6. Mind vs. Muscles

STARTLING DISCOVERY OF THE TALENT OF FAMOUS MUSCLE MEN—CHARLES ATLAS; THE ENGLISH ARMY SERGEANT; THE STRONG MAN WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN ACCOUNTANT; GEORGE F. JOWETT, SEIGMUND KLEIN, JACK DEMPSEY; THE STRONG MAN WITH MUSICAL TALENT. A FORMER MR. AMERICA AND HIS CODE REVEALED BY HIS WRITING.

"But there is neither East nor West,

Border nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face,

Though they come from the ends of the earth."

The Ballad of East and West—Kipling

Somehow the argument has been going on for years and years; only a doughty man would dare to guess how many. It has been an argument, though, as to whether a big muscled, "strong man" or the steel-nerved athlete, loses mental ability and vitality as his muscular power increases. Dour skeptics have pointed to the record of college football teams and sneered, "they graduate because they play football and win letters, not because they know what is in the books, and what the teachers have tried to give them."

On the other side of the fence there have been supporters of the athletes who have stressed the point that building a strong body is certain to strengthen the mind, and that some athletes are not stupid merely be­cause they have built powerful physiques.

• BRAINS AND/OR MUSCLE

These have been arguments, but in order to arrive at facts, it seemed only reasonable to gather evidence and examine it. Invitations were sent to champion swimmers, tennis players, big muscle boys, and prize fighters; scores of them. Physical strength and success was the basis for making the tests, and here for the first time, possibly, they are presented for your con­sideration, and to provide the answer. The men whose handwriting you will find in this chapter were selected only because of their body building accomplishments, and not from their handwriting, nor for their scholastic records. They are only a very small part of the original evidence which was gathered to get at the truth, but these specimens represent the average intelligence of the entire group.

The specimen in plate 55 has an interesting history. At one time I was editor of the most widely circulated boy's magazine in America. We had a regular section devoted to body building which was exceedingly popular, and the man who wrote this plate was a contributor. He was a professional body builder in India, and he furnished us a feature article now and then, although his principal contribution to the magazine was photographs of Indian athletes. One afternoon in *a slack moment I examined his hand­writing, and found that he possessed remarkable literary ability or tenden­cies. You will find them when you study the plate. Notice how he makes his small "g's" like very poorly executed figure 8's. If you ever examine the writing of Charles Dickens, and other famous names, you will find the same figure 8's for the small "g". This does not mean actual literary ability, but it is a fluidity in thinking and expression that is important to a good writer.

Plate 55. The small "g" that looks like a figure 8 indicates fluidity in thinking and expression—important to professional writers.

After I had analyzed his writing to my own satisfaction I dictated a letter to our Indian contributor and told him what his handwriting had shown. Just as quickly as a reply could come back, he confided that he had always wanted to be a writer, and that if his handwriting revealed such ability he was going to make a start.

A few months later he informed me in another letter that he had been writing, and that he found it the easiest thing that he had ever done. You may find these same formations in your own writing. If so, do not scoff and say you cannot write because you probably have never tried to do so. The "m's" and "n's" vary greatly. In some of the words they are made like inverted "v's". Take the word "mu" in the third line from the bottom. On the other hand, in "my" in the second line from the top the strokes are all comprehension or quick understanding strokes. As you examine the entire page you will find many of the inverted "v's" that are not fully developed. Some of them are simply not there at all and when you find "m's" and "n's" made in "am" in the first line, and "strength" in the third line, you have evidence that the writer is merely rushing along without doing much thinking. This is not always a negative trait. Men and women who become very familiar with a subject, and work with it all day long, become so accustomed to thinking or acting in their individual fields that they do not need to give much thought to their jobs. However, such writers owe it to themselves to develop a hobby that will compel them to think, in order to keep the mind awake, and eager to learn.

