r
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
Tin world stands at the dor of a va
cant tomb The angel with nls coun
unintt Ilk the lightning has descend
ed and 'oiled the slone away. The earth
remhle. The seal l broken The col
dlerly keepers are as the dead
Did Jesus sbep and rise agiin? Has
the pain and gloom of the riurlflxlon
been succeeded by the glory of the
resurrection? Has the son of (he car
penter, the first horn nf virgin, he
come the "vlne Redeemer Use h
trodden the wine tires alone, rejected
and despised of men
I It h lhat cm th from Kdom with
dyd garments from Boztah, iorloin.
In Ms apparel. (raveling In the great
nss of hi etreppih. (peaking In rleht
eousntss. mighty to save? Ha the
lowly Nazarne become 'he conqueror
of hell, death and the grav? Has li
power of satan been cast down hy the
man In 'ears w'th a woman's face and
a voire whore tone wr.re as (he sound
nf music Ha he who had no place
to lay hi head hrrir.e (he Ixird of
heaven and earlh. the chief am.mi
eherublm and seraphim, angels and
archangels?
Is It for him celestial hosts join In
praise and pcak to the heavenly gates
"Lift up your heads O, ye (rates; even
flft them up. ye everlasting doors: and
the king of glory shall come In." "Who
a this king of glory?-' And they an-
swer: "The Lord strong and mighty
the I,ord mighty In battle; the Lord of
hosts; he la the king of glory." Is It for
him the one hundred and forty-four
thousand virgins redeemed from the
earth. In whom was found no guile
sang the new song before the throne
nd before the four beasts and elders
that no man could lfarn?
Is It he that was seen In the Apoca
lypse, whose head aa his hairs were
white like wool, as w-hltc as snow
whose eyes were as a flame of fire,
whose voire was as the sound of many
waters and whose countenance was as
the sun shineth In his strength? Is It
he that John beheld and heard the
voice of many angels i round the throne
and the beasts and the elders; whose
number was ten thousand times ten
.thousand and thousands of thousands,
aylng with a loud voice, "Worthy Is
the lamb that waa slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, ano
strength, and honor and glory, and
blessing forever and ever."
la the gentle teacher by the wayside
the lion of the tribe of Judah and the
root of David? Is It he tflat heaven
baa proclaimed king of king and lord
af lorda?
Ask the fierce Sanhedrim. Rack the
answer cornea: "He la a deceiver. He
saved others; himself he could not
save."
Aak Mary weeping near the tomb,
sf the supposed gardener wha said:
"Woman, why weepest thou?" and
then la accent mild. "Mary!" With
aer heart In her eyes she answers.
"Babbonl! Master!" Ask Thomas,
artth his doubts cleared away. He an
swers. "My Iord and my God." AaV
sorrowful, repentant Peter. He an
rwera. "Tyord. thou knowest that I love
thee." Feed my 'ambs." la the divine
aommand Ask the disciples oa the
way to Kmmaus. They answer, "Did
aet our hearts burn within oa as) he
talked?" Ask Israrlot In Aceldama, the
eld of Wood The dead Hps have no
reply. The broken body wltb the
bowels gushed out Is the witness of a
feed that exiled a gifted people for
jenturlee
Ask Saul of Tarsus on his midwinter's
lourney to Damascus. And Stephen,
who saw Jesus standing on the right
and of God. Ask the down-pouring
spirit on the day of Pentecost, when
three thousand souls were added to
the church as witnesses to the truth
f the resurrection and the glory of
fesua Christ. Ask the martyra who
fought the wild beasts, endured the
stake to grace a Roman holiday. AaV
those who have suffered through the
jenturlea setting to their seal that Ood
la true and Jesus Christ Is his only be.
gotten son, the Savior and redeemer of
mankind.
Ask our consciousness If the story of
aster la true. From the depth of our
carta we admit It.
Aak the plague-smitten patriarch of
the land of l?s. In return he aska: "If
man die, shall he live again? If I
rait, the grave Is my house." And
then declares: "There Is hope of a tree.
If It be cut down. It will sprout again.
Though the root thereof wax old In the
earth, and the stock thereof die In the
ground: yet through the scent of water
It will bud. and bring foajh boughs like
a plant. For I know that my redeemer
dveth. and that he shall stand at the
bitter day upon the earth. And though !
after my skin worms destroy this body, !
ret In my flesh shall I see Ood; whom
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
lhall behold."
