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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1921)
THE SUNDAY OKEGOXTJLN", PORTLAXD, OCTOBER SO, 192t r.- -Lurn mV 1 X Y 7 lourJoe -r Because it is not tseautnui, oavs rror. , -r ortt sOut " - - i "- '. ''L':l'' ; '. j . -A s r ' " ' ? ' - j If V": ,:;- I j V- V : V Y Murray, and Because it Leads to Flat Feet, While Strong and Attractive Feet Are In duced by the Straight-Toed Indian Walk. TUi Bhotosrraeh Illustrates hew the feet are placed li the Terr f Iret etep In popular dancing, BY PROFESSOR ARTHUR MURRAY. , (Director National Institute of Social Dancing.) UNLES3 onr young- people change their mode of standing, walking, and especially dancing, the fu ture generation Wlll D a race of flat footed individuals. So much extreme turning out of the toes has been ; thrust upon Us that we have actually fallen Into this dreadful habit a -habit which Is gradually crippling our feet. The ballet masters were perhaps the first ones to start It. For a num ber of years they have been teaching their pupils to turn out their feet to such an extent that when a dancer stands In the technical first position. It Is difficult to tell whether he is coming or going. Despite the fact that the Grecians walked and danced with their feet In a natural position, our schools of classical dancing: teach their students to become sloe-footed. The stage also har set us a poor example. The feet of most musical comedy actresses act like two bull dogs pulling In opposite directions. Unknowingly, we emulate the stage people. It Is the actor who makes the most fun of the plgeontoed country cousin, forgetting for the moment his own fallen arches. But the Joke Is on the actor, for our rural friends are seldom. If ever, troubled with flat feet. The fashion models are another class who nave taught us to walk In Charlie Chaplin style. Though the mannlkln uses her feet like a trag edian portraying Hamlet, we are led to believe that such Is the approved manner of making the feet look at tractive. What Cauara Flat Feet. Seeing the dancers, the stage folk, and the fashion models standing, walking, and dancing with their toes turned out, ws naturally follow suit. Unconsciously we have learned to think of the sloe-foot as the foot beautiful. Just as unconsciously we have mistreated our feet and given cause for the existence of huge fac tories which work overtime to sup .ply us with arch-supporters. "Toeing out," says Dr. John Joseph Nutt, the famous orthopedic surgeon, "Is one of the most common causes of flat-foot We can do our feet no greater Injury than to make them act as though they were not on speaking terms." What Dr. Nutt says is worth listen ing to. He Is recognised as one of the world's foremost authorities on orthopedic surgery. As surgeon-In-chlef of the New Tork State Hospital for the Care of Crippled and Deformed Children, and other Institutions Dr. Nutt treated successfully more cases than perhaps any other human being. He is the author of "Disease and De formities of the Foot." "The proper position of the foot," he says, "Is to point It straight ahead with an Inclination to turn inward. When we turn our feet In Charlie -have a a splay aoaltioa at :- YV if ). -. ; l I. ''J ...,..., -..-r ' VTy-wwH.W' '"' "wur'nryK y ' - 4-n"'f J -h - - I IK 1 V " i. t - s. - 5 d t . . " ' . . - , "v i I v j - j ii ; 'Xiv i ;) i Y -',"';-.V : ' I V MU" virlml Kelly deWetlag hew tke Greeka kept their olae with thela V , . ; . : , 'i tees In. f. H"' straight-toe poailloa I 'I V" ' i ap f i m I adviaed mu ajwarlma; freedesa froas 1 Kill f A C" " " rom,tlnaT atreagth J U 1 hA V and beaaty " J I ; - " 1 X X are together and the neeis widely V 1 ' - . i . ' - ' I ! & ,t " f i . ' ' I 1 I - :i s - s ' ' v i V .aid "An ounce of prevention is worm It f" . " A J - 1 , pound of cure" knew perfectly well J ' J !S,f " i t 1 ?. t what he was talking about. Most of r73 f ,x - v. Iflll - i mv lonsr-suffering friends could have f v f jw.i,))IM; - v.,w.x..t.to.a S I relieved the arch of as much work ss possible. The exercise which cured me within a month is simply this: Place your .feet so that the toes of both feet are together and the heels widely separated. (See illustration.) In this, position rise up as high as you can, then come down again with the weight on the sides of the feet. Partly because I have had a great deal of trouble In keeping my own feet well, and partly because as a dancing teocher I have had continur ally to think In terms of feet, I have taken a more than passing' Interest In this subject. Of the more than 29,000 people whom I have taught to dance, many of them have poured their foot troubles-into my ssr. Others came to me for advice, while still others told me of how tbey suffered and were cured. I simply mention this to show that the subject of feet Is not new to me In my experience I have learned that the fellow who said "An ounce of prevention Is worth a pound of cure" knew perfectly well what he was talking about. Most of my long-suffering friends could have avoided a let of trouble by exercising Just the least bit of care. Take my own case, for example: r t worn b nnlr of new shoes f . rt.no The strain of dancing in which do not require an operation, soda added to the water will do won. stiff shoes, coupled with more th ii y. '. s. ,. '-.www.