The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-28

down people, and is a recognized au- thoritys on all subjects connected with athletics. physical culture, and scien- ti1c exercisey) .
 Three highly Important reports. which have al vital bearing on the physical, mental and moral welfare of future Americans, have recently been published. Graft investigations, the tariff, banking laws, trust and railroad regulation, and the thousand and one other political and, economic reforms which are being agitated. will never serve to save a nation of fat chested and fiabby- -muscled and Jumpy- -nerved inconsistencies, and the reports referred to, while offering some hope, show clearly that the peo-s pie of America are tending toward physical bankruptcy.
 Given a strong and athletic people like the Swiss, and they can conquer all obstacles and preserve the ideal of liberty despite all difficulties. Giv- en an indolent, minimizing, slothful people like the Mexicans. whose fla yorite Sport is attendance at a, bull fight, and they are naturally destined to be the victims of despotisrn.
 MT. Edward F. Brown, superinten- dent of the Bureau of Welfare of School Children, of the Association for Improving the Condition of thesl Poor, offers some figures that should at least give us pause if they, do not cause us LOv rV10W With alarm An examination of 34 per cent. of the school children of New York shows that 72 per cent. are physically defec- tive He points out that there are less than a hun ndred doctors to look after the physical welfare of S25, ,0O0 school chi1dren-tf1at New York an nually spends $49l on the mental ed- ucadon of each schoeo1 child, and forty-fours cents for the health su- pervision of each youngster. He de- T. II 4r1 the largest single agency "contribut- ing to the destttution in a cornmun- ity. MT. Brown adds:
 'fThe real wealth of a nation is not Undermined in it's counting houses, nor 1 in the e11ormity of it's natural resour- ces, but in the production of a race sturd dy in body and keen in intellect For many years have been engag- ! ed in the work of physical training of both men and boys, athletes and neu- rasthenics, and have been impress bed with the readiness with which the physical defects of youth yield to ex- | ercise. when conducted under proper supervisors provided the teeth. eyes nose and throat also receive timely l attention. What are minor and cas- | fly curable ailments in youth become | the chronic and often fatal diseases l of maturity. The way to eradicate a physical defect is, in the language | of Potash. and Perlmutter, to kick it I in the bud!''
 l Gymnasium work in the Winter, 1 and a Summer vacation in the country | give thousands of boys a good start in life. but they are the fortunate l few Little more than a start has been made in the work of the physi-3 cal education of the masses of chil- l dren in New York and other cities. I To extend this benehcent work need rnot be highly expensive. Hundreds l of graduates of medical and dental lrnr~1 "a
 of their time to the school children Of the city, at a moderate remuneration. Their youth would be an advantage l in gaining the confidence of the chiI- l dren,t and their inexperience woul6 not be a bar, as most of the ailments
 of youth are easily recognized. A
 small staff of experienced specialists
 could be employed to look after more ldiff1cult and<obscure cases. Exercise
 should be compulsory, and should be under proper direction. School teachers of the future should be edu-
 cated to look after the physical as
 well as the mental well being of the child. Roofs of school buildings
 could be converted into gymnasiunls, for both indoor and outdoor work I From my personal experience with a T gymnasium on the roof of an office
 building. can declare that a roof
 offers the ideal place for a city sseyrr''
 and oners the nearest approach to X | College students belong to a more
 fortunate class than the masses of
 public school children, but, despite all
 the attention paid to competitive ath- iletics, the report of pr. fWingert. di-
 rector. Of physical education at Ohio
 State University. shows that physical lculture is sadly neglected in the insti- Il tftions of higher learning. Colleges of the United States spend more than Ia, billion a year on athletic activities
 but, says Dr. Wingert, the majority | or students do not take sufficient ex-
 ercise to maintain bodily health Thir- kty-seven per cent. of the colleges take
 no interest in fosterinng any type of
 physical exercise" says the report
 Here, again, physical training. should
 be made obligatory, and Dr. Wingert's s
 movement in that direction should
 have the hearty support of all college
 heads
 Competitive athletics, while useful to a certain degree, have been vastly
 overrated, as shown in report by Dr. I Borr, of, Yale gymnasium, recently
 published in The Times, and worthy
 equalization many times. pr. Born's s report covers gymnasium work dur
 Ing the winter months and shows
 that the consistent ''gyn' worker
 gains nineteen pounds in weight | While the average for the student who does not exercise is gain of four
 pounds The gym worker, Ion the
 average, broadens, his shoulders bv
 two inches. while the non-exercising 2
 student gains one-fifth of an inch 1 Four Inches in chest girth is the av- l craze gain of the exercising student