Ask the Hebrew seers, men who ;
welt In tombs, and pierced the visions
f the future. They reply, "Thy dead
men shall live, togeiher with my dead
body shall they arise, and the earth
lhall cast out the dead." (
Ask the Lord. Quickly comes the j
message: "I am the resurrection, and
the life; he that belleveth In me. j
though he were dead, yet shall he live, i
And whosoever llveth and belleveth In :
me shall never die." i
Paul wrote: ''In a moment. In the!
twinkling of an eye. the dead
hall be raised Incorruptible, and we!
hall be changed. This mortal j
must put on Immortality." And John)
Jescrlbed the new Jerusalem, when j
v. n.,.m. t lhi T.wd ahall come'
to Zlon with rongs and everlasting loy
pon their heads.
With such a cloud of witnesses en
compassing us. how can we doubt that
Jesus died and rose again? Centuries
before h came we believe th lacaeHtes
lived In Egypt, and migrated ta the
My las W bellere they fled throa
the fted sea and paused over on dry
ground. The landmarks of their Jour
ney can still be traced IntJ
the wilderness of Sinai Th?
east wind still prevails that drew back
the waters of the sea wher
the Israelites were flying fron
the hosts ' of Pharaoh We nevei
question the txiotenre of Moses
He wrote a code, the gi-iry of -.lie civ
ilization under which we live We dc
not rtisbeileve the institution of thr
Passover Th d-scf ndar.ta of (he chil
dren of Israel still observe It We rear
of Damascus in the centuries of thr
past It Is r t ill existing as the oldest
city. David once telgned a the kine
of Israel and Solomon was his nieces
or. Kvery week we har f hen and
listen In our homes and church" to th
songs of the sweet elny-r. 'he ruddv
shepherd boy who kilted a Hon and n
hear and delivered his people frm theli
enemies.
Hannibal was once a living man who
humbled Rome and nearly made it bltf
the dust. There Is nothing left of him
hut the ruins of an ancient city. Alex
ander conquered Persia and gave Asia
a Grecian civilization. It has been
overturned by the fierce Mohammedan
There Is nothing on which to wtlte
his epitaph. Caesar lived, fastened thr
Imperial yoke upon republican Romp
and made a slaughter house of Guul
We never saw him.
Prone as we are to accept the record?
of profane history, we doubt the beau
iful existence of Jesus Christ and hi
mission as narrated In the sacred vol
umes. We shut our eyes to the Jew.
as one of the living, Imperishable wit.
nesfes of the God of the earth that
Jesua lived and taught In Judea and
Galilee, died on the cross, was burled
rose again on the third day and as
cended Into heaven, fnm whence he
hall come to judce the quick and the
dead.
We are urged to take the torch c,f
reason whim rays can never penetrate
the realm beyond the grave.
We are asked to put out the torch
of revelation, whose light will guide
us past the heights where the star ot
hope Is shining, through the land ol
Beulnh, across the deep, cold, river. Into
the beauty of the celestial city where
God forever reigns, R. F. TEST.
RFXIOIOTI9 THOUGHT.
Belief. Tou can not make a man be
lieve la a God that you do not con
vince him you believe In your self.
Rev. Dr. Parkkurst, Presbyterian, New
York CKy.
Trust. Trust la a positive, helpful
virtue or grace. Distrust, In Its very
nature. Is negative and destructive.
Rev. T. JefTersoB Danner, Kplscopallan,
Pittsburg;, Pa.
Influence. -Uke produces like, and all
Influence, good or bad, makes an eter
nal imprint oa thought and character.
Rev. Benjamin-P. FrH. -United
Brethren, Columbus, O.
A Transition Period. Another transi
tion period baa come ta the race, wltb
Its struggles. Its anxieties, Its perplexi
ties. Rev. Oee. W. Stone, Unitarian,
Kansas City, Ma.
Effective Work. We will be effective
In doing God's work In proportion to
the experience we have had of God's
love and power. Rev. I. F. Carson,
Presbyterian, Brooklya, N. T.
Revival of Religion. In order to ob
tain a widespread revival of religion,
for the quickening of dormant energies
and the saving of the unconverted. there
must be Increased liberality. Rev. Dr.
Adams, Methodist, Brooklyn, N. T.
