Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-01-17

once beyond tlh #DoNfluS Ol uo0eiA' ton, physical exercise and physical training not only weaken the heart fos lifetime, re,!ispose to pneumonia cause pulmonary tuberculosis and make extra possible dozen other ills, but they unfit q man from being the ideal husband and father.
 Dr. Robert E. Cougllin of Brooklyn, says the New York Times, has been collecting statistics upon and follow ing the careers of athletes for years. He examined the contestants in ana. teur boxing matches, and the abnorma! development of the best of them struck him. Magnifcently 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 their vitality. It took away from the heart and lungs There was scarcely an or. gan of the system not affected and made less efficient. It seemed worth while to explore further into the cause
 "In regard to the benefit to be de rived from athletics" says the doctor "one has only to remember the physloi' ogy of exercise to become convlnceo 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 ill 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 rue to advise against all forms of athlotlcs l In the nature of contest.
 "Athletics may be said to be bene- hcial until the heart begins to be mark. edly hypertrophied. 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 this is the "eanser signal" there is no real danger here, only warning. The danger comes when. in consequence of additions. ex, ert;on, the heart dilates, it's interior grows larger. disrlacins the delicate 1 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, build up the general health and make better man out of man? There seems to be a question, with some scientific men saying today very em. phatically, Not unless that physical exercise is very moderate indeed
 Health. one of the big English au thorities (Sir Michael Foster) puts 1t, does not exist. It is like happiness. Each has a goal or limit which, while seemingly attainable, eludes perfect possession. The body consists of 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 Ill health.
 Not necessarily does man by Dhysr ical training and much exercise ee- come a better man, nor does he even get better health. Here Is the striking evidence of 1t in scientific statements of the day.
 To obtain good health, muscle build- Ing Is not necessity. One cannot judge of a persons health by the size and hardness of the muscles. We have seen that the converse may bs true. To obtain health one must not be in a perfectly trained condition ow. Ing 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 hypertrophied muscle has a tendency to degenerate The heart, being a muscular organ, shares in this tendency.
 But the athlete is man who goes through the severest physical strair and training If he boxes, runs, is gymnast, football player, a wrestler an expert at baseball or tennis, any sport requiring violent exercise and the constant keeping in trim for 1t, al the rest of his body Is sacrificed fol the overdevelopment of these specia muscles, and the rest of it must some how suffer.
 All the body should develop together as it were. Body and mind should b' built up evenly. If overathletics doe' nothing else it produces wearing ant tearing nervous strain.
 When 1t comes to the actual athlete the man who specializes on some form of physical force and muscle powcr these conditions are greatly aggravat ed. Severe athletic training and mus cle building, it is now an acknowledged fact of science, are at the expense O. the nervous and glandular systems.
 "An experienced athlete." says on' authority, gave as his opinion that { man sacrifices certain part of his lift every time he enters contest of any kind. He also said that a man wher .6t,' as expressed by athletes. is in al