Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-09-23
A PLEA FOR PLAIN FOOD.
Hints That May Save Many Doctors Bill
an Valuable Lives.

n
an Valuable Lives.
1t is not o generally understood fact,
but fact nevertheless, that some of the
wealthiest and most luxurious appear
ing people live on the plainest food.
There are children in the families of
millionaires who would no more be
permitted to partake of such meals as
are given to the children of many a Ia
boring man than they would be allowed
to use articles that were known to be
poisonous Many mechanics little
ones live on meat, warm bread, all the
butter they want, and that of an inferi-
or quality, coffee as much as they
choose. and cheap bakers cake. which
is in itself enough to ruin the digestion
of an ostrich.
The children of one family make
their breakfast of oatmeal or some 9TH
er cereal and milk, with bread at least
~ hours old, little, very little, butter.
sometimes none at all. The breakfast is
varied by corn bread, we'll done, a little
zwieback and sometimes stale bre ad dip
ped III egg and cracker crumbs and
Drowned with butter. A fresh egg is
often the only article outside of farina-
ceous food that they are allowed. For
dinner, which is the middle of the day,
they have some we'll cooked meat, one
| or two vegetables, a cup of milk if they
like it, or weak cocoa, with plenty of
bread imd butter and IA simple dessert
Supper, which is Il very light meal, fire.
quently consists of graham crackers or
brown bread and milk or the pudding,
eaten with q little molasses or maple
| sirup.
A few days ago, in call at the house
| of a wOrkingman, there Were five chill
| dren seated at a table, on which was a
large dish Of meat, swimming with
| gravy, i'll which potatoes had been cook
| ed. These potatoes We're saturated with
fat and almost impossible of digestion
by any person of ordinary constitution
There Were hot rolls. soggy looking
and smoking from the oven; parsnips
fried i'll lard and reeking with the
grease. A pile of cheap cakes, sufficient
to fill good sized four quart measure,
stood on one corner of the table; also
| two pies, with crust containing SD much
lard that they looked absolutely greasy.
There was coffee, dark and rank look
ing and worse smelling, and this the
children We're indulging in quite as
much as they pleased. They ate like lit.
tie wolves, with All unnatural and Zero.
ciOus appetite, Two of them had pasty.
unhealthy looking compilations; one
was evidently suffering from some skin
disease; the elder Of the group had al
ugly looking eruption on his face and
ears, and the entire lot were living ex.
amplcs OF the results of mistaken sys.
tenn of feeding. 1t was no surprise t.
the visitor to hear, few days later
that two OF them were very i'll, on,
hopelessly so, with cholera morbus
| That the death rate among such peo
pie does not increase with frightful "a
pidity is the one thing that the thought
full persons and philanthropists never
cease to wonder at
The parents of these children woult
undoubtedly nave said that they CAV,
the little ones the best they could af
ford, but this was just exactly tn,
cause of all the troubles. They CAV,
them too much and too expensive food
y proper diet would have cost thir,
Of the money and would have saved
health and doctors bills, to say nothin,
Of their lives.-New York Ledger.