30+ 
 
 C « t CO t CC « iCC H SK »< KO t CC « 
 
 THE 
 
 PHYSICAL SUFFERINGS 
 
 OF THE POOR 
 
 VIEWED FROM A 
 
 SANITARY AND SOCIOLOGICAL STANDPOINT 
 
 BY 
 
 Vd) 
 
 J. T. REID, M.D. 
 
 WITH 
 
 INTRODUCTORY NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 D. H. MacVICAR, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 Principal Presbyterian College, 
 Montreal. 
 
 AND 
 
 PROF. SCRIMGER, M.A., D.D. 
 
 WILLIAM DKYSDALE &- CO., 
 
 MONTREAL. 
 
P304- 
 
 •** 
 
THK 
 
 PHYSICAL SUFFERINGS 
 
 OF THE POOR 
 
 VIIWEU PROM A 
 
 Sanitary and Sociological Standpoint 
 
 BV 
 
 J. r. KEIIJ, IVI. ID. 
 
 WITH 
 
 INTRODUCTORV NOTliS 
 
 BY 
 
 D. H. MACVlCAR, D D., LI^.D. 
 
 PrtKcipiil FreshyteruiH Ci>Uei;e, 
 Mo HI re III. 
 
 ANU 
 
 F*ROF. SCRIXIGKR, M.A., 13.13. 
 
 ■•' •• ' •. •«• 
 
 ' .. . . 
 
 ..... 
 . • * . 
 
 
 WILLIAM DRYSDALE ^ CO., 
 
 MONTREAL. 
 
> • • • • 
 
 » • • • 
 
 • « • • * • 
 
IXTROULCTIUN. 
 
 These articles by Dr. Reid deal with questions of vital im- 
 portance, and he does well to issue them in a more pernuinent 
 form than that in which they first appeared. 
 
 They contain much valuable information, lucidly presented, 
 and should be widely read with the appreciation and deference 
 due to the utterances of a well-qualified medical practitioner, 
 of considerable experience. 
 
 Social questions are now deservedly attracting nuich at- 
 tention, and it is a cause for thankfulness that physicians are 
 becoming public teachers on sanitary subjects as well as on 
 the general laws of health. 
 
 This is both a legitimate and humane use of their pro- 
 fessional knowledge. It is well to fight disease by specific re- 
 medies, but It is still better to prevent it by inducing people 
 to pursue rational courses of conduct, and to establish in 
 their houses and surroundings, hygienic conditions which are 
 in a great measure safeguards against its ravages. 
 
 Even in the most advanced sections of society, there is yet 
 much to be done in order to secure this beneficent end. The 
 concerted action of all true social reformers is needed, and, 
 therefore, the silence of those most competent to speak, whe- 
 ther Christian ministers, physicians, or civic officers, is much 
 to be regretted. 
 
 My hope is that Dr. Reid's articles may stimulate inquiry 
 
 and discussion, and lead to practical action, in the cities, 
 
 towns and villages of our Dominion, where it is so manifestly 
 
 needed. 
 
 D. H. Mac\'icar. 
 
 iMoxTREAL, December, 1898. 
 
 Dr. Reid's papers on Sanitary Science are well written and 
 show an enthusiasm for the material welfare of the masses that 
 might well stimulate the authorities in our great cities to 
 some practical action. Of course something more is needed 
 for the salvation of the poor than sanitary measures, but 
 there can be no complete salvation without them. 
 
 John Scrlmger, D.D. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A Christian Ministtr who is the pastor of one of the lead- 
 ing churches of Loivlon, En^c^., says:— "The Chtirch in her 
 neglect to inculcate in the hearts of her nienihers that funda- 
 mental principle of Christianity — man's duty to his neigh- 
 bor — is in a measure untrue to the terms of Ikt high com- 
 mission, and is there])y giving proof to the world that she is 
 declining in usefulness. Should this course be continued, 
 the future history of our present Church will be no exception 
 to the general rule that, by a process of natural law. all 
 tilings that have outlived their usefulness are permitted to 
 atrophy, and ultimately to be sui)crseded by higher forms." 
 
 Although this view may I)e extreme, yet one camiot but 
 see that the poor continue to hunger for that sympathy which 
 they do not receive from us in an adeciuate degree, as well as 
 for the bread which they are too often unable to earn. 
 
 We are not doing all that Christ would have ] lis followers 
 do towards the mitigation of the untt)ld sufferings of our 
 brethren in the slums — sutferings largel\ due to jjoverty. 
 forced upon honest and industrious men and women by social 
 and economic conditions beyond their control. 
 
 These articles, first jnibbshed in The /'irshytcriaii Rrriczc, 
 appear in the present form, with the h«ipe that they mav in 
 some slight degree emphasize the truth, that loyalty to 
 Christ should manifest itself not only in love to Him, but 
 also in love to our neighbor. 
 
 MoxTRFAT.. December. 1898. 
 
 J. T. R. 
 
1\]R( )1JL■C1■(>K^■. 
 
 111 ruplyin,!:^ t(» a ikputatii mi irinii tlu- I'.(liiil>;ir^li l^'csby- 
 lcr\ . which mi 1S54 rcc|ucstc(l Lijivl ['ahncrsioii. as Prime 
 -Minister, to proi-hiiiii a fa>i. in onliT that the ravages (.-f 
 cholera, then e|)i(leniic. iiiiinht he sia\e(K that appareiitlv ir- 
 reverent hut practical and scientilic siatesnian (.'xpre-^ed the 
 ('.piniDii that nature had ])r()vided certain hiws for the pro- 
 tection of the health of the people, and that no (liirati(tn of a 
 fast could expiate the hreach of those laws. 
 
 Many al)le seriiioiis and niaii\- elaborate volumes have heeu 
 written by wortlu' men to reconcile science ami leliL^ii m. 
 I'.ut betwieii true science and true theoloi;)- there has always 
 been perfect harmony. True science is the true CMUcv'ptioii 
 of nature and of natural law. which were in the bei;innin_£j 
 created by (idd; true theology is the triU' conception of the 
 laws of ( iod in the spiritual world. There can be w > ci>n- 
 llict either between two spheres of life' <>y between twn sys- 
 tems of law of which the saiiu- uncb.aiisjx'able ( li id i> the Cre- 
 ator. The contlicts of the past have been waited between 
 scientists, who have too often been unscientitlc, and theolo- 
 gians, whose interi^retatioiis of (lod's Word have at times 
 been narrower than tho-,r of theologians of the ])re--ent day. 
 The seeminu' contradictions l)etween science and religion 
 have existed only within the narrower limits of the human 
 mind. Theologians have at times iminii^ned the truth of 
 ]-rinciples of natural science which can l)e comprehended onlv 
 by scientists; and scientists have too often denied the exist- 
 ence of that spiritual life which can be discerned only b\' the 
 spiritual. 
 
 If Lord ralmer>toii did not l)elievi' in ;i (Iod who was the 
 (lesii.;ner of natural law. he could not see that the laws of na- 
 ture were the laws of Cod; and the members of the Edin- 
 burgh rVesbvterv could not comi)rehend his reference to 
 nature's protection of human life — b\ natural law — because 
 tliey were not familiar with the laws of Sanitarv Science. 
 
 The human body being- the handiwork of (ukI. all in- 
 lluences which tend towards the developnient f>f physical ir.aii 
 are in harmonv with Tfis will; and anv human customs or en- 
 vironments whose influence retards that development are in 
 opposition to His will. A series of articles on "' Public 
 nealth " should not therefore seem out of place in a religious 
 
 I 
 
 60665 
 
journal. Jesus not only " Preached the doctrine of the King- 
 dom." hut went ahout " healing;- all manner of sickness and 
 all manner of disease ani(»ni4' the people" 
 
 While these articles will refer to puhhc health in ;^'eneral, 
 they will deal more especially with that of the poor, amoni^st 
 whom the coinparati\e death rates arc so extremely hitj^h that 
 tliey are a cause of i-ouw anxiety to all philanthropists. 
 
 Sanitary l^cience is as old as the days of Moses, llyjj^ienic 
 measures, as exemilitied in the Mo:«aic {.-iuW, account for 
 the extraordinary imnumity of the Jews from the recurring 
 epidemics of the Middle Ages, for the comparatively !ow 
 death-rates amongst that people in our dwn day. for their 
 greater cotnparati\'e longevity, and for their continued ex- 
 istence as a ])e(iple, after so many centuries of ban and per- 
 secution. 
 
 Tn the code of Lycurgus, sanitary measures were prominent, 
 yet the < ireeks knew nothing of Sanitary Science. They 
 acce])ted plague and ])estilence as manifestations of offended 
 deities. Their care and cultivation of their b<:)dies. however, 
 made them the civilizers of their own age and the exemplars 
 of ours. 
 
 The sanitary measures of the Romans, as seen amongst the 
 ruins of the C'am])agna. their Cloaca Maxima, and the ac|ue- 
 (lucl liy which the_\' supplied their city with the pure s])ring 
 water of the hills. 30 miles distant, have rarely heen equalled, 
 never surpassed in modern times; and yet th(jse who have 
 studied the causes of the decline and ultimate fall of that Em- 
 ]>ire. attribute that fall in no small degree to the epidemics 
 which repeatedly decimated the population in the early cen- 
 turies. 
 
 When one reads of the insanitary condition of the houses 
 of the Europe of the Middle Ages, he is not surprised in 
 reading of epidemics such as the "black death'' of the 14th 
 century, which overran all Europe, bringing death to 25,oo<d,- 
 
 000 of people — one-fourth of the population. 
 
