Kansas City journal., 1898-01-08
Food and Civilization.

bad fame
Food and Civilization.
From the Chicago Record.
President Harpers startling announce
ment that three deaths recently occurring
at the University of Chicago may be at
tributed directly TO starvation is likely TO
draw attention throughout the counry to
a phase of college life which is usually
overlooked. DIR. Harper accompanied MS
assertion with the declaration that hun
dreds of students in the university are
living upon a diet which does not support |
brain work. while many literally |
starving" He Is apprehensive that choice
collection of moral and intellectual dys-
peptcs'' may be set loose upon the world |
as result of the existing arrangements |
for feeding the students. |
Considering that young men are not |
prone TO forget their appetites and that |
overeating, rather than undertaking. |
is the chief danger for most of
them, DR.. Harper's assertion may be taken
with some reservations. Probably the
young men at the university, taken On the
average are no better or no worse nour-
ished than the thousands of young men
who are engaged in other occupations de-
manding the exercise OF intellectual fac
ulties The real significance OF DIR. Har-
per's remarks consists in the indication
they give of the growing purpose OF uni
versity officials to make it their business
to give TO the world well balanced, normal
men. Ii DIR. Harper and his co-workers
in other universities find out that students
generally are suffering from lack of proper
nutrition they will doubtless be quick 10
remedy the evil and adopt some such plan
of diet regulation as he suggests
But while the universities are turning
their attention to the physical welfare OF
the students the average citizen continues
to be strangely regardless of 1t. DO what
they may the universities can accomplish
but little until the American people as a
whole awaken to the imperative necessity
of taking care OF their storachs. Ihis Is
| largely a nation of richly fed and poorly
nourished people. Thousands of young men
| In every city in the land are keeping them
| selves alive on ill-cooked breakfasts. sosgy
dinners and luncheons of indigestible pas
try In a measure these evils have been
| understood and corrected in recent years.
Much of the evil still remains. Unless there
| is a big reform in cookery and eating Gus
| toms in this country the nation Is very apt
| to fall into the hands OF moral and intel
| lectual dyspeptics'' of the kind mentioned
| with so much apprehension by DR.. Harper.
Abandonment of u Great Experiment.
From the New York Press.
Mayor Harrison, Of Chicago. has been
| forced in sadness to abandon the pohcF
| of ..liberality'' which. an issue, brought
| him, he said into office. To his surprise.
the card sharps. dramSellers and brothei
| keepers of the interior metropolis nave
abused his confidence. They have feece<i
and drugged the unwary within the
mayors gates to such an extent that ne
is obliged to take the back track toward
.Puritanism'' with celebrity.
| The experiment was worth while. Tor IL
| was undoubtedly the faireSt attempt that
has been made on an adequate scale III
this country to leave the morals of a great
urban community entirely TO the keepin1
of public opinion. Its utter and confessed
failure must be taken as conclusive on this
point.
The theory of personal Nberty"-i e.. o.
seeking to restrain only the criminal ten
denotes of a community. leaving the Viciou!
tendencies to the control only of the bet
ter nature of mankind-would undoubtedl!
work very well if it ever had fair chance
But owing TO the commercial instinct
human nature, the fair chance has neve
vet arrived. AS long as it pays the de
praved to pander to the lower prompting
in the nature of the undepraved. as long n
catering to the primal appetites OF man
; kind is highly profitable. just so long vii
the state have to exercise the repressiv
function.
! When it Is doing its best in this direc
ton it Is invariably permitting vas
amount of vicious practices. When the II
5 is on them. when the animal is uppermos'
men will find gambling hells and drinkin
bars and worse places to spend their night
in, even when a municipal administratio
| forbids the existence of these vents of saV
agery. When a municipal administratio
| proclaims its encouragement of such prac
e tees when in effect it declares itself lii
: eral." it simply invites the gross and gen
g eral decentralization at which young MI
i Harrison has seen the community whic
: he governs arrive.