The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-28
ALL FLESH BANISHED
From the Homes of Three Citf
zens of Topeka
Who Have Formed a Vegetar.
ian Colony.
All Claim That Their Health is Great
ly Improved Since They Be
gan the Diet

There are eight people in Topeka with
whom vegetarianism has ceased to be a
theory and is now an every day prac-
tice. They live in a modest dwelling
house at ST Hancock street. and the
coterie is made up of a man and his wife
and mother, their three children and two
dodgers.
John Bergonia is the head of this house
hold, remarkable for it's system of diet
and his two dodgers are John Knudson
and Nate W. Confur Knudson and Con-
fur are both widowers and work in the
Santa Fe shops, and Bergonia is en-
plOyed in the Santa Fe yards. Besides
his wife and mother, Bergonia's family
consists of two daughters. aged 10 and
IA years, and one son 16 years of age.
For the past two weeks every member of
this household has been living on an ex-
elusive vegetable diet. and they now say
that meats and the other prescribed arti-
cles of food from a vegetarian standpoint
have grown distasteful to them.
Two weeks ago Mr.. and Mrs. Bergonia,
John KnudsOn and Nate w. COnfur at
tended a lecture delivered at Hamilton
hall in this city by a physician who
makes a business of travelling over the
country and stopping periodically in diff
ferent cities. This particular physician is
an enthusiastic advocate of the vegetar-
ian system of diet, and on the evening in
question his lecture was along this line
The three men were acquainted, and by
a coincidence sat together in the hall and
afterward walked homeward in party
for several blocks Naturally their con-
versatiOn was on the subject OF vegetar-
ianism, and their ideas harmonized with
their respective homes BergOnia extend
ed an invitation to his fellow laborers to
call at his house the following evening
and discuss the matter.
Bergonia had been troubled with indi-
gestion for number of years and was
ready to try any system of diet that
would give him relief Confur was ma
turally more fond of vegetables than of
meat. ana was willing to exclude the lat
ter entirely, while Knudson as Sweden
borgian. had believed in vegetarianism
for 20 years, and was happy to have an
opportunity of putting his theory into
practice. So it was not at all strange
that at the meeting on the following
evening it was decided that Bergonia
should take both KnudsOn and COnfur
into his home as dodgers and Danish all
food not vegetable from his table.
The decision was hard on the man who
runs the meat market on the corner, and
the mill1man's feelings were hurt when
he called the next morning, but aside
from these the adoption of the system
has far worked a hardship to none
The three men state that they have en-
joyed better health since placing them
selves on vegetble diet than it has ever
been their fortune to enjoy before, and
that they are less easily tired in their
work. The women and children say that
they are perfectly contented with their
new system.
The diet of the household is made up
entirely of vegetables and fruits with
the exception of a small allowance OF
buttermilk. Butter, eggs, milk, lard and
tea and coffee have been banished from
the table, and as a result the expenses
of the home have been cut squarely in
two. The only peculiar article of food
is a preparation of wheat in it's natural
form, which the disciples of the new sys.
tenn claim takes the place of meat in the
nourishment of their bodies.
John Knudson is the most enthusiastic
vegetarian of the household. Il was
born in Denmark and raised a Sweden
borgian,'' said Mr.. Knudson, land as the
teachings of this religion favor vegetar-
ianism have believed in the system for
over 20 years. I have never been in a po-
sition to practice it before, but if I can
possibly keep up arrangements from this
on, I will never eat another particle or
animal food.
I want to tell you young man." con-
tinued Mr.. Knudson in a convincing man.
ner to the reporter, that it is the only
system of diet that God intended for
man. If you eat right and live right you
are bound to be well, and to eat right is
to eat the food that God has provided
fOT in, "
we feed our wheat and other grain to
the hogs and the cattle, and afterward
eat their meat. Why not eat the grain
ourselves and let it nOurish us S it nOur-
ishes the animals we feed it to.
Il never heard of a person who fol-
lowed this system of being bothered with
indigestion or other kindred troubles.
tell you, it is the inventions of man that
is pilling up all these manner of COM
plants on the human race. They take
our wheat and grind it into different
kinds of -four, and I really believe that
the bread we get to eat these days does
as much injury to the human race as al
cohol or anything else.
''Why look at Bergonia here. He has
been sickly for years, troubled with in
digestion and other stomach complaints,
and now since adopting this system he
has been in perfect health My friend.
COnfur, too, has been troubled with rheu-
matism for long time, 50 bad at times
that he couldn't work, and he hasn't had
a pain of any kind since he commenced
to eat vegetables and vegetables alone.
I have always enjoyed good health my
self but since I commenced on this sys-
tenn I have felt more like working dur
ing the day and my sleep has been much
more sound at night. And then look at
the expense it saves. Why it doesn't
cost Bergonia half as much to live now
as it did before he adopted the system.
More people ought to look into this
matter. When we all adopt the system
of eating the food in the form God in
tended it for US, Wen have a healthy hui