 When in 1666, the plague was stayed in London by the 
 "great tire." which swept away the overcrowded and in- 
 sanitary houses, men began to see glimpses of the principles 
 of Sanitary Science. Yet during all the ensuing two cen- 
 turies there seems to have been very little, if any. application 
 
 01 those principles in the sanitation of cities. Even at so 
 late a period as the 17 years between 1837 and 1854. Cdasgow 
 had six epidemics of cholera and typhus fever; and during that 
 17 years, out of every 1000 of the pupulation. 295 died. 
 
Of the British soldiers lost in the Crimean War, only 17 
 per cent, died in battle and from wounds received in battle, 
 while 83 ])er cent, died of cholera and other diseases pro- 
 duced b}' insanitation. 
 
 About the middle of the present century, the principles ot 
 Sanitary Science, of which men had seen j^limpses joo years 
 previously, began to be applied. Jt was about that time that 
 Lord I'aimersWi taught the people of Edinburgh the les- 
 son referred to above. 
 
 THE UNNATURALNESS OF LIFE IN LARGE CITIES. 
 
 ( )1 the many phases of present sociological questions, that 
 of the public health of the poor is of paramount importance. 
 In comparison with this question, financial and all other 
 sociological problems are secondary. Xot only is this cpies- 
 tion one of vital importance to the poor themselves. l)Ut from 
 a humanitarian stand])oint, it is a vital question with all true 
 ])liilanthropists. Even from the standpoint of self-interest it 
 should be studied by the weakhy. One Fifth Avenue. New 
 York, the death rate is of course much lower than that of 
 Ward XI. in the same city, and no one can say how nnich 
 lower the death rate of the former would be were it not for 
 the zvmotic (infections) diseases which very largely account 
 for the high death rate of the latter. When in "Alton Locke" 
 Charles Kingsley tells of the infection (^f the house of the 
 rector by the contagion conveyed from the house of tlie poor 
 tailor, he gives an instance r.imilar to thousands of cases 
 in the annual death-rate of every large city. From a sani- 
 tary standpoint it is to every man's own interest to be iiis 
 brother's keeper. 
 
 And from a patriotic standpoint this question is one of 
 importance, (iladstonc says;— "The noblest work of the 
 statesman is that done to raise the standard of public health." 
 Carl vie sa^■s:— 'The value of the population is the most im- 
 portant factor in national wealth. Tlie greatest state is that 
 which produces the brawniest breed of men." Ruskin says: — 
 "The veins of true wealth are purple, not in rock but in hu- 
 man flesh. The divine intent of all wealth is the produc- 
 tion of sturdv men anrl full-breasted, bright-eyed, happy- 
 hearted, women and children." Prof. Seeley says:— "The 
 health of the people is the essential factor in national pros- 
 perity, hence prevailing disease tends not only to deteriora- 
 tion of the race but to national decline. Rome failed with 
 the failure of her crops — of men." 
 
8 
 
 Lord Lyttou says: — "Alan is born on a battlc-iiclcl. His 
 own mother — tierce nature herself— is his foe. Her snows 
 fall to freeze him; her suns burn to l)rantl: her rocks rise to 
 crush; while the lion and leopard lurk to rush on their startled 
 invader." Now the phrases — "his own mother" and "tierce 
 nature" are a contradiction in terms. Saying- that nature is 
 at enmity with man is merely saying that she is at enmity w ith 
 herself — man being- a i)art of nature. When man ignores the 
 laws of nature, which are the laws of God, he becomes not 
 cHdy his own enem\- l)ut the enemy of his race. Man has 
 ignored these laws in all ages and continues to do so. True, 
 he does so ignoranily, as a rule, but too often he does so 
 wilfully. .Man himself, not nature, is the enemy of man. 
 Even the lion and leopard, which are merely representatives 
 of the age of violence (an age which is gradtially j)assing 
 away) will become extinct with the extinction of their jungle 
 lurking jjlaces. 
 
 For the safety of human life nature provides a system of 
 natural sanitation which wouUl be et^cient if her laws were 
 known and honored;., and if her beneficent designs were not 
 frustratetl by the cuncentration of human life in large and 
 dense centres of ])opulation. a condition which is the direct 
 result of om present economic system. 
 
 Having made the discovery of the germ theory of zymotic 
 disease, I'asteur in his enthusiasm said: — "It is now in the 
 power of man to cause infectious diseases to disa])pear from 
 the face of the earth." When Lifter, as a direct residt of 
 Pasteur's discovery, began to a])ply that ]M-inciple to surgery, 
 he imroduced a system which has been the means of saving 
 the lives of millions of human beings, yet that system is 
 nierely a smrdl part of the system of unixersal hygiene wliich 
 nature has been |)ractising since natural laws were first framed. 
 
 Many of the lower forms of life are natures worlcmen in 
 this system of sanitation, acting, as they do, as scavengers, 
 devouring dead organic matter either before or after the set- 
 ting in of the jirocess of decom|)osition. and in this way yn'o- 
 tecting the living from the dead. Dect)m]v)sition itself is 
 nature's plan for the destruction of organic waste matter, a 
 process which is effected by the agency of lower organisn-is, 
 some of which are visil)le to the naked eye, many of which 
 are visible only under a microscope. The atmosiiherc supplies 
 the oxygen and nitrogen for the oxidation and nitrilication of 
 the products of decomposition. By a process yet unknown to 
 scientists, sunlight acting upon the oxygen and u])on the aque- 
 ous vapor of the atmos])here. forms ozone, the most powerful 
 
9 
 
 (jxidizer. Ozone is formed also by the action of electricity 
 upon the oxy<^en of the air durini;- thnnder-stonns. Then the 
 rains fall. Hushing from the surface of the earth antl from 
 the air the products of these processes. 
 
 And a very necessary and ver}- important tinal step is tlie 
 destruction of the ])atlio,qenic sj^erms. the aj^ents in the pro- 
 cess of decomptjsition, which, durini^ that process, increase 
 in million-fold proportion, and would if not destroyed l^e a 
 menace io human life, hor si)me years before it was clearly 
 kuiiwn just Ikjw sunlig'ht acted in the destruction of pathn- 
 lienic iLTerm-life it was known tliat sunlight was a i^ermicide. 
 DuriuL;' hi> recent researches Prof. Kanisay has discovered 
 that the violet and the ultra-violet rays of lii^ht. acting- uiion 
 ort^anic matter, ])roduce pert)xide oi hydrogen, one of the 
 most effective g'ermicides. 
 
 There are some thin,L;s in c<»nnection \\ith tlie aciion of 
 smiliji'lit which scientists do not }"et clearly understand. I'u- 
 ture scientific investi.qation concerning' the action ' >f sun- 
 li,Q"ht u])i»n ari^nju and kryi)t<>n. the elements of tlie atn.os- 
 [diere recently discovered 1)y Ramsay, will probably reveal 
 more clearly the beneficent ])rovisi()ns of nature for the 
 \' ell-beinij of man. 
 
 Pii]>pocrates said: — "In order to enjoy o-,;od health man 
 nnist lead a natural life. The farther he removes himself from 
 nature, the worse v>ill be his <i-eneral health. T!u- chief ends 
 tn health are pure air, pure water, pure and suflicient food, 
 cleanliness, rest, warmth, exercise and ease (^f mind." Durins^ 
 the intL-rveninu' two thousand years meilical science has made 
 no cliancie in that list of essentials. Were men livium" in har- 
 mc^nv with nature's laws all these essentials would be •secured, 
 l)Ut the present overti^rowth of cities renders this iim)ossible. 
 
 We shut out from our cities the lower forms of animal life, 
 nature's -^ca\-en,yers. and substitute sanitary ofliccrs who, as 
 a rule, do their work less efficiernl\- and much less faithfully. 
 We build lii^-h buildinirs u]")on both sides of narrow -treets. 
 thus preveminir the free supi^lv of nature's disinfecting- smi- 
 shine. A\'e permit refuse ori^anic matter to accumulate ui)on 
 our streets, more especiallv in those parts of the citv in- 
 habited l)v the poor. This matter forms culture t)eds for 
 toxic i^erms which are bl nvn witli tlie dust to all ])arts of the 
 citv. We cover over acres of i^-round with wot^den side- 
 walks under which the accunnilated (i'-h7'i< of successive de- 
 cades is permitted to continue its fmiction of oerm culture 
 mider the most favorable circumstances, 'irotected as it is 
 from the rains, fre^h air and sunshine. When tb.e material 
 
10 
 
 of this pavement is itself in a semi-decayed state, as it usu- 
 ally is in the pocjrer parts of our cities, this evil is nuich in- 
 creased. The late Astronomer Royal, of Ireland, said: — "Of 
 all the sunshine ra Hated throughout the solar system not a 
 siui^le ray is k)st." Such was the design of nature, but in the 
 modern city many a ray is lost. 
 
