The daily Alaskan., 1907-01-26
PERIL IN ATHLETICS
PHYSICAL EXERCISE SHOULD BE
 TAKEN IN MODERATION.

! weakens the Heart and Nerves and
 Lowers Vitality.
 Once beyond the bounds of modera- ton, physical exercise and physical training not only weaken the heart for lifetime. predlspose to pneumonia. cause pulmonary tuberculosis and make extra possible q dozen other ills, but they unfit a man from being the ideal husband and father.
 Dr. Robert E. Coughlin of Brooklyn, says the New York Times, has been collecting statistics upon and follow ing the careers Or athletes for years. He examined thS contestants in anna teur boxing mutcheS. and the abnormal development of tho best of them struck him. Magrilicentlv developed as to their muscles. they were far from be- ing men Of normal health and strength. Beyond a certain point the muscular training was at the expense of thelr vitality. It took away from the heart and lungs. There was scarcely an or gan of the system not affected and made less efficient. IL seemed worth while to explore further into the cause.
 Tn regard to the benefit to be de rived from athletics says the doctor, 'one has only to remember the physlo!- ogy of exercise to become convinced of the fact that exercise, per SC, may be very beneficial. The point to bear in mind is tO advise the person to stop before fatigue becomes evident. We can do this readily when the athlete Is interested ia games for the mere exer- else. but such advice cannot be offered when his aim is to excel in an athletic contest. Here is where athletics do great harm. and 1t would be safe rule to advise against all forms of athletics In the nature of Il contest.
 Athletics may be said to be bene- ficlal until the heart begins to be mark edly hyperuophicd. This Is the dan ger signal
 Hypertrophied iS the medical mans way of saving enlarged-that is, the walls or muscles of the heart increase In size. Though thlS is the danger signal" there is no real danger here. only warming The danger comes when, in consequence of additional ex- ertion. the heart dilateS, Its interior grows larger. displaCing the delicate machinery, causing the valves to leak. Then come "murmurs.' and though man may live for years with weakened valves he may die any day and any moment
 Does physical exercise, then, buSd up the general health and make a better man out of a man? There seems to be a question, with some scientific men saying today very em- phatically. Not unless that phySica! exercise is very moderate indeed"
 Health. one of the big English au- thorities (Sir Michael FOster) puts It. does not exist. It is like happiness. Each has a goal or limit which, while seemingly attairable, eludes perfect possession. The body consists of a number of mechanisms which have the closest and most exact relations, and as they approximate to harmony there Is health. but when disOrdered there IS III health.
 Not necessarily does a man by phys ical training and much exercise be- come a better man, nor does he even get better health. Here is the striking evidence of if in scientific statements of the day.
 To obtain good health, muscle build ing is not q necessity. One cannot judge of a persons health by the size and hardness of the muscles. We have seen that the converse may be true. To obtain health one must not be in a perfectly trained condition ow- lng to the effects of severe training on the nervous system. There Is no evl- dence to prove that athletics and mus cle building improve the constitution. One should always keep in mind the fact that built up or hyperrophied muscle has a tendency to degenerate. The heart. being a muscular organ, shares in this tendency.
 But the athlete Is q man who goes through the severest physical strain and training. If he boxes, runs, is gymnast. football player, wrestler, an expert at baseball or tennis, any sport requiring violent exercise and the constant keeping in trim for ii, all the rest of his body Is sacrificed for the overdeye!opment of these special muscles. and the rest of it must some how suffer.
 All the body should develop together as it were Body and mind should be built up evenly. If overathletiCS does nothing else it produces a wearing and l tearing nervous strain.
 When 1t comes to the actual athlete, the man who speciallzes on some form of physical force and muscle power, these conditions are greatly aggrayat- ed. Severe athletic training and mus cle building, it Is now an acknowledged fact of science, are at the, expense or the nervous and glandular systems.
 An experienced athlete" says one authority, gave as his opAHion that q { man sacrifices certain part of his life