The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-04-05
r. +. Davis of Madison at Farmers
Week

known nee Keeper Vi iuS tOuht3' was
one of the speakers at the Farmers
Week at Orono last week. He gave
an address pertaining TO health, which
agriculturists OF this section. and 9TH
ers. might read with interest. His
views are contained in the following
paragraphs:
81 had warning some time ago |
was to be called on here for a talk
on health. Sometime since ! met one
OF our friends here. in whom | know
you are all interested, suffering from
some of the conditions ! shall en-
deavor to speak to you about, and /
tried as best could to give him sound
advice in the care of his health, and
when | had proceeded to do so, he
informed me that my advice and talk
to him was worth at least five dol
lars and / promptly informed him 1t
was my opinion he could not get as
good for two hundred dollars And
II would seem he has concluded that
the estimate set by myself was near
est correct, and this must be my
apology to you at the present time
for coming before you.
I think some of You here will re-
member President Taft appoint
ing what was called at the time, THE
Country Life Commission and pos
sibly you will remember some OF the
recommendations of this commission.
One Of which was that our rural
people were suffering much from ill
health and losing millions of dol
lars yearly, thereby. and that the
ali 10 ntt1H
easily be learned and applied.
"And ] wish to speak to you in
the spirit of what ] believe those
men suggested at that time. Com
posed as it was of some of the most
eminent men. DR.. l.. II. Bailey, EX-
President Roosevelt and Kenyon L..
Butterfield, all of whom were known
to be in full sympathy with our rural
progress. And ] believe it is pos
sible for any one of us, if we will, to
obtain the knowledge to guide us
into that state of health and free
dom from disease suggested by them,
and taught by our best authorities.
While we owe much to our scientists
for their advanced methods in pre-
ventiop and control of dangerous con-
tagious diseses, epidemics, surgery,
etc. To the men who have made
such vast discoveries we owe debt
of gratitude we lcan hardly repay.
But it is not along these lines |
would talk to you. but of our so
called degeneratiye disease which are
the largest part of our ills. and the
most human suffering. These ills
being almost entirely under our con-
troll. IL we possessed the knowledge
this eminent commission suggested
we could obtain.
IL presume some of you believe as
do that a mans or woman's mental
or moral condition, as we'll as physi-
cal health, is much Influenced by the
foods eaten. In many cases there
seems TO be q great deal in the per-
sonality of the Individual, Willie some
may he greatly Influenced by these
things and others only slightly so,
and these differences may be largely
in the temperament as we'll as the
nervous system and mental training.
want to speak to you first on the
causes Of this illness. degeneracy and
inefIlciency mentioned. DR.. Kellogg
states that in the clogging OF the
colon. commonly called constipation
SIS to be found the secret of nine
tenths of all the chronic ills from
which civilized human beings suffer,
and perhaps not small part OF our
moral and social maladies and crime.
The fact that we are removing large
part of the minerals in the prepare
ton of our food. ESTIMATED as much
as three-fourths by competent author
ities) and thus lowering the alkalinity
of the blood makes us much more sus-
ceptable to disease and there is I'M
doubleday special danger in diet
that tends to remove lime and phos-
pborous. As | believe the latter is
considered of special use to the ner-
yous system and all nerve diseases
are of one class and in fact are all
classed with insanity, except for So
cia reasons.
"Dr. E. V. McCollum, who has made
most of the recent discoveries of value
in nutrition, finds a toxin or poison,
that affects the nervous system, IN
wheat foods and that they require TO
be used with a number of other foods
to be safe. He also states that re-
cent Investigations by various author
. tiles have shown that fifty per cent
or more of the children OF the work
ing classes have ricketts,. and sixty 10
seventy per cent in some European
countries. This shows something OF
the danger of our de-numeralized diet,
and the results of the use OF factors
in our diet that further impoyerish
our systems of the needed minerals.
While | can see only one reason why
we might use any cane sugar with
advantage in our diet, it is that we
are generally eating considerable
quantities of putrefactive foods, ana
at least three reliable investigations
have found that as small an amount
az two per cent of sugar has the
power to destroy germs from that
source. 1t has been found recently
that honey will destroy the deadliest
germs injecting the human system and
/ believe if a very small per cent OF
honey was used in the daily diet,
perhaps even two or three per cent,
we could live without much fear oil
these germs. and with much greater