 With a wider kMowledge of the fundamental principles of 
 Sanitary Science in the minds of men, one would expect to 
 find all our large cities well supplied with ])arks and squares 
 where might grow plants and shrubs and flowers and trees, 
 which in addition to the benign influence of their beauty 
 upon the aesthetic nature of man, purify the atmosphere from 
 the baneful gasefuis ])roducts of animal life, and, at the same 
 time, replenisli the store of vitalizing oxygen in the atmos- 
 ])here: where little children might find more inviting and less 
 pernicious {)la}'-grounds than lanes, yards and dusty streets; 
 where men and wcMuen after a day of toil in shop and fact3ry 
 and kitchen might find pure air and recreating rest; and where 
 the people might for a tiiue free themselves from the degener- 
 aling artificialness of citv life and come into elevating contact 
 with the beaiuies of nature. London and other Eiu'opean 
 centres are liberally sujiplied with such squares and parks, but 
 in our Canadian and American cities, where real estate is too 
 often of more value than human life, their number is far too 
 small, while in some cities a po]')ular agitation is at times ne- 
 cessary in order to retain the very small number which they 
 now have. 
 
 T?TE IMPURE WATER SUPPLY OF CITIES. 
 
 In the towns and cities of China, the most ef^cient health 
 officers are the gardeners and small farmers, who c<-)llect the 
 garbage and other refuse matter fotuid in the lanes, yards and 
 streets, and haul this home to be used as a fertilizer for their 
 land. An American tourist says that the fertility of the land 
 contiguous to the populous centres of China proves that there 
 is no othc- land-fertilizer superior to the detritus of a city. 
 The same writer says that Paris and London annually throw 
 millions into the sea. 
 
 The Chinese method is nature's plan for the replenishing 
 o\ the soil and for the protection of human life by the safe 
 disposal of organic waste. In addition to the purifying ef- 
 fects of air and sunshine, to which garl)age is exposed when 
 spread over the land as a fertilizer, it is brought into con- 
 tact ^vith disinfectants and deodorants which the soil itself 
 contains. 
 
11 
 
 We are begining to imitate nature's plan. The 5000 acre 
 tewage farm at Paris was once barren sand. The beautiful 
 tiowers of Covent Garden are grown upon a sewage farm. 
 The College of St. Laurent, Montreal, has recently adoi)ted 
 this method for the disposal of sewage and garbage, while 
 the City of Montreal is at present considering the adoption 
 of that system. 
 
 Of course it is impracticable to dispose of all the detritus 
 of large cities in this way, therefore we send it by stream and 
 river to the sea. Now in the sea it does little harm, being there 
 diluted by the waters of the sea and puritied by the salt: but 
 the human life along the streams, which carry it to the sea, 
 suffers. This system of the pollution of streams was stigma- 
 tized by the late Ernest Hart as "the opprobrium of Samtary 
 Science, in short a sanitary crime." In a sample of water 
 taken from the Ottawa river a few miles above the City of 
 (Htawa there were found only 20 bacteria in the cubic centi- 
 metre. In a sample taken from that river a few miles below 
 that city there were found 1530. 
 
 ( )f the typhoid fever of England and Wales the British 
 Medical Journal states that 40 per cent, is due to the eating 
 oi' shell-fish found in coast waters contaminated by sewage. 
 Since this is true of the shell-fish, what can be said of the 
 water of the streams into which the sewers empty, and which, 
 when used by the people, has neither been diluted nor puri- 
 fied by the salt coast waters where the shell-fish are found (?) 
 
 In a small village of New York State, situated on the head 
 waters of the Mohawk river, there occurred a short time ago 
 a few sporadic cases of typhoid fever. During the ensuing 
 six months, every town on the Mohawk below that village, 
 and every town on the Hudson below the mouth of the Mo- 
 hawk, whose inhabitants used river water, had an epidemic 
 of that disease. The origin of a recent epidemic of typhoid 
 fever at W'indsor, Ontario, was traced to a brewery stable, on 
 the bank of the river, a few miles above the town, where, dur- 
 ing a freshet, the river water used by the people came into 
 contact with a pile of manure, one of the most prolific cul- 
 ture-beds for pathogenic germs. 
 
 In h'ngland and Wides, from 1871 to 1893, there were 206 
 extensive epidemics of this disease, involving grievous ex- 
 pense, nnich untold mental and ])hysical sufTcring, together 
 with the loss of thousands of lives. Since that period £1.- 
 000.000 has been expenderl in Etigland and Wales in the 
 purification of streams, with results so satisfactory, that in 
 1897 Ernest Hart estimated that already, as a direct result 
 
12 
 
 C'i that expenditure, the population oi Enj^land and Wales 
 was i,()oo.(xx) more than it \v(juld otherwise have been. 
 
 Nature's j)lan is hhraticm. In this respect the Romans of 
 2,000 }ears as^o were wiser than we. J'hey sujjplied their 
 city wuh the water from the hills — nature's iilters — which 
 were tiiirty miles iiistant. lUit we too are bej^inning' to imi- 
 tate nature. Jn S'.'veral American cities the system of filtra- 
 tion has been ado )ie(l. In L.awrence, ]\lass., that svstem has 
 reduced the death-rate from typhoid fever 60 per cent. 
 
 If (ialen were to revisit the earth and find the itdiabitants 
 (>i highly cnhin-ed cities usin^- water such as the citizens of 
 our cities nmst use. lie might dniibt whether nuich advance 
 had l)een made in civilization during;' tlu' iuterveninL;" cen- 
 tiu-ies. 
 
 We are cimtidentl} inld by the officers of health dep;u"t- 
 nients of the settlinj.;' l)asins throuj^li which the supply of 
 water passes on its way to the reservoirs, and where it is 
 said, the im])tuMties are se|)arated by serlimentation. The 
 comparatively small ])ercentat^e of the impurities which may 
 b'C sejiaraied b\ sedimentation remains in the settlin,^' basins 
 and c()mes into contact with subsecpient suii])Hes of water, so 
 that it is (juestionable whether tlie water in the reservoirs is 
 purer or nmre im])m"e than it was before its alleg'ecl purifica- 
 lion l)y sedi!ueniatiun. I'.ut tlie more serious ])hase of this 
 cjuestion is the fact that in every lary-e city every year 
 tliere are nuich sufteriniLr and serious death-rates from typlioid 
 fever, .and tliat a large majority of tlie cases are caused by the 
 imiiurities of the w.'Uer which is tised !)>■ the people. 
 
 \\ ith the (ie\'elo])ment of a higher public intelligence and 
 a more liighlv educated jiublic conscience' the real worth of 
 human life will be more full\- and more clearly appreciated. 
 \\'hen that time shall have come more humane laws for tlie 
 greater ])rotection of human life will be framed and enforced. 
 
 I'.ven thoroug"hly efiuiiijUMl s\ stems for the ])urification of 
 streams for filtration and for sewage farms would not coun- 
 teract the unnaim-al concentration of hmnan life in large and 
 densel\- |)Ojndated centres; but during the i)resent age it 
 would be impossible for our legislators to rec(^gniz" the ])CO- 
 ]^le's inliereut right to the soil; therefore the best t, . can be 
 done is to strive for the attainable, leaving" ])rcsent inu^ossi- 
 Inlities to be accomplished bv some futm"e and more i)hilan- 
 thronic generation of men who will be able to devise means 
 for the relief of povertx' bv some meth(^d which will elevate 
 the masses of the i^oor rather than patiperize them. 
 
 Ciladstone once said of ( )'ronuell that his chief character- 
 
13 
 
 istic was his passion of philanthropy. Witli the liii^herdcve- 
 lepnicnt of man there will arise a greater number of men 
 whose hearts throb with that passion of philanthropy which will 
 transform our present nnmicipal and political systems into 
 tile nobler and purer systems where intellii;ence will rule and 
 \v]iere the self-seeker nuist ,<;ive place to the philanthropist. 
 
 THE HOUSES OF THE POOR AXD THEH^ 
 
 LOCATIONS. 
 
 Even in the best modern houses, in the most sanitary dis- 
 tricts of a city, we cannot protect human life from the patho- 
 l(\u^ical effects of the gToss defects of our present system of 
 (hainai^e. The only partition between the atmosphere of our 
 h.ouses and the poisiMious j^^ases i^-enerated in our im])erfectly 
 \ cntilated sewers is a small ([uantity of water contained in the 
 siphon-pipe which we call the tra]). This is too often a death- 
 trap. ( )ther oases are absorbed by and pass throui^h water. 
 cUid it has never been i)roved that sewer ,c:as also does no: do 
 So. In winter when our sewer ventilators are covered with 
 snow our sewers are not ventilated at all. while our hou-e- 
 drains are not ventilated either in sunmier or in winter. IJoth 
 house-drains and sewers should be thorougidy ventilated 1)\ 
 uicans of drain ventilating pipes running up through the roof, 
 and sewer ventilating ])ipes rising above the level of the sn-ow. 
 The houses of the poor are very imperfectly ventilated. 
 Built as thev arc. over dimly lighted and ]-)oorly ventilated cel- 
 lars, or what is worse, no cellars at all. with n<:) ventilatimi of 
 tiiC space beneath the floor; with small rooms, especially the 
 bed-rooms, which ought to be the largest rooms: with low 
 ceilings; with no mechanical means of ventilati«">n ; and with a 
 general lack of intelligence amongst the poor regardiug the 
 deleterious effects of imperfect ventilation, one may expect, 
 often to find a state of impaired general health, due to the 
 . effects of impure air. When one remembers that in addi- 
 tion to the insanitary condition of the houses of the poor, 
 there is often scant v clothing, improper and insufficient food, 
 together with debilitating anxieties and worries which are the 
 concomitants of povertv, he is not surprised to find that the 
 general health of the living is much impaired, and that the 
 death-rate is much higher tlian that of those in more fortun- 
 ate circumstances. 
 
