The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-06

poor househoIders bought nearly every
morning a steak on roast, now dish
of meat on a Sunday is no more than
they can afford. The great Western
dealers have said the scarcity of beef
is due to the lack of corn yet this
same beef sells several cents lower in
London than 1t does in New York.
In the district about Forty-fifth
street and First avenue are killed per-
haps 5000 head of cattle every week,
and thousands of pounds come over
land to this city every day in cold
storage cars. Thus in spite of the re-
ported scarcity and the actual high
price of meat it Is evident that the
daily consumption in New York of the
commodity is large. AbattoiH men say
that the price will go much higher till
the next corn corp Is harvested.
The discussion of these points natu-
rally suggests and makes pertinent the
query. "Why do Americans consume
such large quantity Of meat?" Out
of this question grows others as
"What is the effect of so steady a
meat diet?" and Would not the race
enjoy more health and happiness by
eating more fruit, vegetables and ce-
reals and less meat?"
Many physicians and others who
have studied hygiene have investigated
the comparative merits of meat. ce-
reals and vegetables with the purpose
of finding out which of these FOODS
gives the greatest nourishment. They
seem to agree that flesh contains less
nutriment than most other forms of
food. And yet many investigators and
lecturers are not even moderately
pleased with the way the people put
their doctrines into practice. Teach
ers of hygienics say that it is one
thing to show orally and pictorially
that both rich and poor would be bet
ter off if they ate less meat. but that
it is an entirely different thing to get
people to act on this advice.
For the last twenty-five weeks DR..
Elmer Lee of No. 127 West Fifty-eighth
street, has been giving Saturday even
ing lectures on hygiene at the Judson
Memorial Church, Washington square,
south. DR.. Lee yesterday afternoon
told Tribune reporter some reasons
why meat should be used less. He
said:
1t is we'll known that Americans eat
more meat than any other nation. The
reason is that in the past animal food
has been cheap, and people have al
most uniformly enjoyed good wages.
Habit Controlling Factor.
You ask what is the controlling fac
lOI III Tie lOOQ pLODlClI- 4 say
habit. Americans have been brought
up under the notion that they cannot
be strong and wiry unless they eat
much animal food. This has been the
popular idea for generations. The re-
suit Is that educated and uneducated
Americans think that the eating of beef
alone will bring them bone and sinew
and strength. They have had animal
food since they were little, and habit
believer in, nor do / practice, vegeta-
rianism, but am close enough to the
trend of the vegetarians' ideas to real
lie that this matter of habit is one of
the greatest reasons why their propa-
ganda is making such painfully slow
progress.
People are afraid of the vegetarian
doctrine; they rank it in sense with
women'sr clubs and the like, as being
a mere fad. Their next door neigh
bors eat meat twice and even three
times a day. high price or low price,
and they ask, Why be different from
every one else, from their mothers and
grandmothers2 / know families who
have done away with meat for two
weeks at a time, but have returned to
it because they mistake the flavor and
taste qualities for strength and health
qualities. Flesh food is a wasteful ar
tiele Of diet because of its cost, and
because it contains from one-tenth TO
one-sixth in weight of salts that have
TO nutritlve qualities. 1t is the dear
est food that can be employed, and,
pound for pound, gives up less nour-
ishment than cheaper foods. The work
ingman who undertakes to supply it
to his family is certain to run short
of funds with which to supply other
needs.
Again, much meat eating favors dis
cases. such as Bright's disease and
other disintegrating forms of disturb
ances in the life of the person using
it. Much of the meat eaten is more
or less tainted.
On the other hand rice, wheat, oats
and hominy are perfect substitutes for
flesh, and are far more sustaining.
They are generally of moderate price.