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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1913)
THE ': OREGON SUNDAY' JOURNAL. -PORTLAND,. SUNDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER ' 7, - 1913. Copyright, 111V 1y the Star Company. Oraat Britnin Bights Jleaervefl. t :.'':'. 1 i . ' .1 : 1 . i , i , : ' ' -' I, ' i ' How, to Tell llOORHEAIJH GOOD Where to Look for the WARNINGS Nature Gives of COMING ILLNESS from By WILLIAM LEE HOWARD, H. B. 4 7"U,RE loklng fine, Bill," or, "My dear, how y well you are Jpojring! What perfect health you must enJoy!,lf!are expressions we hear every day They are generally meaningless and often state just the opposite of the truth. To the average layman the personal appearance of a friend, or stranger does not reveal the facts about his or her bodily health. Of course we leave out of consideration evidential condi tions of a real disease, a wasting affection or the effects of a prolonged illness. But take the average man or woman of to-day, and what may look likevperfect health in the morning may really be the signs of possible death or paralysis the following day. or week. Clothing, facial massage, constant excitement, artifi cial stimulation all of these disguise Nature's warn ings. Ignorance of the real signs of ill health and too much dependence upon medicine and not enough upon a good physician's advice are the causes of saying: "Bill, you look finenever saw you looking better in your life!" and hearing of his death the next day. Just what are some of the signs of perfect or near perfect health and those of approaching illness the average man or woman cart observe? The eyes are the best indicators of health. If the eye Is dull. If It Is yellowish where it should show white, if the lids droop or twitch, do not tell the indi vidual he is "looking fine," no matter how Jovial and hearty he may seem. He has some temporary or per manent disturbance of the liver. The liver cells are clogged and the poison they should throw off through natural channels Is banking up in the system and is showing evidence of this in the eyes. If such an individual the last time you saw him say, several months before was corpulent and now has lost flesh, weight, and his neck has shrunken, don't ask, "How did you do it?" Such a reduction of flesh and the shrinking of the neck show a probable cirrho sis of the liver. Unless be is under proper treatment you will soon hear of his death. If he has waited for these marked signs of the disease before going to the doctor, he Is almost certain to die soon. There should always he a .difference of several ' Inches between the measurements of the chest and abdomen in both man and woman of course in favor of the chest. A, man with an abdominal measurement of thirty-four inches should have a chest measurement of at least thirty-eight inches. If It Is the other way about, the man Is not to be congratulated upon his healthy appearance. I am referring to persons between thirty-five and sixty years of age the prime of life. In the matron, as. she gets to be fifty or over, this difference Is not so important; but the man should never permit his body to accumulate rolls of fatty flesh. He is not in good health who looks puffed In face, has over-red complexion, eats heartily, sleeps well and has the ever Jovial appearance we usually associate with fat men. ,8uch a man is getting fat around his heart. This condition compresses his liver and other internal organs, hardens his arteries and puts those In the brain in constant danger of bursting apoplexy. Look at his hands. They are red and puffed. Occa sionally his feet swell. He sits around smoking, laughing, but will-not take any systematic exercise It is too much effort. Of course it is an effort, for his heart and lungs are bound down by fat. Look at another man who shows , the same physical laziness and ob truding stomach. He is pale, an xious looking always ,has some kind of a grouch. However, he will stride along at times, be very active in' his affairs, and appear to the casual observer as a man In good health. Get a good look at his eyes and you will see at times a slight puf flness under them. He will show at Intervals a heaviness on his feet. All these signs disappear at certain intervals and you wonder at his vitality. The truth is, his kidneys are in trouble but he does not know It. Such a man or woman needs a doctor's advice, not drugs. If they will carefully heed this advice and adjust their methods of living, dress in loose clothing, cut out all stimulating drinks, commence ex ercising slowly and not violently, and after perspiring take a cool or cold shower bath, drink plenty of fresh water, they may get rid of the poisona in their 6o(Ly with out harm to their tissues. . When reduced in this way there will be no shrinking of the neck a sure sign of some form of in sidious disease no flabby muscles, Do cadaverous appearance of facial llne3. Of course, those