Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1919-11-19

medieval Europe. High heels were
product of Feudalism, and so were
long vamps. The first pointed toes
made their appearance in medieval
times and were worn by the mobiles,
who kept their shoemaker henchmen
busy turning out new models. The
vamps became longer and longer I'M
til toward the end of the fourteenth
century they were quite ridiculous, as
you can see from some of the museum
specimens.
From that day to this however, long
pointed vamps have been a mark of
| high rank. By craming the foot so
as to render it incapable of hard toll
such shoes advertise the fact that the
owner does not have to work, and are
worn by those who do have to work in
an effort to appear in the same class.
Thus, the narrow, pointed shoe, worn
| by Fifth avenue heiress, who has
any number of motor cars at her dis
posal Is also worn by the little fac
| tory girl, who must stand large part
of the day in performing her work. In
Europe, and especially in the Orient,
this pracaice has not prevailed to so
great an extent. There class distinc-
! lions are patiently accepted, and the
| peasants at least have the consolation
Of greater comfort.
| Along with the long, narrow, vamp,
in this country. also came the ira
dition that the proper, 'ladylike" way
to walk was to toe out. For years
We have been admonisned to turn out
| our toes in standing, walking and
dancing, although 1t must have been
apparent that such a posture was de-
structive of proper balance, beauty of
outline and grace of action. Curiously
enou~h, this tradition has not only
| dominated social life. the stage and
| the art of dancing, but until recently
/ it was even held UP as a pattern in
| our military schools and gynasiums
| Fortunately, in the past few years
science has awakened to the evil of
this popular misconception, and every
attempt is being made to correct it.
AS an example of how firmly rooted
/ this tradition had become a story is
| told of a mother who was very much
worried because her small son showed
a tendency to toe in. After trying in
vain to break him of the habit, she
took him to a doctor, and asked him
what could be done about it. THANK
the Lord, madam" was the doctors
advice
In walking the toes should point
| straight forward" is the advice of
anatomical experts today. The arms
should swing evenly at the sides. Heels
| that are worn off on the outer edge
show that a person toes out. This
weakens the arches. When climbing
stairs carry yourself as in walking,
only lifting the knees. Keep the body
erect and you will find this is excel
| lent exercise. AS it develops the heart
and lungs the body should be erect
| to allow these organs room to work.
In order to maintain a proper pos
| ture while walking, however, you must
| wear the proper kind of shoes. Some
! people walk very little, especially
since the automobile has become so
prevalent, and these people are doubt
less safe in wearing fashionable,
cramped shoes. But the person who
must walk great deal in performing
his work, or who walks for exercise,
| is jeopardizing his health by wearing
this type of shoe. In all the centuries
of shoe making no improvement has
| ever been made on the moccasin. But
the moccasin is no longer practical be-
cause we do not walk, as did our an
cestors, on the mould of the forest and
on the soft turf of the fields. But
what we need is a shoe resembling the
moccasin in absolute flexibility, and
yet made with a heavy sole to with
stand the shock of concrete sidewalks.
Such a shoe is being made by any num-
Der of shoe firms throughout the
country, and can be procured at mod
crate cost.
Painful feet should be sufficient ar
gument for wearing correct shoes, but
when it is understood that many Other
bodily ailments are due to uncomfort
able shoes. there will begin to be a
real demand for foot comfort This
point was firmly established at the
recent international conference of wo-
men doctors here, which was so wide
ly attended by male physicians TIL,
one woman at the conference who had
perfect feet was DIR. Tomo Inouye OF
Japan, who politely but frankly as
serted that she never would have had
them had she lived in this country ant
worn our American Shoes She claims
that ailments among Japanese womer
have greatly increased since American
shoes have been introduced into the
country-a contention in which the
American doctors backed her up.
In the opinion of large majority
of our leading physicians, the health
of future Americans is almost as
much in the hands of our shoe manu-.
facturers as in the hands of the med
ical profession.
When woman in the Philippine.
becomes widow, she reassumes her
maiden name.