Christianity. Christianity Is large In
Its orbrt. Its spirit universal. Its heart
la aa large aa the world. But still we
must remember that "he that careth
not for his own ta worse than an Infi
del." Rev. J. A. Mtlburn, Presbyterian,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Human Experiences. All our human
experiences are the opportunity for di
vine possibilities to appear, the means
by which we prove God and our rela
tion to Ood. and what la possible to us
because af that relation. Mrs. Geste
feld. Christian Scientist, Chicago, III.
The Baals of Existence. There Is but
ona law In all the spiritual, moral and
physical universe. It Is I he basis of ex
istence, and by Ita operation the uni
verse and 11 It contalna exists, and It
la co-existence with all that Is.-T. B.
Wilson, Theosophlte, Kanaaa City, Mo.
The New Thought To the new
thought, apace Is the presence of God,
time the order and sequence of his will,
nature the unfolding of himself. His
force Is equally present In the remotest
star snd In the heart of man. Rev. Dr
Samuel R. Calthrop, Syracuse, N. T.
The Tendency of the Tlmea. The ten
dency of the times Is to search for
truth, no matter where It may lead us.
No truth ever came ready made from
heaven, the Idea being that tho mind of
man must first be prepared for what Is
to follow. Rev. Gustav Ootthell, He
brew, New York City.
The Corner-Stone of Our Liberties.
Another step In the education of the
children that has not, I believe, been
recognised, is that not only should the
head and hand be taught, but the soul
as well. It Is the corner-stone of our
liberty. Rev. William S. Ralnsford,
Kplscopallan. New York City.
A True Theocracy The true cltlxen
should first practice right principles In
his own street, then In his own city,
then In his own state, and then for the
benefit of Ihe nation at large. That is
the sequence In a true theocracy, and
a true theocracy la a true democracy.
Dr. E. O. Illrsch, Hebrew, Chicago.
The Hardest Work The hardest work
Is to make men realise that power does
not mean privilege; that power means
responsibility. It Is difficult to makt
men realise lh greatness of the di
vinity of Christ. In getting them to real
ise th aaad M Baylor. Rev. Dr.
Utorrs. OMTSatl9allat, Brooklya,
N. T
THE SNOWY EGRET.
Women Uaa Hla Plumage to Beau
tify Their Headgear.
These birds sometimes stray through
the middle or northern states, but their
home is in the south. In the southern
states, and particularly In Florida, they
used to live In vast colonies. Now they
are being surely and quickly put out ot
the world by the cruelty and thought
lessness of house people the particular
kind of house people that wear women's
hats and bonnets.
Once these egrets covered the south
ern lowlands like drifting snow for
they are beautifully white. In the
nettling season when many birds are
allowed some special attraction In the
way of plumage, bunches of long, slen
der, graceful plumes grow on their
backs between the shouldera and curl
up over the tall.
In an evil moment, some woman, Imi
tating the savages, used a bunch of
these feathers to make a tuft upon hei
headgear. From that day, the spot
less bird was doomed to martyrdom.
Egrets, as the plumes are called, like
the birds themselves, became a fashion
able trimming for bonnets and have
continued so to this day, in spite of law
and argument. This would seem to
show that many women are savages
still, notwithstanding their fine clothes
and other signs of civilization.
These herons only wear their beauti
ful plumes in the nesting season, when
tt la the height of cruelty to kill birds
of any kind, and this is what happens:
The nests are built of sticks in
bushes and trees above the lagoons.
When these nests are filled with young,
as yet too feeble to take care of them
selves, and the beautiful parents are
busy flying to and fro, attending to the
wants of their helpless nestlings, the
plume huntera come. They noiselessly
glide among the nests, threading the
watercourses In an Indian dugout or
canoe, and when once within the peace
ful colony, show themselves with bold
brutality. Well they know that the
devoted parents will suffer death rather
than leave their young in such dan
ger. Shot upon shot rings out In repeated
volleys, each followed In turn by the
piteous cries of wounded birds, till the
ground Is strewn with hundreds of the
dead and dying. Then the cruel hunt
rrs tear off the plume tuft from the
back of each victim as the savage does
t human scalp, and move on In search
3t another heronry, to repeat this In
Human slaughter of the innocents.
But this is not all. The young birds
must either perish slowly of hunger, or
be swallowed by snakes.
