Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-05
MEN WHO LIVE ON LITTLE.
Fifteen Cents "a Day I'm Winter ana
Nothing at All In summer.

tNtN aOIh iltSoJ
What can a man live on? How little
does he need?
Josiah Kelly. who is familiarity known
on the Bowery as the Marks" Gays
that what man can live on depends on
chow yer wuz dragged up"
Josiah is eccentric. He glories in the
temporary martyrdom OF an empty
stomach.
at stands 10 sense" he sald the other
day. '1f a man don't get hungry he
can't appreciate a blowout, and there
amt nothin' so fine as ter feel yer
stomach swelling on hot free lunch.
"Wot can man live onY' the Marks"
continued. why, Oh his frens, OF
course"
There are many men like the Marks
living on anything they can PICK up,
but they don't all take the philosophical
view of life Free lunches are their es-
pecial delight They find play for their
Ingenuity in avoiding the eagle eye Oh
the barkeeper. for they never buy peer.
not, however, because they are teetota-
lers.
1t would be difficult 10 say what these
fellows live on, but they do live. and
grow fat.
Bologna sausage, sandwiches, onions,
picked pigs feet. and tomatoes form
their breakfast. dinner, and supper ex-
cept when they can induce friend 10
blow them OFF, to the extent of 10 cents,
when they call for ham and with one
on the handle" which means ham and
beans with a cup Of coffee.
The "Aiarkis' class usually manages on
Is cents a day In the winter months, and
nothing a day In the summer. The ex-
pense in winter IS caused by the necessity
Of shelter.
There IL a man with threadbare clothes
who lives By grace of the bar-room
lunch. His hat is drawn well over ms
face to hide the blush that, like the
flicker Of the dying embers, hits over
his paliid features, as he peeps inside the
door and walks nervously to the counter.
This is the poor man. There are hun
dreds of him in New York. He leaves
his last few coppers with wives and lit
tie ones, and moves on amid the whirl
OF life in the hope of getting more.
There is no need Of throwing this man
out of a bar-room because he haunts
the lunch-counter. a look will drive
him away.
The views OF physicians on the aspect
of what man can live on are varied
and interesting. One physician says that
q person could live any length Of time
consistent with the laws of nature and
take heavy exercise all the while on
diet consisting only of milk.
lie says his conviction is the result OF
practical experiment. At one time he
wished to prove that convalescing persons
could grow strong and robust and yet
take no other nutriment than milk. He
insisted that the something solid to eat'
that il talked OF so much is not necessary
70 .fthpr health 07. ctrpOOth SAWS
he had patient who lived for thirty
days on sweet milk. At the end of that
time he had lost five and one half pounds
in weight, but nothing in strength.
Towards the last the patient exercised
with 20-pound dumb-bells, and did a
great deal of bicycle-riding. He drank
four pints of milk daily for the first three
weeks. and five daily in the last two.
lie drank his food every two hours, COM
mencing at O'Clock In the morning, and
taking his last meal at 10 o'clock at
night.
Dr. p. c. Wilcox, Of Gays Infrmary,
London, who is now stopping at the
Hotel Brunswick, says that a man can
live on sugar longer than on any other
one nutritious element.
"A man can live longer and healthier
on sugar than on beefsteak, II he had
no other food" he said. "Once the nau-
seating stage is passed sugar is pleasant
to take, and does not dry the salivary
glands. as IL does at first"
Dr. Wilcox said that he first began 10
study the sugar diet when he was I'm
India, where the coolies chew sugar-cane.
He says his belief IS based oil praeti-
cal experiments.
Every physician spoken with on the sub
feet agree that SO out Of every 100 persons
eat three times too much TO be healthy.
Dietry has been studied thoroughly by
those who supply the poor-houses and
jails With food, and il IS astonishing to
what a fine point the science of living
has been developed.
1t must not be supposed, though, that
the inmates OF these government estab-
lishments are fed on only enough 10 keep
the body and soul together Tables have
been prepared by medical men, showing
exactly how much a man can live on and
not lose his strength. A little more than
this amount is allowed for the charges,
and an additional quantity OF food is
supplied those who perform manual labor
A man doing ordinary work can live
with safety on four ounces of meat. one
pound of potatoes, and one pound Of
bread each day, providing he eats at
intervals Of four or five hours, taking
his first meal shortly after rising. The
average person i'm New York eats about
one pound and half Of meat, three
pounds OF potatoes and two pounds of
bread. besides liquid food, vegetables, and
fruits.