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GLEAN1XC;S IX HKE CULTURE 



July 1 



Tlie daily i)a])ers tell us llial many i)eoi)le 

 are now trying the fast cure all over our land. 

 They have demonstrated this, if nothing; 

 further, that many i)eoi)le can live and even 

 go on with their work for a week or more 

 without food. Is this done under the influ- 

 ence of a sort of niania, or is it true that al- 

 most any one of us can get along a week 

 without eating, and not be very uncomfort- 

 able? 



There is just now also quite a di.scussion 

 going on in regard to a vegetarian or mixed 

 diet. The Battle (Veek folks (and T. H. 

 Terry is pretty nearly with them, if not 

 quite) are recommending a vegetarian diet 

 for everybody. At one time in my life 1 

 was a vegetarian for four years. I had, how- 

 ever, plenty of eggs and milk, or at least I 

 had milk regularly and eggs occasionally. 

 Years afterward, wliile l)eing treated by Dr. 

 Salisbury, I lived fort«////rr;; ivcekfi on lean 

 meat alone — not a particle of \egetable food 

 of any sort. That was not the starvation 

 cure; but in reading Upton Sinclair and 

 other authors I am impressed that it was 

 much like it in many respects. Now I ought 

 to be prepared to give at least some reason- 

 able testimony in regard to the matter. 

 The best wisdom I can scrape up on the sub- 

 ject is this: Some people can get along very 

 well, and perhaps much better, on a strict- 

 ly vegetable diet. They would have this 

 one advantage: Where people have both 

 kinds of food on the table at the same time, 

 they are very apt to eat too much; and I am 

 satisfied that a mixture at the same meal is 

 not, as a rule, to be recommended. 



Again, there are peo])le, perhaps afTlicted 



Seople, who can live and enjoy fairly good 

 ealth on a strictly animal diet — say most- 

 ly lean meat. .Just a little over a year ago, 

 when recovering from grip fever, both ^Irs. 

 Root and myself were almost obliged to de- 

 pend on beef juice, and, later on, broiled 

 minced lean meat.* So much has been 

 said about the Salisbury treatment in our 

 pages in years past, that I hardly need ex- 

 plain it. Just a few days ago I wrote to Dr. 

 J. M. T^ewis. of Cleveland, ()., probably the 

 greatest li\ing exjjonent of the Salisbury 

 system at present, calling his attention to 

 the article by Sinclair. In his letter of re- 

 ply he makes this statement: 



This overeatinsf, in the majority of instances, is 

 the underlying cause of most diseases. 



At the close of his letter comes another 

 sentence which I wish to quote: 



I notice this, however, that thoudhtful people, aft- 

 er experimenting on th s. that, and the other, are 

 usually very glad to fall ba«k on to ihe animal-food 

 diet, sometimes after they have got the system in a 

 none too good condition. 



Well, to the best of my knowledge and 

 belief, dear friends, the lastsentence is about 



* Before deciding on beef juice I tested almost eve- 

 ry thing I knew or had ever heard of in the way of 

 food for invalids, in the veg table line. My poor 

 tortured and diseased digestive apiiaratus would 

 have none of them. Hut when the doctor finally 

 said that not a thing must go into my stomach but 

 beef juice, and they procured .some made just right, 

 it seemed like minna from heaven; and I am not 

 sure but It saved my life in the crisis. Mrs. Roofs 

 |;estimony was just about like my own. 



right. Perhaps I might add that Dr. Lewis 

 is not as yet, al least, much in favor of the 

 fasting cure. If people ate moderately of 

 good wholesome f"Od there would likely be 

 little need of such heroic measures; and, of 

 course, prevention is belter than cure. But 

 after peojde have by high living contracted 

 one or more of the fearful maladies that now 

 afUict our people, what should be done? I 

 am fully satisfied that going without one of 

 the three meals is something in the right 

 direction; and in extreme cases I feel pretty 

 sur<- a fast of three or four days might be of 

 great benefit. 



Just think of itj There are people all 

 around us — may be you, my friend, are one 

 of them — who, when they happen to be in a 

 large city, think they must pay 50 or even 

 75 cents for a dinner, supper, or breakfast; 

 and on the table at home there is a like pre- 

 posia'ous variety of rich foods. No wonder 

 the complaint comes that provisions are so 

 high people can not live and — be honest. 

 \'ery often a jiorlion of this rich food goes 

 to the pigs or chickens. Kellerstrass says 

 that the thirty pullets that laid the eggs 

 that sold at ?2.00 apiece were fed almost en- 

 tirely from the refuse from his tables. Now, 

 you know what it costs you for your daily 

 bread. In our last is--ue I told you that I 

 could make a good meal, feel satisfied, and 

 do heavy work, where the material for that 

 simple meal cost less than one cent. Fletch- 

 er has given us a lot of illustrations along 

 this same line. His daily food, when he 

 performed those prodigious feats of strength 

 and endurance, cost only a few cents a meal. 

 In the July issue of the Cosmopolitan a 

 writer takes exception to the fast cure; and 

 he says Dewey, with all his talk and teach- 

 ings, died at the age of 68; and he intimates 

 that Dewey might have lived longer had he 

 not starved his poor boily so many times, 

 and So on. And this brings us to another 

 point: These great and good men (for so I 

 regard them), who were exponents of better 

 and more rational ways of living, ought to 

 live to a good old age. Terry is now a pic- 

 ture of health, a living illustration of his 

 theory. I came pretty near say ins; theology, 

 and ( Tod knows we need some theology along 

 this line. Well, now, if Terry kee])s right 

 on being well and strong, his "authority" 

 as a teacher will be continually gaining 

 weight. Cornaro lived to be over lUO; and 

 his daily life clear up to the last was a stand- 

 ing monument to the truthfulness of his ex- 

 hortations toward plain and simple food. 



AVhen Jesus came from his home in hea- 

 ven down tt) earth to live a human life he 

 was authority. No wonder people gazed at 

 him and wontlered. Is it possible that the 

 kind and loving Father w'ill see fit to send 

 again some one who can speak with like 

 authority, and sift out error from truth? 

 May (Sod hasten the tinie. Let us hold fast 

 to bur faiih, and bear constantly in mind 

 that, for some good reason, we are permitted 

 thus to stumble in uncertainty and dark- 

 ness, (lod has given reason and common 

 sense if we will but use them. He has given 



