Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-05-09
A Practical temperance nsformer.

Mr.. Lars Olson Smith, who has made q
large fortune In Sweden out Of the manufac
ture of liquors, is now devotng his money
to teaching the people how they may profita.
bly, do without drinking liquors that intoXicate
Mr.. Smith believes that the craving for liq
uor is largely due TO disorganized stomachsi
made so by eating improperly prepared food
His attack upon intemporance is therefore
made upon the cooks rather than the liquor
sellers. From an interesting article in the
Chicago Inter. Ocean we extract the following
account Of Mr. Smiths method;
Cooking, he says, lies at the foundation ol
the whole matter. After many years of stu.
dious observation he offers the opinion that
the condition of tho people depends upon
their food more than anything else. Take
mankind as a whole, aud you will find that OF
the expenditure Of workngman 10 per cent.
only goes for house rent, while GO per cent.
goes for food. Therefore, il you provide ev.
cry workingman with a free house forever,
the effect is only equal to saving him 10 per
cent. Of his wages. But if you can make q
radical reformation in his food you have a
much greater margin to play upon. If you
could provide him with food twice as nourish-
ing as that which he gets now, so that he
needs to buy only half as much Of it, or If
you give Linn as much food as he gets at pres.
ent at half price, you save him at one stroke
80 per cent. of his wages, or twice as much rs
the whole rent of his house"
This is what Mr.. Smith has done in Swe-
den. He set about preventing the waste Of
hutritive substlnces that occurs through the
present system Of cooking. He began inves-
tigating the subject, and in doing 80 has sat
down at the table Of almost every public kitch-
en- on the continent and also in America" and
examined every system known to civilized
Il raacbaH tho npy,pi,,ufnv, fbok M pvu
tenn is so good as that Of cooking by steam
and water BOTH so economical or so eff
cient. He established public kitchens con-
Quoted on this principle.
The result is that while Swedish working
man must at the ordinary cooking shops pay
Is. I'd. for three meals, he can get the same
number of meals much better food, better
cooked, at one Of Mr. Smiths kitchens for sd.
thereby making saving OF 40 per cent,
though giving the kitchen profit Of 23d. a
day. To guarantee fresh, wholesome food,
and prevent waste those who wish to avail
themselves of the kitchen must pay in ad.
vance for the whole seven days, receiving
twenty -one tickets on Saturday night. Mr..
Smith knows, therefore, exactly to one meal
how many will be required through the week.
The food is apportioned, according to the
season of the year, on scientific principles as
to fat and albumen, and each variety Of food il
properly cooked. The meals need not be eat
en- at the kitchen, but may be sent TO the
home or the workshop, as desired. BY this
system of cooking the workman gets the best
things at the lowest prices, instead of the
worst things at the highest prices through
the ordinary means of provision.
Bad food improperly cooked affords insult
cient nourishment, causing physical deRener-
acy and craving for stimulants, which, de.
clares Mr.. Smith, lies at the root of much Of
the drunkenness OF the present day. He be-
lieves that his system is the source where
great increase OF wealth, as well as a gain OF
health and strength, is to be made for the Ia
boring class The saving in food will enable
the working man to provide himself with bet
ter clothing and lodging, and TO improve his
condition in every way, since properly fed
constitution has small inclination toward vic
ious excesses.
In Sweden Mr.. Smith has been the means
of forming O workingmens union that now
numbers several thousands. For their bene
fit q system of cooperative stores has been es
tablished, where they can buy everything a
figures Just enough over cost to maintain the
enterprise and as everything is done for cash
there are no bad debts. Furthermore, build
ing societies have been set on foot and popu
lar banks organized, the one to enable the
workingman to secure himself good home
the other TO afford him a means OF laying by
securely the odd dimes of his wages. All the
employees of these banks, directors and off
GERS, belong to the working class The bank
ing system is so arranged that all workingmer
unable longer to toll will be provided with
pension to keep them TO the end of their days
There is nothing political in the scheme Ev
erything is purely social in character.