The Washington herald., 1917-11-12
HOUSEWORK FOR EXERCISE.
BY DOROTHY DIX.
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer

1t is announced that the students
Of one of our famous women's coll
Ieges have closed the gymnasium
and are combining profit and physi-
cal culture by doing the housework.
Fine. 1t has always been an
amazing and an amusing paradox
that women divided their time and
their money between hiring some
body to do their housework for
them and somebody else to give
them expensive courses of exercise.
Nothing more conclusively proves
that women have no funny bone
than to meet a fat and puffy lady
who tells you in one breath that
she is taking a hundred dollar
course in reduction exercises and in
the next breath bemoans that she
has to pay $40 month and board
to a maid to make her beds and
sweep her floors.
1t doesn't even occur to such wo-
men that they have the antid = for
both evils right in their own hands.
For every house is as compisse a
gymnasium in itself, SO far as OF
fering a field for every variety of
exercise is concerned, as the most
scientific body-builder could rig up,
and every woman, by being her own
chambermaid, could not only solve
the veXed servant question, but
that other heartbreaking problem
with which almost every middle
aged woman wrestles in vain-how
to lose fat and keep a 1.-the and will
lowy figure. And il would mean
health to her, and money in her
| pocket to boot.
Perhaps one OF the unforeseen
bles sings of the present conflict in
Europe is that it is going to lessen
! the conflict in the American kitchen
and. doing their own housework,
which women are inaug ating as
war measure, they will keep up
after the war for the peace of mind
the strength and good looks they
have got out OF it.
Many a rich woman envies her
maid, the hipless figure. her small
waist, her firm, exquisitely modelled
arms, her fiat back and full, round
throat, and it is strange that she
| has not realized that he, too, could
attain these attra ctiOns in the same
school of physical development
/ Maybe IL women can be brought tc
/ look upon housework not as drudg-
cry, but in the light of beauty
parlor, they will not consider them
selves such domestic martyrs if they
have to substitute for the hired girl
Perhaps the day is not far distant
when the beauty column in the daily
prints, instead of recommending tc
/ the feminine seeker of pulchritude
Expensive unguents and massage
and banting and floor rolling and
| so on, will run somewhat after this
/ ia shion:
To Develop the Arms-The best wa1
/ to develop the muscles of the arm
and to render the contour smo 9th and
! beautiful is by sweeping. The rhyth-
mical sweep of the broom as 1t is
applied over the floor not only pro-
notes the growth of the biceps, but
hardens the flesh in the most SYM
1 metrical manner so that there are nc
bulging muscles in special places tc
spoil the contour. The movement used
in sweeping also gives to the arm a
peculiar grace and flexibility. Indeed
as the exercise of sweeping, with Its
bending and swaying, brings every
nerve and muscle into play it induces
certain harmony of movement In
/ the whole body. This makes the
1 broom far superior to the dumbbel
and trapeze that were formerly used
| in developing the arm muscles.
| To Acquire a Beautiful Back ano
| Chest-The best way to remove al
superfluous adipose tissue, which is
so disfiguring across the base of the