The Washington herald., 1915-01-10

Training the Body and Brain to Win;
The Duty of Being Strong BY Freddie Welsh

| in gray matter. And good health, with
abundant vitality. will enable any one to
make the most of whatever mental facul-
ties he has. 1t is a question of energy,
brains, training and the square deal
But IL there is one quality that is
more important than any other in
bringing success, | believe that it is
energy. When you go up against this
old world for the finish fight you have
got to have energy and endurance. All
the big successful men have plenty of
nervous energy, and il they keep their
bodies sound and healthy they are still
big and successful men when they are
old. AS my old friend, Napoleon
(French champion 100 years ago) used
to say: mo man can win in the battle
of life who has not courage and per-
sistency. These are impossible where
energy is lacking; hence energy is the
indispensable quality of great success"
NapOIeOn's One Trouble.
And the old scout was quite right.
The only trouble with Napoleon him
self was that he did not have a sound
body in all respects, and consequently
was not a normal man. He had sick
nerves, and made all Eurape pay for
them, until he took the count early in
life. But he was right about energy.
1t isn't a case of being strong just
for the sake of being muscularly
strong. but a question of being sound
in both mind and body, a question of
strong nerves and a clear head.
Just there is the important thing; a
clear head. "A sick man is a rascal"
said DR.. Johnson. And it is known that
the chronic criminal, taking him as
class, is physically below the average,
and often he is both a physical and
mental defective" II is an actual fact,
found out by measuring them. Again,
tramps are a class usually lacking in
energy, the professional tramps, at
least. They can't do a normal days
work. And that's why many of them
are tramps.
Did TrampinE stunt.
I did six months OF tramping myself
ten years ago, covering perhaps 800
miles between New York and Montana,
living outdoors and gaining health. But
didn't stay a tramp. Anyway. my point
is that strong nerves and a clear head
depend upon a good physical foundation.
The brain Is only a part of the body.
Both mental and moral strength depend
uron the basis of health that gives one
the nervous energy and the pure blood
that you need just as much for thinking
as you do for running or boxing or saw
ing wood.
They are using the knowledge of this
fat in insane asylums now. 1t means a
lot about the relation of the mind to the
body when the insane are cured simply
by physical culture. being treated by
means of exercise baths. food and the
like They are now teaching a new
science called mental hygiene" But the
keynote of this mental hygiene is physical
hygiene. Both insanity and crime depend
largely upon the poisoning of the brain
structures or the degeneration OF the
brain cells themselves through diseaSe or
Poisoning.
Alcohol the Cause.
The cocaine fend loses all moral sense
because his brain has deteriorated physI-
caIly. Alcohol causes from one-fOurth to
One-third Of all insanity because il i'm
pairs the brain structures or cells. OBJ
structed circulation also causes insanity
or lack of mental efficiency. You see. II
air goes to show that your mind depends
upon the blood supply and your body
generally. In such cases they first build
up the body and the nerves, and the mind
improves accordingly And there's a tip
for you. The man who is strong not only
has a clear head but he has confidence
In himself. confidence in his mental
powers as well as in his ability to meet
physical demands.
OF course. one needs strength for emer-
gencies. too. The tiIe may come tomor-
row when you will need good footwork.
a clear eye and a steady hand. Why, a
man isn't a man without strength.
Weakness is a thing to be ashamed of. l
was ashamed of it once. ten years ago.
And 1 made up my mind to be strong.
And when the emergency came I had the
strength l needed. l was then out OF
work. in desperate circumstances, and got
a chance to make two dollars in a pre-
hminaTy boxing bout. But l was as
strong as a yourg wolf, and 1 won.
In the Boxing Game.
And so 1 drifted into the professional
boxing game. As a little boy 1 wanted
to be strong. so that / could fight and
hold my own among the boys. But II was
not so when l took up the professional
game, which was by accident. Remen-
Der that in my case 1 did not become
strong through any desire to become a.
boxer. but that II was through my first
desire to be strong and we'll built that L
was able finally to become boxer when
the opportunity was thrown in my face.
But really it Is not so much because
of being ready to meet the occasional
physical emergency that il is ones duty
to be strong and full of vitality, but be-
cause one needs vitality and a good con-
stitution for the sake of efficiency i'm any
line of work. And if one has wife and
family or il he intends ever to have a
wife and family, then it is only so much
mora N ,1rttxy ~, fhafr account