Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 58.djvu/499

Rh and crippled that she cannot walk, or the prospective Spanish aristocrat crowds her feet into pointed-toed shoes, with heel in the middle of the foot, with the same result. This inability to walk with ease and com- fort was made very apparent among the Cuban teachers in their his- torical and geological excursions about Cambridge. Upon investiga- tion, it was found that the Cuban women were wearing narrow, pointed- toed shoes, with high heels, numbering in sizes from two to four, and that the Cuban men were wearing the same style shoe, numbering in size from three to six. These are the sizes usually worn by our Amer- ican boys and girls ranging in age from ten to fourteen. Our women wear shoes ranging in size from No. 2 to 8, and our men shoes ranging in size from No. 6 to 10.

Of course, a smaller stature on the part of both Cuban men and women implies smaller feet, but in order that the feet, though small, should be of service, the toes and joints must be allowed freedom of movement. This they cannot obtain if the feet are crowded into small, tight-fitting, stiff-soled, high-heeled shoes.

Our American men and women, after enduring years of pedal in- firmities, have at last learned the value of common-sense shoes. The interest in tennis, golf, cross-country walking and other forms of phys- ical exercise has done much to bring about a needed reform in America in caring for the feet. It is a recognized fact that conquering armies often depend as much upon their ability to march as they do upon their ability to fight. So, in more senses than one, it is necessary for a people to get a footing in the world before they think of com- peting with rivals or maintaining their independence as a nation.

While we all rejoice in the efforts of the Cubans to improve the condition of their schools, and admire their interest and enthusiasm for intellectual attainments—let it be remembered that every nation that has risen to eminence in this respect has always had a strong physical foundation to build upon. My observations among the Cubans have led me to believe that they are not so far behind the Americans in point of mental ability and acumen as they are in lack of physical vigor, and some moral aim or purpose to strive for. This condition is partly due to the effects of a tropical climate, and the corrupting in- fluence of an effete civilization like that maintained in the Island of Cuba so many years by the Spanish Government. But I have already pointed out some of the physical defects of the Cuban people that are the outcome largely of faulty habits of living—short stature, light weight, flat chests, slender waists, small hands, little, narrow feet and emaciated limbs. These are fundamental defects, and are usually as- sociated with a relatively feeble digestion, weak heart and incapacious lungs.

The remedies I would suggest are equally fundamental. Restraint