[Ellen White wrote about the importance of covering the limbs around 20 times, in distinct, unique quotations. These original quotes are also repeated in various publications to make a total of approximately 60 entries on this subject, with a total word count of approximately 17,000, directly relating to this topic. Therefore, we must conclude that this is an important topic!]
#1 True dress reform regulates every article of dress worn upon the person. In order to equalize the circulation of the blood, the clothing should be equally distributed upon the person, that equal warmth may be preserved in all parts of the body. The limbs, being remote from the vital organs, should have special attention. The extremities should be guarded from cold and chilliness by a bountiful amount of clothing. It is impossible for women or children to have health when their limbs and feet are habitually cold. If there is too little blood in the limbs, there will be a superabundance of blood in other portions of the body. There are usually worn over the chest, where there is naturally the greatest amount of heat, from four to six coverings. Over the lower part of the waist there are, in addition to these coverings, bands, plaits, overskirts lapped and puffed. All these extra coverings induce heat. The lower limbs are only furnished with two thicknesses of light material, while the feet are covered with thin flannel stockings, and cloth shoes.
With the present style of woman's dress it is impossible to preserve an equal circulation of the blood. The limbs being insufficiently clad, the blood is not induced to the extremities. Our Creator has formed the limbs with large veins and vessels to contain a large proportion of blood, that the limbs may be sufficiently nourished and proportionately warm with other portions of the body. But fashion robs the limbs of coverings, and the life current is chilled from its natural channel and thrown back upon its internal organs. The many coverings over the chest and lungs induce the blood to these parts, and the animal heat thus retained weakens and debilitates these delicate organs, causing congestion and inflammation. The head, lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys have too much blood, while the limbs have not enough for warmth and proper development. The result is, the blood-vessels in the limbs contract because they are not filled and cannot contain the due proportion of blood which nature designed they should, and they are always chilly. Because this chilliness is habitual, it is not noticed by children who are thus unhealthfully dressed. These children, who are disciplined to conform to fashion, are not well proportioned. Their slender, fleshless limbs testify to the abuse they have suffered. Fashion has robbed their limbs of their natural plumpness. {HR, January 1, 1877 par. 7}
The limbs of our children should be thoroughly and sensibly clad with as many coverings as other portions of the body. First should be the long under-drawers reaching to the ankle. Next the warm flannel stocking reaching to the knee, fastened by elastics to the waist. Over these should be the warmly lined pants made tapering, or gathered in a band at the bottom, and fastened about the ankle. Warm boots with thick soles should cover the feet. The limbs and feet of little girls should be as warmly and thoroughly clad as those of the boys, that they may exercise in the open air without running the risk of taking cold. {HR, January 1, 1877 par. 8}
I would appeal to parents to devote less time to ornamenting their children's clothing, which only fosters in them a spirit of vanity, and to so instruct them that they may secure good constitutions. And then they can dismiss doctors with their drugs, and see their children enjoy good health, sound morals, and standing independent for a sensible, healthful dress in defiance of the fashions of our times. {HR, January 1, 1877 par. 9}
#1 repeated in other places: {HR, May 1, 1872} {HR, January 1, 1877}
#2 Another great cause of mortality among infants and youth is the custom of leaving their arms and shoulders naked. This fashion can not be too severely censured. It has cost the life of thousands. The air, bathing the arms and limbs, and circulating about the armpits, chills these sensitive portions of the body so near the vitals, and hinders the healthy circulation of the blood, thus inducing disease, especially of the lungs and brain. Those who regard the health of their children of more value than the foolish flattery of visitors or the admiration of strangers, will ever clothe the shoulders and arms of their tender infants. The mother's attention has been frequently called to the purple arms and hands of her child, and she has been cautioned in regard to this health- and life-destroying practice; and the answer has often been, "I always dress my children in this manner. They get used to it. I can not endure to see the arms of infants covered. It looks old-fashioned." These mothers dress their delicate infants as they would not venture to dress themselves. They know that if their own arms were exposed without a covering, they would shiver with chilliness. Can infants of a tender age endure this process of hardening without receiving injury? Some children may have at birth such strong constitutions that they can endure this abuse without its costing them life; yet thousands are sacrificed, and tens of thousands have the foundation laid for a short, invalid life, by the custom of bandaging and surfeiting the body with much clothing, while the arms-- which are at greater distance from the seat of life, and for that cause need even more clothing than the chest and lungs--are left naked. Can mothers expect to have quiet, healthy infants, who thus treat them? {RH, January 2, 1900 par. 1}
When the limbs and arms are chilled, the blood is driven from these parts to the lungs and head. The circulation is impeded, and nature's fine machinery does not move harmoniously. {RH, January 2, 1900 par. 3}
#2 Quotation repeated: {HR, January 1, 1872}
#3 Many will immediately exclaim, "Why, such a style of dress will be old-fashioned!" What if it is? I wish we could be old-fashioned in many respects. If we could have the old-fashioned strength that characterized the old-fashioned women of past generations, it would be very desirable. I do not speak unadvisedly when I say that the way in which women clothe themselves, together with their indulgence of appetite, is the greatest cause of their present feeble, diseased condition. There is but one woman in a thousand who clothes her limbs as she should. Whatever may be the length of the dress, women should clothe their limbs as thoroughly as do men. If the limbs and feet are kept comfortable with warm clothing, the circulation will be equalized, and the blood will remain healthy and pure, because it is not chilled nor hindered in its natural passage through the system. {RH, February 6, 1900 par. 12}
#3 Quotation repeated: How to Live, No. 6, pp. 57-64. {2SM 478.3}
#3 (slight variation) When told of their mistake, many will immediately exclaim, 'Why, such a style of dress would be old-fashioned!' What if it is? I wish we could be old-fashioned in many respects. If we could have the old-fashioned strength that characterized the old-fashioned women of past generations, it would be very desirable. I do not speak unadvisedly when I say that the way in which women clothe themselves, together with their indulgence of appetite, is the greatest cause of their present feeble, diseased condition. There is but one woman in a thousand who clothes her limbs as she should. Whatever may be the length of the dress, their limbs should be clothed as thoroughly as are the men's. This may be done by wearing lined pants, gathered into a band and fastened about the ankle, or made full and tapering at the bottom; and these should come down long enough to meet the shoe. The limbs and ankles thus clothed are protected against a current of air. If the feet and limbs are kept comfortable with warm clothing, the circulation will be equalized, and the blood will remain pure and healthy because it is not chilled or hindered in its natural passage through the system." {1T 460.3}