 A dilapidated house upon an elevated spot on a farm or 
 upon a choice villa site, with a permeable subsoil sloping to- 
 Avards the south, is a more sanitarv residence than a brown 
 
14 
 
 stone-front would be on the flat, low-lying, undrained soil, with 
 inipermeable subsoil upon which parts of most cities are 
 built. For ob/ious reasons these are the parts usually in- 
 habited by th( poor. 
 
 A still more insanitary site is that found in almost all cities — 
 the made lands — the lands which have been elevated from 
 the beds of fcrmer streams and from swamps and marshes by 
 the dumping of the detritus of the city during the days of 
 less stringer.t sanitary laws. Such soil being super-satur- 
 ated with moisture, contains no ground air, hence this organic 
 m'ltter continues to supply to successive generations the noxi- 
 ous etlluvia of disease. In these undrained districts there is, 
 of course, in the superimposed atmosphere an excess of hu- 
 midity which greatly interferes with the action of sunlight; 
 tlie electric tension of the atmosphere and also that of the 
 human body is decreased; and the function of the skin as an 
 excretory organ is impaired; hence the tone ot general health 
 l<ecomes lower, hence a lessened force of vitality and thcre- 
 iovc a lower resisting power against all forms of disease. 
 
 \\ hile such a condition is the predisposing cause of many 
 diseases, it is especially so of pulmonary consumption, a dis- 
 ease so prevalent that it has been called the scourge of man- 
 kind. In i8y7 ten per cent, of the deaths in London. Eng- 
 land, were due to this disease; in New York twelve per cent. 
 In the latter city 6,000 people die annually from this disease. 
 At the end of 1897 New York had 20,000 cases. In former 
 times it was considered to l)e hereditary, but it is now known 
 to be a zymotic disease. Although the producing germ can- 
 not be transmitted from ]jarent t(j child, yet the lower vital 
 tone is hereditary, hence in the children of consumi)tive pa- 
 rents, there is a lower resisting power against the inroads of 
 the invading germ. 
 
 Although this disease is caused by a pathogenic germ, yet 
 its predisposing causes are dampness, impure air, and lower- 
 ed vitality. Health statistics of England and the New Eng-, 
 land States show that on flat, low-lying lands, with impervi- 
 ous subsoil, the death-rates from this disease are much 
 higher than in well-drained districts having a porous sub- 
 soil. In Banbury, England, a thorough system of drainage 
 has reduced the former death-rate from this disease 41 per 
 cent.; in Rugby 43 per cent.; in Ely 47 per cent.; and in Salis- 
 bury 49 per cent. This death-rate declines in proportion to 
 the distance from the coast. In Massachusetts and other 
 Slates bordering on the Atlantic this death-rate is high. Go- 
 ing west it graduallv declines until in Colorado it is onlv eight 
 
15 
 
 per cent, and in L'tah only 6 per cent, of all deaths; while on 
 tlie i'acihc slope it again increases with the decrease of ihe 
 distance from the ocean. 
 
 The salutary effects of good drainage of the soil upon the 
 health of the people may be seen in the higher physical de- 
 velopment of the ndiabitants of mountainous countries. W'liile 
 this is, of course, not the only cause, it is no doubt one of the 
 chief causes of the more salubrious condition of mountain- 
 ous regions. 
 
 Although both cold and warm damp climates predispose 
 ro consumption, yet the latter are the more injurious. Now, 
 as a rule, the temperature of the houses of the poor is too high, 
 tliat is, when they can afford the necessary fuel. While ihe 
 cause of this, in a large percentage of cases, is insufficient 
 ck)thing, it is no doubt very often due co a lack of know- 
 ledge concerning the injurious effects. To guard against this 
 disease the essential requisites are a cool, pure, dry air :'or 
 the lungs, and warmth for the skin, together with a proper 
 and a sufficient amount of nourishment for the whole body. 
 Given, a dilapidated house in an undrained district, built over 
 a damp cellar, which is merely a marsh on a small scale (and 
 all cellars in such districts are damp, if not built damp-]n-oof; 
 and they rarely arc so built); with small, poorly ventilated 
 rooms; with a too high artificial temperature in the house in 
 winter, and a too high natural temperature in summer; with a 
 scanty supply of proper food; and with insufficient clothing, 
 and we have the best (or the worst) possible conditions for tlie 
 propagation of this disease. 
 
 Besides, being a zymotic disease, it is of course infectious. 
 In the older districts of all large cities, the majority of the 
 houses have been occupied, during several generations, by 
 many different families. This means that in a large percent- 
 age of these houses there have been cases of consumption. In 
 Wards 4 and 6 in New York, 40 per cent, of the houses have 
 been found to be infected. And the houses of the poor are very 
 rarely renovated and not often disinfected. 
 
 Finding these conditions more or less common amongst 
 54 per cent, of tlie people of the United Kingdom, 40 per 
 cent, of the people of the United States and 25 per cent, of the 
 people of Canada, one can readily understand why so many 
 contract this disease; and knowing how- little can be done by 
 IMedical Science to check its ravages where it has gained a 
 foothold, one can see why it has been called the scourge of 
 mankind. 
 
 The most hopeful sign for its future control is the estab- 
 
16 
 
 lishnicnt of sanitariums for the isolation of phthisical patients. 
 But while a larj^e percentage of the people continue to live 
 under conditions which are favorable to the propagation of 
 the disease, the effect of the isolation of those wlio have al- 
 ready contracted it will be limited. Only radical measures — 
 the removal of the predisposing causes — will prove of nmch 
 benefit. 
 
 THE HEALTH OF THE P(X)R. 
 
 Although the sanitation of the streets, lanes and yards of 
 a city is a (iuesti(^n of great importance, yet the sanitary state 
 of the lunises is of greater im])ortance still. 
 
 The New York health report for 1897 shows that the high- 
 est death-rates occurred, not in the densest, but in the oldest 
 districts of the city where there are still to be found the dila- 
 pidated houses, built, many of them, more than a century ago, 
 l)cfore the days of Sanitary Science, and in which the owners 
 liave not yet seen it to be to their own interests to make mo- 
 dern sanitary improvements. For obvious reasons, the in- 
 hal)itants of such districts are the poor. 
 
 In the districts of London where the Peabody Trust Co., 
 and the Improved Industrial Dwellings Co., have provided 
 sanitary houses for 50,000 people, the death-rate has been re- 
 duced from 26 to ]6. 
 
 As an indication of the condition of the majority of tiie 
 houses of .\merican and Canadian cities it may be said that 
 in i8(;4 in Philadelphia 82 per cent, of the houses had no 
 l)ath-rooms. Jn the same year in Xew York 96 per cent, 
 had none. 
 
 And in the cities and town., of Canada a large i)ercentagc 
 of houses are defective in this, and in many other respects. 
 Tn some of these cities and towns ten per cent, of the houses 
 arc without the convenience of closets. This means the ex- 
 istence of out-door privy pits with their death-dealing mias- 
 nuita. Tn the flistricts in one large city where those abound, 
 the death-rate in 1896 was 40 — while in the l)ctter parts of 
 the city it was ejnly 13. 
 
 During the last half-century Sanitary Science has done 
 much for the greater protection of human life. The death- 
 rate of Glasgow in 1855 was 41; in 1895 it had been reduced 
 to 35. That of Xew York in 1853 was 34, in 1897 it had 
 been reduced to 19. With such unequal odds to contend 
 against — poverty with over-crowding and other concomitants 
 of poverty — .Sanitary Science could not have been expected 
 to do more. 
 
17 
 
 In ihe propagaiiuii (^f all diseases, over-crowding has a 
 baneful inthience. In Whitcchapel the density oi junnau 
 hte to tile acre i^ ,^00; in llethnal Green 3O5; an area in Paris 
 430; Ward XI. Xew ^■()rk 800. In districts in England where 
 the average proximity of human life is 147 yards, the mean 
 duration ui life is 51 years; in Manchester, where this jjroxi- 
 niily is 17 yards, the <luration of life is _'y years; ami in Liver- 
 pool, where the proximity is only 7 yards, the duration of life 
 is only 26 years. In districts in England with a density of 
 human life of 650 to the square mile the death-rate is Jo, and 
 iu districts with (jooo to the S(|uare mile the death-rate is 30. 
 laking 100 as the standard: — In 1896 in England and Wales 
 the death-rate in the agricultural districts was 68; in London 
 \i was 114; in the industrial centres 124; that of farm labijrcrs 
 63, and that of laljorers in the industrial centres 150. In the 
 two last rates occupation had a certain influence. ( )f the 31,- 
 000,000 of England and Wales 2q.(X)0,ooo live in towns and 
 cities. In (_"anada and the United States the percentage of 
 the population is e\ery year increasing in cities and towns. 
 
 Overcrowding and insanitation are not, however, the only 
 causes of high death-rates amongst the poor. Prt)f. Seeley 
 says: — "The prevailing diseases of the slums are diseases of 
 society, being due to poverty and i)overty being a disease of 
 the state." In 1897 the deatli-rate of West London was 15, 
 v.hile that of East London Avas 21. That of St. tieorge's dis- 
 trict, W.L., was 12. while that of St. George's district E.L., was 
 2y. That of Ualsall Heath, Birmingham, was 15. while that of 
 St. Mary's Ward, jjirmingham, was 2H. In 1896, in Mont- 
 real, the death-rate in what is known as "the city above the 
 hill" was 13, while that in the p(j(Drer districts of the city was 
 50 to 150 ]>er cent, higher. 
 
