1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



965 



any stick ; but when the boys tried to handle 

 him he behaved just as he had on former 

 occasions. I presume he rather enjoys hav- 

 ing a tussle. Very likely it varies the mo- 

 notony of going around from house to house, 

 and standing still, doing nothing a great 

 part of the time. 



Now, my friends, please do not get an 

 idea that I think we ought to make every- 

 body toe the mark according to our own pecul- 

 iar notions. God forbid. Most of us are, 

 however, called upon, sooner or later, to be 

 responsible for the conduct of others, to a 

 greater or lesser extent. When God spoke 

 to Samuel, pronouncing judgment on Eli, 

 the accusation was, " His sons made them- 

 selves vile, and he restrained them not.'* The 

 three little words tell the story — " restrained 

 them not. 11 The Scriptures tell us that he 

 remonstrated, and doubtless protested. He 

 told them they ought not to do so, but omit- 

 ted to say any thing about must. But they 

 did so, notwithstanding. " What is to be 

 done?" do you ask? Well, I should say 

 take a lath, as I did to old Charlie. Very 

 likely you mav not need to use the lath any 

 more than I did ; but if you can not give the 

 boys to understand in any other way than 

 that, that you mean what you say, by all 

 means take a lath. I think, however, the 

 parent who is in real earnest can get along 

 without any lath or rod either. He must be 

 prepared, however, to enforce obedience, 

 even though it cost a conflict. One who 

 teaches school is in the same position, only 

 his held is a wider one. One who is employ- 

 ed by the government to look after govern- 

 ment property has a still wider field. One 

 who is employed by a great institution to 

 look after the men and women who do the 

 work, in the same line has responsibilities 

 that he can not safely evade. I know the 

 workmen are sometimes inclined to feel ill 

 will toward the foreman who "squeals.' 1 

 Now, it is bad to lose the good will and hearty 

 co-operation of those over whom we have 

 charge ; but it is a worse thing to let them 

 have their own way, and destroy or pilfer 

 the property of the employer. 



Shall I tell you, dear friends, what has led 

 to this long preface ? Well, it is because I 

 have been feeling for some time that there 

 were some few things that I ought to touch 

 upon, even through these Home Papers. I 

 have hesitated, and have forborne to do so 

 because I might hurt the feelings of a good 

 many — perhaps some near and dear friends. 

 Even though this be true, however, I ought 

 not to hesitate to sty things when I see oth- 

 ers suffering and being led into error while 

 I say nothing. Of course, I ought to be very 

 sure that I am not in error myself; and in mat- 

 ters where there are differences of opinion, 

 perhaps it is often as well to let them alone. 

 Gleanings has for vears kept up what we 

 call a Humbug and Swindle department. A 

 good many times, however, this department 

 has been out of sight because it is so ex- 

 tremely necessary that I make no mistake in 

 the matter ; that is, that tlie thing pro- 

 nounced to be a humbug and swindle be 

 most unmistakably and clearly so. And 

 even when it seems there can be no question 

 or doubt in the mind of any sane individual, 



there will still be a few who insist that the 

 thing is honest and legitimate. A great 

 trade is now being carried on in our coun- 

 try in what are called electrical appliances 

 for the cure of disease. I am himly satis- 

 fied that these are, without question, hum- 

 bugs and swindles. The fact that many have 

 tried them and have been helped (in their 

 opinion) does not change my convictions a 

 particle; neither does the fact that there 

 are large manufactories engaged in making 

 electric medals, belts,' bracelets, braces, 

 jackets, hair- brushes, etc. My friend, if you 

 have any confidence at all in A I. Root, 

 please believe that he knows when he tells 

 you that these things by themselves have no 

 effect whatever in the cure of disease. 

 Electricity has been my study a great part 

 of my life, and almost a passion from child 

 hood. 



I know, while I speak, that many of you 

 will not believe me. Even in our own es- 

 tablishment, electrical belts have been pur- 

 chased by women who are comparatively 

 poor ; yes, and they have paid as high as ten 

 or fifteen dollars for them to smooth- 

 tongued agents. Worse still, the agent was 

 a woman ; and it is not a very pleasant task 

 to tell a woman that she is a humbug and a 

 swindler. This woman carried a magnetic 

 needle which she placed on the table ; then 

 because it flew around when she moved the 

 belt under the table, with the statement 

 that the belt exerted a powerful influence 

 for the cure of disease, it carried convic- 

 tion. The belt was made of a string of 

 magnets. I know that many of you insist 

 .that magnetism has power over disease. 

 Let me quote from Scribner^s Magazine, for 

 November, page 598. The article was writ- 

 ten by M. Allen Starr, M. D. : 



The most careful experiments have shown that 

 the human body is as completely insensitive to 

 magnetism, and as wholly unaffected by it, as a 

 piece of rubber or of wood. A person may stand 

 between the poles of the strongest mag-net. one 

 which might hold up a ton of iron, without the 

 slightest perceptible effect upon any of the bodily 

 functions being produced. Hence all so called mag- 

 netic appliances, brushes or combs, disks, belts, 

 and magnets, have absolutely no curative power 

 whatever. 



Magnetism is not electricity ; but even if 

 it were, it would do you no good. Later on, 

 a gentleman came into our office and wished 

 to show me a belt that really gave forth a 

 current of electricity. When I took the 

 ends in my lingers there was, unmistakably, 

 a feeble electric current. The belt was 

 made of zinc and copper. It was wrapped 

 in a cloth moistened with some acid. He 

 said it was dipped in a solution of weak vin- 

 egar every morning to start the current. 



"Very good,"' said I. "You have an 

 electric current here ; and I may say this is 

 the first time that I have ever seen a trace 

 of electricity from these so called belts, 

 medals, etc. But, my friend, do you know 

 that even this current of electricity has lit- 

 tle if any power at all in curing any sort of 

 disease '?" 



He owned up that 1 was right. " But,'" 

 said he, " Mr. Root, the world is so crazy 

 for something in the way of electricity, that 

 the'fact that they' can feel the current does 



