The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-10
Meals and Morals.


There is no calculating the influences Of
dining upon the destinies Of the world
Bad dinners and poor digestion are COM
monty associated with a vile temper. II
not with vicious disposition. Hunger and
crime are closely connected on the other
hand. correct eating Of wholesome food
exercises a potent influence for good
Whatever there IS charitable In a mans
disposition may be brought out after a
satisfactory dinner. The old proverb. Tell
me what the man eats. and / will tell you
the man." Is firmly believed in by a num-
Der Of people Old Dr. Samuel Johnson was
Of the opinion that man who would not
mind his stomach would hardly mind any
thing else. Byron held that Since Eve
ate.apples. much depends on dinner" and
he referred to the dinner bell as the toe
sin OF the soul" These and other great
men. poets. historians, philosophers. doc
tors. and what not, have contributed tes-
timony to the influence of the stomach
upon the moral nature.
By the way OF testing the influence Of
meals upon morals. the New York state
reformatory at Elmlra is about to begin a
series Of interesting experiments. The OBJ
ject is to induce reform in criminals
through their appetites and digestive APP
paratus. Almost every other conceivable
mode of influencing them for good has
been tried. with more or less unsatisfac-
tory results. Their wives. mothers. sisters,
and other relatives have pleaded with them
the preachers have prayed with them,
the Salvation lassies have sung to them.
and stll many of the Elmira reformatory
prisoners are bad-very bad. Now Super
intendent Brockway proposes to appeal to
their palates. The experiment will cost
something like $4,000 as a starter, but the
superintendent has so much faith in the
be one of the best investments ever made
by and for the reformatory.
Under the system employed at the Ell
mira reformatory. the prisoners are wage
earners. out Of their earnings they are re-
quired to pay for everything they get
They pay for board, washing, clothing,
and incidentals. and are required to have
a credit balance after paying all expenses.
This is to teach economy, as well as self
reliance. There are several grades of pris-
oners. according to disposition, mental
ability, skill in labor and department. A
large kitchen and dining hall are to be
erected. and the men are to be given the
privilege of selecting their own meals. ac-
cording to their grade, paying for them
out Of their earnings. Men in the lowest
grade viii have but few dishes to choose
from, the next grade will have a few more,
and the next few more. The first grade
prisoner will have quite long and choice
menu from which to select his dinner. He
will be able to select pretty nearly if not
quite as good a meal as is usually served
in a restaurant.
It is the theory that the desire to reach
first grade, with its exceptional meal priv
ileges, will induce the prisoners to be on
their good behavior. To reach that grade,
however. will be a difficult task to the con
iIhutu sinner, bul a comparatively easy
one to the man who has really reformed.
Almost everything the man does will be
counted for him or against him, and until
he has accumulated quite a large balance
on the credit side of his conduct accoul :.
he must remain in the lower grades. How
the experiment win pan out remains to be
seen. of course. 1t will be watched with
interest.