The Washington times., 1928-04-20
BA(iKSRUTH
IN DISCARD
Of BELT
/. BY Gene Tunney
heavyweight Champion OF the World

pr..vvwaieht champion OF the world
MIAMI, Fla, April 90
don't know how many times
Il have been approached with
propositions to indorse various
articles of everyday use. Up
TO the present, however, | have
adhered steadfastly to my de
Ecision not to lend my name to
sany product for advertising
purposes.
So far as am concerned, the 1000
Il eat and the clothes wear shall
xemain q mystery to the public
with one exception which I'll come
10 in moment.
I think I'm entitled to receive the
right to select whatever articles |
prefer for my daily needs-and to
change to others If think they may
ne better. And I don't believe in in
norsing certain product-and then
n1sing another. And last, but not
least, I think there are so many ex'
.peIlent things on the market that !
should play fair to all the manufac'
tNuIGISp anu IOI fEO44441ICA @40L@4<SC . $500
which l won in the ring.
Nevertheless, / feel that the
time has come to speak right out
and indOrse gaIluses, suspendeFs.
Il braces, breteIles-Or whatever
my friends want to call them.
1 have just read about the reduc.
RGlon that Babe Ruth has accom-
Dlished in his ponderous frame. And
Babe IS the original exponent Of sus-
Ilpenders, although / am inclined to
believe that he has stolen my idea in
adopting them. According to the
baseball correspondents Babe has
reduced from 254 pouns to a mere
l225. He has engaged in all kinds OF
exercises. including boxing tand
without umpires) so it is rather diff
sficult for him to attribute his loss Of
favoirdupois to any certain form Of
athletics.
But without taking the laurelI
away from the heavyweight cham.
pion OF the diamond. claim thai
his youthful slenderness which Il
just beginning to become apparent
IS due to suspenders.
A few days ago was discussing
the weight situation with some OF
the learned physicians who watch
me with all the care that an am
bilious mother bestows upon q
blooming debutante.
s'Why do you wear guspendersR
said the old.fashioned nledico. who
had never heard them called
braces.
more comfortable I said, snap
ping a pair of red and green striped
ones that somebody had sent me for
my birthday.
exercising" he remarked. And, for
all the confidence place in him,
] gave him the argument for my
hearty Endorsement Of suspenderss
About this time along came
another OF my physical advisers.
He Endorsed what ! said and
thereby Endorsed Babe Ruth,
who, in less glorious way
than Florence Ziegfeld glOrifies
things, has glOrified the great
American suspendef.
"It is my theory I said. that
when a man wears suspendeds he
is free from restraint. Perhaps
the old-fashioned galluses were
meant to hold up the trousers. Not
so in this age. Trousers are almost
lself-supporting. No longer is the
waist band something to be guessed
at. It is close, fitting and nobly
does its duty with the slightest aid
Does anyone in this day ever
hear of a husband divorCing his
wife for not keeping his suspendei
buttons in a safe condition? Does
anyone every hear the old joke o.
the embarrassed gentleman whose
lnodesty hung upon the reliability
of one button? Certainly not.s
"suspenders are now mst q
safeguard of safety. One
doesn't select them in store
for their stretchiveness nor
their solid leather thongs.
Modern trousers have changed
their habits. And susDenders
have become merely safeguards
for cases Of extreme activity.
'I wear suspenders during heavy
exercise or roadwork because the
lbody contracts with the burning
up OF fleshy tissue. But one loses
more weight in ring battle thar
on the road and many a time
felt that my trunks were going t.
fall off. ] wished that ! hac
suspenders then.
The point is told my doctor
and trainer friends, that wnen {
man wears q belt he confines th'
most active muscles of mis- body
those in the abdomen. which WORT
when tbs rest of the body is d
rest. The muscles resent this re-
strtction and push outward whel
they should be doing their owl
internal work. Soon they becom
accustomed to pushing outward am
the result Is a protruding part o