Ostrich plumes are perfectly harm
less decoration, for the bird tarns his
own and his master s living by growing
Ihem, without losing his life. They
ire the only kind of feathers that
ihould be worn for ornament. From
-Citizen Blrd,"by Mabel Ofgood Wright
tnd miot Cones.
Queer Etiquette.
When a Chinaman takes his little boy
'o school to Introduce him to his teach
r It Is done as follows, according to a
missionary writer:
When the Chinaman arrives at the
ichool he is escorted to the reception
room, and both he and the teacher
lhake their own hands and oow pio
(oundly. Then the teacher asks; "What
a your honorable nameT'
"My mean. Insignificant name Is
Wong."
Tea and pipe are sent for, an1 the
leacher says, "Please use tea." Thf
?hlnaman sips and puffs for a quarter
if an hour before he says to the teach
;r, "What Is your honorable name?'
"My mean, insignificant name is
Pott."
"How many little stems have you
iprouted?" This means, "How old are
ou?"
"I have vainly spent 30 years."
"Is the honorable and great man of
.he household living?" He Is asking
iftcr the teacher's father.
"The old man Is well."
"How many precious little ones have
you?"
"I have two little dogs." These are the
eacher's own children.
"How many children have you In your
Illustrious Institution?"
"I have a hundred little brothers."
Then the Chinaman comes to business
"Venerable master," he says, "I have
brought my little dog here, and wor-
Ihlpfully Intrust him to your charge."
The little fellow, who has been stand
ing In the corner of the room, comes
forward at this. kneels before the teach
er, puts his hands on the floor and
knocks his head against it. The teacher
raises him up and rends him off to
school, while arrangements are being
made for his sleeping room, etc. At
last the Chinese gentleman rises to take
his leave, saying, "I have tormented
you exceedingly today," to which the
teacher responds, "Oh, no; I have dis
honored you." As he goes toward the
door he keeps saying, "I am gone."
And etiquette requires the teacher to
repeat, as long as he Is In hearing, "Go
slowly, go slowly."
When "Around the World In Eighty
Days" was published, readers enjoyed
It as a work of Imagination. Certainly
very few ever thought that such rapid
travel would ever become an accom
plished fact, much less that In less
than thirty years people would be talk
ing of Its being a matter of only thirty
days around the earth. This Is really
what the trans-Siberian railroad prom
ises us In th near future. If our meth
ods of transportation keep on Improv
ing at this rat w ahall soon be able to
laugh at th fairy tal that tslls about
th wonderful seven Uagu boot.
A I M i i w . H: DOG.
A Canine Fighter In the Great Bat
tle Off Santiago
Kvery person who loves d'e anl
especially hoee who pos-pes fox-ter-rleis.
will be more than interested in
the story !o!d by Commander J Gilcj
Eaton in tire April P Niiholas. of hi?
fox-terrier, Prinre, wh v.ent thr'ninh
the excitln time do n a' fanliago lal
July Afifr a ehor' mtieiiiK iim de
scribing his adveniuies amusing and
otherwise previous to the declaration
war. Commander Eaton Fays:
When the ar "I'ti Spain was de
clared an') his master had been ordered
to command one f the Hhir of our
navy, it was dc ided lhat Prince should
enlist as a mascot. Fo he sailed for
Cuba on hoard the Resolute in May.
When target practice began, Prince
took a derided Interest in the great
guns' firing. At each discharge he
would twirl round like a top, and then
would spring high In the air with one
loud "Wow!" )n a very Fhort time he
mastered (he details of the loading, and
soon recognized the fact that until the
cartridge was put In no report could
come.
Standing beside the gun, he would
watch in an Interested way the various
operations until the cartridge was In
serted and the breech closed As soon
as the sharp click of the breech-block
reached his ears, his whole bearing
changed. From this instant his whole
attitude was lhat of "attention!" Stand
ing on three legs, with his fourth raised
In expectancy his little body quivering
with suppressed excitement, and his
short, black, rudder-like tail, tipped at
the end with white, cutting the air, his
ears cocked like the hammer of the gun
his eyes fairly sparkled with excite
ment. The boom of the gun would be
followed by his bark, and at first he
would Jump frantically to grab the
ejected cartridge case. The hot brass
soon cured him of any desire to carry
these In his mouth, and he took to run
ning to and fro with the men who
were bringing fresh ammunition. Gen
erally he stationed himself himself near
the after-gun at quarters; but once the
firing began he betook himself to the
one which was firing most rapidly, and
each discharge he noted with a quick
turn on his hauches and one resound
ing bark. Later, when Spanish shell
fell about us, he barked defiance at
every explosion, and was with difficulty
kept from Jumping overboard In pur
suit of bursting fragments.
