Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1916-12-21

For those who do not care for dancing, cards,
either bridge, rum" fantan or some other popu-
lar game, will do to pass the hours before twelve.
Doctor Smith Talks.
Drinks, smokes and candy are not the only
things to swear off on New Years day. There
are plenty of others, and for most of us the others
ire much more important, as fortunately the
readers of this department are not victims Of
rum and tobacco.
New Year resolutions, however, should not con-
sist entirely of "swear OFFS Too many 'don'ts'
are not advisable. DO" is much better than
don't" Positive resolves are better than mega
tive ones. If you "swear on enough good habits
it will not be necessary to "swear off, any bad
ones. In other words, positive or constructive
policies are better than negative or destructive
ones. This applies to health just as much as to
anything else in life. So, don't think you can "get
by" simply by swearing off on one or two of your
pet vices. Not at all. Your New Year resolu-
lions, TO be Of any real value, must be %construc-
tive. You must decide not only to quit some
things, but to begin some things, also.
Good resolves and swear offs may be grouped
in pairs, and to advantage, it seems to me. Let's
try it that way for a change.
I will take good care of my body.
I will not abuse it.
Hold UP Your Right Hand.
This first pair of resolves looks pretty simple,
but if you think a minute you will see that 1t in
cludes a multitude of things. 1t actually is the
whole thing in a nutshell. If you swear this par
ticular pair of swears, and keep your oath, you
will have health and happiness all the year, and
your bill at the doctors and the drug store will
be so small that you can have an extra new dress
instead. Let's see what it does include.
1 will have "house cleaning" in the house I
live in.
I will not procrastinate in instituting prepar-
edness against disease.
This means that you will have the dentist 20
over your teeth with absolute regularity once or
twice a year, but it also means that you have
sense enough to know that the rest of your body
is at least as important as your teeth and that
you will have your doctor examine you from head
to foot and fix up anything that needs 1t before
any symptoms appear, which would simply mean
that the process had gone on so far that correc-
ton would be much more difficult if not impos-
sible. This would include an examination Of the
urine and the blood pressure, both of which
should be investigated once every year in the
case of every person over forty years of age.
I will keep clean inside and out.
I will avoid dirt.
This means not only the daily bath, but It
means the flushing of the inside of the body so as
to keep the sewers working. It means the drink
ing of about a gallon of fluid per day. 1t also
means keeping the teeth scrupulously neat,
cleansing them morning, noon and night, so that
tley VIII not lWIeCL every single mOuCnTul OF 1000
you swallow. What is the use Of pure-food laws
if you save n choice selection of germs between
your teeth so as to spread them on the food which
Uncle Sam certifes is pure"
1t also means sufficient exercise to maintain
bodily activity, so that circulation will keep things
clean inside and prevent stagnation. 1t also means
plenty Of fresh air, so that the oxygen will oxi-
date, or burn up, all the debris and the poisons
and the toxins which are being formed in every
body all the time as the result of eating and Of
living.
Keep Smiling.
will cultivate good cheer.
] will avoid anger, hate and moroseness.
1t doesn't hurt to smile. Remember that. It
isn't hard work. 1t doesn't cost anything. It
fsn't simply for others that one should smile. II
helps ones self even more than others. Sing!
Whistle! Laugh These things do not cost any
thing, either, and they help a great deal. We
doctors know that If we can get a patient to
laugh and sing 1t is pretty sure that he is on the
mend and on 1t good and strong. We also know
that anger, hate, sulks, pessimism and all such
horrid things are actually destructive. This Is
not Christian Science or any other sectarianism,
but just plain common sense backed up by the
latest laboratory experiments. All these mental
conditions cause the formation Of actually poison
Gus chemicals in the body and at the same time
hinder the activities of normal health processes.