 This cruel. 1)ecause ])reventable, tax on human life falls with 
 immense over-])ro])ortion ui)on the poor and more especially 
 upon the chihlren oi the poor. A certain disease of child- 
 it n, due to lack of proper and sufficient nourishment in an 
 insanitary environment, is so common in England that on the 
 Continent it is called "the English disease." 
 
 The children of the poor do not receive proper 
 care. In London, in 1897. the death-rate of children 
 under one year of age was 159 out of every 1.000 born. In 
 the same year that rate in the industrial centres of England 
 was i88. In giving these figures The British Medical Jounml 
 says:— ''lentil the children of women aaIio must work in fac- 
 tories arc svmpathetically cared for and projierly fed. this 
 appalling infant mortality must remain a blot upon the sys- 
 
18 
 
 tcni of Icnialc factor} labor." The editor might justly have 
 added that female factory labor is a blot upon oui civilization. 
 
 When Lobden hrst urged .Mr. Uright to come to his help 
 in the struggle f(jr the repeal of the Corn-Laws his argument 
 was that "IhousanJs of women and children in England are 
 starving because of dear bread." In the very heart oi our 
 vaunted civilizatio-i of the present day, bread, although so 
 cheap is yet too dtar for very many who are too i)oor to buy, 
 and so, thousand;-, of overworked mothers sigh and weep 
 while their half-starved and half-naked children sicken, and 
 moan, and die. 
 
 In the days of chivalry the highest ideal of manhood was 
 the gallant knight who held it to be his highest duty to do 
 battle in the cause of helpless women and defenceless children. 
 
 Jt is ditticult to witness the struggle for existence on the 
 part of the masses of the poor in European centres and also 
 in our large American and Canadian cities and still continue 
 to be optimistic. But in the past mankind has been gra- 
 dually tending towards a higher civilization. Xot many 
 years have elapsed since in English cc^Uieries women were 
 employed to do the work of beasts of l)urden. The majesty 
 of English law is now more humane, so that such inhumanity 
 is no longer permitted. And in the future as in the past the 
 tendenc)- will be upward, and with mc^-e ra])id strides, until 
 liumanity shall have reached that plain where the i)rime ob- 
 ject of law will be, not chiefly the fostering- of conunercial 
 enterprise and the protection of property but the mitigation 
 of human suffering and the protection of human life which 
 is of such real worth that for its sustenance all material re- 
 sources were created. 
 
 Although high death-rates are appalling, yet they are mere- 
 ly indications of the pitiable load of physical sufifcring which 
 is continuously borne by the heavily-laden poor. Even death 
 brings with it its consolations. Rut for the iihysical suffering 
 of those who survive the attacks of disease there is in the 
 slum life of cities no brighter prospect than probable future 
 sufifering with little consolation, with limited mcav.s of pre- 
 vention, and with no means of redress. 
 
 In his Edinburgh address Lord Lister said: — 'T regard all 
 w(^rldly distinctions as nothing in comparison with the hope 
 that T may have been the means of reducing in seme degree 
 the sum of human misery." When all physicians, clcrgvmcn. 
 and lep-islators shall have risen to that unselfish and Christ- 
 like ideal of life what extensive and largelv neelcctcd fields 
 thev will find in the slums of all large cities ! The reward of 
 their labors will be greater than all worldlv distinctions. 
 
19 
 
 V Pu\ liRTV UNJ-: OF THI- CHIEF CAUSES OF 
 
 1. INSAxNUTV. 
 
 t. The increase of insanity during the past few years gives a 
 ' new f(3rcc to the old maxim : — "Mens saiia in corporc sano." 
 ' The popular impression amongst the laity is that that increase 
 » is due to the increased use of alcoholic iKverages; l)ut al- 
 , . though in mmierous cases of insanity alcohol has been the 
 cause, vet it is only a secondary cause. In the past, physi- 
 cians have usually considered heredity, alcohol, specific dis- 
 ease, undue mental exertion, and the worries of business Hfe 
 as the causes of this increase of insanity. P.ut the chief in- 
 crease has been amongst the poor, with whom heredity has no 
 greater force than amongst other classes. Their life does 
 not call for greater mental exertion, neither do they exiiend 
 more mental energv in the worries of l)usiness life, while it 
 would be difficult to prove that they indulge in greater ex- 
 cesses in baccho cf vcncre. But the standard of physical health 
 amongst the poor is very much lower than that of oVwcv 
 classes, with greater mental depression, and with more hm- 
 ited opportunities for that mental recreation which is so es- 
 "isential to mental health. 
 
 That the effect of poverty is the chief cause for the m- 
 crease of insanitv will, to many readers, appear so extremel\ 
 incredible that other and higher authority must be cited. 
 
 Horatio Wood says:— 'Tnsanity bears a close relation to 
 physical disease. The latter impairs and exhausts the nutri- 
 tion of the brain centres. This exhaustion and imi^airment, 
 together with lack of proper and sufficient nourishment, is 
 capable of causing mental disease." 
 
 Eskridge savs:— "Anv cause which interferes with the pro- 
 per nutridon of the boc'lv and consequently of the brain pre- 
 disposes to nervous break-down and therefore to pronounced 
 
 mental disease." , ... ,., 
 
 Osier says:— "The chief cause of insanity is that life so 
 common iii large cities— so well expressed by the phrase:— 
 •burning the candle at both ends.' " 
 
 Mickle savs:— "Phvsical disease, hardships, starvation or 
 
 any other cause which tends to lower the nutrition of the 
 
 higher nerve centres in the brain may produce weakness of 
 
 " the will, and when a man's will is too weak to control his 
 
 emotional nature he is to that degree insane." 
 
 Some of these conditions exist, it is true, amongst aU class- 
 es, but all of them, and to a much greater degree, amongst 
 the poor. 
 
20 
 
 111 his address oii I'sycholoj,^}-, read at the July, i8y8, nicci 
 iiii; <tt the r.ritish Alechcal Association, .Sir Joliii Juitt\- iidn 
 1 rot. ot Menial l)i>eases in the Roya! College ol I'-diiibiirgli, 
 says: — ".\)illa iiicits iiisniia nisi in corporc insano, expresses Liu 
 I'Tinciple w hich i^ ret^ulatiny;' (jur concei)tioii and our practic* 
 II: re.speet ot all Jie oondiiions coini)rised under the i^enerK 
 Icnn ni.^anil}." 
 
 A large percentage of men and women are so weakly en 
 (lowed mentally as to be wholl\ unlit for any but the most ] 
 primitive lt)rm of citizenship. With quiet natural environ- 
 nieiit the\- couLl pass life in full possession of their normal 
 mental powers, but subjected as they are to our complex mo- 
 dern ci\ilixation, which requires greater mental energy anci 
 activity to gain a liveliluxjd, they weaken and falter in tin 
 struggle, sink into the pauper ranks, which are the recruiting 
 camps from which we draw our ever increasing army of the 
 insane. 
 
 In 1859 the number of lunatics in I'Jigland and Wales was 
 36,700, one to every 536 of the population, in i8(j6 that num- 
 ber had been increased to 96,400, one to every 319 of the 
 population, an increase of 162 per cent., while the jiopula- 
 ti*jn during that time increased only 56 per cent. During that 
 period tlie pauper class of lunatics increased 178 per cent., 
 while the [)rivate class — the well-to-do — increased only 76 
 per cent. 
 
 In London in i8(j6 the number of pauper lunatics was 19,- 
 254. In 1897 that number was increasetl to 19,954 — an in- 
 crease in one year of 700, or nearly four i)er cent., while dur- 
 ing that year the i)opulati(jn increased only three-tifths of one 
 l)er cent. In that \ear there was no increase in the number 
 Ol private lunatics. 
 
 In Canada and the United States statistics show a still 
 greater increase of lunatics in proportion to the increase of 
 population, but owing to the fact that until quite recently we 
 had no regulated system for the com])ilation of statistics no 
 fair comparison can be made, liut we have figures suf^cient- 
 ly reliable t(i s]u)w that the increase of insanity in Canada is 
 such as to be a cause of some anxiety to those who are in- 
 terested in the future well-being of the State. 
 
 The British Mcdicul Journal oi July 6, 1898, .says: — "Lunatics 
 are increasing at an alarming and an astonishing rate. This 
 is becoming so griev(^us a burden that the ]:»opular mind is 
 ripe to consider seriously and practically whether there must 
 rot be something wrong in a system which gives such appall- 
 ing results." 
 
21 
 
 Henry (ioDrgc says: — "Alnihouscs and prisons are ju^t; 
 as surely llit- marks of what \vc- call nialcrial projjjrt'ss as arc 
 ricii \varch(»uscs and palatial rcsidciu-o." With alnihouso 
 and prisons Henry (jeori^e luijL^ht have iiieluded lunaiie a>y- 
 Uinis. 
 
 In hji^land the value tt) the Slate of every life is estimated 
 to be ii5ij. In Canada that estimate is Si.ooo. In IjiL^land 
 the expense to the State for the sup])ort of each ])au|)er luna- 
 tic is f»)ur shillini;s per week. In ("ar.ada that expense is 
 hijj^her. From these fissures calcidate ihe loss to the State 
 of all these hiunan lives, then calculate the expense to the 
 State for the sui)port of these ])auper cases for the remainder 
 of their blank existence, then estimate the amount of uninld 
 sufferinq-s which every case of mental aberration entails, and 
 then weijii'h the enormity of the cause to which sucli ile])lor- 
 ad)le results are lar_s4"ely (\uv. a cause which is iver\' \ ear 
 producing- more baneful effects and which musi cimtiniu' to 
 do so imtil we shall attain to a liis;lier civilization than is :)ms- 
 sible under otu' preseiU competitive economic system, whose 
 teiidencx' is to develo]^ still further the selfish nature of man 
 anrl thus to iH'tard tlu- development and the advent i>f that 
 more (hrist-like man wlio will li\-e not so much for self as for 
 others. 
 