forty folds In the neck will disappear they must. When you meet such a changed man clear eyes, shapely waist, hands showing the tendons and veins then you may truthfully re mark, "Bill, you're looking fine!" But remember! no drugs or medicines to reduce the result of high living, lack of exercise and too much beer. Just live as you did when a boy of ten, and keep ever in your mind that the result was the outcome of years of ac cumulation, and that the reduction may take a long time unless your organs have not been too greatly affected. A man gets out of 'bed and looks ill glary eyes, trembling hands, distressed stomach. If you saw him at this time you would say: "Bill, old chap, you are going a bit too fast. Let up get away and care for yourself." But you generally see him an hour or so after when he has red cheeks, steady hands and a brisk gait. You remark how fit he is looking thanks to the barber and several cocktails. But the flushed face, puffy hands, yellow eyes ought to tell you he is artificially braced. He is not fit. A woman's condition of health can be Just as easily determined by an acute observer and one who knows something about the psychology of women as much as one can know about the charming and ever-puzzling sex. The condition of the eyes is a tell-tale thing Just as it is in man. But the condition of her ankles tells better than, anything else. If the flesh hangs over the edges of pumps or shoes, if there is the slightest appear ance of compression at the ankles so that they look out of proportion to the size of the feet and lower limbs, you may be certain that if you say: "My dear, how well you are looking 1" you are not telling the whole truth. The ankle in a well woman should be such as to show some prominence of the bones and the ankle cavi ties. Where her corsets bind the hips there should be no fold of flesh. If she breathes entirely from the abdo men and flushes upon any extra effort, you may be cer- SIGNS THAT ILL HEALTH IS NEAR AT HAND. 1. If a Man'e Chest Measurement (A) Is Less Than His Waist Measurement (B)j 2. If Hia Hands Are Red and Puffed; 3. If His Eyes Are Yellow (A) When They Should Show White and If They Are Puffy (B) Beneath Them; 4. If the Flesh on a Woman's Feet Puff Out Over the Edges of Her Shoes. tain that even if at the time she Is in fair health 111 haalfh ..'111 MAAn fnllfttt, iftca.ii.il w it oyjyjix luiiu . . ; Why? Because she has been binding down and pressing flesh and internal organs a serious matter with a woman. The shoes or pumps do not allow a proper return of blood to the upper limbs and thence to the heart. The lungs are not being given a chance to take a sufficient amount of oxygen, and h tod showing below the corsets indicate that even there the flesh is being deprived of a clear and unobstructed clr culatlon. All this means in time a disturbance of the only thing which can maintain good health unimpeded ,clr culatlon. The way for a woman to keep her beautiful form is not to bind the flesh, but to free it and see that enough oxygen is taken in to burn up extra flesh. A woman's hair will tell the story of her health. The hair of a healthy woman will be glossy without being shiny. It will fall around her forehead and neck in waving folds, not remain stiff or hang "dead." It can be bound or rolled in a mass and remain thus wltn. only slight pressure of bands or pins. .When shaken out it falls as a mass, the strands or a few individual hairs separating slowly, but always having a tendency to return to the mass. It will fly out in the wind like a fresh pennant, returning again and again to the mala treBses. The odor of hair belonging to a healthy woman 1 distinct and pleasing. It is almost impossible to de scribe it, but it can always be known by its attractive ness and what might he called a scent of buddta Spring. The hair of a woman in poor health has a slightly pungent odor, a sticky scent, or sometimes the peculiar characteristics you notice In dead hair or comb ings. If the hair has been overwashed and vaselined or pomaded it loses this scent of attractiveness and health. This is for the brunette. With the blonde there is the same healthy appear ance in the movements of the hair when uncon fined, but there Is always more fluffiness and the ends of the hairs are apt to split. This splitting can be avoided by clipping the ends. It has nothing to do with the health of the hair or individual. There is not that distinct bouquet to the pronounced blonde treBses there is to the brunette. Absence of it does not necessarily Imply 111 health as it does In the brunette. Ill health Is shown in the hair by crisplness, dry ness or too oily appearance. The ends of the hair look "dead." The scent Is gone, or else has a fatty odor. It does not stay together in a mass, but tends to collect in groups of strands. It falls out in spots, not as la healthy hair, where the combings are from all portion of the scalp. Why We Are LOSING Our TOUCH T