The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-02-15
Fasting is the Cure All
PraCfiCed i'm California

Fasting is the new fad in California
the land of plenty These who have
tried it declare that total abstinence
from food is the cure-aIl of disease
| Thomas Morrin, chief engineer in the
big Mills building, San Francisco has
! just completed a fast of forty DAYS for
| dyspepsia Other authentic cases are:
| Ambrose Taylor of Rialto tasted twen-
| ty-three days for rheumatism: Mrs
judith Sampson of Penrym. seventeen
! days for dyspepsia; James D. Wren of
Martinez. twenty-three days for stom-
ach trouble, and Cora Brown of Red
wood twenty-seven days for acute
nervousness. How many more people
have taken up the fasting cure is past
| finding out for in nearly every instance
the fasters are loath to speak of their
experiences.
Engineer Morrin is very much averse
to the notoriety the affair has occa-
stoned and shuns interviews. Unlike
DR.. Tanner, the famous professional
faster Morrin instead of reclining dur
ing the period of fasting. performed all
| mis- duties as chief engineer All five
fasters believe they are thoroughly
cured of their diseases. In Morrin' s
and two other cases the fasts were
prescribed and directed by DR.. Albert
Hitler, reputable homeopathic ply
sician of San Francisco Ambrose Tay-
Tor, Mrs Sampson and Miss Brown
adopted the novel treatment because.
as they explained, lit seemed sensible"
DR. Hitler did not permit his patients
to go to bed, but insisted on their at
tending to their work as usual The
others, all independent cases. sought
rest in order to give nature. the great
physician. chance to work. Oddly
enough, few days after Ambrose Tay-
Tor began his fast ne was stricken with
paralysis and unable to move, but he
herOically stuck to his course of treat
ment
OF course, these fasters were not dill
gently watched by unbiased outsiders.
So the truth of their statements rests
solely on their own account. the evil
dence of visiting friends and the cor
roboratiOn of the attending physician.
There is no reason to doubt their state
mcnts, as they We're in no wise EEK
hibition'' fasters, but merely seekers
after health. There is one point in
common-not one of them thinks that
going so long without food is worth
mentioning, but they all dwell delight
fully on the fact that the fast cured
them
Mir. Morrin. who tasted forty days
is a large framed man of middle age
In perfect health ne would weigh about
100 pounds, but stomach troubles re-
Guced him to 10. He tried all sorts
of medicines without relief. At last he
was reduced to a condition where he
couldn't take medicine and only the
Iightest of fluid foods would remain on
his stomach. In this extremity he
went to DR.. Hitler and got his pre-
scription for a forty days fast
ut was a case of must" he said. in
narrating his experience 1.-THE first
day I got "ery hungry. but all 1 al
lowed myself was little water I
drank a good deal of water during the
forty days. The second day my hun
ger increased. on the third it was the
strongest After that it began to de-
crease. At the end of five days fast
ing | didn't feel violent hunger any
longer. / seemed to get out of the
habit Of eating. During the fast I lost
just thirty-five pounds. [ was able by
using my strength to go right
along with my duties as chief engin-
eer
Going without food was not so diff
fcUlt as | imagined. Perhaps my dyS-
persia had in way trained me to
undertake fast. Years ago a doctor
ordered me to give up tobacco and |
found it much harder to stop its use
than I did to go without food
After the fast was over 1 began to-