The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-04
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR KISSING
rom the Louisville courier-Journal.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal. HR. ROBERT T. NEWTON. secre- tary of the St. Louis municipal O commission, is quoted as saying that the Byronic idea of "The First Kiss of Love" should be changed to read: .'Ye rhymers, whose bosoms with fantasy glow,
 From what blessed inspirations Your sonnets would flow a sE Could you ever have analysed chemical s, ly' -a1,e7
 The first kiss of love-
 Women who have bewhiskered hus- bands are advised to insist upon thor ough Immigration of the ''germ catchers' before allowing them to demonstrate af- lection. Even the smooth-faced are dan gerous.
 "Kiss the baby on top of its head" ad- vises the physician, "and do not kiss your sweetheart's soiled glove, young man, but kiss her hand"
 Imogene would have said if she had known what pr. Newton knows about kissing:
 
 Give him that parting kiss, which I had
 set
 Betwixt two pathogenic germs, comes in
 my father,
 And, like the tyrannous breathing or the
 North,
 Prevents our contemplated infecting''
 Kissing the baby on top of the head would doubtless bother the baby 8 good deal less than the usual form of salute. It is possible that it might be more san itary from the baby's point of view, but pr. Newton overlooks the fact that the increasing down upon the babys head would make first-rate cover for germs. They might not succeed in penetrating the cuticie. but they would certainly con stttute a menace to the health of the baby-kissing public. It might be argued that it would give the baby great pleas ure to know that the relatives and neigh bors of It's parents might reasonably be expected to go away and die. In obe- dience to the demands of retributive jus | tice, but, If pr. Newton will reconsider he can hardly recommend any. except perfectly bald babies as being safe to kiss upon the top of the head. and al though the baby may appear bald to the casual observer a microscopic examina- | ton will reveal the presence of capillary appendaRes of sufficient size for germs te be accommodated as comfortably as mon- keys in jungle. If the matter were left | to the babies for settlement the physi- clans directions would doubtless be sat isfactory and the nurse would be request ed to smear the kissing spot with lit | tie rough on rats or some other reliable exterminator Of pests. IT Dr. Newton | re ,-,esented himself as being champion of babies rights. he might be heard with patience, but as a conservator of health | he is wrong.
 The widely read student of germ liter ature will also turn down Dr. Newton's directions as to kissing the clean dimpled hand of ones inamorata instead of hei dogskin gauntlet or undressed kid glove as the. case may be. A pessimistic inves. tigator recently published an article ir whicf. he dwelt upon the danger of shak ing hands, holding that everyone's hands are thickly populated with bacilli It wa; asserted that "the tapering fingers ons grasps in the ballroom are as likely to bt covered with germs as the smutty handl of the coal heaver," Only the sterilizet hands of a surgeon preparing for an op eration, asserted this cheerful bearer O tidings. are chemically clean.
 Persons who take the bacteriologist too seriously will soon reach the conclu sion that there is no escape from bac teria. But let us turn for consolation t an article upon physical culture by Dr Gulick. He says that the best way in tn world to defy germs is to get out of door and reinforce by exercise and fresh ali the armor with which nature provides us The germs may then enter our systen and look about in vain for vulnerab point After time they die of hunge or. old age. or get discouraged and moy on.
 Manifestiy. the best course to pursue to play golf. ride horseback, take cross country walks and indulge in other out 'door spdrts' tnstesd of alcppinB tt hom