fHE sense of touch is very likely to be come a lost art in America. A thou sand labor-saving devices now take the place of motions which formerly required deftness and skill. Manual dexterity is giv ng place to mental guidance, and one of the most potent factors in the upbuilding of civ ilization is being abandoned. The effect of this has been made clear by the restlessness Of Americans and the absence of any means to release their nervous energy. Nervous energy is misapplied unless there Is some actual physical outlet. The nervous energy of rage finds its relief in stamping of the foot or in pounding the table with one's fist; the nervous energy of grief finds remis sion in tears; the nervous energy of sus- women of two generations past. Now house hold duties are constantly becoming simpli fied and the knitting needle has been dis placed by the looms of commerce. The same is true of the man of the house. The "handy man" always found something to do which kept his fingers busy and thereby gave the necessary outlet for the nervous tension. A window blind ran awry, a hinge was loose on the cupboard door, a window screen needed new mosquito netting, or a thousand other small things required his attention. Nowadays, however, the "handy man" is becoming a rare specimen, and small Jobs about the house are done by paid out siders. In the business world the same Is true. For two or three decades each year has seen YOU MIGHT TRY- Cleaning Fish Dishes. T TOT watT with plenty of ground mustard added is the best method of A freeing dishes, kettles, silver and other utensils from the disagreeable taste and smell of fish. TOBACCO Smoke Foe of GERMS When You Cook Cabbage. 'T'HE unpleasant odor which cabbage nnd cauliflower make while cooking can be avoided by dropping a couple of whole English walnuts into the kettle. pense 6hos Itself in a feverish pacing toC and more planning. Fifteen years ago every ana rro; the nbrvous eneVgy of Joy In quick, commercial man answered a certain number For Ink Stains. 'pHE stains of typewriting can be removed from linen by soaking In tur pentlne for twenty-four hours then pour boiling soda over the inked parts, rinse and dry. To Make Light Biscuits. rhythmic movements, for, as the phrase goes' we dance for Joy." ' For centuries the nervous energy of women has been consumed in two ways by house hold tasks and by needlework. Household duties require a good deal of physical stress, and the more of these a woman has to do (short of over-exertion), the less likely she Is to become nervous, if. however, not hav ing many household tasks, she turns her attention to some work In which the fingers are employed and which does not demand too close attention, the same nervous perils are avoided. One remembers well how closely knitting and crochet are associated with the calm ease of Ufe displayed by the of letters himself; now everything Is dic tated. Typewriting ha3 taken the place of the old-time bookkeeper's . exquisite script, and the telephone has eliminated the bene ficial, exercise that occasional calls on clients or customers supplied. It Is largely becaus of the disappearance of this use of actual physical movement that the nervous restlessness of the age Is becom ing acute. Dealing at bridge Is not a fair substitute for the knitting needle, and smok ing cigars incessantly is less soothing than writing a letter In long hand. Poise of mind stands in closer relation to the using of the muscles of the body than many people Imagine. HILE it has long been known that tobacco smoke is a valuable preven tive against infection during the epidemic of a contagious disease, it is only recently-that an analysis of smoke-laden air in a tenement district has been contrasted with equally dense air la which tobacco fumes were lacking. These analyses have shown that more than one-half of the harmful germs had been destroyed by the tobacco smoke. This fact has unconsciously been the means of preventing large loss of life, as was noted in the recent cholerc epidemic in Ger many, when workers In cigar factories were found to be Immune to cholera, and wherein the victims were mainly from the non-smokers of the city. Experiments conducted In a cholera-stricken house, one floor of which was occupied with smoke. It was foind that saliva containing virulent germs was completely sterilised by five minutes' exposure to tobacco smoke. It wad further discovered that although the water used in the tobacco factory, both for drinking water and in moistening the cigars, was full of septic bacteria, not a cigarmaker sickened, and the cigars themselves were free of the deadly peril. Determining to put the Issue to a drastic test, a few tobacco leaves were moistened with water," a glass tumbler iui oi wnicn contained over a million active germs, whereupon it was found that within twenty-four hours every one of the bacilli was dead. It has been a matter of common knowledge that Inflammations of the mouth