#4 Parents are accountable in a great degree, for the physical health of their children. Those children who survive the abuses of their infancy, are not out of danger in their childhood. Their parents still pursue a wrong course toward them. Their limbs, as well as their arms, are left almost naked. Those who value fashion above health, place hoops upon their children. Hoops are not convenient, modest or healthful. They prevent the clothing from falling close about the body. Mothers then dress the upper part of their limbs with muslin pantalettes, which reach about to the knee, while the lower part of their limbs are covered with only one thickness of flannel or cotton, while their feet are dressed with thin-soled gaiter boots. Their garments being kept from the body by hoops, it is impossible for them to receive sufficient warmth from their clothing, and their limbs are continually bathed in cold air. The extremities are chilled, and the heart has thrown upon it double labor, to force the blood into these chilled extremities, and when the blood has performed its circuit through the body, and returned to the heart, it is not the same vigorous warm current which left it. It has been chilled in its passage through the limbs. The heart, weakened by too great labor, and poor circulation of poor blood, is then compelled to still greater exertion, to throw the blood to the extremities which are never as healthfully warm as other parts of the body. The heart fails in its efforts, and the limbs become habitually cold; and the blood, which is chilled away from the extremities, is thrown back upon the lungs and brain, and inflammation and congestion of the lungs or the brain is the result. {2SM 469.3}
God holds mothers accountable for the diseases their children are compelled to suffer. Mothers bow at the shrine of fashion, and sacrifice the health and lives of their children. Many mothers are ignorant of the result of their course in thus clothing their children. But should they not inform themselves, where so much is at stake? Is ignorance a sufficient excuse for you who possess reasoning powers? You can inform yourselves if you will, and dress your children healthfully. {2SM 470.1}
Parents may give up the expectation of their children's having health while they dress them in cloaks and furs, and load down those portions of the body with clothing where there is no call for such an amount, and then leave the extremities, that should have especial protection, almost naked. The portions of the body, close by the life springs, need less covering than the limbs which are remote from the vital organs. If the limbs and feet could have the extra coverings usually put upon the shoulders, lungs, and heart, and healthy circulation be induced to the extremities, the vital organs would act their part healthfully, with only their share of clothing. {2SM 470.2}
I appeal to you mothers, do you not feel alarmed, and heart-sick, in seeing your children pale and dwarfed, suffering with catarrh, influenza, croup, scrofula swellings appearing upon the face and neck, inflammation and congestion of lungs and brain? Have you studied from cause to effect? Have you provided for them a simple nutritious diet, free from grease and spices? Have you not been dictated by fashion in clothing your children? Leaving their arms and limbs insufficiently protected has been the cause of a vast amount of disease and premature deaths. There is no reason why the feet and limbs of your girls, should not be in every way as warmly clad as those of your boys. Boys, accustomed to exercise out of doors, become inured to cold and exposure, and are actually less liable to colds when thinly clad, than the girls, because the open air seems to be their natural element. Delicate girls, accustom themselves to live in-doors, and in a heated atmosphere, and yet they go from the heated room out of doors with their limbs and feet seldom better protected from the cold than while remaining in a close warm room. The air soon chills their limbs and feet, and prepares the way for disease. {2SM 471.1}
Your girls should wear the waists of their dresses perfectly loose, and they should have a style of dress convenient, comfortable and modest. In cold weather they should wear warm flannel or cotton drawers, which can be placed inside the stockings. Over these should be warm lined pants, which may be full, gathered into a band, and neatly button around the ankle, or taper at the bottom and meet the shoe. Their dress should reach below the knee. With this style of dress, one light skirt, or at most two, is all that is necessary, and these should be buttoned to a waist. The shoes should be thick-soled, and perfectly comfortable. With this style of dress your girls will be no more in danger in the open air than your boys. And their health would be much better, were they to live more out of doors, even in winter, than to be confined to the close air of a room heated by a stove. {2SM 471.2}
It is a sin in the sight of Heaven for parents to dress their children as they do. The only excuse that they can make is, it is fashion. They cannot plead modesty to thus expose the limbs of their children with only one covering drawn tight over them. They cannot plead that it is healthful, or really attractive. Because others will continue to follow this health and life-destroying practice, it is no excuse for those who style themselves reformers. Because everybody around you follow a fashion which is injurious to health, it will not make your sin a whit the less, or be any guarantee for the health and life of your children.--How to Live, No. 5, pp. 66-74 {2SM 471.3}
#4 Quotation repeated: H. to L., Chap. 5, p. 72. {HL 124.4}, {HL 179.1} {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 17} H. R. {HL 125.1} T., V. II, p. 531. {HL 125.2} {HL 175.4}
#5 Christian Mother: Why not clothe your daughter as comfortably and as properly as you do your son? In the cold and storms of winter, his limbs and feet are clad with lined pants, drawers, woolen socks, and thick boots. This is as it should be; but your daughter is dressed in reference to fashion, not health nor comfort. Her shoes are light, and her stockings thin. True, her skirts are short, but her limbs are nearly naked, covered by only a thin, flannel stocking reaching to her muslin drawers. Her limbs and feet are chilled, while her brother's are warm. His limbs are protected by from three to five thicknesses; hers, by only one. Is she the feebler? Then she needs the greater care. Is she indoors more, and, therefore, less protected against cold and storm? Then she needs double care. But as she is dressed, there is nothing to hope for the future relative to her health but habitual cold feet, a congested brain, headache, disease of the liver and lungs, and an early grave. {HR, September 1, 1868 par. 8}
Her dress may be nearly long enough; but let it sit loosely and comfortably. Then clothe her limbs and feet as comfortably, as wisely, and as well, as you do those of your boy; and let her go out, and enjoy exercise in the open air, and live to enjoy health and happiness. {HR, September 1, 1868 par. 9}
3. It is modest. Yes, we think it is the most modest and becoming style of dress worn by woman. If the reader thinks otherwise, will he please refer again to the illustration, and then tell us wherein this style of dress is faulty or unbecoming? True, it is not fashionable. But what of that? Fashions do not always come from Heaven. Neither do they always come from the pure, the virtuous, and the good. {HR, September 1, 1868 par. 10}
