The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-25
Three F amous Teuton Scientists Study Erect Car
riage of Human Beings as Compared With
That of Animals

right, certain important changes took
place in his internal organs ana
muscles The organs tended to fail,
and the muscles, which were orlglnaliy
intended for quadruped, tended 10
suit themselves for a biped. But as
walking upright displaced the organs
and put strain on certain muscles
greater than was intended, the upright
carriage brought with it certain penal
ties.
What these were is now shown by
DR.. Ernest Klotz of Leipzig. Since
man has been walking upright he has
been trying to adapt his architecture
and organs to his new walk. But as
this process of adaptation has never
been completed, man is still an lmPer,
feet animal. as indeed Metchnlkoff and
other scientists admit.
The natural architecture of man,
saws KlotZ, is quite obvious. 1t was
plainly intended that the spinal column
should be horizontal and that all the
vital and easily-inj jured organs, such as
the heart and stomach, should hang
downward from it, and be protected by
it, s'The spinal column he says.
f'is nothing but roof Of bone. II
| is not at all intended to stiffen the
body into an upright carriage. When
| man went four-footed, with his organs
pendent from his spinal column, all the
organs were in exactly defined positions
as regards one another.
When he began to go upright these
organs tended to sag and fall down
ward, and this disturbed their mutual
| inter-functioning. This caused many
ailments, and particularly digestive
complaints. which no animal suffers
| from. These complaints have been a
cause of weakness to man, and, instead
of returning TO an all-fours attitude. he
has for millions of years past been try
ing TO adapt himself to the new coudi-
tions But he has not altogether sue
ceeded and is still suffering from the
disturbed equipoise.
Effect on the Legs.
Most marked is the fact that the
human legs have not adapted them
selves TO be man S only support 1t
/ even seems that in civilized countries
the adaptive process has come TO z
| stop. and as n result Of the failure OF
two legs TO do the work of four, patho-
logical reformation of the sole of the
foot is going on.
Today man unconscious1y bankers
after his lost position of quadruped'
| This is seen by the attitudes he takes
Y during sleep Numerous scientific tests
SODW InhI lHe TepfIiNldlt tu.N' VI
both on body and mind rs greatest
when man sleeps face downward, rs
do he majority Of animals: Night
: mares. t'sleep drunkenness, ''brain
pressure - and other abnormal sleep con
ditjons are never experienced by man
sleeping in this position. They arc
caused by the genuine biped attitude
of sleeping on the back. Sleeping on
the back, with the limbs outstretchcd
: is so unnatural that the lower animals
can be temporarily paraIyzed by fixing
them in thai position.
In short, mans upright carriage
! which he regards as his unique dfstinc
tiou and glory, is merely physio.
logical bIupder. aud il will remain st
/ until man has perfectly adapted him
: self TO it. Until then he will continue
to suffer from his vaultng ambition tt
tower over the rest of the animal creu
ton.
Unluckily there is reason to think
that the perfect equipoise will neve,
: he attained. so that man, after havlna
, lost his physical perfection as u quad
ruped. may nevertheless never deyeIoy
, into perfect biped. However. there
s s no going Back. But according tc
5 Klotz there are some bodily fuuc
I tions which even today are better full
filed in the creeping position Of oul
J quadruped ancestors.
S ''It is the problem Of our epoch
he says. ''to consider the question ol
9 mans change to an upright carriag,
1 impartially, without prejudice, and
anew.
The water at Saltair is 80 degrees