THE BUILDING OF THE BODY. 39 



permits no one to say that the world must give him a living in the 

 particular occupation that he fancies. The sound mind will fail a 

 thousand times without the sound body ; with both the possessor has 

 but to labor to win success. 



The flexible bones of the child can be turned to a grace and sym- 

 metry which a few added years will render impossible. As every 

 graceful movement tends to make the child himself more graceful, 

 an additional agument is adduced for those exercises which round 

 the angles of rude and boisterous youth, and insensibly lead to a 

 more refined and gracious life. 



In the thorough and systematic carrying forward of this great work 

 the Germans have shown us the way, and we are still their pupils. 

 Wherever they are gathered in sufficient numbers they have set up 

 their altar to the worship of the body and established a Turn Verein, 

 always under the charge of a competent instructor. They are doing 

 a magnificent work among the children of their nationality, and I 

 can personally attest the excellenc of the results obtained by the or- 

 ganization recently started in Stapleton. It is a great tribute to the 

 energy and foresight of our German citizens. 



But it is reddening along the whole Eastern horizon, and the 

 American j)eople are beginning to take hold in earnest. Prof. Richards 

 of Yale enters his plea in the Popular Science Monthly, and the young- 

 est of our great magazines yields its attractive pages to the wide ex- 

 periences of our foremost teacher. Within the last three years some 

 two hundred of the leading teachers have formed themselves into 

 the "American Association for the Advancement of Physical Train- 

 ing." Its members include such names as Sargent of Harvard, 

 Seaver of Yale, Hitchcock of Amherst, Hartwell of Johns Hopkins, 

 Anderson of Brooklyn, White of Berkeley, Betz of Kansas City, 

 Starkloff of Millwaukee, and William Blaikie. Supt. Patterson of 

 Brooklyn, Principals Perkins of the Adelphi and Backus of Packer, 

 Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage and Mr. Chas. Pratt are earnest members. 

 Many of the leading western cities, as Chicago and Kansas City, 

 have introduced regular physical exercise into their puplic schools, 

 and at the last meeting of the association a resolution was passed 

 that superintendents of schools should be urged to adopt some plan 

 by which all public school children could have the benefit of a few 

 minutes daily exercise. ' cr,. : , ' -''' 