 ALCOIIoT. AXn TTF.AT/rn. 
 
 Like many other e\ils, the injurious effects of intemjierance 
 are i^reater amongst the ])oor. The Rei;"istrar-( leneral s re- 
 turns show that in Scotland, in 181)7, the number of inebriates 
 in the small towns, xillaij-es and rural districts was one in 
 every 3.200 (U' the ]iopulation. while in the lar^^e towns and 
 cities the number was one in every t.ooo. Anioni^st the 
 \vealthy and cultured classes in the larije t<n\ns and cities, 
 the percentage of rej2:istered inebriates is very small. This 
 means that the ijercenta^'e of inebriates aniouq-st the ])oor of 
 the larj^e towns and cities is verv lart^e. 
 
 The indiscriminate use of .\lcohol beiny- one of the most 
 comon causes of disease, a paper on the abuse of alcohol will 
 not be out of order in a series of papers on Sanitary Science 
 whose ]:)rovince it is to investiiivatc all causes of disease. 
 
 [-.ike mix vomica and man\' other drug's, when used in prn- 
 vcv doses, and in cases of disease where it? use is indicated, 
 by pathological svmiucjms. alcohol is a medicine: but when 
 used, even in medicinal doses durinj^ normal health, when 
 ne; medicine is reciuired, or in over-doses at an\- time, it in- 
 
22 
 
 tcrl'ercs with the action of physiological laws which control 
 the functions of the organs of the human body, and in so do- 
 ing it acts not as a medicine but as a poison. Its supply to 
 the people should therefore be controlled by laws just as 
 stringent as those 'vhich govern the prescription of all, other 
 dangerous drugs. 
 
 In certain, forni'^ of dyspepsia, alcohol in medicinal doses 
 stimulates the function of the digestive organs, but in too 
 many of such cases its use in therapeutic doses, is only a first 
 step towards its promiscuous use. which is rendered possible 
 ])y our ])resent lax sy^tem of license law. 
 
 Being a cardiac stimulant, alcohol makes tlie heart beat 
 faster and stronger anil thus gives a feeling of, increased 
 strength. lUit this feeling is delusive. It does not increase 
 tlie strength. It, acts merely as the wlii]) to the horse. It 
 excites into action the reserve force already existing. Now in 
 certain cases of acute disease, where there is danger of a 
 fatal issue from heart-failure, the physician at times takes ad- 
 vantage of this effect of alcohol. IJut in normal health this 
 effect is not only not beneficial but injurious, as it calls forces 
 ivii'o action which is invariably followed by re-action, forces 
 whicli never should be excited except in cases of extreme 
 emergency. Athletes in training and soldiers on long 
 mru'ches show greater powers of physical endurance with- 
 out alcohol. In the recent Soudan campaign, Kitchener's 
 army marched across vast reaches of desert, under a burning 
 African sun. and then fought ( )mdurman. And they fought 
 it well, With their rations there was no supply of alcohol. 
 
 The action of alcohol upon the general circulatory svstem 
 is to ])aralyze the iidiibitory nerves which control the calibre 
 of the ca|)illar\ l:iloo(b\essels of the surface of the bodv. The 
 result of this ^laralysis is that these vessels become dilated 
 and recei\-e a larger-than-normal supply of blood. lUit a 
 larger supi)l\ of blood to the surface of the body means a 
 smaller su])])l\ to (Ik- more vital internal organs. This in- 
 crease <if blood in the skin gives the impression of increased 
 heat— an ini])ression which is deluding. ft)r the larger (|uan- 
 tities o[ l)loo(l coming into close contact with the atmosphere, 
 the heat ( f the body is more rapidh' radiated. In certain 
 av'ute diseases with high temperatmx'. alcohol is used medicin- 
 ally to effect this loss of heat, but in normal health this de- 
 crease of luat iti the system is not only mmecessary but, ex- 
 tremelx- hm-tful. 
 
 Besides, by its action in retarding the process of heat-p*"o- 
 ducti Ml Ml the b<i(l\. alcohol acts still more deleteriouslv. The 
 
23 
 
 liLat (jf the body is prcnluccd by conibusiion--that is. by the 
 union ui the carbon which is suppHed l)y our food, with the 
 (Kxyj^en of the air which we l)reathe. The action of alcohol 
 i> to contract the red cells of the blood, which are the oxy-^en 
 carriers. The contraction of these means a (.lecrease in the 
 size of the burdens which they are capable of carrying, hence 
 a decreased sui)ply of oxygen to the system, hence retarded 
 combustion and therefore a more limited heat-supply. Arctic 
 ex])l()rers invariably find that men exposed to extremely low 
 temperatures endure the intense cold more easily and more 
 safel} without alcohol. 
 
 I'.ut this hmited sup])ly of oxygen has still more baneful 
 rv. suits. During the ])rocess of metabolism in the body there 
 arr ijrodnced in the blood waste ])roducts. which, if retained 
 in tlu- system. invarial)l}' cause disease. Xow the chemical 
 ', diiference between urea and uric acid is (julv an atom of ox- 
 .. ygen. In a >ystem having a full supply of oxygen tliis atom 
 C('ml)ines with the insoluble uric acid to form the soluble urea 
 wnicli is readily carried out of ilie l)lood l)v the excretor\' or- 
 grn--. but in a system with a limited sup])ly of oxygen the 
 uric acid is not thus transformed, and. being insohd)le. it can- 
 not be excreted, hence it must remain in the system, where 
 it produces a class of correlated diseases whose victims are 
 every year increasing in numbers. Another ettect of this 
 interference v.ith metal )olism is an increase of flesh — that is 
 of fatty tissue, which increases the body weight, thereby de- 
 .stroying ilie normal e(|uilil)rium !)ct\veeu the weight of the 
 body and its muscular power. This increase of flesh de- 
 notes u(,t health but disease. 
 
 Tlu' general efTect of alcohol niton tlie human bo(l\ is to 
 lower the vital toni' of the system. Tliis nieans a lower re- 
 sisting ])ower against the onset of disease, as well as a weaker 
 resistance against the jtrogress of disease after its onset. .\n 
 examination rif the case reports of our hosjiitals verv soon 
 dispels all donbts w c ma\' foruierlv have had concerning the 
 higher comparaii\e death rates amongst tluisc addicted tc» 
 the moderate or excessive use t)f str(^ng drink. Rverv ex- 
 perienced phvsician has more hope for the recovcr\- of seri- 
 ous cases of acute disease where there is no history (^f the 
 use of alcohol. During- the past few vcars the officers ,)f life 
 insurance conipanies have discovered the fact that f<ir total 
 abstainers there is a longer expectation of life. The state- 
 ments of life insurance ofificers and of ph\sicians are sub- 
 .^ilantiated bv statistics 'vhich show that every year in Canada, 
 one result of the le<.^calize(l traffic in strong drink is the pre- 
 
24 
 
 mature death of abotit 5,000 men. The vahie to the Stare 
 oi every life is said to be $1,000. The revenue from the hquor 
 traffic is ?8,ooo,ooo. To i)ermit. for the sake of the remain- 
 ing $3,000,000, the continued existence of a cause whicli has 
 so disastrous result-, to human life, is entirely inconsistent with 
 the principles of legitimate btisiness and with the Christian 
 sentiment ot a (level()i)ino- civilization; and to permit the weak 
 and the ignorant to continue to do themselves bodily harm 
 and to be inijjosed upon by avarice and by a so-called liberty, 
 which is the most relentless bondage, is in harmony neither 
 with the genius nor with the majestic and benevolent aegis 
 of linglish law. 
 
 ALCOHOL AXl) IXSAXLrV. 
 
 In the sixth paper of this series it wa^ statetl ihat in ilie 
 causation of the present increase of insanity alcohol was only 
 a secondary cause, ihu secondary causes are at times very 
 serious causes, and in tliis case this is especially true. 
 
 The use of alcoholic beverages, either in excess or in mo- 
 deration, invariably results in the imjiainuent of the physical 
 health upon which tlie mental health so \ery largelx' depends. 
 
 Sanity is a ])erfectl\ adjusted balance between the will and 
 the emotional nature. Any cause wiich weakens the power 
 of the former or unduly develops the latter plays a part in the 
 production of insanity. AIcoIujI in larger than meilicinal 
 doses has both of these effects. 
 
 The heart is ke])t in motion by the nerve current carried 
 along a luo'.or nerve, and it is kept in check by the current 
 convex ed b\- an inliibitory nerve. When we stimulate the 
 former or ])aral\-7e the latter the heart goes too fast. When 
 we stiimilate the fcM'iner and ])aralyze the latter it goes faster 
 still. Tf this stiiutilus and jxiralysis be contimted the result 
 is heart-disease. 
 
 Xow alcohf^l paralxzes the will whose regal function is to 
 ci)ntrol the <'niotional natm-e. This sceptre dethroned, ihe 
 emotions run rampant, ^\'hen, in addition to this paralysis 
 of the will, the t'motional nature is stiiutilated. the huiuan 
 brain — that masterpiece of creation — becomes a mere mass of 
 ncr\ous r.ruioitlasrn run mad. This condition is insanitv. 
 teinporr'.ry nr permanent. 
 
