HEALTH 1. The strain of business.—Excepting physiciarm, few people not actively engaged in business realize what a strenuous game it is. Even the small busi ness man, whom mediocre success will satisfy, cannot escape the terrific pull and strain. It may be quite._ as hard for him to make a profit of $2,000 a year as it is for a man of larger type to clean up $25,000, Each is surrounded by competitors of about his OWIt size -who are doing their utmost to make his profit problem a difficult one. Each will have his cares and worries and defeats, and the little man will groan under his load quite as much as the bigger man does under his.
We all know that worry and anxiety are enemies of good health. It is an old saying that it is not work but worry that kills. Unhappily, it is impossible for the ambitious man ever to be entirely free from oc.. casions for worry and anxiety. Big orders may be. coming in and large profits seem in sight, but the newspapers are full of reports of labor troubles. "Will my men, ',mowing of the increase in my busi ness, strike at the critical moment and demand higher wages?" This is a very serious question in the minds of all business men with large payrolls. Perhaps a man needs more capital in order to take care of bis growing business, and has difficulty in getting it; or a note may be near maturity and some of his best customers are unexpectedly slow with their remit tances, so that he must get a larger credit at his bank. In business, man is exposed to countless such sources of worry and anxiety. Some of them are foreseen and dreaded. Others come upon him unex pectedly and-may give bim sleepless nights.
Evidently the business man must take care of his health. If he is physically weak or unfit he will sooner or later break down. In this chapter we will discuss some of the simple rules and signs of health, and certain common causes of weakness and disease.
No argument should be needed to convince any man that health and a good physique are business assets. If a reader is sceptical, let him attend a meet ing of successful business men in one of our large cities, or get statistics of the physical measurements of our foremost bank and railroad presidents. The men of power in Wall Street are nearly all big and strong. The leading merchants and manufacturers of New York City, as they gather at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce or of the Merchants' As sociation, make an impression of physical vigor and energy that could not be equalled by a convention of farmers.
2. What is a strong physician feels of a patient's pulse to learn the rate of his heartbeat.
The average American estimates his strength by the size of his biceps, a muscle of the upper arm. It is taken for granted that a man with well-developed arm muscles has a strong body. Yet from the point of view of health and endurance, a strong-armed man may be a weakling.
linen I say that a business man should have a strong body I do not mean that he should have the muscles of an athlete. His arms need not show any signs of unusual strength. In fact, in no part of his body need there be a remarkable development of muscle, and yet the entire body may deserve to be called strong because of its perfect condition.
A strong body is one in which all the muscles, be cause in. daily use, perform, their functions properly, giving the necessary support to the vital organs.
The muscles of the arm are comparatively unim portant and can be left to take care of themselves without fear of harmful consequences. The most im portant muscles of the body are often most neglected by men seeking to improve their health; these are the muscles of the neck, of the chest, of the abdomen, and of the feet. If these muscles are weak, the body's power of resistance will be weak, so that diseases of various kinds will find entrance.
A -well-known university professor a few years ago was suffering severely from what his doctor pro nounced heart disease. He went to the German health resorts and found temporary relief. A num ber of American specialists examined him and aave various prescriptions, but his heart grew worse. Fi nally he was examined by a physician who had been an athlete in college and who knew by experience the sinister effects that follow tlie weakening of various muscular tissues. After an examination lasting about five minutes, this doctor said to his learned patient: My dear sir, your heart disease is all below your waist line. You have been eating too much. Your abdominal muscles are very weak, and your stomach, when you stand, is two inches below where it ought to be. We will artificially support your abdomen ; then you must eat and exercise prop erly and you will be all right.