- Flitt plion In exercle" dt-KUcnrd to overcome flat feet. Photograph hovrln ,be tnraed-oat feet la the aopalar daaee. "The future generalloa will be a race of flat-footed ladlvldnala tin I.e. they ehaage I heir asode af daaclas,' Professor Arthar Murray. .v,iv, oomiderable irrlta- ders for tired aching feet. The borlo the usual amount of dancing, over- tlon are the result of feet which we acid powder sprinaiea in lho taxed my feet and for three months have allowed to become hot and soft, ing will help to keep the feet cool, afterward I wore a path to the doe- When they are In this condition they Sponging them with alcohol la an- become good objects oi attack by any malicious and unfriendly germs which may be prowling around. For those who stand or walk a great deal, the best preventive is the dally cold footbath. A little boric acid powder or a teaspoonful of plain tor's office. 1 might have avoided any serious trouble had I stopped dancing when my feet became exces sively hot and when I felt the shoe rubbing against my big toe. It has been my experience that the majority of foot ailments the kind othor unusually good treatment for feet which perspire freely. If you will wear sensible shoes, keep dry avoid turning the toes out too far, and give your feet the proper rest, you will not be' worried with doctor's bills. constantly Increasing sale. Chaplin fashion we are doing them a great Injustice, for we bear down on that part which is not expected to carry the weight. "When standing In a sloe-foot po sition you will notice that the arch Is lowered and the weight thrown on the middle part of the foot, called the niedio-tarsal. The constant pressure Imposed upon this central Joint causes It to be lowered and consequently weakened. A fallen arch is often the result. The forepart of the foot, and not the heel and arch, should assums the responsibility of carrying the body. "Most of our foot troubles come from mistreatment. Roller-skating is Injurious because the feet are ab ducted. Dancing is very beneficial for weak-foot. The shoes we wear are also of utmost Importance. Dame Fashion has been forced to bow to so many laws of hygiene that we hope she will allow her toes to be stepped upon. As It is, we should feel pleased at the advance that has been msde in the styles of shoes sold In the mar kets today. Orthopedic, common aease and various other named shoes showing the desire of ihe laity to treat their feet with becoming respect and not be too much the slaves of the passing whims of fishion. "French heels are much better than Cuban heels, for the reason that the Cuban heels are built so that the center of gravity Is set too far back and may be a contributing eause of weakness of the ligaments and muscles. A low heel Is to be desired. The greatest objection to the high heel is that it makes it so difficult to walk on the toes. "Some authorities hold that a medium-sized French heel is best. They contend that such a heel will throw the carriage forward and give the foot the proper weight distribution. All authorities agree on one point: keep the weight off the heel and let the forepart of the foot carry the burden. This necessitates turning the foot in slightly. Even the strongest of bridges will collapse under too heavy a strain. Policemen and people who walk or stand a great deal are often flat footed, afore than not it is due to turning out their feet when they get tired. ThU causes their, weight to fall almost entirely on the weakest part oi the foot the heel and medio tarsal Joint." "What do vou think of arch-sup-porters?" I asked Dr. Nutt. Having had flat-foot, I was naturally inter ested. Later on I will tell how I cured myself of It. "If something anything Is placed in the shoe, which will force the pa tient Instinctively to throw ' the weight to the outer part of the foot, some good is accomplished If the sup porter does not cause a pressure against the strained and weakened part of the foot. Of themselves, arch supporters