It is true that this style of dress exposes her feet. And why should she be ashamed of her well-clad feet, any more than men are of theirs? It is of no use for her to conceal the fact that she has feet. This was a settled fact long before the use of trailing skirts distended by hoops, giving her the appearance of a haystack, or a Dutch churn. {HR, September 1, 1868 par. 11}
What style of dress can be neater, more becoming girls from the ages of five to fourteen years, than ours? Stand those girls of fashion beside these, and then say which appears most comfortable, most modest, and most becoming. The fashionable style is not as long as ours, yet no one laughs at those who follow that style for wearing a short dress. Their limbs are nearly naked, while modesty and health clothe the limbs of the others. Fashion and false modesty look upon these girls who have their limbs clad in reference to comfort, modesty, and health, with horror, but smile upon those whose dresses are quite as short, and whose limbs are uncomfortably, immodestly, and unhealthfully exposed. Here come the cross and the reproach, for simply doing right, in the face of the tyrant--Fashion. God help us to have the moral courage to do right, and to labor patiently and humbly in the great cause of reform. {HR, September 1, 1868 par. 13}
#5 Quotation repeated. {HR, January 1, 1873 par. 10}
#6 The mother of the pale-faced child seemed anxious in regard to her, fearing she would take cold and "have one of those dreadful coughing spells." I said to the infidel, pointing to the children, These are indeed creatures of circumstance. No doubt the mother is lamenting the providence of God in thus afflicting her precious child, but does not dream that herself is at fault for the poor health of her children. She is controlled by fashion; and as the result, her children are sufferers. Look at the tight-fitting waists of the dresses of these children. It is impossible for their lungs to have full action. The heart and liver cannot do their work, thus compressed. These children cannot take a full inspiration of air. Then look at their limbs, unclad except by the slight covering of cotton stockings. Over the vital organs are placed four or five coverings, while the limbs, remote from the great wheel of life, are left exposed. The air chills the limbs, and the life-current is driven back from its natural course, and the limbs are robbed of their proportion of blood. The blood which should be induced to the extremities, by their being properly clad, is thrown back upon the internal organs. There is too much blood in the head. The lungs are congested, or the liver is burdened. By interrupting the circulation of the blood, the entire system is deranged. More die as the result of following fashion, than from all other causes. That child will soon die, and the mother will probably bewail the providence of God which has robbed her of her treasure. The child is robbed of vitality in consequence of the inexcusable ignorance and vanity of the mother. She has probably been so busy in dressing her daughters to keep pace with fashion, that she has had no time to inform herself what course she should pursue to preserve to her daughters the best condition of health. Creatures of circumstance, in every sense of the word. {HR, November 1, 1870 par. 3}
The course parents generally pursue toward their children, while in their teens, is doing more to undermine their constitutions than any other thing. And then, when their course is followed by the sure result, dyspepsia, with its train of evils, and consumption, sapping away the life-forces, the parents bewail the dispensation of Providence, in robbing their children of health and life. It is a sin for mothers to remain in ignorance in regard to the physical organism, and the proper manner of dressing and feeding their children. They should become intelligent upon this important subject. {HR, November 1, 1870 par. 4}
The Lord has formed the limbs and feet with large nerves and large veins to contain a large portion of blood, that the limbs that are remote from the vital organs may be as warm as other portions, and thus the circulation of the blood be equalized. The heart is laboring to throw the blood to the extremities, but fashion, in clothing children, robs the limbs of their portion of blood, and the vessels contract, so that they cannot contain the proper amount of blood. Therefore the limbs and feet become habitually cold, and congestion of some of the internal organs is the result. {HR, November 1, 1870 par. 5}
You should clothe the limbs of your girls as warmly as you do your boys', thus inducing the blood to the extremities. They should be clothed with warm, lined pants, meeting the instep. In no case should the pants be formed so as to be pulled up out of sight by the children, leaving any part of their limbs exposed. I inquire, Is it reasonable, or even modest, to see the limbs of your daughters exposed, to the bend of the knee, without any covering, except a cotton stocking in summer, and flannel, in winter? Why should not mothers clothe their daughters sensibly, modestly, and healthfully, irrespective of prevailing fashions? Your children are what you make them by your own instruction and example. You are teaching them to be creatures of circumstance, by dressing them according to the customs and fashions of the day. As the result, you see them with minds querulous, peevish, ill-balanced, and they lacking physical, mental, and moral strength. Many die prematurely. Mothers, do not charge the result of your cruel work to Providence. You can, by properly instructing your children in regard to the relation their own habits of eating, dressing, and exercise, sustain to health, make them, not children of circumstance, but of God's gracious providence. The course professed Christians generally pursue, in following fashion irrespective of health and of life, brings upon them a train of evils which they charge back upon Providence, and place arguments in the mouths of infidels, wherewith to assail Christianity. Ellen G. White.
#6 Quotation repeated {HR, November 1, 1870 par. 6}
#7 The slaves to fashion may say the feet and limbs are exposed. I beg pardon: the limbs are not exposed. It is true the reform dress reveals the fact that women have feet and limbs, and when they are modestly and sensibly clothed, making exposure impossible, she is not ashamed of the fact. But the fact that women have feet and limbs is not, as we have said, concealed by the length of the dress. We have decided that health and modesty require that women clothe their limbs as thoroughly as they do other parts of the body. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 13}
#8 In order to enjoy a good state of health, there must be a proper circulation of the blood. And to secure a good circulation of the current of human life, all parts of the body must be suitably clad. Fashion clothes woman's chest bountifully, and in winter loads her with sacks, cloaks, shawls, and furs, until she cannot feel a chill, excepting her limbs and feet, which, from their want of suitable clothing, are chilled, and literally sting with cold. The heart labors to throw the blood to the extremities, but it is chilled back from them in consequence of their being exposed to cold, for want of being suitably clothed. And the abundance of clothing about the chest, where is the great wheel of life, induces the blood to the lungs and brain, and produces congestion. {PH134 6.2}
The limbs and feet have large arteries, to receive a large amount of blood, that warmth, nutrition, elasticity, and strength, may be imparted to them. But when the blood is chilled from these extremities, their blood-vessels contract, which makes the circulation of the necessary amount of blood in them still more difficult. A good circulation preserves the blood pure, and secures health. A bad circulation leaves the blood to become impure, and induces congestion of the brain and lungs, and causes diseases of the head, the heart, the liver, and the lungs. The fashionable style of woman's dress is one of the greatest causes of all these terrible diseases. {PH134 7.1}
