The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-25

WASHINGTON, ID. c., July 20. -
Is the little toe superfluous part of
anatomy like the appendix? Euro
pean society women seem to think
so, and they have both support and
opposition from science.
Society women abroad are said to
be having their little toes cut off in
order to wear narrow shoes, and wom
en- in this country are asking curious
ly what the result will be. There is
an old fairy story in which the villain
ess cut off part of her heel to wear
the slipper meant for the airy fairy
heroine She got the slipper on, but
she hobbled so that it was obvious
/ that it was not fit. American women
are asking whether the narrow shoes
will fit these European women so
| that they will have the poise that
comes from a normal foot comfortably
/ shod, or whether the missing toe will
leave them rather wobbly, like the
character in the fairy tale.
/ A Government doctor who prefers
to be nameless expressed his unoffi-
cial opinion. He believes that the loss
of one toe would not seriously ham
per locomotion in an individual who
did not demand too much of her feet
! In other words, the very languid wom-
an who need exert herself only to get
/ from her drawing room to her hmou-
sine might have her little toe cut off
without feeling any particular loss.
| But few women of this energetic
age save their feet to this extent. The
woman in society, supposedly a sed-
entary type, often has to stand and
look pleasant for long stretches of
J time. Sports and dancing which play
! so large a part in the social whirl
demand foot comfort if any pleasure
! is to be derived from them This doc
/ tor thinks that where poise and bal
ance are important, as in most sports,
! the absence of the little toe would
prove a handicap. For ordinary walk
ing there would probably be no dis.
comfort, at least for a time. When
they are encased in tight shoes, the
toes do not function as they do when
a person walks barefooted, and grips
the ground with them.
!! Trouble May Come Later
! However, he thinks that later there
J may be trouble, through weakening Of
the arches, especially of the trans
verse arch at the base of the toes
Experts say that the weight of The
, foot is properly distributed wher
/ balance is preserved between thC
three points of the triangle made by
the foot The heel is one of the point:
: and the others are at the base o
the first and fifth toes. A good dea
of the trouble with arches is attribut
ed to the foot's being allowed tt
I bend inward. The weight of the bod!
is then on the inside of the foot ant
the pressure is too great there fol
the arches. They roll over inward
, and become painful If the fifth too
: is removed there would be more diff
Guilty in maintaining the proper weigh
: distribution, the doctor thinks, tina
= the foot would tend to bend in will
. resulting weakness and eventually dis
comfort.
/ A teacher of ballet dancing agree
with this opinion. Both hold that thu
t outer toes are important for balance
/ When you grip the floor with the out
s side of the foot the weight Is prop
l. erly distributed and the arches ar
S raised as they should be, the bale
+ dancer says. If you try this whel
/ you are not wearing a shoe you cal
[ see MS point easily 1ueu let III
!. foot bend in and see the arch SIM
D and the foot lose its proper alignment
e Ballet dancers are taught in thei
e first lessons to throw their weigh
n toward the outside of the foot. The
t have to put extra force into the mus
a Giles to keep them taut because the
e are standing with their toes out,
e position which naturally causes tn
e foot to bend in. Because of the e1
Il ample of the dancers, many person
g walk with their toes out thinking
must be a proper way to hold the fee
0 They neglect, however, to exert tn
/ extra pull on their muscles to distril
5 ute the balance properly. Tigh
l. shoes also tend to make a person to
e out.
Toeing out is regarded by expert
o as a cause of corns, bunions, ingrov
h ing nails, and arch troubles. The
d urge that every one should toe in a
A. Indians and barefoot walkers do.
IS The theory that all of the toes ar
It needed for balance is opposed by
British woman who claims that tn
e ancient Greeks, our ideals of physict
e perfection, balanced on the inside {