You will find that this man makes all, or almost all, of his t-bars at the right of the t-stem, and you will recall that this is evidence of temper, or marked irritability. This fellow had been a difficult man to work with until he began writing. It was not six months before the t-bars were back across the t-stems, and the irritability was gone.

• IRRITABILITY SHOWN BY YOUR T-STEM

It has been my experience that a very great many writers who are easily irritated have developed this trait, not because it is something they must have, but in defense when they have not found the natural hobby or profession in which they can be both successful and happy.

Salesmen in particular who are unhappy with the merchandise they are selling, but feel that they must continue in order to live, frequently develop this kind of reaction, and when they finally get into a job they like, it disappears.

You will find the writing of an English physical trainer in plate 56. This writing is interesting because it shows so many traits you have already studied. First, as you know, heavy writing means strong appetites, and also deep emotions. Like the writing of the Indian, the "m's" and "n's" are very short pointed, when there are points. In many of the strokes there is nothing more than a tiny hump, that really would not penetrate anything. The t-bars are at the right of most of the t-stems, so you have evidence that he was irritable, and quick tempered. However, this page illustrates a new point of character that you may very well remember and use. Almost all of the circle letters are just blobs of ink. The "a's" and "o's", even the "e's" are loaded with ink. You already know that heavy writing shows strong appetites, and these blobs of ink go a little further. They show sex desire that is very strong indeed.

A number of years ago a man who pretended to be a movie scout registered in a great hotel. His signature was little more than a matter of heavy ink, in fact it looked on the hotel register as if he might have written his name with a blunt stick. However, he was immediately popular. Parents with daughters they wanted to get into the movies entertained him royally. Their homes were open to him, and they encouraged their daughters to accept his invitations to dance, and cocktail parties.

• UNCONTROLLED SEX DRIVE

This went along for several weeks, until he was literally the king pin in that resort neighborhood. The next thing to occur was that one of the young women was killed, left strangled and naked by the side of the road. She had fought off his advances and in a mad sex frenzy he had killed her. There was a great hubbub in the newspapers, the hotel where he had registered was greatly embarrassed, and, of course, the grieving parents had no recourse except to help the law punish him. The point that is significant, however, was that he advertised his desires when he registered. If the hotel clerk, or if the parents had taken the trouble to examine his handwriting the young woman would not have lost her life, and others would not have had experiences of which they would be ashamed all through life. Heavy writing, where all of the circle letters—the a, g, e, and o's are closed— reveal a sex mad wolf, who will not be denied. Such writers will eat rich foods, frequently drink excessively, and are not only dangerous to them­selves but to others.

Plate 57. Handwriting of muscleman Charles Atlas shows initiative, responsive emotional nature.

In learning this rule you must also recognize another. A letter that is clogged with ink does not necessarily mean a wolf or sex mad* writer. Pens catch lint on some kinds of paper. A single blurred and ink-loaded letter is not a sign of danger. It is only when a page shows this trait repeatedly, where it is in the majority of the circle letters that it should be considered evidence of sex appetites gone wild.

If you read magazines and their advertising you have for many years now seen the advertising of Charles Atlas, whose course in physical develop­ment has sold to hundreds of thousands of ambitious young men. Atlas is a trade name, and it has become world famous. Atlas won a contest for the most perfect physique about the time of the Harding administration, and indeed President Harding's death had a very considerable influence on the success of the Atlas course. The course had just been put on the market when Harding went to Alaska and when he died Atlas and Dr. Tilner, who was associated with him at the time, sat up all night getting out literature warning the young and old who had written them, that a strong body was essential, no matter where they worked or what they did.

You will find first of all that Atlas' writing (plate 57) shows a highly responsive emotional nature. It shows friendliness, emotional warmth, and expression. His t-bars are long, showing enthusiasm, and, though they vary in location, the variance reveals an important combination of traits. He is capable of setting his goal a long way ahead but, on the other hand, he also works toward an immediate goal, that he is sure he can reach.