But the evil does not stop here. These fashionable mothers transmit their diseases to their feeble offspring. And they clothe their feeble little girls as unhealthfully as they clothe themselves, and soon bring them to the condition of invalids, or, which is preferable in many cases, to the grave. Thus fashion fills our cemeteries with many short graves, and the houses of the slaves of fashion with invalids. Must this sad state of things continue? {PH134 7.2}
We object to the fashionable style of woman's dress, {PH134 8.1}
#9 632. Mothers who dress their children in accordance with fashion, endanger their health and life. Fashion leaves the limbs of children unclad, save with one covering, or, at most, two. If they are exposed to the chill autumn, spring, or winter weather, their limbs are bathed in a current of cold air. Over the heart, where is the greatest amount of vitality, there are from four to eight coverings. These unclad limbs and feet become habitually cold. While traveling, it is customary to see little girls dressed fashionably, but not healthfully. The upper portions of the body are abundantly clothed with warm cloaks, and over these are furs, while the limbs are scarcely covered. . . . Christian mother, why not clothe your daughter as comfortably and as properly as you do your son? . . . His limbs are protected by from three to five thicknesses; hers by only one. Is she feebler? Then she needs the greater care. Is she indoors more, and therefore less protected against cold and storm? Then she needs double care.--H. R. {HL 148.1}
633. Societies are formed in our cities for the prevention of cruelty to dumb animals. It would be well to go still further, and, inasmuch as accountable intelligences, capable of obtaining life eternal, are of more value than the dumb beasts, there is greater need of societies to prevent the cruelty of mothers in dressing their darling little girls in a manner to sacrifice them at the shrine of cruel fashion. --H. R. {HL 149.1}
#10 740. The limbs were not formed by our Creator to endure exposure, as was the face. The Lord provided the face with an immense circulation, because it must be exposed. He provided, also, large veins and nerves for the limbs and feet, to contain a large amount of the current of human life, that the limbs might be uniformly as warm as the body.--T., V. II, p. 531. {HL 178.4}
741. The limbs and feet have large arteries, to receive a large amount of blood, that warmth, nutrition, elasticity, and strength may be imparted to them. But when the blood is chilled from these extremities, their blood-vessels contract, which makes the circulation of the necessary amount of blood in them still more difficult.--H. R. {HL 178.5}
#11 774. Look at the tight-fitting waists of the dresses of these children. It is impossible for their lungs to have full action. The heart and liver cannot do their work, thus compressed.....Look at their limbs, unclad except by the slight covering of cotton stockings . . . . The air chills the limbs, the life current is driven back from its natural course, and the limbs are robbed of their proportion of blood. The blood, which should be induced to the extremities by their being properly clad, is thrown back upon the internal organs. There is too much blood in the head. The lungs are congested or the liver is burdened; by interrupting the circulation of the blood, the entire system is deranged.--H. R. {HL 184.6}
#12 The most of us wear clothing enough, but many fail to give every part of the body its due proportion. We agree with the writer of the following, that while over the chest and heart are placed more coverings than are actually needed for warmth and healthfulness, the limbs are not properly and thoroughly clothed. If any part of the body should be favored with extra coverings, it should be the limbs and feet which are at a distance from the great wheel of life, which sends the blood through the system. The limbs should ever be clothed with a warm covering to protect them from a chill current of air. The straight, lined pants, meeting the instep of the shoe, do this. If the feet are clothed with good-sized, thick-soled, warm boots or shoes, for comfort rather than for fashion, the blood will be induced to circulate freely in the limbs and feet, as well as in other portions of the body. We would protest against people's squeezing their feet to make them look small, and compressing the waist, making it impossible for them to fill the lungs with pure air. If we give the lungs and feet ample room to do the work God designed they should, we shall be rewarded with better health and a clearer conscience. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 1}
We find the following sensible hints in relation to children's dress, in "Talks to my Patients," by Mrs. Gleason: E. G. W. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 2}
SUCH IS THE STYLE OF DRESS FOR BOTH SEXES DURING THEIR EARLY YEARS, THAT THERE IS AN UNHEALTHFUL EXPOSURE OF THE LOWER LIMBS. THE SKIRTS ARE SHORT AND FULL, STANDING OUT FROM THE PERSON, SO AS TO AFFORD LITTLE PROTECTION BELOW THE HIPS; AND THE LIMBS INCASED IN BUT ONE THICKNESS OF COTTON, THAT FINE AND THIN, REACHING BUT LITTLE BELOW THE KNEE; AND FROM THENCE TO THE ANKLE ONLY A STOCKING, THAT OFTEN OF FINE TEXTURE. A MAN OR WOMAN WHO SHOULD GO ABROAD IN MIDWINTER DRESSED THUS, WOULD BE THOUGHT TO "DARE DEATH." WHEN FASHION SANCTIONS SUCH A SUIT, EVEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL IN THEIR TENDER YEARS, CAN IT BE BORNE WITH IMPUNITY? DOES NOT THE FEARFUL MORTALITY AMONG CHILDREN SHOW THAT THERE IS "SOMETHING WRONG SOMEWHERE"? AND MAY NOT THE FAULT IN PART LIE HERE? COLDS, COUGHS, CROUP, AND INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS, ARE FRIGHTFULLY FREQUENT DURING CHILDHOOD. THESE DISEASES DO NOT COME FROM WANT OF CLOTHING ABOUT THE CHEST; FOR ENOUGH AND MORE THAN ENOUGH IS USUALLY WORN THERE; BUT FROM THE EXTREMITIES' NOT BEING WELL CLOTHED. FASHION FURNISHES TO BOYS A FIRMER FABRIC FOR THEIR LIMBS MUCH EARLIER THAN TO GIRLS; THEY HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE TILL THEIR ENTRANCE INTO "TEENS" DEMANDS THE LONG SKIRTS. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 3}
CHILDREN SHOULD BE CLAD WITH DRAWERS, AS WELL AS DRESSES, OF A MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR THE SEASON. BUT I SEEM TO HEAR ONE AND ANOTHER SAY THAT OUR LITTLE MISSES, CLAD THUS, WOULD ALL LOOK LIKE YOUNG SQUAWS. WELL, BE IT SO; THEY HAD MUCH BETTER, IN COLD WEATHER, WEAR FLANNEL THAN MUSLIN; FOR OF WOOL IT MAY IN TRUTH BE SAID, "NO MATTER IF IT IS COLD AND WET, IT IS ALWAYS WARM AND DRY." OF THIS MATERIAL WE HAVE NOW SUCH A VARIETY OF GOODS OF DIFFERENT TEXTURES, SHADES, AND COLORS, THAT IT WOULD SEEM THAT SOMETHING MIGHT BE SELECTED SUITABLE TO CLOTHE THE LOWER LIMBS OF YOUNG GIRLS AND LITTLE CHILDREN EVERY WAY BETTER THAN THE "THIN STUFF" THEY NOW WEAR. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 4}
WE MIGHT AS WELL SEND OUR GIRLS FORTH IN THE WINDS OF WINTER CLAD IN THIN DRESSES AS THIN DRAWERS. IF THOSE OF MUSLIN ARE DESIRED, THEN DRAWERS OF WOOLEN OR COTTON FLANNEL SHOULD BE WORN UNDER, COMING DOWN INSIDE THE STOCKINGS. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 5}
TO PREVENT PRESSURE OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD, CONGESTION OF THE THROAT AND LUNGS OR OTHER INTERNAL ORGANS, THE EXTREMITIES MUST BE KEPT WARM. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 6}
CONSISTENCY IN CLOTHING IS A JEWEL MOST PRECIOUS BECAUSE OF ITS RARITY AS WELL AS REAL WORTH.
