Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-08
THE GIRL YOU
WOULD LIKE TO BE

Written for The Star by Katherine Morton.
DON'T know why 1t is, but as soor
as school closes Mary Ann begins
to look like a dropping willow" ex-
claimed the girls mother as she
watched her daughter shamble
down the street, her arms swinging, her
head and SHOULDERS bent for all the world
like one weary and tired Of all earthly
glories
81 can't bear to see my girl becoming
round shouldered, fiat chested and forever
stooping. when Just month or two ago
she was so upright and held herself SO
bravely erect / wonder if it can be that
she misses the stimulus of the gymnasium
exercises she used to have In school. III
that's the case I going to find some
other way of exercising for her, for L
won't have her dropping during the whole
vacation and counteracting the effects of
the winters gymnasium practice
Almost all school girls have the same
habits as Mary Ann, and the minute their
school books are out of the way and va
cation has really begun for them they
express In their bodily attitude the sense
of complete easiness which the holidays
mean for them. To Toll about on the SOFA,
bend over book or to stroll down the
streets needless of the way one is walk
ing to stoop over ones plate at the table
in fact never to exert ones self at all.
never to keep ones spine Strengthened
out-this seems TO be the ideal OF summer
time rest to the school girl. The poor
spinal column, at least the one that be-
longs to the feminine gender, Is misused
at an early age, and wonder that wom-
en- like Mrs Gerard Bancker are caution
ing us all to be mindful of the back view,
If we wish TO be beautiful. for without a
E ! no SUCH such thing as beautiful figure.
and the osteopaths will tell you that there
isn't much in the way of bodily health
and sound nerves to be expected in body
whose spinal column has not had fair
chance .
This fair chance is spoiled first of all,
in the summer vacation. Every schooi
girl nowadays is taught how to hold her
self correctly, how to sit and stand wei,
how to hold herself upright. and. at least
during school hours, she Is made IN OBJ
serve these rules. So many hours being
effect OF this training becomes more and
more habitual, and II Is only after the
supervision is entirely removed that our
girl begins to droop and she forgets all
those friendly pointers toward the road
to health. The girl who droops in summer
time is counteracting all the good which
her physical culture exercises, her deep
breathing exercises, and the daily training
in correct posture have done for her. The
girl who droops. II the dropping process
is long continued, generally willis into an
anemiC subject, or, worse still, into one
whose lungs are undeveloped and weak
With our sex vanity is often a great
stimulus 1t is equally as great an lncen-
tive with the so-called stronger sex, but,
as we women know that so well, what is
the use of talking about It? Well, then.
II your daughter or sister is stopping and
dropping during these warm summer days,
appeal to her vanity to aid yoU in making
her once more erect deep chested and
strong.
No girl with round shoulders fiat chest
and an air of lassitude will ever have O
perfect figure, no matter how tight she
laces TO matter what aids she employs.
She will always suggest weakness of some
kind and lack of perfect development:
whereas. the girl who knows how to carry
herself can wear corsets or not or 80
cent glrdle II she chooses, and she Will
always attract attention to the beauty OF
her figure. We live In an age where health
is recognized as the supreme attraction
No disease no weakness has any charm for
the modern man or woman. The girl who