 Alc^iiol plavs a si^nilar part in the paralysis of ct)nscience 
 and m the siinmiation of the lower animal nature of man. 
 i"5ut this question belongs to the domain of the theologian 
 and not to that of the physician. 
 
25 
 
 So permanent and ineradicable are the effects of alcohol 
 upon the mental nature, that in a lar<;"e percentaci'e of casi's 
 retribution comes in later life in the furm of alc<iliulic demen- 
 tia as a result of inebriety during- earlier years. The case- 
 book of every experienced physician contains reports of cases 
 of insanity bei.;;imiin,u: in later life where the onl\ assi^-nable 
 cause was dissipation durinji;' the years of earlier manhood. 
 
 The Professor of Mental Diseases of Edinbin-i^h I'niver- 
 sily says: — "I have known cases where men had drunk liard 
 in youth, with ai)parent impunity and stopped drinking' about 
 40. Yet after 50 they ])assed iiUii alcoholic dementia." And 
 such results are not confined to those whont we call Irn ik- 
 ards. F.ven the more moderate use of alcohol as a bevera.ge 
 iiuerferes with the natural laws which i^uard the health of 
 tl'e mind. Xeither i)h\sical nor mental liealth-laws k::\n with 
 impunity be ignored. Xature punishes every l)reac]i if e\ cry 
 law of lier realm. The Suiierintendent of the I\o\al I'Min- 
 burgh Asylums, in a ])aper read before the recent meeting of 
 tiK' r.ritisli Medical Association savs: — "A ciMnmon case is 
 that in which a man has from his yo'uh. but not to excess, 
 indulged in alcohol stinnilant>. which had no ap]»recial)le ef- 
 fects until he reached the age of forty-ti\-e or fifty \ear^. wlien. 
 all at once, in two or three \ears. his (_-ye became l)lear\. Iiis 
 hand shak\-. his morals less upright, his memory dim. iiml 
 Ins mind graduallv became a blank." 
 
 Dr. rUMiian.iin \\'ard Richardson says: — "The modcate 
 (h-inker is more likely to curse his children with an inheritance 
 o; epilepsy, idiocy or insanit\ than the man who i'ldnlges 
 only in periodical debauchcv"' 
 
 A man. whii in his own minil or body ])ays the ])eiialt\ of 
 former misdeeds, is ])itiable. l)tit he whose sins are visited 
 m)on his oiTs])ring — U])on innocent and irresponsible little 
 cliildren — not only fails to rise to the grander possibilities 
 which existed in his own life, but hands down to future gener- 
 ations a devastating inheritance to dwarf ami destrox- the 
 nu'Utal. moral and physical lives of others. The latest re- 
 C'lrded statistics of the asylums of Iowa show that of ini- 
 I'ccile children. 00 i^er cent, of the cases are due to hereditv. 
 and that of this 00 ]")er cent. 7^^ per cent, are descendants of 
 inebriate ancestors. 
 
 '■ Tltey onsl;i\H' tlieir (.-liildri'ir^ cliililrcn 
 Wlin make (■(-iiiiprDini-^o with <in." 
 
 Medical science now regards dipsomania a^ a mental dis- 
 ease — that is. an atroph\- of the will, with a corresp^)nding ab- 
 
26 
 
 normal development of the emotional nature . Being a disea>i 
 of the mind, it follows that its victims are entirely irrespoii 
 sible for acts which our laws call crimes. The incongruir 
 of our present system of law is that it legalizes the supply w, 
 tlie alcohol which ]iroduces the disease, and then punishes :i- 
 crimes the manifestations of the disease — and this in order 
 liiat the majesty of law may be maintained inviolate. 
 
 Every succeeding year, larger sums of money are beiuL; 
 expended in tlie protection of human life against accident, 
 \i()lence and disease — an increasing ex])enditure which de- 
 notes that the value of human life is being more fully recog- 
 nized as we rise to a higher civilization. On the other hand, 
 we continue to legalize a traffic which ])roduces ])hysical dis- 
 ease, moral ilelin(|uenc\' and mental imbecility — and this fur 
 the sake of a few millions of revemte, while we expend man\ 
 millions in tlie building, equipment and maintenance of hos 
 ])ilals, ])risons and asylums for the convenient disposal oi 
 the victims of the traffic which we legalize. 
 
 Twenty years ago, Justin ]^lcCarthy^ in his "History ot 
 ( >ur ( )wn Times" made the prediction that: — "We are ai 
 that stage in the development of responsible government 
 where we shall very soon see the begiimings oi legislation to 
 interfere with individual, riglu." lUit at the present time, in 
 Canada, where the battle of responsible government was, 
 sixty years ago, fought and won, we still grant that in- 
 dividual right stiould be ])aramount, that avariciinis men 
 sliould have tlie right to supi)ly that which prcjduces moral 
 (Irgcneration. mental aberration and physical disease, atid 
 that weak and ignorant men shotild have the right to ruin 
 themselves, and to wreck the homes of weak women and 
 heli)less childriMi. If by a harsh economic s\'stem we must 
 make it necessary for the ])Oor to live in the slums where the 
 saloons otttnumber the churches, the least we can do is to 
 inijirove their moral environment, so that it will be less im- 
 possil>le for boys and girls to grown up to be temperate men 
 and women. 
 
 Alen of broader views and larger symjiathies see that our 
 own individtial right ends at that point where that of our 
 neighbor begins, and are hoping, praying and striving for 
 the advent of that more righteous day when man will be 
 faithful to liis divine commission as the keeper of his weaker 
 brother, and when this present self-seeking order of men will 
 give place to that new order — the brotherliood of man. 
 
27 
 
 1>| " For mankind are one in spirit. 
 
 )!l And an instinct bears alon^ 
 
 jp Round the earth's electric circle 
 
 ■ w The swift tlash of rijjfht or wrong. 
 
 V Wiiether conscious or luiconscious, 
 
 ''l' Vet humanity's vast frame. 
 
 IT Through its ocean-sundered fibres- 
 
 Feels the gush of jo\- or shame. 
 In the gain or loss of one race 
 '> All the rest have cfiual claim." 
 
 L-' LIFE IX CVV\ SLl'MS. 
 
 ', The province of Sanitary vScience i.s strictly limited to tlie 
 physical, btit as there often exists between insanatory condi- 
 tions and immoral tendencies the relationship oi cause and 
 effect, it may be ]jermissible in this j)a])er to overstej) the 
 ■ bounds of sanitary science proper and to refer to the immoral 
 - intluences of a bad j/hysical envircjnment upon men and wo- 
 men and more especially upon the nmre susce])ti]jle children. 
 -\ leading' historian says : — "Crime is merely a symptom of a 
 ' condition oi things in the jjolitical framework of society which 
 ' calls for remedx rather than repression." His statement aj)- 
 pears incredible, and yet it ma\' be that there is more truth 
 in it than we are capable of seeing, kecent statistics show- 
 that of the 6.O00 criminals of a single year in New York. ^\ 
 per cent, came from homes whose houses were reported "in 
 bad condition." wliilo onh <) ])crcent. came from homes whose 
 houses were "in good condition." Similar figures might be 
 tabulated in all other large cities. Such figures show, not so 
 much the baneful influences of tlie dilapidated houses the-n- 
 selves as the degenerating influences of the slum envin^n- 
 ment in which tliese houses stand. 
 
 The great importance of the (|uestion of the housing of the 
 poor cannt)t be full}- realized until 'vve weigh the innnoral ef- 
 fects of pernicious physical causes. Prof. Rogers says: — 
 "The houses of the ])eo])le are one of the chief factors in the 
 determination of our i)resent and ftnure civilization. '. )ur 
 present economic sxstem results in supjilying. every year, an 
 increasing ntimber of the victims of shun life as imnates for 
 our hospitals. almh«)uses. asylums and prisons." 
 
 Dr. Reiss says: — "The recent increase of crime in Amer- 
 ican cities is no more a cause for surprise than is the exces- 
 sive mortalitx- in the houses of the poor. Tlie dilai)idated 
 condition of the houses t)f the shuns and the barbaritv of 
 slum environment acccnint for both. From the masses of 
 humanity huddled together in the sltuiis of our large cities 
 there comes forth every year an army of jihysical degenerates 
 and moral (lelin(|uents to pre\- upon society." 
 
28 
 
 Huxley says that if Milton and Shakespeare had been b«i!. 
 and reared amongst savages tlie\- also would have grown u; 
 to be savages. He idds that in his study of the social condi 
 tion of nianv races o\ men, including lUishmen and i'atagdii p 
 lans, he had found no ]je':)ple in a more deplorable social cin si 
 dilion than the denizens of the slums of East London. ti 
 
 in his "Tales of the Selkirks," speaking of the slums '■ i" 
 Etlinburgii. Ralph Connor says: — "C'owgate, redolent of iln '' 
 glories of the si)len(lid past and of the ])oisonous odors of tht * 
 evil-smelling ])resent ! Is this the l)eamiful, the cultiu'ed. the ;| 
 heaven-exalted city of lMlin1nn-gh? Will she not for this i)e 1 
 cast down into hell, if she repent not of her dens of physical , 
 :nid moral defilement? ( ) the inter weariness, the dazed hope- | 
 lessness of those ghastly faces ! Do not the church-going folk | 
 oi the crescents and gardens see them in their dreams, or art. 
 their dreams too heavenly for such ghastly faces to appear?" 
 