#13 Children who are accustomed to remain in close, heated rooms cannot have health. They are like hot-house plants. Parents should give especial attention to their children's dress. They should clothe their limbs comfortably, and then should have them spend some time in active, cheerful exercise in the open air each day, in winter as well as in summer. Little girls should not be deprived of the means of health because they are girls. There is just as much necessity for your girls to have constant and abundant supplies of fresh air, in order to have good blood and a sound constitution, as your boys. {HR, January 1, 1873 par. 11}
#14 Our attention was next called to a little girl about ten years of age. It was one of the bitterest days of winter, and yet this little girl's limbs were naked for full half a yard, with the exception of flannel stockings. The upper portions of the body were abundantly clothed. She had a warm dress, a nice waterproof cloak and cape lined with flannel, a fur tippet over the cloak, and a muff for her hands. Her dress gave evidence of a tender, thoughtful mother's care, except the neglected limbs, that portion of the body of all the rest which needed the extra coverings because they were so far from the heart. This delicate, bright-eyed child was suffering with severe cold and cough. It was difficult for her to breathe because of catarrhal affection. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 3}
Robust boys with coats and overcoats, and warmly lined pants protecting their limbs, were shivering with the cold and hovering about the only stove accessible; but the limbs of the delicate little girl were dressed after the most approved fashion, and hence exposed to the chill air of a January day. Her almost naked limbs could not but be chilled while bathed in a current of freezing cold air. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 4}
The dress of this delicately organized child must be prescribed by fashion. She could not have the privilege of dressing comfortably like the robust boys. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 5}
Health and life must be sacrificed to the goddess, fashion. The heart was laboring to do its work in propelling the blood to the extremities, while the fashionable mother, in exposing the lower extremities, was working against nature, in chilling back the life current, and thus breaking up the circulation and robbing the limbs of their proportion of blood. Over the vital organs, where there is naturally more warmth than in other portions of the body, there were no less than eight coverings. If some of these had covered her limbs to induce blood to the extremities, she would have been more sensibly clad. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 6}
The many coverings worn over the heart, where is the greatest amount of natural heat, while the limbs are nearly naked, calls the blood from the extremities. The limbs being robbed of their due proportion of blood become habitually cold, while there is too much blood in other portions of the body. The vital organs are burdened with blood, while the unprotected limbs have not a sufficiency. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 7}
I could not but look forward in imagination a few months, or years at most, when the little busy hands and feet would be still, and the little form clad in its burial shroud, while a mourning household, bereaved and afflicted, were almost murmuring at the providence of God which had robbed them of their darling treasure. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 8}
The people, in their pride and ignorance, give God the credit of mysterious dealings in robbing parents of their precious jewels. If the facts were known, it would be seen that in dressing their children to keep pace with fashion, the life forces were weakened, and disease and death were the result. Most diseases have their origin in an unequal distribution of the blood. Parents who dress their children in a manner to expose their limbs to cold and chilliness, imperil their lives. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 9}
The feet and limbs that are not sufficiently protected from cold by a proper amount of clothing, cannot have a proportionate amount of blood. The slender limbs of many children show that the blood has not nourished and vitalized them as the Creator designed it should; therefore the limbs are not naturally developed, being nearly fleshless. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 10}
Chill back the current of blood from the extremities, and other portions of the body will be congested, while the extremities will be cold, feeble, and small. When too much blood is thrown upon the vital organs, the heart is overworked at every beat, in freeing itself from the blood carried to it. The heart labors to throw the life current to the extremities. And if the blood is hindered, because of insufficient clothing, from flowing freely to the limbs, double labor is thrown upon the heart. This organ becomes feeble, and there follow palpitation, pain in the heart, and general breaking down, and death. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 11}
#15 There is a fashionable way and a healthful way to dress a child. Mothers generally pay more attention to the former than to the latter. It is doubtless very pretty and becoming to dress a little girl in short skirts, covering her daintily-shaped ankle and handsome limb with a thin, silken or cotton stocking, encasing her foot in a thin-soled and exquisitely shaped shoe, while her shoulders are loaded with cloak, furs, and scarf. She looks well--presents an elegant appearance, in fact, and the mother is pleased thereat. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 1}
It is really distressing to witness this manner of dressing children during the winter months. No grown person could be comfortable for a moment in such a rig, and it is only from constant exercise in running that children so clad can secure any degree of comfort while upon the street. Dressing their extremities so thinly is not only uncomfortable, but unhealthful as well. When they run, becoming heated in play, and then sit or stand in the open air, the blood is driven rapidly from the extremities to the trunk, exposing the little ones to congestion of the lungs and mucous surfaces, when they are said to have a "bad cold." {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 2}
See that your children wear snugly-fitting, woolen, or canton-flannel drawers next their skin; over this the stocking may be drawn, and, in the colder days, woolen leggings should be worn over all. Let their shoes be thick and covered by warm overshoes; their limbs may not look so neatly, but they will certainly be comfortable, and the corresponding improvement in the health of your children will more than repay you for your temporary mortification at their unfashionable appearance. {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 3} HR, January 1, 1874 par. 3}
