The Washington times., 1922-04-02

K YATURE was surprised, and her plans
IN considerably upset when Man stood
up on his hind legs and began to
walk around in an erect position.
II there is any one thing which science
is sure Of II is that we are descended from
animals which were planned to run around
on all fours like the cat and dog.
dog can stand up on his hind legs,
but It is q firing and uncertain thing for
him. The monkey has practiced the thing
and succeeds much better on his hind legs.
Man has accomplished the feat best OF all.
But the human race has had to pay
considerable penalty for the privilege OF
walking on two legs instead of on four
legs. as Nature originally intended. Our
human mechanism is designed to operate
on four legs. The farreaching conse-
quences to mankind which have followed
the change to the erect position are many
and peculiar.
rheumatism. appendicitis. catarrh. ade-
noids stomach trouble and intestinal dis
eases are few OF the things which afflict
man and not the animals. because we walk
on our hind legs.
Dr. j. Knox Thompson, the distinguished
English scientist and anatomist, has for
many years been making a study OF the
ailments which have resulted from our
upsetting natures plan. He recently dis
cussed his discoveries In lecture before
the Liverpool Medical Society.
He strongly recommends that children
should be encouraged to run about on all
fours and should never be urged to walk
until they really want to.
BY careful inquiry the physician has
found that scrubwomen derive great com.
fort and pleasure from their position on
all fours and that they are free from many
of the diseases that afflict other women.
He recommends a series OF exercises on
all fours for men. women and children
suffering from the troubles due to the
erect posture.
II has, of course been proved that man
evolved from an animal that went on all
eours, but few realize that we have not yet
recovered from the shock of changing our
position. How long ago man changed to
the erect position has not yet been proved.
but there is much evidence that he walked,
ran and swan in the horizontal position
for many ages longer than he has stood
upright.
Some time in the dim past an ancestor
OF man, a monkey.like animal, took TO liv.
ing In the trees. He used his fore paws
to grasp the branches and thus developed
hands, while the fore paws OF the animals
that ran on the ground grew stif and
stunted.
Hanging by the branches caused mans
ancestor to develop an upright figure, fex'
ible at the hips, unlike the quadruped's
figure. He turned his head around as he
sat among the branches and learned to
hook up and all about him. At later
stage he dropped from the tree to the
earth and found that his erect position
gave him q great advantage In running.
fighting, turning his head to look about
him and earning his living
But this position entailed innumerable
ills. II caused a gravitation Of the blood
and all waste products In the circulation
toward the lower part Of the body. This
led to congestion In the legs and abdomen,
appendicitis and many kinds OF intestinal
diseases
DR.. Knox Thompson has found that ade.
mold vrowths In the throats of children
are caused by the erect posture. They are