Evening star., 1935-03-13
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Sitting at a desk is really Americas

Sitting at desk Is really Americas
favorite indoor sport.
It might seem, therefore, that some
one would devote time and attention
to making 1t an art as well as q
recreation and part Of the Job.
The world spends so much time al
q desk that there must be rules fol
the thing.
We refer, of course, not to What
is done there, but how one SITS, anc
especially how one greets others.
The art of desk-sitting may be di-
vided into three parts-the physical
the mental and the psychical.
The first of these is, in some re-
spects, the most important, because
upon it the others depend to a great
extent.
To be comfortable while at q desk
is essential, and he who has common
sense will see to 1t.
The first consideration Is the chair
the second the light.
As for ventilation, that is q ques-
ton which has never been solved te
date, not even by the most expensive
air. conditioning.
The lady who didn't like the air
to strike the back Of her neck in the
old-time Government buildings is now
fussing about that air"
In the Summer 1t is much too colc
she says; in the Winter, too damp.
The joke of the matter Is that
probably she is right.
Science demands too much Of man.
kind. Just because thing is hor-
ribly new, and therefore terribly ex-
pensive, is no real need why one need
bow down before it, especially be
afraid to express an honest opinion
about 1t. Yet every one knows how
it is with all the new-fangled devices;
if you dare point out defects not YET
remedied others call you an ole
crouch or think you picked the wrong
brand. Yet in few years all makers
will be correcting the same defects
pointed out by the honest man.
Il = y
The essential Of good desk-sittine
| rests solidly in the chair.
Hence executives who value theil
own nerves and those Of their EN-.
ployes see to it that good seats art
| provided.
The sort Of chair which has plenty
of springs and is capable of being
tilted backward is the best sort.
There seems to be little variance o.
opinion about this.
1t is human. shall we say, to wan
to tilt back at times.
Every one recalls the old-time lint
| of chairs drawn up against the hote
wall. each and every chair tilted bacl
until the feet of the sitter were of
the ground.
This is a natural and therefore
restful way Of sitting. 1t tends Il
| draw the stomach in and put tht
| chest out, without any undue atten-
tion to rules, SO bothersome and hare
to follow.
1t also allows for a natural pro-
tuberance of the head All the Army
regulations call for stiff, unnatura
head carriage; it will be found thai
| carrying the head slightly forward /!
more pleasing, eminently natural ant
much more comfortable. The fitting
chair secures this without attention.
1t will be found that such a chail
makes it very easy for the average
man, especially, to refrain from sitting
on the back of his neck, as some put it
1t becomes pleasant to slide bacl
into such chair until the back Of th'
belt is pressed against the back Of th'
chair. This way it becomes at onct
natural and easy to sit upright. tha
greatly desired position Of all tht
physical culturists and posture ex'
perts.
II it were not for the fitting ability