#16 Fashion binds upon the heads of women needless appendages. It requires them to sacrifice the natural form and beauty of the head for artificial deformity. These have a direct tendency to induce blood to the brain, because overheated by artificial braids of hair, cotton, or jute. In order to conform to fashion's standard, the limbs are left nearly naked, with merely one thickness of woolen or cotton. When the air circulates about these unprotected limbs, the blood is driven from the extremities to the internal and more vital organs of the body. The result is congestion, to a greater or less extent, of these organs. It is painful to reflecting minds to thus see innocent children, as well as those of mature age, dressed like victims for sacrifice, in order to make a display. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 9}
Women do not properly clothe their limbs, because it is not fashionable. For want of coverings, the blood is chilled back from the extremities, and the extra covering over the base of the brain attracts the blood to the head, and congestion of the brain is the result. The panniers, and extra coverings in overskirts worn over the sensitive organs of the back, induce heat, and cause inflammation. The walk of females thus dressed is awkward and painful. The limbs, which should have even more coverings than any other portions of the body, because farthest from the center of circulation, are chilled, because not suitably protected. These organs are robbed of their due proportion of blood, therefore cannot be properly nourished, and the result is, the almost universally slender, undeveloped limbs. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 10}
Ladies expect, in walking in snow and mud, and in going up and down stairs, in getting in and out of carriages, to expose their limbs by raising their dresses. Some being ashamed of their slender limbs supply the deficiency by artificial calves. The votaries of fashion sell their birthright at the mart of fashion for a very poor equivalent. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 11}
Certainly, these should be the last to profess to have their modesty shocked by seeing ladies with the reform dress, short enough to clear the snow and wet, mud and filth, ascend stairs, and get in and out of carriages, without requiring the use of the hands to elevate the dress. Their lower limbs are clothed as well as the arms. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 12}
The slaves to fashion may say the feet and limbs are exposed. I beg pardon: the limbs are not exposed. It is true the reform dress reveals the fact that women have feet and limbs, and when they are modestly and sensibly clothed, making exposure impossible, she is not ashamed of the fact. But the fact that women have feet and limbs is not, as we have said, concealed by the length of the dress. We have decided that health and modesty require that women clothe their limbs as thoroughly as they do other parts of the body. {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 13}
#17 We can go out into the untrodden snow, or after a fall of rain, and, if our feet and limbs are entirely protected, all is dry and comfortable. We have no fears of taking cold as we trip along, unburdened by trailing skirts, in our morning walks. We can, in spring and summer, walk and work among our flowers without fear of injury from the dews of early morning. And then, the lower portions of our skirts, not having been used as a mop, are dry, and clean, and comfortable, not compelling us to wash and clean them, which is not always convenient when other important matters demand time and attention. {PH134 9.1}
#18 There are but few who realize that, in order to enjoy health and cheerfulness, they must have an abundance of sunlight, pure air, and physical exercise. We pity little children who are kept confined in-doors when the sun is shining gloriously without. If parents would dress their children for healthfulness, instead of according to fashion, they would thoroughly clothe the limbs of their girls as they do those of their boys, and then let them out-doors in spring, summer, and fall, to sport and play, as free as the lambs. {HR, April 1, 1871 par. 4}
#19 The waists of growing girls should not be compressed, or the limbs left with but slight protection, at an age when the forces of nature need every advantage to enable them to perfect the physical frame. With this insufficient protection, the girls can not be out of doors much unless the weather is mild. So they are kept in, often in ill-ventilated rooms, for fear of the cold. If they were comfortably clothed, it would benefit them to exercise freely in the open air, summer or winter. {PHJ, June 1, 1905 par. 7}
Little boys also are often dressed so as to leave the lower limbs with far less protection than the upper part of the body. The limbs, being remote from the center of circulation, demand greater protection instead of less. They were not made to endure exposure, as was the face. {PHJ, June 1, 1905 par. 8}
The arteries that convey the blood to the extremities are large, providing for a sufficient quantity of blood to afford warmth and nutrition. But when the limbs are insufficiently clad, the arteries and veins become contracted. Double labor is thrown upon the heart to force the blood into these chilled extremities. Weakened by too great labor, the heart gradually fails in its efforts. The limbs are never so healthfully warm as other parts of the body, and they soon become habitually cold, and, through lack of nutrition, do not attain their natural development. The blood, chilled away from the extremities, is thrown back upon the brain, the lungs, and other vital organs, and inflammation or congestion is the result. {PHJ, June 1, 1905 par. 9}
In order to follow the fashions, mothers dress their children with limbs nearly naked; and the blood is chilled back from its natural course and thrown upon the internal organs, breaking up the circulation and producing disease. The limbs were not formed by our Creator to endure exposure, as was the face. The Lord provided, . . . also, large veins and nerves for the limbs and feet, to contain a large amount of the current of human life, that the limbs might be uniformly as warm as the body. They should be so thoroughly clothed as to induce the blood to the extremities. {CG 426.3}
#19 Little boys also are dressed so as to leave the lower limbs with far less protection than the upper part of the body. The limbs, being remote from the center of circulation, demand greater protection, instead of less. The veins which convey the blood to the extremities are large, providing for the flow of a sufficient quantity of blood to afford warmth and nutrition. But when the blood is chilled from these parts, the veins contract, and the circulation is retarded. Not only do the extremities suffer from cold, but through lack of nutrition the limbs do not attain their natural development. A good circulation purifies the blood, and secures health; while a poor circulation renders the blood impure, and induces congestion of the vital organs. {CTBH 91.2}
Mothers, why not clothe your boys and girls comfortably and properly? Let their dress be simple, loose, and comfortable; clothe their limbs, and especially the ankles, warmly and evenly; then let them go out and exercise in the open air, and live to enjoy health and happiness. It will take moral courage to break away from the chains of fashion, and dress and educate your children with reference to health; but the result will abundantly repay all the self-denial and inconvenience occasioned. {CTBH 91.3}
Clothing of the Extremities.
