The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-06-03

WORKED HARD ALL THE. TIME
Thinks He Can Make It Fifty
. Days Next Timc-Tells How
He Did 1t. Il
(specIal to The TImcs-Dispatch.)

Especial to The Times Dispatch)
NEW YORK, June q That a
man can work hard. sleep we'll,
and be merry without anything to eat
for forty.nvc days has been proved In
n most extraordinary manner by J. Aus
tin Shaw, Of Borough Park Brooklyn.
From April 0 to May "a Mr.. Shaw looked
not upon food that was cooked or I'M
cooked. or If he did look upon It. 1t was
This fast exceeds DR.. Tanners famous
fasts and many other sclf-starvation rec
ords.
In all that time Mr.. Shaw worked from,
twelve to eighteen hours day, and at
the end OF his forty-iive days without
e food, Instead of being weakened and enia-,
ciated, was, II anything. stronger and
3 healthier than when he began to 80,
without food. The explanation of this
astonishing result lies largely in the fact
that he had trained carefully and scien-
tincally for three years In the seldom,
voluntarily practiced art OF fasting
Three years ago Mr.. Shaw weighed 2a5
pounds. lIc was in fairly good health,
although he suffered -occasi onally from
rheumatism. A book on Perfect
HEALTH by c. c. Haskell, which pre-
scrlbed a gospel Of abstinence In diet,
made him convert. It held that healthy
old age depended solely on the knowl-
edge OF how to breathe. eat, drink, think
and sleep.
Has Tasted at Intervals.
Mr.. Shaw Immediately put the au-5
5thor's theories into practice. In the last
three years he has tasted at intervals
i Aotp ia a
predecessor, and he has lost sixty-two
pounds In weight and gained greatly In
strength and health. He has become
! an enthusiastic apostle Of starvation
as means to long life, and has rec
7 ord OF his experiences backed up. BY
photographers, taken every few days
during his last and longest fast
\ Mr. Shaw was asked last night how
he accounted for the fact that forty-flve
days on$ water had left him sound and
strong. while professional fasters were
generally fearfully emaciated.
Fresh air Is the secret, he said.
You may say lived during the last
six weeks on air. I gave up coffee and
meat and breakfast three years ago. Il
never take anything but q. glass Of wa
ter before noon. l never drink with my
meals. r5t
'As to my fasts, 4 began with three
/ days abstinence at a time, with two
weeks between each fast. Gradually 1
Heightened the time Of going without.
! food to.ten days, until recently found
i could go forty-five days Without eat
ing without the least discomfort. i have
no doubt l could have gone on for nifty
days or more. but thought better not
make the test hard.
Hopes to Live 100 Years.
II mean to live to be 100 years old and
think am on the right track. There
is no reason we should not all live to
be 100
1.-THE first two days OF my fast were
little hard but after that 1t was easy.
I sometimes drank little weak lemon
/ ade, and once q week or SO glass OF
unfermented grape juice. The rest Of
my diet. consisted Of water, both hot and
cold. III E
Temptations to break it? They did
not amount to much. 1t wasn't the cas-
lest thing in the world to carve for my
family when we had particularly good
Sunday dinner. but did not really feel
the need Of food.
This brings me to the most important
point OF all. had absolute confidence
in myself and knew I was not in any
danger. A doctor examined me every
day. MY pulse was normal, at co. and
never went a ove Y, when I Imprinted for
a. LrdlH.5 tcaCu uuy - TcCClfCA q 1oLISA "
encouragement and advice from Haskell.
Ny wife helped me, too. by her faith.
1.-THE mind plays a big role51n health fast
ing Faith and fresh air are the two
important elements. "a
Cold Baths and Exercise.
II took my usual exercise and cold
bath in the morning, and worked each
day in the city from twelve to eighteen
hours. MY work Keeps me out Of doors
much of the time.
Mr.. Shaw intends to keep up his Pc
riodical fasting for the rest Of his life
and to adjure meat at all times and sny
food before noon, He Is connected with
n weekly horticultural paper. and Is a
man. somewhat under fifty years Three
of his daughters are on the stage, one
OF them was a papama girl In '"The
Liberty Beles.'' The youngest of them
has foresworn the hot birds and cold
bottles, which are popularity supposed TO
be the correct after-theatre diet and 10
almost as ardent vegetarian non'eater
as her father.
Mr.. Shaw cautions those who would
seek foodless health not to start in too
ambtiously. Three days is about all the
beginner can stand. He himself looks
as fresh after his recent remarkable
fast as II he just returned from an ideal
vacation. He lost twenty-sx8 pounds, a
little moro than one-half a pound a
day, but there Is not a wrinkle to show
It. He asserts that though he worked
more than usual he did not at any time
feel the least fatigued. He does not
habitually use alcohol, nor Is he q
hoa a