are fended off by the use of tobacco, and that unhealthy conditions of the mouth can never be traced to smoking, unless the habit Is excessive. Now it appears that the smoker in a crowded tenement room is truly a benefactor, to hu inanity instead of the selfish brute the ant mcoune crusaaers would have us believe. : TF you put your biscuits in the ice box for a few hours before baking ? ?mC, !,rB, r!7 lea, p f?,8Sor Wencke. of the I them they will be much lighter than if baked at once. SS Why You Should Never Put MONEY IN YOUR MOUTH T 'HE reason that children, salesladies, conductors nnd others should never put any. kind of money in their mouths Is not because swnllowlne money, as money, is harmful for boiled, sterilized and aseptic money can do no harm Dut because money Is passed through so many consumptive, scarlet fever, diph theria and other loathsome, germ-laden fingers. Many trolley car conductors, children, and street ven ders have the filthy, and often fatal, habit of holding be- How MUSIC Lures MOSQUITOES to Their DEATH THE Mosquito Commission appointed to wipe out the mosquitoes of Atlantic City and its neighbor hoodfor which purpose ?26,000 has been appro priated by the-County Board thinks of trying a new method for exterminating the pests, which Involves the Use of musical vibrations generated by electricity. The idea was originated by A. DeP. Weaver, an elec trical engineer of Jackson, Miss., while engaged not long ago in experiments in harmonic telegraphy, In which a musical note of a certain pitch was produced by electricity. He was amazed to find that when the noto was raised to a certain number of vibrations per Bocond, all the mosquitoes, not only in the room where the apparatus was, but also from other parts of tne house and from outside, would congregate near the apparatus and be precipitated from the air witn aston ishing force against it. He then coVered a large surface with sticky fly-paper, and, after sounding the note a few seconds, captured all the mosquitoes in the vicinity. But It occurred to him that the method might easily he bo modified as to kill the Insects by electricity Instead of trapping them. For this purpose he took a piece of wire window screen, washed the paint off it with turpentine, and mounted it on a board, driving small pins into the board between the meshes at inter vals in such a way that their heads were flush with the surface of the wire net. All the pins being connected together electrically, an alternating current of high potential was passed through them, and, when the note was sounded, the mosquitoes which threw themselves upon the screen were instantly electrocuted. To make the reason for this clear it should be ex plained that the "60irg" of the female mosquito seems to be .Intended for no other purpose; than to attract the male. The latter Is not a singer, but he carries on bis head a pair of very remarkable fwhiskers" -If such they may be called the hairs of Which respond sym pathetically to certain musical vibrations. It Is by 1 Greatly Enlarged Model of One of the Male Mosquito's Two Whiskers. They Are Hearing Organs, Responding Like Tuning Forks to " Certain Vibrations. means of these whiskers (which are branching anten nae), In fact, that the male mosquito hears. A human being, as everybody knows, finds it very hard to determine with accuracy the direction from which a sound proceeds. It is not so, however, with the male mosquito, which probably has the faculty of Judging sound-direction more highly developed than any other animal. And the reason why is simply this: If the song of the female Is uttered directly In front of the head of the male, it Is perceived with equal loud ness with the hairs of both antennae. If the sound affects one antenna (or whisker) more than the other, he turns his head until both are affected equally. Then he knows that the female is directly in front, and he files toward her. Experiments have shown that he can Judge In this way the exact direction of the female within five degrees. In view of this explanation it will be understood why the mosquitoes, when a certain musical note was sounded, flew against Mr. Weaver's apparatus. At all events, it is obvious why the male mosquitoes did it. The note sounded must have corresponded in the num ber of its vibrations to the songof the female. But why did the females likewise precipitate themselves upon the wire screen? This is not adequately made clear. The Important point, however, Is that they did so; and it is believed by Mr. Wheelefr that his method employed on a great scale out of doors, might rid whole towns or even districts of the pests, electrocuting them wholesale. t . The song of the female mosquito, which has been likened to the distant nofe of a bagpipe is not made by her wings, but by the vibration of little . shutters which regulate the passage of air through openings for breathing on the sides of' the insect's, chest. As the air passes in