547. The most of us wear clothing enough, but many fail to give every part of the body its due proportion. . . . If any part of the body should be favored with extra coverings, it should be the limbs and feet, which are at a distance from the great wheel of life, which sends the blood through the system. The limbs should ever be clothed with a warm covering to protect them from a chill current of air. . . . If the feet are clothed with good-sized, thick-soled, warm boots or shoes, for comfort rather than for fashion, the blood will be induced to circulate freely in the limbs and feet, as well as other portions of the body. . . . If we give the lungs and feet ample room to do the work God designed they should, we shall be rewarded with better health and a clearer conscience.-- H. R. {HL 124.1}
548. There is but one woman in a thousand who clothes her limbs as she should. . . . Women should clothe their limbs as thoroughly as do men. -- H. to L., Chap. 6, p. 64. {HL 124.2}
549. The portions of the body close to the life springs, need less covering than the limbs which are remote from the vital organs. If the limbs and feet could have the extra coverings usually put upon the shoulders, lungs, and heart, and healthy circulation be induced to the extremities, the vital organs would act their part healthfully, with only their share of clothing.-- H. to L., Chap. 5, p. 73. {HL 124.3}
#19 Quotation repeated: {PHJ, June 1, 1905 par. 9} {2T 531.{CG 426.2}
#20 Satan invented the fashions which leave the limbs exposed, chilling back the life current from its original course. And parents bow at the shrine of fashion and so clothe their children that the nerves and veins become contracted, and do not answer the purpose that God designed they should. The result is habitually cold feet and hands. Those parents who follow fashion instead of reason will have an account to render to God for thus robbing their children of health. Even life itself is frequently sacrificed to the god of fashion. {CG 427.1}
#20 Quotation repeated{CG 426.3} {2T 531.3}
#21 The limbs, which should have even more covering than any other portion of the body, because farthest from the center of circulation, are often not suitably protected; while over the vital organs, where there is naturally more warmth than in other portions of the body, there is an undue proportion of covering. The heavy draperies often worn upon the back, induce heat and congestion in the sensitive organs which lie beneath. This fashionable attire is one of the greatest causes of disease among women. Perfect health depends upon perfect circulation. If the limbs are properly clothed, fewer skirts are needed. These should not be so heavy as to impede the motion of the limbs, nor so long as to gather the dampness and filth of the ground, and their weight should be suspended from the shoulders. The dress should fit easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood, nor a free, full, natural respiration. The feet should be suitably protected from cold and damp. Clad in this way, we can take exercise in the open air, even in the dew of morning or evening, or after a fall of snow or rain, without fear of taking cold. Exercise in the invigorating air of heaven is necessary to a healthy circulation of the blood. It is the best safeguard against colds, coughs, and the internal congestions which lay the foundation of so many diseases. True dress reform regulates every article of clothing. If those ladies who are failing in health would lay off their fashionable robes, clothe themselves suitably for out-door enjoyment, and exercise in the open air, carefully at first, increasing the amount as they can endure it, many of them might recover health, and live to bless the world with their example and the work of their hands. {CTBH 89.1}
# 22 The system of the infant is deranged, and it cries and mourns because of the abuse it is compelled to suffer. The mother feeds it, thinking it must be hungry, when food only increases its suffering. Tight bands and an over-loaded stomach do not agree. It has no room to breathe. It may scream, struggle and pant for breath, and yet the mother mistrust not the cause. She could relieve the sufferer at once, at least of tight bandages, if she understood the nature of the case. She at length becomes alarmed and thinks her child really ill, and summons a doctor, who looks gravely upon the infant for a few moments, and then deals out poisonous medicines, or something called a soothing cordial, which the, mother, faithful to directions, pours down the throat of the abused infant. If it was not diseased in reality before, it is after this process. It suffers now from drug disease, the most stubborn and incurable of all diseases. If it recovers, it must bear about more or less in its system the effects of that poisonous drug, and it is liable to spasms, heart disease, dropsy of the brain, or consumption. Some infants are not strong enough to bear even a trifle of drug poisons, and as nature rallies to meet the intruder, the vital forces of the tender infant are too severely taxed, and death ends the scene. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 12}
It is no strange sight in this age of the world, to view the mother lingering around the cradle of her suffering, dying infant, her heart torn with anguish, as she listens to its feeble wail, and witnesses its expiring struggles. It seems mysterious to her that God should thus afflict her innocent child. But she does not think that her wrong course has brought about the sad result. She just as surely destroyed her infant's hold on life as though she had purposely given it poison. Disease never comes without a cause. The way is first prepared, and disease invited by disregarding the laws of health. God does not take pleasure in the sufferings and death of little children. He commits them to parents, for them to educate physically, mentally, and morally, and train them for unselfishness here, and for Heaven at last. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 13}
#23 If the mother remains in ignorance in regard to the physical wants of her child, and, as the result, her child sickens, she need not expect that God will work a miracle to counteract her agency in making it sick. Thousands of infants have died who might have lived. They are martyrs to their parent's ignorance of the relation which food, dress, and the air they breathe, sustain to health and life. Mothers should be physicians to their own children. The time she devotes to the extra beautifying of her infant's wardrobe, she should spend in educating her mind with regard to her own physical wants, and that of her offspring. She should store her mind with useful knowledge in regard to the best course to pursue in rearing her children healthfully. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 14}
#24 Mothers who have fretful infants, should study into the cause of their uneasiness. By so doing, they will often see that something is wrong in their management. It is often the case that the mother becomes alarmed by the symptoms of illness manifested by her child, and hurriedly summons a physician, when the infant's sufferings can be relieved by taking off its tight clothing, and putting upon it garments properly loose and short, that it may use its feet and limbs. Mothers should study from cause to effect. If the child has taken cold, it is generally owing to the wrong management of the mother. If she covers its head, as well as its body, while sleeping, in a short time it will be in a perspiration, caused by labored breathing, because of the lack of pure, vital air. When she takes it from beneath the covering, it is almost sure to take cold. The arms being naked, exposes the infant to constant cold, and congestion of the lungs or brain. These exposures prepare the way for the infant to become sickly and dwarfed. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 15}