Your attention is called particularly to the letter "p" in "capacity". Compare this with the same letter in the next plate. The Atlas "p" shows initiative, the kind of man who sees an opportunity and takes advantage of it. Atlas did that. He won a contest. He was rated as the world's most perfect man. He could have sat still on that title, and no one would have been any better off. But Atlas said to himself, "here is an opportunity for me to help others. I have built my body and I know how I did it. I can show others, and can help them, and build a business of my own." In other words, he had the initiative, and the purpose shown by his t-bars to do something with the opportunity he had made by building his own body to a high degree of perfection.

In case you are an executive, and you need employees with initiative and purpose, look for "p's" made in this way, along with heavy cross-bars for the "t's' The longer and heavier the t-bars the more enthusiasm, and purpose, and the Atlas letter "p" is a good basis for judging the initiative. On the other hand, the large p-loops in plate 58 reveal a love for physical activity, sports that call for vigorous use of the muscles of the body. This is the writing of a one-time naval swimming star, but the examination of hundreds of athletes who participated in sports for the pure love of the sport, not merely to win a title, have shown the large p-loops. All three of the "p's" in this plate are large, two of them very large indeed. The writer wrote me that he would rather swim than eat, and it did not make any difference to him whether he got a title. He was happy in the water, and there was nothing he would not attempt in the water. He enjoyed it.

Plate 58. Large p-loops reveal a love for physical activity.

It is true that there have been other prize winners who have not had this stroke, but they have other reasons for achieving success. Some of them have loved the plaudits of the crowd, and were eager to put on a good show. Others worked for financial rewards. There have been a great many prize fighters who have not had these big p-loops, but they have been fight­ing not merely for the love of it but to win a purse.

• HERE IS AN INQUIRING MIND

There is a much, much different character in the handwriting of Staff Sergeant Moss (plate 56), of the British army who was also a prize winner, but here the "p" is much smaller. But it is not smaller in proportion to the rest of the writing. The swimming star's writing is large and a single word could be superimposed on five or six of the words in Moss' plate. But both were sportsmen for the pure joy of the sport and revealed it in their "p's". This plate shows a man who was constantly on the alert to learn, to inquire into, and to gain knowledge by honestly investigating or exploring.

Even his double "l's" in "shall" are wedge shaped at the top. Some of his circles are closed with ink, but many of them are not, so that you can know he loved good food, and other senuous, but not sensual satisfaction.

There is another trait of character shown in the Moss writing to which you should give attention. In the words "may" and "they" the down-strokes are heavy to the very end. If your friends say that you are a good starter and a poor finisher, this is a stroke that you can profitably cultivate in your own writing. These strong down strokes reveal determination, the intention to go through to the completion of a job.

On the other hand, the writer who makes his down strokes as in plate 59 may be a good starter, but, like an old car climbing a hill, they run out of the drive to get to the finish. These two rules are important. The down-stroke that is heavy shows determination, and the one that starts out heavy and fades out toward the finish shows the same kind of determination—the writer who starts out with a lot of pep, and who does not carry through to the completion of the job.

Plate 59. Heavy down-stroke shows determination but it should not fade toward the end.

Up to this point you have examined the handwritings of five strong men, and three out of the five show an eager desire to learn, and in two of them, you have men who might easily have stood high in a field of scholarship outside of body building. The first one showed talent that the writer had not realized he possessed, and when it was pointed out to him his writing changed, and the "m's" and "n's" sharpened, and he lost the irritability.

In your next specimen, plate 60, you have a handwriting of a man who might have been an accountant. From start to finish the exploratory inverted "v's" are consistent. The writing is small, the d-stems show pride, and the cross-bars of the "t's" are precisely placed, short, showing no en­thusiasm, but by their length revealing the habit of accuracy or the opposite of waste of effort.

