River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-05-04


withal to pay the modest fees in eff
| feet at the private bathing places,
Uncle Sam bids them welcome at his
bathing house on the hill. After the
formality of certifying that they own
no property, and are possessed OF less
than twenty-five dollars in cash, the
government bathhouse is open to
them. Here $500 persons were cared
for last year, taking a total Of 1885,
988 baths at Uncle Sans expense.
The majority of these persons had no
medical attention whatever, except the
ordinary advice given by the govern
ment employees. Yet Doctor Parks
states that 80 per sent of these people
left Hot Springs cured Of their af7
fictions, which in the majority OF
cases were rheumatism in it's various
forms.
It naturally is to be supposed that
out of this large number Of people
there were a few who were not en-
titled to partake of Uncle Sans
bounty. It should be expected that
among the 100000 annual visitors to
the resort there would be many with
the saving instinct. The employees
of the bathhouse, for instance, say
they never could have believed there
were so many people in the world
with only $24 If they had not heard
the statements made under oath.
sc IF
this water, and while he gives it free
ly, he hates to have it taken away
from him under false pretenses. If at
any time a case looks suspicious, he
thinks nothing of shipping an inspec-
tor half way across the continent to
secure the facts. Only last winter the
| conversation of a man at his modest
boarding house did not chime har-
moniously with his appearance in the
"water line" at the government bath
house. An inspector was sent up into
Michigan, and visited the little town
from which the man had registered.
When he returned he announced that
the INDECENT" owned four farms in
his home county, and had mortgages
on most of the others. It cost that
man nearly one thousand dollars for
the, baths he had taken, and only his
old soldier record saved him from
having a trip to a federal peniten-
tiary in addition.
The record of Hot Springs as
| fountain of youth is long and hon
| orable one, yet the strange part OF
| it all is that no one has ever been able
| to discover what is the property OF
| the waters that effects the cures.
Old Traditions Of the Springs.
Away back in the early days, accord
ing to traditions, which are connect
ed with all places OF this kind, the
Indians ascribed the power to Mani,
tou, the Great Father. They said that
when the war chief of great tribe
lay wounded in the shadow of the
Ozark hills, the Great Father took pity
on him, opened up the mountain and
poured the healing waters on his
wounds. Since that time the waters
have worked similar wonders for all.
A somewhat similar story is told OF
Hot Springs, Va, though that is one
of discovery and not'of miracle work
ing. According to this yarn an IN
dian pursued by his foemen fell ex'
hausted into the springs. He lay
there for a while, and the waters so
revived him that he scrambled nimbly
up the side of perpendicular clifr,
and thus eluded his foes. Both OF
these are pretty tales, yet probably
carry a lower percentage Of truth than
the story of horse sense" attributed
to Mount Clemens, Mich.-that
broken-down, swollen-kneed, rheumat-
ic old plug was turned out in pas
ture to find for himself, Immediately
immersed himself to his withers In
a warm bog and in a week grew four
new legs.
Now there is plan, backed by east
ern capital, to erect at Hot Springs
the largest sanitarium in the world.
Already options have been secured on
ten acres of property lying in the heart
of the city nearly opposite the reser-
walton. The option price is S2s99O,-
600 and the project is said to have
| $8.000.000 Of capital behind it.