tend to injure the foot by limiting its intrinsic movements and therefore weakening its structures. If, at the beginning, a correct diag nosis were made, there would be com paratively few eases which would need a brace of any description. "The trouble with the average arch aupport is that it has a tendency to push the middle part of the foot up ward. The foot is therefore sand wiched be twees two oppressive forces, the weight on tap and the metal support on the bottom. How can the weakened foot function prop erly under such a condition?" Several years age I studied classical dancing and learned to turn out my toes to the complete satisfaction of the ballet master. It is evident that I overdid the sloe-foot part, for my pedal extremities later became per fectly flat! I might not have minded the looks of it, but Imagine giving dancing lessons on a pair of aching feet! Why and Wherefore of Wearing Out Clothes. rpHE why and wherefore of the 1 "wearing out" of clothes Is ex plained, as follows by a textile chemist: All clothes wear out through ex- The further I turned my toes Out posure to sunlight, air. rain, median the greater was the pain. It was only when I curled them in that any relief was noticeable. The remedy was ap parent. If turning the toes out weak ened my feet, I reasoned, training them to point the other way would bring them back to their normal state. And so I became a pigeon-toed danc ing teacher. My training consisted in a single exercise. I also walked a great deal on the sides of my feet. In addition, I wore shoes which gave my feet free play. I had a quarter-inch leather ical strain and bacterial action. Of these, sunlight is by far the most harmful. Hence, clothes not In use rhould be stored in the dark. But light is selective in its action. A dark fabric is less affected than one which is brightly colored. Moreover, red and yellow light are less destructive than blue, violet and ultra-violet light. Not all fabrics are affected alike, for while wool and silk rapidly de teriorate In strong sunlight, cotton tected. In the cotton fabric the dye protects the cotton. A coarse dress material is more re sistant than a fine one to sunlight. Clothes are not much affected by pure rain and air. In manufacturing tO"vns, however, the atmosphere Is often slightly acid, and it is then par ticularly destructive to wool. Some fabrics are most susceptible to certain kinds of microbes, and these flourish best under warm and moist conditions. Clothes wear bet. ter when they are frequently brushed fiee from dust. wedge placed on the Inside part of the and linen are much more resistant, soles in my shoes. This wedge helped In spite of this, however, it would to throw the weight to the other edges not be economical to use all cotton of my feet. The principal object of clothing, since colors fade more rap- my training was to strengthen the idly on cotton than on wooL When forepart of the feet and to get Into a dyed woolen fabric Is exposed to the habit of using that part Instead sunlight, the fabric la attacked first. At the Psychological Moment. I was a callow school teacher, nervous and anxious to please. In my first year I followed the usual scheme of substituting or cadeting for teach ers absent for various causes. 1 was at a school one day teaching In the absence of a woman who was ill. During the morning exercises I read a couple of chapters from a story, as was her custom. I cannot remem ber the name of the book, but I had Just read "But here comes the author of all our troubles," when the door suddenly opened and In walked the principal. The room, composed of of. the middle part. Ia other words, and the dya U thereby partly pro-' high school sophomores, burst Into one prolonged roar of laughter. The principal, a man insistent upon his dignity, waited patiently, but one burst of laughter followed another. I tried to explain, but began to laugh myself. Finally, realizing that it was' the only way to restore order, he left the room. Later I explained and he saw the Joke. E. L. P. Duck Travels Traced. LINDSAY, Ont. Laset season H. S. Osier of Lake Scugog. Ontario, trapped 200 duck and banded them. Most of them were black duck, but In. the bunch were a few blue-winged teal. Many of the birds were killed near him, but bands and reports have been received from Ohio, Indiana. Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Louis iana and Texas, while one of the blue winged teal was killed near Port of Spain, In the island of Trlndidad, more than 2500 miles from the place where they were banded. Heart Is Aliasing. Wayside Tales. She You are a perfect dear. He Not perfect, darling you have my heart.