The "p'S" are made with straight stems, so there is no actual love of physical sports. This is actually the writing of one of the most remarkably built business men in the Philippine Islands, a man who after World War II went back to a ruined business and started building again. Mariano G. Antonio's writing is an excellent example of the mentally capable strong man, and even more important evidence that there is no limitation on mental development. A hundred years ago his country was dominated by a foreign power that enslaved the people, yet Antonio, in any man's language, would have to be rated brilliant.

Plate 60. An "accountant personality." Shows attention to detail, organi­zational ability, accuracy in even little things.

With him building a strong body, beautifully rounded muscles, was a business just like selling merchandise. He studied his body needs just as he would study a book on medicine, or a textbook on any other subject. He shows attention to details, organization ability, accuracy in everything he does. His "d's" are short-stemmed, indicating his independence of what others might think or say, a quality of character that he displayed in his years of developing an extensive business at a time when it was not common for a Filipino to strike out on his own.

Incidentally, if you are looking for an accountant in your office, you cannot make a mistake by comparing his handwriting with this plate, be­cause there is no dishonesty here, and the mentality revealed is particularly suitable to that field.

George F. Jowett, whose handwriting is plate 62, was a Canadian woodsman and wrestler when he began contributing to the Boys' Magazine during my editorship. George always wrote his manuscripts in pencil, and almost without a punctuation mark, but what he said made enough sense to justify the time spent in editing his articles. Study his flat-topped letters, not just the "m's" and "n's" but even the "s" is broad and rounded. His d-stems did not have any height to them at all, and I never knew a man who cared less what others thought of him. Every word he wrote, however, was part of a picture just as if he had been building a house. Every theory fitted into place. Futhermore, he wrote enthusiastic copy, so that the boys who read his articles on how to build up muscle and health felt like going out and doing something about it. He was thrifty, never wasted a cent that I knew of, and was friendly, kindly and sympathetic. His emotional slant shows this, but it does not reveal generosity. Instead, George was careful, not a spender, nor a waster.

Plate 61. George F. Jowett, Canadian woodsman, wrestler and physical culture instructor who became world-famous.

Plate 62. In this handwriting of George F. Jowett you see the signs of a vigorous and independent thinker.

•SELF RELIANCE ILLUSTRATED

There is another point which you can easily find for yourself. He set his goal a long way ahead. Instead of being satisfied with his accomplish­ments in Canada, he looked ahead at that which body building could do for him in the future. The United States looked like a big field with thou­sands of young men who would be interested in building strong and muscu­lar bodies, so he came over from Canada, found a sponsor, and prepared a course that was for a long time offered by one of the great home study schools in this country, and then set up in business for himself. There is one other trait in this handwriting that you may well make part of your understanding of grapho analysis. The word "Canada" is carefully under­scored, although not shown in this plate. This means self reliance and you will learn a great *deal more about it in the next chapter.

Summing him up, George Jowett had a habit of thinking slowly, care­fully ; he was not wasteful, he was independent in all of his thinking and quite naturally independent in his actions because he acted as he thought. He was enthusiastic, with a sufficient amount of enthusiasm so that he inspired others to follow his lead. His t-bars were not weak, but strong. He had a clearly defined goal, and knew where he was going. If he had not been interested in body building, he might have been a builder of houses, or bridges, or might have chosen anyone of several other trades and pro­fessions and he would have gone far because he had the thinking habits that lead to success.

•MANY-SIDED TALENTS

Whenever you do something for someone you naturally like to have credit, and an analysis made for Siegmund Klein more than twenty years ago must have had a great deal to do with plans in life. At any rate, when he wrote the story of his life for a popular magazine he devoted a con­siderable amount of space to telling his readers how much his analysis influenced him, and gave him courage to succeed.

