The herald., 1894-04-22
A CUREALL FOR SOCIAL DEFECTS,
Vegetarianism AS a Factor in
Purifying Society.
An Enthusiast Makes a Plea for
This Greed.
The Frugality Taught by tho System
Held to Be a Necessary Factor
in the Progress of
the World.

Social Problems before the Vegetarian
society of Southern California on Tues
day.
The lecturer commenced by outlining
the slow but steady development of the
vegetarian movement in our time, not
withstsnding the opposition, the ridicule
and distaste it reused at first, wherever
and whenever it made its appearance,
gained disciples and ruffled the habits,
thoughts and prejudices of worldly and
OF pious people too, so fond OF and accus-
toned to the good things Of this earth,
and so imbued with the firm belief that
short OF himself-the whole animal
kingdom wac only created for mans
carnivorous appetitee and royal pleas
ures.
He then reviewed the causes of this
steady progress OF vegetsrianism, which
he divided into physical and hygienic.
economical and social, esthetical, moral
Rnd ethical Commencing with the
physical causes he compared our pres
ent mode OF living, our excessive draw
ing on the reserves of nervous energy,
with that Of the generation that lived or
was born esrly this century, and stated
how, Notwithstanding all our many
modern inventions and improvements,
applied to the public good and advance
ment, we all, or nearly ALL feel uneasy,
discontented and depressed, entertain a
strong desire to change our conditions,
our mode of life, our social and
political institutions, our fundamen-
tai laws and even our dogmas and
religious faith. He ascribes this un-
happy state of things to our increased
wants and luxury in eating, drinking
and smoking, and in our enjoy ments
generally, our greater restlessness. es-
pecially in our rapidly growing cities,
our harder struggle for existence and
the universally heated and merciless
chase after wealth, which causes the
premature exhaustion and break down
OF go many careers and 'homes-of 30
many brave men and women, who thus,
with heir children, become destitute,
helpless and hopeless, and learn to hate
lie, our society, our laws and institu-
tions, in the justice and divine inspira-
tion of which they lose faith.
On the one eide rapidly, recently, by
fair and unfair means acquired immense
wealth and landed property-3000 mil
lionaires growing richer and richer, and
protected by the sovereign authorities
Of state and law now wanting quietly
and royalty to enjoy life in their Fifth
Avenne palaces, and other side the suf-
fering more and more reduced middle
classes, the unemployed; 100000
tramps in this country alone, and an
Industrial army of the commonweal on
the way to Washington, q fact, if 30 far
MT 40 ufiI af~ni 90 nf
theupUsS py ArHh higher -TG's PSwef, the vege.
tartan movement has sprung up among
us and is steadily gaining sdherents
amongst all classes. the rich and the
poor, the cultured and the simple
minded, the ldeRlists and the realists,
but especially amongst the afflicted, the
siling, the broken-down in health, often
given up by the medical profession, and
yet adopting our ways of living, think
ing and believing, recover their health
and vitality and are able to live out
their existence, according to the laws of
nature, which grant men much greater
longevity and happiness, if they were
only better obeyed.
Greater selfnegation, a sincere and
enlightened return to nature, as prac-
ticed by US vegetarians, the abstinence
lIOh NIL pAOduObn VI bl0 klllbU dulLHHl,
which some OF us carry to the extent of
living-and this we'll and without no.
ticesble disadvantage exclusively on
uDcooked food, such as fruits. fresh and
dried nuts of all kinds, and perhaps of
milk, cream, cheese and honey-enable
us not only to maintain, but to improve
our health and working power, our men
tai faculties and above all our moral
sense, which commands us to spare all in
nocent animal life, and forces us to con-
slider ss sinful and wrought with endless
perniclous consequences for body and
soul, the daily enormous slaughter of
animals to secure for men cadaverous
food.
Man can live we'll and infinitely bet
ter without tlis kind of nourishment-
and this, thanks to the immense strides
Of our material progress. wherever he
may Ieside-his life becomes thus purer,
more aesthetic, more in harmony with
nature and the Deity. And besides be-
ing more elevating and joyful it renders
women's life less of drudgery, renders
us more independent Of one another and
yet csn draw us nearer toget her. by en-
abling US to practice and accept an
easier, less onerous hospitality.
In Europe, especially in England and
Germany, and there in the large cities
and amongst the most intellectual
classes. vegetarianism is firmly rooted
now, counts nearly 40 restaurants and
hotels in London alone, and in Berlin
over 20.
The spread OF the movement would
perhaps already have become much
more general there if the leoders of the
Socialist masses in thickly popular d
Europe, to remain popular did OF
preach the right of these masses to- all
the luxuries of life and especially such
as meat, alcoholic drinks and tobacco,
and did not object to oppose them on the
ground-and this perhaps with good
reaeon-that as our society is at present
constituted, suy otherwise desirable re-
form in this direction would only lead to
a further reduction of wages and of the
average lsborer's slender pittance for
the maintenance of life.
There are at this moment in this
country alone, it is computed, 100000
unemployed and tramps, fast drifting
into misery and decentralization, if the
present sad and critical state OF affairs
cannot be quickly remedied, which is
more than doubtful. But there are also
in this country millions OF acres of gov
ernmnt, school and private land, which
are not yet under cultivation.
Now, If American society, the unem-
ployed and discontented as we'll as the
men in power, our lawmakers, fnanciers,
andholders and philanthropists, would
only in this momentoue crisis unite
promptly in common course of action
TO relieve the cities, factories and
<f Al l. IL