New-York tribune., 1920-02-11
Heywood BrQun

trend toward ighthandedness This
was the development of sign Language
spontaneously and even preceding that
OF spoken language. The
fingers Of the hand laid UP, or counted
off, were beyond question the begin
nlngs of arithmetic, the means of bar
ter, the method of stating the funda-
mental facts Of number requisite in all
thinking and doing Military and inter
tribal dealings especially made the Gus
tom powerful and even sacred. One
finger was the origin of our figure
l, the second equalling two, etc, up to
five, or V, which fork was made by the
thumb stuck up opposite the first 7.
When the counting was more than
five the other hand was made TO repre-
sent the first five, the digits being
added up to ten, when two forks were
used, or the crossed thumbs, which
constituted X, or ten The impressive
ceremonies Of warning and bartering
tribes would stamp with distinctive ap
proval the hand used in the sign
language and henceforth it would be-
come the honored one, the stamping
and writing hand, and in time the
sword hand. The right was chosen as
the sign and numbering hand because
the left was naturally used for the
mighty important task of guarding the
sinistrally-placed heart with the
shield"
In at hor
and commerce dictated the use Of the
right hand, and primitive tribes used
the most savage methods to convert all
lefthanders. But there is moral and
physical toughness in lefthanders
and though they failed to conform
they survived. Indeed, DR.. Gould es-
Inmates that there are about 5000 600
ie1thanders in the United States TODAY
out OF course some OF them are aliens
and may be deported if discovered
1t Is interesting to discover that the
ie1thander is from stock which set it.
self against the militaristic ard com
merclal methods of its day. for il gives
scientific sanction to the theory which
prevails in baseball that the southnav
is httle queer Indeed the adjective
cratic almost always precedes the
word southpaw in story on the snort
ing page, and it is natural that the
common righthanded run Of US shouId
look on Rube Marquard or Lefty TYLER
as outlandish, just as the world looked
at Walt Whitman or Thoreau with q
certain intolerant wonder.
And yet as far as physical dexteritv
goes, the lefthander NAV be fnlIv 90
proficient as his righthanded rival. In
the 2oth chapter Of the Book of JUDGES
1t IS stated that the army of Benia- |
MN recruited special company from
the City of Gibeah which consisted of |
seven hundred chosen men, left
handed; every one could sling stones
at halr-breadth and not miss" II
must be admitted that control amono
southpaws has since deteriorated The
blole story is particularly interest;ro
because it implies that all the inbab;,
tants OF Gibeah were lefthanded. How
ever, it says little more except to stat.
that the city was burned to the ground
mere Is nothing by which we can tel,
whether this lefthanded community
was able to enforce city ordinances
ralse taxes and clean the streets in the
same methodical manner as a right
handed community like our own. Ofj
course. 6. there is circumstantial evidence
s"a. 'he Glbeah fire department was
nothing much to boast about.
~ 'ne third chapter Of the Book Of
eoges tho fame of another lefthande.
IS celebrated. His name was Eh,a
aho ne was rebel, for he killed Eplop
the rat king Of Moab. "And Ehua /.