Siegmund Klein's writing reveals far more than ordinary talent in several fields of the arts, but he elected to devote all of his talent to artistry in body building, until his studio in New York became one of the most famous in America. You will often find men and women with more than one talent, who wilt center all their efforts on one line. Others who are highly talented scatter their energies, trying to make a success in each field. They rarely accomplish their ambitions, because the days , are not long enough. The vari-talented individual rarely has the time to cultivate all of the possibilities that they have naturally, but jumping from one thing to another they fail to bring any one to full fruition.

As you become more and more familiar with the principles in this book you will be able to do more and more examining of handwriting. Friends, and strangers will ask you to look at their handwritings, and tell them what you find. Do it. Do it carefully and do it truthfully. You never know when you will be helping a man like Klein find himself, never know when you will be giving him the encouragement he needs to push forward and achieve success.

Plate 63. One of America's most famous body-builders, Sigmund Klein, gives grapho analysis credit for much of his success.

On the other hand, here is a word of warning. You will sometimes feel that you should say just nice things to your friend or the stranger who asks you to analyze a handwriting. Tell the truth as you find it. When you do this, pointing out temper, or super-sensitiveness or lack of faith in one­self, you will be doing the writer a favor. If you dodge the truth, you will not get credit for telling the truth, on points where you are accurate.

Take next specimen for example is plate 64. This is the writing of a one-time famous circus star. He was magnificently built, but he was muscle, not brain. Muscle and emotional reaction. He had showmanship, because he was warmhearted and expressive enough to appreciate applause, but he gave everything he had to his body. Very much like the swimming star whose handwriting you have examined, he was interested in just one thing: his body strength and his ability to demonstrate it for public approval. He was not even thrifty, so that he would not have voluntarily saved money for his old age. His strength, his ability to swing men around in the air while they held onto his long hair, was his life. Study, reading, culture or any other interest was not shown in his writing, and it was not shown in his life. He loved the applause of the crowds. He ate, slept, and put on his strong man act, and did it over and over, day after day. He has no other interest.

Platb 64. A successful "strong man" whose handwriting shows him to be a non-thinker.

Plate 65. While this Jack Dempsey signature is not entirely adequate for analy­sis it does show the writer to be decisive and mentally alert.

Finally we come to the signature of one of the greatest of the world's fighters.

If you have been a Dempsey fan, or if any one in your family has talked about Jack as a great sportsman, this signature may give you an interesting slant on the man. The inverted "v's" are prominent. There is no "e". Further, the base "v's" are prominent. Jack was an explorer, a man who found out, and analyzed what he learned. His final on the "k" shows great decisiveness. But the "p" does not show physical-mindedness or a deep inner desire for physical activity. Instead, there is initiative in the finish of the letter, but the lower part is not a loop at all. Jack Dempsey might have been a merchant, a business man—and that is exactly what he has always been.

Plate 66. After Clevio Massimo finished his musical act he returned and, stripped to trunks, put on a good muscular show. See his handwriting in plate 68.

Jack Dempsey's writing does not show a love of fighting as a sport but as a business, approached the same as any other business. He had the determination to carry thru, the persistence to complete any undertaking, and the decision to come to a point of action, and then go ahead. His wide open "a" reveals frankness, and the signature as a whole is that of a man with a remarkable mind for learning and using what he learned.

Plate 67. Clevio Massimo as a strong man, after putting away his violin.

In the days when every vaudeville billing had a strong man posing or performance act, one of the most clever was the remarkable show put on by Clevio Massimo. It was far more than a strong man act. It was art, pure and simple. In a full dress suit Massimo came out on the stage with his violin. He was the possessor of far more than average technique. As you study his handwriting you can see how precisely he brings his finish stroke on each letter down to the line. Give particular attention to how he brings his "m's" and "n's" right down to the line, and how he spaces his letter structures. His music in itself was worth a place on the show bill, and then he would leave the stage and return stripped to trunks. His muscular show drew loud applause, and the combination of music and muscle made him one of the greatest artists of the vaudeville stage.

Plate 68. Both music and flair for physical activity is shown in this hand­writing of Clevio Massimo.

