| Show THE rhe INJURIOUS influences those thoe which chiefly affect the tha stability of the nervous system I 1 do not intend to discuss in this paper the subjects of bad ventilation and impure air imperfect drainage damp collars cellars or insufficient nourishment I 1 refer to those influences which chiefly elii efly affect the sta stability b clity of the nerv nervous ous system rendering it less capable of sustained work and in a secondary way only the circulation and general nutrition the result of all these influences is to lessen lesse n the producing power of each man and thus to depreciate his bia value as an economic factor their cause is to be found in faulty municipal arrangements which can be largely corrected by intelligent action and supervision they work by producing insomnia aberrant forms of mental action these effects accumulate with each successive generation subjected to their influence until the final inheritor finds the load too heavy to bear and do any useful work I 1 refer chiefly to three and these are first disease of tho the upper extremities for arly any considerable muscular exertion second the incessant noise of a large city third of the brain and cord by continual treading upon the stone and brick pavements which make our sidewalks and streets if there is one general physical difference between tho the country bred and the city bred man it lies in the size and strength of the muscles of the shoulder and arm this use usa of the arms has in both men and women an important bearing on the general health since it increases the capacity of the chest and thereby the surface of lung tissue where the blood is spread out in thin walled vessels through ii which tho the oxygen and carbonic acid easily pass in opposite directions direction serving thus the double purpose of feeding the body more abundantly and of removing a constantly accumulating waste product A man may walk in an hour four miles on a city sidewalk and reach his hia desk deek tired exhausted of force and better only for the open air and a slight increase of the circulation had he be spent half that time in a well ordered gymnasium using chest and rowing weights and after a sponge bath if he had gone by rapid transit to his office he be would have found his work of a very different order easier to ido and taking less jew time to perform it the remedy for this state of things is to cause every man and woman to realize the importance of arm exercise make it compulsory in schools and popular after leaving school A second injurious influence which pertains exclusively to city life is incessant noise this may not be very intense at any time but when continuous it acts as certainly upon the nervous system as water falling upon a stone elevated railroads should not be permitted in streets where men and women live A third hurtful influence of city life I 1 is jarring of the brain by continual treading upon stone pavements if any one doubts that there is a distinct and decided jar of the brain with each step let him walk yards when the brain is is slightly over sensitive from a bad cold or headache and he will observe the pain each step causes now in many people the ill effects of these thousands of slight daily concussions accumulate and after a time concur with other causes in producing that state of disability called nervous exhaustion something is needed for pedestrians which will be durable yet not hard some of the varieties of asphalt composition are elastic but none of them sufficiently durable so far as I 1 know nature suggests a remedy in a second way in the covering of the human heel itself where we find a a very elastic pad one half an inch thick to lessen the jar of walking it if we replace the perfectly hard boot heel by an elastic india rubber one we provide an inexpensive and practical remedy which it would cost the wearer but a few cents a month to keep in repair dr walter B platt |
