Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-27
BEING PAID FOR
EXERCISING

BY Frederic ]. HGskin
Think Of being paid for playing
golf or tennis, swimming, skating.
taking q long walk. playing basket
ball or hand ball, working in a gym
nasium, doing your daily dozen at
home. riding horseback. or, perhaps.
even dancing, an hour every day.
Incredible? Not a bit of it. A
great national welfare organization
has just made an offer to its large
office staff that is in effect just such
a proposal. The National Safety
Council. cooperative, non-proht'
making association composed of com
munitv safety councils. corporations
and pubic-spirited citizens interested
primarily in preventing accidents on
the streets. in homes and throughout
industry, has notified the employees
in it's headquarters at Chicago that
cash awards will be paid weekly To
those of them who exercise for al
least one hour each day.
And In making the public announce
ment of this unique offer 1t is stated
that officers of the accident proven
ton institution are watching with
keen interest the developments in
this experiment, which is designed to
keep brain workers feeling fit, and
that if the results are satisfactory
ii is likely that thousands of other
employers will offer similar induce
ments in the hope of keeping their
office employees in a healthier ana
happier frame Of mind.
IT am convinced that our employees
ought to take a more active part in
the national health campaign, and
feel confident the attendance and eff
ficiency of the staff will be improved
if each one will take regular daily
exercise. " said w. Fl. Cameron, man
aging director of the council, in eX-
planning the reason for the innoVa-
ton. II know that the increased eff
ficiency will be worth money to our
organization and | have therefore of
fered to pay a small cash bonus to
each staff member who submits a
certificate at the end of the week
that he or she has taken one hour S
continuous exercise each day. OF
course, the offer has no strings at
tached to it and the exercise will be
purely voluntary and must not inter
fere with our present working hours. !"
Healthy Workers Are Happy.
1t is Mr. Cameron's belief that
healthy workers are happy workers
If people are not in good health, natu-
rally they are not very much inter
ested in their daily duties. IIe says
his organization has no money to
spend foolshly. but that he is con-
fident the proposed investment will
pay big dividends.
His own experience over IL period of
L, fY,1 hos ig
comparatively easy to exercise an
hour a day, and that many infections,
colds, sore threats and disabilities due
to congestion and constipation can be
so remedied Good health is the best
and most desirable asset in life. but 1t
cannot be secured or maintained UNI
less the body is kept fabricated by a
period of vigorous exercise daily. Lit
tie dabs of exercise--such as walking
q few blocks three or four times a
day--are not sufficient for the average
person.
Our staff members have the op-
ton of a straight walk of an hour,
skating for an hour. or any other ex-
ercise they may select" he adds. ''It
is my conviction that the employees
who take advantage of this offer will
be better workers. They will come to
work with greater enthusiasm for
their daily efforts and will feel full Of
pep. Also there should be fewer alb
sences due to minor ailments"
Associates of Mr.. Cameron say that
he is man who practices what he
breaches. He goes skating several
times q week in the Winter, conditions
permitting, and in warm weather goes
swimming two or three times a day
1t is one of his frequent stunts to
walk from his home in Evanston to
the headquarters of the institution in
East Ohio street, Chicago. and when
his faVorite exercises fail him he finds
other things to do TO keep himself fit
That he succeeds in doing this is evil
denced by the fact that while he has
a thorough physical examination
twice every year he never requires
medical treatment.
In making the offer, skating and
walking were the exercises named,
but 1t was stated that the employees
were free to select any other form.
This led one of the stenographers
TO inquire If dancing all evening
would be considered real exercise.
Her private opinion publicly ex-
pressed was that any one who danced
the Charleston continuously for even
Is minutes would be taking more
exercise than could be derived from
a 10-mile walk; besides 1t was lots
more fun than walking, skating or
swimming. A ruling on her question
has not been announced, but the addi-
tional point may be made that If
dancing the Charleston isn't exercise
then riding a horse can't be, for
recent news dispatches told of q girl
who had broken leg doing the
strenuous dance, while the Prince of
Wales does world of horseback
riding and the worst that has hap
pened to him was sprained shoulder.
Golf May Fill the Bill.
Golf may meet all requirements.
Any one who chases the elusive pill
around nine holes in the early morn
ing takes more exercise than in an
hours walk of any kind, save pos
sibly mountain climbing. Further
more, the game has the additional
that those who become
golf addicts almost invariably stick
TO 1T. Physicians discovered some
years ago that patients for whom they
had prescribed walking, gymnasium
work, settingup exercises and the
like would not keep it up for any
length of time, so they began pre-
golf and found that their
patients rarely abandoned it.
Also. golf is a game that men and
women of all ages can play and en-
Joy, and in a large part Of the United
States it can be played practically
the year around. Therein it has 1t
all over skating and swimming, which,
while there is all to be desired in the
way of exercise, are distinctly sea-
sonal sports and present far more
elements of danger.
Tennis is recognized as Il splendid
exercise, but 1t is too strenuous save
for the young and hardy and it, too
is seasonal sport except for few
favored localities and where indoor
courts are available.