Confidential Chats with Boys

by William Lee Howard

After telling you that “Weaknesses, Nervousness,” and all that kind of advertising rottenness, will be removed by wearing the belt, this advice follows: I quote word for word—“No drugs to be taken, NO CONDITIONS IMPOSED EXCEPT THAT DISSIPATION MUST CEASE.”

Now you see the nigger in the woodpile—“DISSIPATION MUST CEASE.” In other words, stop your evil habits, the ones which have caused a little or great weakness, and you will be cured.

Is this any different from what I have told you? Not at all, only I say don’t use the fake “electric belt,” and you will be far better off. Using these belts or any kind of appliances, is worse than useless because they give you a false idea of what really cures you, and you may be foolish at some later period in your life—but not if you have developed the will—and resume your injurious habits, thinking all you need to be well again is to resort to the “belts.” You might just as well tie a piece of lead pipe between your legs.

Some boys have been told they should wear suspensory bandages all the time they are growing. No; if Nature intended the testicles should have greater support, she would have given this support.

There are times in athletic sports, such as wrestling, jumping, hurdling, pole jumping, when it may be advisable, in order to save the organs from shock or strain, to wear a “jock strap” or suspensory bandage. But if you have taken decent care of yourself, the muscles which suspend the bag should be strong and elastic enough to protect the testicles in it. Cold water, again, is the best and only way by which these muscles should be developed.

Frequently the boy imagines he has varicose veins of the testicles—that is, another scare has been thrown into him by the advertisements of quacks—and such a lad will worry himself to a state of uselessness. He is constantly feeling the worm-like cords and attachments inside the bag. He is sure now that it is all over with him, he can play no more ball, but must sit quietly and await the awful operation, or else he goes to some drug store for a suspensory bandage. If not warned and cared for in time, he gets into the talons of the Quacks who bleed him for all he can beg or get otherwise, and when he can give them no more money he is cast off hopeless, and we find him in the hospital clinic a trembling, wasted youth. And there was nothing the matter with him except a big scare.

Such a fright lowers the whole tone of a boy, moral as well as physical. His muscles become weak and flabby. Now it is a scientific fact that whatever part of the body your mind dwells upon will show the effect, evil or good, according to the kind of thoughts. Such a boy as we have described, has his mind fixed upon those worm-like cords in his bag. Now the muscles relax, then he feels those “worms” so big that the fright increases to almost a mania.

And all this suffering of thousands of lads just because parents and teachers have been criminally silent! But, boys, as I told you, it is not fair to put all the blame upon our parents. In their days they were not allowed to read such books as you are now directed to read; and such Chats as I am giving you—well, I should be elsewhere than here, had I lived in those days.

Never worry about those “varicose veins.” You can all feel worm-like cords if you try. Especially if you wait until some warm day or after some great fatigue when the tiny muscles of the testicles are relaxed.

That’s all there is to the whole matter, but if you do worry about these and the other matters, the fakers “will get your goat,” and when that has left your side, like the horse, you lose your race.