The resolute was designated to re
ceive the Spanish prisoners, and when
their arrival began Prince had his
hands full. To him It was Incompre
hensible that from Just at nightfall till
far Into the night (it was midnight be
fore the last "Don" was aboard) we
should convert the clean and orderly
Resolute nto a cartel, crowded with
over MO begrimed and excited stran
gers. For a time his tired bark, which
had been strained all day with over
use, was again and again raised In pro
test. Finding this of no avail, he then
rssayed a series of rushes, feinting ser
ous attacks on the marlncros. In these
he grew so earnest that he was sum
marily placed under arrest and put In
confinement In the cabin; and here, at
J o'clock. I found him, worn out and
tired with his long day of battle, but
not content to sleep until Joined by Mt
master.
On the morrow be was awake be
times, and promptly resented the ap
pearance on deck nf the Spanish sail
ors, who were brought up for a bath:
and for the next five davs. while w
held those poor fellows on board
Prince never ceased to protest against
their coming on deck. With his dis
like iroused almost to Its highest pitch,
he would at once growl when a Span
iard passed "between the wind and his
nobility." Lest In'ernatlonal complica
tions should follow. Prince was de
prived of his usual privilege of having
the run of the whole ship and was con
fined for a time to the cabin and pilot
houie. It was a relief to all when the Span
iards, who outnumbered the Resolute"!
ere Ave to one, were rent to th
Harvard, but to Prince their going
was more than a relief It was absolute
happiness; and his short tall, which
had hung dejected half-masted, tht
sailors called it was once again held
proudly upright. Still, until soap and
sand and water had done their perfect
work. Prince's nose sniffed suspiciously
when he passed the former quarters of
tne Spanish prisoners.
The Anvil Bird.
At dusk In the wilds of the gloomy
Brazilian forest, you will think it
strange, says Our Animal Friends, to
hear the clink of a hammer on an anvil.
You would Imagine that you were ap
proaching some settlement and the pic
ture of the ruddy glow of the forge
would some up before your eyes.
But If your guide were a native, he
would tell you that the sound was
made by a campanero, as they call it,
although to foreigners It Is known as
the anvil bird.
This bird is a little larger than a
thrush. The plumage Is perfectly white;
the eyes are a pale gray color, and the
naked throat and skin around the eyes
are of a fine bright green, while ltd
more northerly relative Is orange and
black, very much like our oriole.
It Is generally in the early pail of
the day that the campanero sends forth
the wonderful note that can be heard nt
a distance of three miles. Marvelous
Indeed must be the mechanism of (hi
vocal organs of so small a bird to pro
duce so far-reaching a note; but there
Is no doubt of the fact, for many trav
elers hav heard the strange sound ut
tered by the bird when perched on (he
topmost branch of some withered tree.
BRAZILIAN FUNERALS.
Crave Clothes and Invitations Pre
pared B-for Death.
One of ihe first tliiii that strike the
eye of the stranger in Kio are some
old-looking carriagee. You think there
must be a circus In town, but on inquir
ing are told that "thot-e are hearses."
Owing to the climate, a corpse can
not be kept over 24 hours, nor will the
law allow it. and so many nav their
clothes made and funeral invitations
printed before they are ready to die
I received an invitation to the fu
neral of a child of a friend. It was
printed cn white rarer, having a fcar
iet border. Scarlet Is the color used
by the Brazilians for the funeral dec
cratiens of (he yotr.g. while violet is
for adults.
The invitation has not or.ly the r.amt s
of the parents of the child but the
grandparents. unc:es. aunts and cou
sins. I was supposed to brirp a wreath
or other emblem cf artificial flcers
(real ones are eeldem ufect. st.d otive
to the mourners' house. There I was
met by an usher, who look the wreath
and led me into the "chamber of dtath,"
where the mourners and priests were
praying for the departed soul. Every
article of furniture, knick-knacks, etc.,
had been removed from the room, and
the coffin was placed in the center upon
a bier draped with scarlet cloth, round
which the wreaths, etc, were put.
