The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-12-17
Starving the Doctors
By Jack Densham.

1t was a doctor who unwittingiy
suggested the title for this somewhat
rambling article. He said, "FOur years
ago when left Honolulu to go to the
Coast, the people here seemed to me
to move and act in a lackadaisical way
as though they had no ambition, move
ments were slow and the extent of a
walk was usually about as far as from
the door to hack or wise versa. Now
I return and see an astonishing differ
ence. The people seem to have turned
the clock around and are getting young
er. I see bright, healthy cheeks where
1 used to find sallow pallor and ev-
erybody walks along with his head held
high as though he had ambition and
a determination to get there in the
shortest time possible. / can only ac
count for it by the wonderful hold
that outdoor sport has taken here in
the. last few years.
That was about the most discerning
and sensible statement I have heard
about this place for long time. Any
where, in any climate, out-of-door exer-
else is good, very good, but particularly
so here where it is more than benefi-
cent, it is an absolute necessity.
Exercise taken for the sake of exer-
nj
ing, it tends to become tedious and, the
moment exercise becomes tedious, it
loses most of its value The kind of
exercise that is the best of all is that
kind that is done with some particular
object in view A man may take a
pair of dumbells and maunder through
half a dozen exercises every morning
for a century and never raise biceps
that would break a silk thread; but
if he is working to be able to put that
eighty-pound weight above his head, or
chin himself fifteen times so as to win
a bet off that sassy Samson junior, his
muscles viii develop in jig time and
he will begin to put on weight and walk
in live, springy way that makes his
friends wonder if he hash t come into
money.
Exercise can be made a habit, just
as clinging and hard to get rid of as
the whiskey or drug habits. The rea'
son of this is that exercise makes you
feel good. People who get used to TAX
ing stimulants feel the need of it dur
ing the day and butt round to saloon
for highball. The spirit bucks you
up at first but it soon wears off and
then it is a case of ''me for another
irrigation 1t is, of course, the same
way with drugs.
This is all very unnecessary when
we have a natural and nonreactlve
stimulant absolutely free and ready for
use at any time. Open air exercise
does make fellow feel good and gives
a clearness of brain and an almost
nervous desire to get moving and do
something that stays by you and
doesn't wear off after a few minutes.
Not for a second am l preaching
prohibition or anything of that sort.
Personally [ believe that a preprandial
appetizer and alcoholic drinks with
meals are good. The use or otherwise
of these things is merely matter of
choice to a sensible man and not a
matter of principle. 1t is the drinking
between meals that does the harm and
it is habit that grows very quickly
but so insidiously that it gets you be-
fore you know it.
All this preamble and homily to in
troduce the subject of walking races,
rowing races and any old kind of open
air event. that is interesting to the
general public, and can be taken part
in by everybody with only that prep
aration which is sufficient to keep one
in good health. |,
Baseball has done a wonderful work
here in promoting the health of the
generation but a fellow must
be more or less apt at the game to
enjoy baseball and these are compare 1
lively few. Also a man cannot very
well play the game after he reaches
a certain age.
The walking race last Sunday had 5
many features that need improving on.
1t was held during church hours, there
were not enough judges, the course was {
not kept clear and a hundred others
that 1 could mention if it were worth
while. But, the event was a grand
success because it aroused general in
-erest and started the possibility of a l
continual series of events, changing in {