and out, It makes the shutters vibrate. Flies and bees sine in the same way. tween their teeth the coins and notes for which they give change. Yet nobody raises any objection, and few of us realize how dangerously tainted most of the money we handle Is. Dr. M. Langlois, Director of Science of the French Academy, has recently pointed out the dangers of this mouth-holding money lnibit. He proves experimentally that tainted money is no chimera of the muck-rakers. It is a real peril, as much to be feared ns censured. Dr. Lnnglois placed various pieces of raouey in pure, germ-free water. Then he took this water, which had previously been lacking all mlcroblc life, nnd planted it again in Kelatiu nnd on potatoes that hnd been boiled and sterilized. What he found should fill with alarm those who stick money In their mouths. Copper coins each had more than seven hundred and sixty thousand bacteria on them. Nlckles had one hun dred nud forty thousand and more, while silver nnd gold coins carried nearly n quarter of a million germs In their crevices. The reason nlckles carry fewer germs is be sause wear makes them smooth and leaves fewer lodging places for the bacteria. Banknotes and all greenbacks are so full of bacilli that after be had counted an average of a million and k quarter to each, the French professor and his assistants quit counting them. Among the disease-producing bacteria thus found upon the money were germs that cause bolls, pus, blood pois oning pneumonia, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria, tonsllitis, and erysipelas. Dr. Langlois advises every, body who handles money to wash tfieir hands frequently in soap and water. Moreover, all money should be baked in a dry oven whenever it is possible, and all banknotes should be redeemed as soon as they become badly worn or even slightly soiled. Silver coins Dr. langlois found less dangerous than banknotes and coins of other varieties, because the cbeml- harmless 'Ver render8 many of the ( "Never put money in your mouth," says Dr. Langlois, and try to avoid handling whenever there are break In the skin of your hands. Barbers who make change for a customer and then put their hands on another man's face are constantly spreading disease, and so are sales girls who alternately handle money and eatables like candy." Why NERVOUS People Are HAPPIEST TERVOUSNESS is a high tension of the nervous IN system. It is rather desirable than otherwise to be several degrees nervous. Well rnntmiiori nervousness is a sign of good breeding in human beings just as in animals. The higher bred the horse the more sensitive and the more delicately responsive is the animal. In a crisis the animal has greater fortitude, bearing pain without flinching. This the self-controlled nervous person also does. Again, if well controlled the nervousness stimulates tp more and better work. Nervousness, if ill controlled or not at all controlled Is, on the contrary, the cause of suffering to the person, of annoyance to his associates and of inefficiency to both. Uncontrolled nervousness causes fllghtineSs and Irritability. These lower the vitality and impair the functions of the heart and the digestive apparatus. Abrupt movements, shrill voices, hasty speech and Im pulsive, uncertain, actions are signs of this state of un i controller nervousness. It Is not a misfortune to be nervous if you have a strong and active will. Nervousness. in such instances means merely tnat tne strings of the violin are pronerly anger is a flr of trw Th chirm remavad nr nn taut. Such nervousness is normal and makes for the being permitted a: moment for reflection, his former greatest success and happiness. , serenity is restored. The neurasthenic, on the other While nervousness if properly controlled Is good for- hand, la "slow to anger" and slow of recovery from! tune, neurasthenia is always misfortune. Neurasthenia rage, . n. , .:- ; 1 Is a lowered condition of the nervous system, the oppo site of excitation. While a certain degree of nervous ness is quito normal, neurasthenia Is always abnormal! Nervousness may be a purely, healthful state. ' Neuras thenia jls a disease. The depleted condition ' '. of the nervous system In cases of neurasthenia may even extend into the nerve fibres themselves and cause a slow atrophy of those fibres. Too low nervous tension causes poor 'circulation and inadequate elimination of the wastes of the body. Stagnation sets In and th body becomes like a marsh that requires "draining."' ' The neurasthenic Is always a person who cannot or will not exercise, while the nervous person Is "always on the go." Healthy nerves must be surronnded by healthy muscles, and healthy muscles are the result of exercise. Melancholy persons and those who commit suicide are all in some stage of neurasthenia, . The person of high-strung delicate organization wl11 under extraordinary pressure become Irritable or show lack of sound Judgment, but the reaction Is quick. ; His