WELFARE OF PEOPLE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 3107, 28 December 1921, Page 2

WELFARE OF PEOPLE.

■ DR. AGNES BENNETT’S ADVICE. In tin 1 . course ol an address at Wellington recently Dr. Agnes Bennett said (bat ii might be definitely slated that with idl our improved scientific methods we had not: "realty improved (ho general physical ! status. The standard of general living 'venditions bad not improved, partly because of the concentration of the population in towns, will) the, advent, of factories and machinery, and partly because instead of improving the standards of necessities for all we spent- the wealth that came to us from machinery in bid 'easing the amount of our luxuries and amusements. Regarding I tic temperate rise of food. Dr. Bennett said: “My friend sups late, lie eats some strong soup, then, a lobster, then some tart, and be dilutes these esculent varieties with wine. The next day I call upon him. He is going to sell Ins house, and retire to the country; lie is alarmed for In's eldest daughter’s health, and Ids expenses are hourly increasing, and nothing but a timely retreat can save him from min. All this is the lobster, and when over-excitcd Nature lias bad time to manage this testaceous enenmbrar.ee, the daughter recovers, the finances are in good order and every rural idea ed’oclivoly excluded from (he mind. In the same manlier old trieiidsliips are destroyed by toadied eKese, and hard, salted meal, lias led lo suicide. Of such infinite consequence to lianniness is it- to .study the body.” “Foolish as our outer fashionable clothing may be, a far worse feature is our modern underclothing,” said Dr Agnes Bennett.

“Men’s clothing is sensible enough, bn what about the silk and eiepe-de-chene gar incurs of women —that are substitutes to the line bleached linen and cotton of oni ancestors. Who would put such filmy con coc'.ions through the good old regimen o washing, boiling, hanging out to bleach ii wind and sun ? What is the usage of lot of young women to-day? rinsing in warm not hot, water, rolling up wet and ironing with warm, not hot. iron I Can these gar merits be as hygienic as they should he: Apart from gn hygienic cleanliness, dr these garments induce a hygienic warmth; I. do not believe they do; and I wonh state that colds, 'flu, hay fever, and olhei Iron hies get a belter bold when the essential necessities -of clothing are sacrificed Ic looks and to fashion, if all the energy and thought that went into keeping abreast ot fashion could be diverted to objects of real value to the race, we should indeed have progress to record.”