduess is therefore TO be re-
gardcd as the result Of the prcdomin.
ance Of one or the other hemisphcres
of the brain. This fact disprovcs the
old theories Of Barclay, Buchanan, Ros
cnbcrgcr stuthcrs, Wilson, Carlyle
etc. who sought TO trace the almost
universal use Of the right hand to
anatomical astronomical, historical, as.
well os other causes.
It is not much wonder, therefore
that it is so difficult to accustom per
sons naturally left handed to the use
Of the right hand; IL Is a question If
it is possible ever to completely over
come lcfthandedncss. The attempt Of
course. is often made and sometimes
even by force. as. for instance, when a
child. who naturally uses his left hand,
Is sharply reprimandcd for doing 50
Even doctors and teachers often are
simple and thoughtless enough TO con
slider left handcdness in child as a
mere bad habit and 60 try 20 break it
by using the most foolish methods. In
most cases their efforts prove futile
In regard TO this DR.. Luoddcckcns
writesi "Many left handed persons
have complained TO me Of tho unde'
served punishmcnts they used TO re-
/ ceiye In their youth because nature had
endowed them with this popularity.
but not until In later years, when 10
practical life they found they could use
their left hand 10 the best advantage
jid they fully realize tho utter alb
urdity Of such treatment. II Il In
credible, indeed, that anyone should
seriously Try 90 break child Of using
tho left hand when it Il naturally In
elined 70 use that hand A. a matter
Of fact Il IL apparent that In many oc'
cupations, whether thoy are such as 70
require tho use Of mere strength or
tho greatest skill, tho ability 90 use
both hands Is Of greatest Importance,
This l. 30 often exemplihed In tho case
Of persons engaged In some craft who
have tho misfortune 10 lose ono or the
other Of their hands. II both hands
were equally we'll trained the loss
would not be quite 50 serious. Besides
In numberless instances the use Of tho
left hand is as important as that Of the
right. The left hand, therefore, should
be educated 10 as high a degree Of pro,
heieney as possible. Tho right hand
In most Of us viii take care Of itself
but tho left should receive special
training.
Mr.. II. Bloomfield Bare, an English
artist In a recent article on Gilman
uel Training" In tho International
studio. estimates that there are In tho
neighborhood Of e40 occupations, In
eludng music and surgery, In which
both hands are called into play, In
view Of this fact he advocates the
training Of the left as well as the right
hand He also points out the fact that
OF the nations In which the use Of the
right hand Is almost universal, England
and the United States are less strict
in this respect. In those countries am
bidexterity, il il does not receive the
encouragement it merits, at least is
not discouraged.
"The children" writes are, "are
taught 20 draw circles and other sim
pie forms on the blackboard first with
one hand and then with the other, Grad
ually objects more complicated in form
are introduced. In order TO develop the
power Of judging distance with the
eye objects are reversed and drawn
with either hand.
In the schools Of Philadelphia bi-
manual training is impaired TO pupils
IS 70 20 years Of age. The course con
sists Of blackboard drawing, clay mod
cling. and working in wood, One half
day each week for period Of two years
"a set aside for this training, "FaT
from hindering the other studies, -
says Bare, "its effect is beneficial in
improving the self control and
strengthening the mind Of the child. {"
In japan the children are taught to
use both hands. Why shouldn't the
same thing be done in the Oeeidenti Ef'
forts 70 induce the department Of ed
ueatiOn in both Austria and Hungary
to introduce bimanual training in the
sehools have been made by DR.. Lued