Most Brazilian coffins are poorly made
of the thinnest pine, perfectly oblong
in shape and covered (according to your
means) with velvet, c loth, cotton or pa
ter. The coffin was tf scarlet velvet,
having its edges bordered with gold
figured paper. The child was dressed
in gorgeous red silk and lace and lit
erally covered with artificial flowers of
every hue. The reason for such a dis
play of color, I was told, was that a
child has no sin and was going hap
pily to heaven. Lighted candles were
placed around the coffin, with a crucifix
at the head and another in the hand of
the child.
When the masses had been said the
father and brother carried the coffin to
the hearse. The hearse was also scar
let and gold, but, oh, so shabby, and
so were the two men on the seat, who
were dressed from head to foot in the
ame bright colors and looked more like
two organ n.or.keys than n.en.
History cf Arbor Day.
From J. Sterling Morton's Conserva
tive: At an annual meeting of the
state board of agriculture at Lincoln,
Neb., January 4, 1872. J. Sterling Mor
ton introduced the following resolution,
which was unanimously adopted:
"Resolved, That Wednesday, the 10th
lay of April, 1872, be and the same ia
aereby especially set apart and con
iterated for tree planting In the state
jf Nebraska, and the state board of
igriculture hereby name it Arbor Day,
ind urge upon the people of the state
the vital importance of tree planting,
and hereby offer a special premium ot
1100 to the agricultural society of that
tounty in Nebraska which shall upon
that day plant properly the largest
number of trees; and a farm library of
125 worth ot books to that person who,
jn that day. shall plant properly, in
Nebraska, the greatest number of
trees."
Over a million ot trees were planted
n Nebraska on the first Arbor day,
April 10. 1872.
In 1875 the governor of Nebraska,
3y public proclamation, set apart the
'.htrd Wednesday of April as a day
tj be observed in the planting of trees.
Annually thereafter other governors
made such proclamation until the win
ter of 1885, when Ihe legislature passed
he act which designates the 22d ot
April, birthday of Mr Morton, of each
year as Arbor day, and making it one
it the legal holidays of the state.
Then in 1895 the name and fame ot
Nebraska was further recognized and
hied, by the following Joint resolution
uhlch which was approved by the gov
rnor April 4. U95.
Whereas. The state of Nebraska has
Heretofore. In a popular sense, been
Jes!gnat?d by nams not In harmony
with ita history, industry, or ambition;
and,
"Whereas, Numeroui and honorable
f ate organizations have, by resolution,
iesignated Nebraska as the 'Tree Plan
ters' State;' therefore be It
"Resolved, By the legislature of the
plate cf Nebraska, that Nebraska shall
nereafter, in a popular sense, be known
and referred to as, the 'Tree Planters'
Stale.' "
SECULAR SHOTS AT THE PULPIT
Philadelphia Tress; While the elo
quent preacher, Dwight L. Moody, was
exhorting a San Francisco audience on
Saturday to show charity to criminala
a thief stole his overcoat. The daring;
rascal gave Mr. Moody instant oppor
tunity to put in practice his own preach.
Chicago Times-Herald: A Methodist
minister Is to be appointed chief of po
lice at Hampton, N. H., In the hope
that he will suppress thi liquor traffic.
It may be recalled In this connection
that no tacticians were ever more ex
pert than the puritan clergy in sur
toundlng a stiff horn of rum.
Chicago Tribune: Pope Leo has turn
ed the corner and seems to be well on
the way to complete recovery. The re
serve forces of a careful and abstemi
ous lire have rallied to his aid. and the
only disease ot which the aged pontiff
will probably die will be old age and
time, "under whose wings all things
wither."
Brooklyn Eagle: Cardinal Gibbons haa
a great many admirable qualities, but
he Is not a diplomat, and does not pre.
lend to be; he la not a profound scholar
nd he does not pretend to be; h Is not
an expert theologian, and he does not
pretend to be. And he understands very
wall that b mir will b pop.
IS ALCOHOL A FOOD?
Novel Experiment to Be Made to
Find Out;
Is alcohol a food? It Is more nourish
ing than bef tea? Prof. W. O. Atwater,
chief food expert in the employ of th
United States, proposes to solve these
questions by boxing up human subject
and feeding -them exclusively on alco
hol. In this project he is backed by
President Seth Low of Columbia uni
versity and a committee of fifty citi
zens. This is a proposition all the more sur.
prising in connection with the recent
discovery that meat extracts are stimu
lants, rather than foods, and that in
passing through the system they leave
nothing which permanently aids in
building or repairing blood, bone, brain,
or brawn.
