Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1917 — NEED FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS [ARTICLE]

NEED FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS

Very Life of Nation Depends Upon the Proper State of Health of Its Sons and Daughters. t Whether a nation prospers or declines depends upon the physical and mental condition of Its children. Until fathers and mothers are so educated as to be able to teach their children the true laws of life from an early age, every school and center of young life should have Instructors to teach the dangers of sickness and disease. To be warned Is to be forearmed. If a mother wants her children to be strong and healthy, she must teach them purity: If we do not wish to fall like Rome, we must realize our responsibilities as fellow citizens of this great country tn raising a strong and powerful race to face the great world problems of the near fture. Parents must not leave children to servants, or trust too much to schools. The European war taught the world in a way which should never be forgotten the value of physical fitness. Thousands of young men have gone out from the office and the warehouse and the factory, pale and thin, and after a few months of open-air life and physical training have developed into young giants. If nations at war have discovered the value of physical fitness, why should not we, at peace, take advantage of these lessons ml dearly learned? Why should not women as well-aa men learn to give their bodies a chance at healthful develop* meat, and young girls be taught hoW ( to care for the children which shall be theirs some day?—Exchange.