The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-08-07
President Harper of Chicago Uni
versity to Make Practical Test
of Cheap-Diet Claims.
INTEREST IN EXPERIMENT
President of Civil Service Commits
sion Says 1t Can Be Done
Others Say the Idea Is
lmpracticable.

REpU BLlC SPECIAL.
Washington. Aug. Can President har-
per of the Chicago University live on 10
cents day?
There is & difference OF opinion on this
question among men in Washington who
have given thought to such subject as
to whether such an economical diet IS ad-
visable. though it is admitted that life can
doubtless be sustained that sum.
More men die OF overeating than of over
drinking in this country and more men die
of overeatins than of undertaking, said
Mr.. John r. Proctor. president OF the Civil
Service Commission. who paid special atten-
ton to this subject several years ago from
Il scientific point of view.
There Is no doubt In the world that i'res-
!dent Harper will succeed in this expert
ment. 1t has already been demonstrated
beyond question that Is. cents day vii!
buy ample food 10 nourish every part OF the
human body. no matter what occupation
Of the individual may be. whether he Is a
student or a laborer. This. of course. IS
with the proviso that corresponding econ
omy Is used III the cooking and the serving
of the food. Any amount OF money can be
expended in cooking and serving
While I have never demonstrated this
fact myself. | was given seven-course
lunch by Edward Atkinson In Boston sew
eral years ago as an Illustration on this
point. While l cannot recall exactly the
cost or the menu, l remember distinctly
that the lunch was delicious and the cost
ridiculously low.
LAS I have said, the whole thing ia sim
ply a question of cooking and serving. The
food can be bought for the amount named
and il there is skill in It's preparation the
ha
delicious dishes served.
Scientific men in all countries have made
endeavor to emphasize and call attention to
what can be done in the way of economy
IN the way of living, and the subject seems
TO be coming more and more to the front. l
recently saw n cartoon designed by the au-
thor Of Trilby.' in which he fictures q
most delicate and beautiful English lady
gazing into the cage of huge hippopota-
mus, which was saying to her, See what
your roast beef has done for you and what
my rice has done for me-
"A cheap diet IS not necessarily g. vege-
tartan diet. Far from 1t. or course the
more expensive meats cannot be fndulged
in. but the most expensive meats are not by
far the most nutritious. These cheaper
meats can be prepared to be just palata-
bic If the art is understood
Professor Ervine Ewell Assistant Chief
OF the Division of Chemistry in the Depart
ment or Agriculture, is not carried away by
the scheme Of President Harper.
TT can be done.'' he said. but I do not
think It advisable for students. One man
may abuse himself with impunity. while
others may try 1t and get ~ a.
Professor EwelI said that while a stu
dent in Ann Arbor. Mich. he was a men,
Der of club which furnished him three
meals a day. the cost ranging from s1.75 TO
S2.225 4 week. The students were hardy
and the food, though coarse wes health
full.
''Tlle way the clubs were managed" said
the professor. was to tax every member
80 cents week to pay a woman who
cooked. and then the actual cost OF food
consumed was proportioned among the STU
dents. There was one boarding house
in Ann Arbor when ! was there that had
nearly 200 student boarders at 81. 30 a week.
II could sustain life on Is cents a day,
but would have to do my own cooking.
l think-in fact. l know-that the food we
received was vastly superior to that which
mill hands and workingmen in mill board
ing-houses receive. We had plenty OF milk.
oatmeal. etc. and we were allowed to eat
all the bread We desired.
I'm 1887 the division Of chemistry gathered
statistics as to the actual cost Of living
to the negroes of the South. One family
of two lived for sixteen days at an average
cost Of 10 cents day. Another family.
eating three meals day, lived for cents
each day for the same period
While Professor Ewel does not doubt
that n man can live on 10 cents q day, he
would not like to try the experiment.