The men on whom Prof. Atwater will
experiment as soon as the necessary
appropriation is made by the govern
ment will be taken to an especially
equipped laboratory at Mlddletown,
Conn. Through their aid he will de
termine exactly what happens to al
cohol and to body when the latter
contains the former. One at a time,
they will be subjected to solitary con
finement in an apparatus consisting
primarily of three hermetically sealed
concentric boxes, in other words, a cell
within a cell. They will be given alco
hol in various doses and under various
conditions.
Every particle of the occupant's ex
pired breath will be collected by a sys
tem of tubes and air pumps and anal
yzed for traces of alcohol. Every mole
cule of perspiration secreted upon his
skin and evaporated Into the rapidly
changing atmosphere will be as scrupo
lously searched. The air passing into
the chamber must be compared with
that passing out. Hence, both must be
analyzed. Just before admitted and
just after expelled the air current will
pass through U-shaped tubes contain
ing pumice saturated with concentrated
sulphuric acid. There will determine
the amount of water contained In th
air when it is admitted and when it ia
expelled. Similar tubes Ailed with soda
lime will show how much carbon diox
ide has been breathed out by the sub
ject. Others containing glass beads
drenched with other aolutions will serve
similar purposes, and thus by separat
ing the contents of the atmosphere It
will be an easy matter to detect th
amount of alcohol leaving the patient la
the form of vapor. Cold water tube
arranged Inside the cell will measure
the heat given off by the body.
By analyzing, weighing and measur
ing every drop of the alcohol supplied
to the subject through a tube, and by
subtracting from this the sum of all
that is given off by him In vapor or
otherwise during the experiment, it will
be possible to estimate the exact
amount retained by his body, assim
ilated and utilized in the formation ec
tissue or energy. If old-fashioned no
tions be true, a long series of expert
ments will prove that all of the alco
hol, or very nearly all, which haa beea
I supplied to the cell will come o ut
again. If the suspicions of several mod.
em dletarlans be true, the amount re
jected by the subject will be found
much smaller than that fed to him.
Of course, men will not be required
to subsist In this air-tight box for
days at a time without nourishment
other' than alcohol. By so doing the
dletarian would acquire responsibilities
more serious than bargained for. The
subject would And himself In a box fig
uratively as well at literally, while his
attendants would have a good-sized
hermetically sealed case of delirium
tremens on their hands. The "oil of
Joy" must be administered with other
food. It will be a simpler matter to
divide the period of each subject's con
finement into equal parts with menus
exactly uniform, except for an allow
ance of alcohol for one period and aa
enforced, abstinence therefrom during
another. Comparison will indicate how
the alcohol is disposed of and its Influ
ence In the digestion of the foods taken
with it. By comparing results obtained
with subjects who have been habitual
drinkers, the exact effect of the drink
ing habit upon the digestive system
may be learned.
By pursuing the Inquiry with large
numbers of subjects of various ages,
sexes, constitutions snd habits, it may
be estimated whether alcohol In the
diet is more injurious to a child than
to an adult, to a woman than to a
man, or to the weak, perhaps, than th
to the robust. It may be possible also
to discover at what time of day alco
hol is most injurious; whether It is mora
dangerous to drink It at night than la
the day time; Just before or just after
meals, sleep or' exercise. By altering
the temperature, moisture or pressure
of the air In the chamber, the exact
foundation data may be obtained; also
whether alcohol in some foods la mora
harmful than In others might be In-'
vestlgated. It Is well known, for In
stance, that the Frenchman, can drink
more wine and the German more beer
than the American. Is this due to a
difference In liquor or In the cllmat?
Hy dividing the time of the subject's
confinement Into periods of physical
exercise with gymnasium apparatus,
mental work with books or absolute
rest upon his folding cot, and. by di
rectly studying subjects of different oc
cupations, it may also be determined
whether the physiological effects of al
cohol are more or less Injurious to tho
laborer than to th student or t the
Idler.
Whatever they may develop. Prof. At
water's experiments will be of Interest,
for no investigator has ytt
in proving that alcohol, whoa i
In th stomach, Is niriasary Is aay i
to th norm at worfclfiss) sf tfes