1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1515 



it before I die; but may God grant, when the 

 time shall come, that all the boys and girls on 

 the face of the earth, and men and -vomcn, shall 

 adopt some sort of footwear that will let their 

 feet grow as naturally as their hands and their 

 fingers grow. 



When I thought of taking up this subject I 

 made up my mind that I would ask a great lot of 

 people to let me take a look at their bare feet. 

 As I have reason to believe that womenkind are 

 the greatest sufferers I mentally decided that I 

 would go to everyone of my daughters — yes, and 

 granddaughters — and ask them to take off their 

 shoes and stockings, and let me see their feet. 

 Yes, and I decided to go to my sister, too, and 

 to some other women where I felt sufficiently 

 well acquainted, and tell them I wanted to take 

 a look at their bare feet.* Do you know why I 

 did not do it.? It was because I knew from past 

 experience that I could not and must not put an 

 account of it in these Home papers. Dear friends, 

 I have written at least one Home paper that was 

 ruled out by my sons and daughters, and by Mrs. 

 Root While they admitted it was a subject 

 that was sadly in need of a tremendous reform, 

 they decided it belonged rather to the province 

 of a medical journal than in my department of 

 Gleanings. I still think it ought to have been 

 allowed to appear; but I hope I shall never get to 

 be so contrary and stubborn, even in my old age, 

 that I can not listen and give way to the advice 

 and counsel of the younger ones.t I wonder 

 how many of our women readers would be will- 

 ing to wear or at least go out in public with a 

 shoe shaped like the one in the picture. I have 

 suggested the same thing in years past, but I have 

 been met right and left with the reply that it 

 would never do to adopt any thing so entirely out 

 of fashion. Good women — yes, some among the 

 great reformers — say that one who goes out in 

 public must conform, at least to so»ie extent, to 

 the prevailing fashions, no matter how ridiculous 

 or hideous the fashion may be. A few years ago 

 women were killing themselves by tight lacing, 

 and for a time the doctors' protests and warnings 

 seemed to be of but little avail. But a reform 

 has come — yes, a great reform — even though 

 there are still a few who go about with wasplike 



* when I first thought of taking up this subject, and was dis- 

 cussing it with my wife, she positively forbade my saying any 

 thing about her feet. But I am going to add this much: 



Mrs. Root, even when a girl, was remarkably active, and full 

 of life. She could run and jump, and even climb trees; and even 

 now, when she is pretty close on to threescore and ten, when she 

 is in a hurry with her work she can skip about almost as quickly 

 as any of her children or grandchildren. When our good friend 

 O. O. Poppleton was here a few days ago he said something like 

 this: " Brother Root, it is really remarkable to see a woman as 

 well along in years as your wife &y about in the way she does 

 when she wants to accomplish a good many things quickly." 



Brother Poppleton was right about it. And now just contem- 

 plate, if iyou choose, torturing and maiming such a bright good 

 woman by efe//f/nf her to conform to fashion! I have seen her 

 come up the doorsteps with a look of pain on her dear face that 

 fairly touched my heart as she hurried to the cupboard near oer 

 bed and jerked off her fashionable shoes and replaced them with 

 the easy cloth ones that she wears about in her every-day work. 

 There, I have told my story, but I have not said a word about her 

 feet, after all, have I.' I think I told you some time ago that, 

 when I was courting Mrs. Root, I " loved the very ground she 

 trod on;" and I now say, as I come down to old age, I do not 

 reverence that same " ground " a bit less. 



t Perhaps I should add right here that, since that paper of mine 

 was thrown out (the subject was the need of better toilet rooms 

 or closets for the home), there has been a wonderful reform — one 

 almost worldwide. It seems to me I was a little ahead of the 

 times — that is all. 



waists. When some of these friends of mine 

 with their painfully small waists argued that it 

 was their natural size, and that they were not 

 cramped at all, I replied, "Then for God's sake 

 wrap something around you and make believe you 

 are like other people, even if God did not make 

 you that way." IthinkT. B. Terry's teachings 

 have done much to encourage the use of loose 

 clothing. And, by the way,T. B. Terry, I wantjoK 

 to help me in this crusade for natural feet. Yes, I 

 want every minister of the gospel to help; and I 

 know the good honest physicians and family doc- 

 tors will help, and will tell you that I am right. 



Now, I have not made the examination I have 

 talked about so as to prove what I say ; but I want 

 to ask every father and mother, whose eyes are 

 on these pages, to take particular notice just now 

 of the cramped and deformed feet belonging to 

 your wives and daughters. If there is not any 

 thing of the kind to be seen among barefooted 

 women, then the world is better off than I sup- 

 posed. Let me give you a little of my experience. 



In my boyhood I went barefoot just as long as 

 custom would permit, and I have gone barefoot 

 a good deal of my life when circumstances per- 

 mitted. I greatly enjoy, even now, wading 

 through the grass in the morning before I put on 

 my shoes.* Several times in my life I have tried 

 to conform to fashion; but my toes made such a 

 protest that I wore my Sunday shoes only when 

 I had to go among people. If you will look at 

 the picture I have given you, or look at a child's 

 foot, especially that of a child going barefoot, or 

 a baby's foot, you will get a glimpse of the way 

 God made our feet. Do you say the natural 

 foot is not beautiful in an artistic sense.? Well, 

 just take a look at a baby's foot before it has 

 been cramped out of shape by fashionable shoes. 

 Did you ever see any thing prettier than those 

 pink toes, the graceful curves, the arched instep, 

 and the rounded heel.? Well, this baby's foot, 

 and, in fact, every other natural foot, is some- 

 what three-cornered — the heel at one corner, the 

 big toe at another, and the little toe is the third 

 corner. Well, in the attempt to make my left 

 foot conform to fashion I cramped it in the cor- 

 ner just back of the little toe until a serious corn 

 or chilblain, or the two combined, set in. I final- 

 ly went to our family physician about it. Said 

 I, " Doctor, I do not know whether you want to 

 undertake to take care of the feet or a sore toe; 

 but I should like your advice, any way." 



He replied, " Mr. Root, I am always glad to 

 do any thing to alleviate human suffering. My 

 business in life is that, and I enjoy it." 



After he looked at my foot he told me I would 

 have to get an old boot or shoe, and cut out a 

 piece of the leather clear around that sore spot; 

 and I would have to go around that way for three 

 or four weeks; for unless I did, something serious 

 might happen. He said it was owing to a lack 

 of ventilation in my shoe. Then he went with 



* So far I have not said any thing about caring for the feet so as 

 to keep them natural and healthy. Wading in the dewy grass 

 is nature's cure, and perhaps the best thing in the world. In the 

 winter time (when there is no grass) the feet should not only be 

 bathed often, but soaked thoroughly so as to cleanse them from 

 every thing that can be removed by the brush or towel. When 

 the feet are disposed to get dry, hard, and painful, I haver never 

 found any thing better than a little vaseline. I suppose the va- 

 rious foot-powders so much advertised may be helpful for sweaty 

 feet; but I have never found them by any means equal to the 

 vaseline. 