#25 (c) It robs her of that protection from cold and dampness, which the lower extremities must have to secure a healthful condition of the system. In order to enjoy a good state of health, there must be a proper circulation of the blood. And to secure a good circulation of the current of human life, all parts of the body must be suitably clad. Fashion clothes woman's chest bountifully, and in winter loads her with sacks, cloaks, shawls, and furs, until she cannot feel a chill, excepting her limbs and feet, which, from their want of suitable clothing, are chilled, and literally sting with cold. The heart labors to throw the blood to the extremities; but it is chilled back from them in consequence of their being exposed to cold for want of being suitably clothed. And the abundance of clothing about the chest, where is the great wheel of life, determines the blood to the lungs and brain, and produces congestion. {HR, August 1, 1868 par. 15}
#26 Many lives have been sacrificed in conforming to the demands of fashion. And few sense the fearful responsibility this incurs. When hoops were in fashion, we were pained to listen to the arguments of many professed Christian women for the necessity of wearing them for the health. They could walk better and work better. Little girls were seen imitating their mothers in fastening upon their little forms something to distend their dresses like hoops. The mothers argued their healthfulness, why should not they wear them? Children conformed to this fashion. The hoops distended the skirts that they could not fall naturally about the form and give warmth to the body. The extremities were chilled. Thousands of innocent victims were sacrificed to the hoop fashion. {HR, January 1, 1877 par. 6}
#27 In order to maintain equal circulation, there should be an equal distribution of clothing, which will bring equal warmth to all parts of the body. The limbs that are the farthest from the vital organs, should be more thoroughly protected with warm coverings. The extremities should be carefully guarded from cold and chilliness by an additional amount of clothing. It is impossible for women to have, habitually, chilled limbs and cold feet, without some of the internal organs being congested. There is usually worn over the chest, where is the greatest amount of heat, from six to eight thicknesses. Over the lower part of the waist there is, in addition to the many coverings, bands and plaits which induce heat. Over the hips and back, fashion has introduced paniers and overskirts puffed and arranged in every conceivable shape to destroy the graceful beauty of woman's form, and to all these is added the sash, while the lower limbs are only furnished with one or two thicknesses of light material. The feet are frequently covered with cotton stockings and cloth shoes. {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 9}
#28 We recommend to our sisters a reform dress that is in accordance with the laws of health, and which is becoming. This dress is from nine to ten inches from the floor, and when neatly and properly fitted is modest and becoming. We inquire, Why should not women clothe their limbs as thoroughly as men do theirs? Health and comfort are objects of sufficient importance to make a trial to gain. Artificial decorations can never take the place of the natural beauty health imparts. {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 11}
#29 In order for women to be protected against the sudden changes of our variable climate, the feet and limbs must be equally clothed as other portions of the body. The arms and hands being near the heart will better take care of themselves, for they are not in as much danger as the lower limbs. The feet and limbs need especial care. With many, they have been so long neglected that the blood-vessels have not been filled, and because the circulation has been so feeble they have contracted and cannot contain the due proportion of blood nature designed they should, therefore they are always chilly. {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 12}
#30 The limbs should be clothed with pants, always cut after an approved pattern, made tapering to meet the instep of the shoe. Custom and fashion will have their false standard of modesty, and will feign to blush and appear horrified to see women's limbs sensibly and healthfully dressed. We wish to have a sensible reason, if it can be given, for this blind opposition to the reform dress. Sneers, ridicule, and contempt, with some may be such convincing arguments that after they have adopted the modest and healthful short dress, when they meet opposition in this form, will retire from the ranks of dress reform, and no more advocate it, or have the courage to wear the reform dress. Sneers should be taken by sensible health reformers, who move from principle, for what they are worth. Ridicule and contempt cannot make one hair white or black. We want reason and intellect to take the field, and the will to be subjected to the control of enlightened conscience. We design to be true to God and to the right. If there are sensible and strong reasons which can be produced against the reform dress, we have yet to meet them. We are open to conviction. Until we see better arguments than, "Oh! it looks so to see women with pants!" "What will people say!" "I would die before I would wear them!" we shall continue to wear the reform dress. {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 13}
#31 It is not conducive to health to have many coverings over the abdomen and small of the back, while the extremities are left almost destitute of clothing. Reason teaches that the parts of the body which have the most clothing will have the greatest amount of heat. At every pulsation of the heart, the blood should be propelled to the extremities quickly and easily in order to have health. We plead for the warm, lined pants in winter, that the blood may be induced to the extremities, that they may not by scanty clothing be robbed of their due proportion of blood. The current of human life is struggling to go its accustomed rounds and should not be hindered in its circuit through the body by the imperfect manner in which women clothe their limbs. We cannot see wherein the reform dress we recommend is unbecoming. True, it is not fashionable. But what of that? Fashions do not always come from Heaven. Neither do they always come from the pure, the virtuous, and the good. {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 16}
#32 The Medical Reporter, under the caption of "Dress of Children," has the following lucid and pointed remarks:-- {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 1}
"THE CHIEF CAUSE OF INFANTILE MORTALITY IS NOT MORE THE WEATHER OR FOUL AIR THAN THE IGNORANCE AND FALSE PRIDE OF THE MOTHERS. CHILDREN ARE KILLED BY THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE DRESSED, AND BY THE FOOD THAT IS GIVEN THEM, AS MUCH AS BY ANY OTHER CAUSES. INFANTS OF THE MOST TENDER AGE, IN OUR CHANGEABLE AND ROUGH CLIMATE, ARE LEFT WITH BARE ARMS AND LEGS AND WITH LOW-NECKED DRESSES. THE MOTHERS, IN THE SAME DRESS, WOULD SHIVER AND SUFFER WITH COLD, AND EXPECT A FIT OF SICKNESS AS THE RESULT OF THEIR CULPABLE CARELESSNESS. AND YET THE MOTHERS COULD ENDURE SUCH A TREATMENT WITH FAR LESS DANGER TO HEALTH AND LIFE THAN THEIR TENDER INFANTS. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 2}
"A MOMENT'S REFLECTION WILL INDICATE THE EFFECTS OF THIS MODE OF DRESSING, OR WANT OF DRESSING, ON THE CHILD. THE MOMENT THE COLD AIR STRIKES THE BARE ARMS AND LEGS OF THE CHILD, THE BLOOD IS DRIVEN FROM THESE EXTREMITIES TO THE INTERNAL AND MORE VITAL ORGANS OF THE BODY. THE RESULT IS CONGESTION, TO A GREATER OR LESS EXTENT, OF THESE ORGANS. IN WARM WEATHER THE EFFECT WILL BE CONGESTION OF THE BOWELS, CAUSING DIARRHEA, DYSENTERY, OR CHOLERA INFANTUM. WE THINK THIS MODE OF DRESSING MUST BE RECKONED AS ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT CAUSES OF SUMMER COMPLAINTS, SO CALLED. IN COLDER WEATHER, CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS, CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, CONVULSIONS, ETC., WILL RESULT. AT ALL SEASONS, CONGESTION, MORE OR LESS IS CAUSED, THE DEFINITE EFFECTS DEPENDING UPON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHILD, THE WEATHER, AND VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 3}
"IT IS PAINFUL, EXTREMELY SO, TO ANY ONE WHO REFLECTS UPON THE SUBJECT, TO SEE CHILDREN THUS DECKED LIKE VICTIMS FOR SACRIFICE, TO GRATIFY THE INSANE PRIDE OF FOOLISH MOTHERS. OUR MOST EARNEST ADVICE TO ALL MOTHERS IS TO DRESS THE LEGS AND ARMS OF THEIR CHILDREN WARMLY AT ALL EVENTS. IT WOULD BE INFINITELY LESS DANGEROUS TO LIFE AND HEALTH TO LEAVE THEIR BODIES UNCOVERED, THAN TO LEAVE THEIR ARMS AND LEGS AS BARE AS IS THE COMMON CUSTOM." {HR, January 1, 1872 par. 4}