In this specimen there are only two "p's" but they both show the dis­tinct flair for physical activity that influenced his younger days. At the time this plate was written he was a member of the police force in an eastern city—a job where physical activity is still important, and where his love of music may easily help him to reach and help those young men who find life's problems so very difficult. This handwriting of a man long past his early show days is a picture of the man when he was viewed by hundreds of thousands of ardent fans. His music is still in his handwriting. His love of physical activity is still plain, completing in his written page the story told in his photographs made a long time ago.

When Alan Stephan won the Mr. America title he had two powerful assets in dealing with the public. He had a marvelous build coupled with the fact that he was handsome, but his handwriting shows he had something much more important. He had human appeal. His emotional slant reveals that he was warm-hearted, friendly, and along with these his upper loops show a highly developed sense of philosophy. He put it this way in the specimen of writing he sent me for analysis:

"There is an old saying 'A healthy peasant is better than a sick king.' It is an old saying, but it is a true one. Few people in this competitive old world of ours can make a success of themselves if they must fight the obstacle of poor health.

Plate 69. From AlanStephans handwriting you would expect to find him firm and friendly—just as he actually is.

Plate 70. The emotional slant of this handwriting along with the upper loops show ahighly developed sense of philosophy.

"Some people are given a better physique or a stronger vitality by inheritance—others have to work for them. But all of us, if we follow the rules of health, can increase our own chances for Success, Happiness, and Better Living. These rules are simple ones: Good Exercise; good food; good sleep; good habits; good thoughts.

"They are the same rules you and I want to follow all of our Life."

EXAMINATION FOR CHAPTER 6

(Correct answers for this examination will be found in the back of the book.)

In this chapter you have had some very important principles to use, not only in measuring friends, but in determining the ability of an employee. Grapho analysis is usable. It is not merely a pastime like reading cards, but a science that will produce the same results in the hands of an analyst in Australia, South Africa, Canada or the United States. An analyst does not guess because these principles have been tested and proved so many times that you can depend on them.

The more you learn and use them the more certain you will be that you can depend on what you find from a handwriting by using these rules that are based on the structure of each individual letter. Letters rarely look alike but you do not need to find letters that look alike in order to analyze a handwriting and get results. For instance, in this chapter you learned about writing clogged with mud, or heavily loaded with ink. You discovered that such writing, regardless of whether it had sharp or rolling curves for "m's" and "n's" or closed or open "a's" and "o's". The letter that is muddy is not important. It is the accumulated ink that registers the sexy character.

You are not being asked to apply these rules blindly. They are being used all over the world. The writing may be in French, Italian, or English. The language does not matter. The color of the ink has nothing to do with strokes. The color of the paper has no bearing on your findings. It may be blue, green, pink or purple; the color does not matter. It is the strokes within the writing that are important.

EXAMINATION
1. . Does Specimen "7" in Chapter 4 show sensuality?

Yes___________ No

2. . Check your reason or reasons below.

a.Slants far to the right.

b.Circle letters are clogged with ink.

c.Edges of many of the strokes are fuzzy.

3. . Does the small "/>" in Specimen "AT* in Chapter 5 show initiative?

Yes ______ No

4. . Check the important part of the letter "p" that shows physical mindedness.

a.Long lower retraced stem.

b.Lower portion of the letter is looped.

c The up-stroke moves sharply to the right instead of

RETRACING OR CREATING A LOOP.

5. . // the lower loop is very large, what will be the effect on physical activity?

a. Greater. b. Less.

6. . Of the following statements, which are most beneficial to an accountant?

a.Large writing.

b.Pride.

c.Writing with many inverted "v's".

d.Writing with many v-bases.

e.Writing that is crowded or cramped.

f.Many letters such as "m" and "n" made with rounded top.

7. . What does a short-stemmed "d" mean?

a.Pride.

b.Care about details.

c.Independence.

d.Sensuality.

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