 Who are res])onsible for the continued existence of tin 
 slums? It is certainly not the innocent and irresponsible littk 
 children who are com])elled by dire circiunstances to Hve in 
 them, and yet the children with all the higlier ])ossil)ilities nj 
 tlieir natm-es are the greatest sufferers from the debasing?! 
 influences (»f slum life. The placing of that responsibility and- 
 tlie reme(l\-. constitute jiresent sociological ])rol)lems. which 
 are in lun^ope and America, beginning" to demand solutiv)n 
 (^leneral iJooth has suggested and attempted what seems {of 
 be the logical soliUion — the de])opulation of the slums. j 
 
 Has Christianity any solution for these i)roblems ? Ifncv,, 
 (?hristianit\ would be mie(|ual to Inunan needs. Theoretical 
 Christianity does m^t know n\ the existence of these pro-r. 
 1)lems. Ajjplied Christianitv offers the only solution. j^ 
 
 " Said Christ nur Lord. ' I will .yo and see I 
 
 TIow inon. my hre'thrni, IjcHcvc in nic." » 
 
 Great or,uan< sur,!.;c'd. ilirMuyli arches dim, | 
 
 Their juliil.ant llnnds in praise of Tlim, ;^ 
 
 .And in church .and palace and judgment hall. 
 He saw Mis ima^e hiyh over all. 
 Rut in church and jialace and judgment liall. 
 TTe marked .yreat fissures that rent the wall, | 
 
 Which DDencd wider and yet more wide j 
 
 .As thi> living foundations lieaved and si.yhed. | 
 
 Then TTe ^ousht out an arti/an, 
 .\ low-hrowed- stunted, ha.u.yard man. 
 And a motherless tzirl, whose fin.uers thin 
 Pushed from her f.aintly want and sin. 
 These TTe set in the midst of theni. 
 And as thev drew hack their garment liem 
 For fear of defilement, ' I.^o lierc.' said He. 
 'The imaK<-"^ y-' have made of Ale!' " 
 
2y 
 
 PHYSICAL DETER I ( )kATK.)X. 
 
 A hall-ceuiury ago, Aialiliu.s .suygesicd a suluiiuii of the 
 problem of the gross and cruel sacnrice of human life in city 
 slums. He said: — -"The tendency of the increase of pupnla- 
 tion is to hring int«j the world human beings for whom nature 
 refuses to |)ro\ide. and who ha\e therefore no right to any 
 share in the necessaries of life, whom >!ie tells as nUerlopcrs 
 to be-gone; and >he eiu'orces obedience to her commands, 
 employing as her agents, hunger, war and life-destroying 
 pestilences." 
 
 During the inter\ening lifty years, lunnanit\ has been mak- 
 ing progress towards the ideal life, and yet e\en in this more 
 enlightened generation we sometimes hud men, who. while 
 professing to belong to a higher order of manhood, are. ni 
 princi])le and in life, Malthusians. 
 
 -, Now the st)lution offered b}' Alalthus means that .Nature 
 brought these beings into life, and subsequently discovered 
 that in so doing she luul made a mistake, and therefore refused 
 to provide for them. JJut Xature makes n(j mistakes. Mal- 
 thus was not capable of seing that Xature was consistetn, but 
 that unjust laws, made !)\- fallible men. in the darker days, 
 wiien might was held to br ihe only right, had fixed an im- 
 passable gulf between Xature and the majority of her oti- 
 spring so that she could not provide for them. Xeither could 
 Alalthus sec that the 1ife-destrf)ying agents, htmger. war. and 
 pestilence, had been connnissioned not by Xature but b}- man. 
 
 Alalthus still has his disciples. There is a school of so- 
 called evohttionists \\ho teach that our ])resent competitive 
 economic system, which is merely a strife between man and 
 his neighbor for economic superioritv. is a means for die 
 mental and ph\>ical development of man. \)y ;i i)rocess which 
 they call the sur\ival of those whom the\- erroneou>l\' call the 
 fittest. 
 
 Darwin taught the e\i>lution of higher from lower forms of 
 liie by tlu' process of natmal selection — the weaker, if ni»t de- 
 stroyed b\ the stronger, being left to extinction, having no 
 O])liortunity of pro])agating their kind, or not being adai)ted 
 to their environmem. Xow amongst bears and tigers stich 
 a svsteni is natural. TIu'v strn.'Vgie for the self-lifiv Tf man 
 had none of the higher hojies that make us men. that s\ stem 
 might be justifiable even amongst men. The liigher man 
 stru<2-p-les for the lives of (Others. P)esides. bv Darwin's pro- 
 cess then' h'ls been a continuous developmeiU. TirantiuG- that 
 h\ n)t\ans of this ^vstem man '- bein<:- developed ment;ilh- and 
 
30 
 
 physically, it has ncjt been proved that he is at the same tin. ] 
 developing morally and spiritually. Statistics which show tLJiis 
 recent increase of that class of crimes wdiose motive is ll, Fu 
 acquisition ui monc}-, would seem to indicate that man ; \vh 
 not only not dci'doping morally and spiritually, but that he i-rns 
 retrograding. L'nsymmetrical development is not true dt th< 
 velopment. do 
 
 It would be difficult to prove that under our present ccouf •- 
 mic system there has been even mental and physical develo[i- 
 ment. Physically, we do not conii)are favorably with our j 
 Viking ancestors, not even with the Maoris and other savage --* 
 peoples of our own times. Dr. Farr's tabulated figures show 
 that the economic condition of a large percentage of the peo- ^^ 
 ])le who live in cities and towns accounts for this decline. si< 
 These figures show that, in Glasgow^ and Edinburgh, thr is 
 average stature is two inches lower than that of the Scottisli *-€ 
 ]>easantry. the average chest measurement three inches les~. w 
 and the' average weight twenty pounds less. In Belgium. ^*| 
 Ciermany and France there are corresponding figures. An\ oi 
 one visiting the industrial centres of England would need i^" 
 no figures at all. Dr. Farr's figures show also that during tlu n^ 
 last half-century the mean expectation of life has been dipiin- cf 
 ished. At 30 years of age, the mean expectation of life m la 
 1S41 was 33.1 years. In 1891 that had declined to 32.5. Ai 
 the age or40 Vears, in 1841 it was 26.5. In 1891 that had ^ 
 declined to 25.4. At the age of 50 years, in 1841 it was 20. tl 
 in 1891 that had declined to 18.8. ^ 
 
 These figures are emphasized by the fact that, during thai <^ 
 half-centurv, Sanitary Science made her most rapid stride- P 
 in the greater protection of human life. Had all other thing- a 
 been equal, the expectation of life in 1891 would have been s 
 greater rather tlian less than that of 1841. ^ 
 
 Those who claim a recent physical development of man « 
 are unscientific, inasmuch as they merely make arbitrar\ <: 
 statements without proof figures. Amongst the poor. v.h.> « 
 are an ever increasing majority, such proof figures do not < 
 exist. Neither do they exist amongst the wealthy. As a < 
 flirect result of luxurious living there is physical decline 
 amongst that class also. The British Medical Journal savs:— ^ 
 "It is a question whether our ancestors were not physic.all\ 
 better fitted for survival than their posterity. There is notli- ' 
 ing irrational in the proposition that our devotion to comfort 
 and aestheticism, the direct result of our present civilization, 
 may tend to loss of vitality and vigor and, ultimately, to a 
 gradual physical decline." 
 
31 
 
 Dt. In liis "i'rimcr uf Evolution," Edward Clodd says; — ■'The 
 
 IJiistory of mankind, with its dej^cnL-rativc races, i'ushnKMi. 
 
 i.Fuci^ians and others, with its rchcs of an ancient civiHzation, 
 i- whose arts we can only feebly imitate, and whose tNi>es oi 
 i«nianhoo(l we cannot hope to excel, furnishes its monitions of 
 
 -the letharg}- and love of ease which invariably precede the 
 downfall ot peoples and nations." 
 
 ij- 
 
 P- THE VEOVLE AXD THEIR REEATiuX TU THE 
 
 J'- .SOIL. 
 
 r^^ _ 
 
 V. Hie object of this series oi pa]>ers has been to endeavcn" 
 
 ,- lo show tiiat the chief cause of the greater prevalence of ph\ - 
 L sical tlisease and of the hijji'her deatli-rates amongst the poor 
 ( is that they are se]>arated from nature by being' largely con- 
 Ii centrated m congested centres of population where povert\ 
 .. with all its insanatory concomitants prevails, and where in- 
 1. sanitation is as prevalent as povert\. That this unnatural lite 
 \ or an ever-increasing majority is the direct result of our eco- 
 { nomic system, more especially of our s\stem of land tenure, 
 i not many who have studied the question will deny. The 
 - effects of this system are of course more pal[)able in the older 
 , lands acioss the sea. 
 
 ■ In 1O85 in (jreaL Britain, according to hgtires given 1)}' 
 1 Macaulay, 15 per cent, (jf the people lived on land of which 
 they themselves weri' the owners. At the present time in. 
 Great Uritain S^ ])er cent, of the land is owned by 1-2400 of 
 one per cent, of the population, while 07 per cent, of the 
 people are crowded into the unhealthy life of city and town, 
 and 30 per cent, of those are over-crowded in the poverty- 
 stricken and pestilential slums, i.ooo of the wealthiest land- 
 owners of ("ireat Britain own 30,000,000 acres while one in 
 every twelve of the population is a pauper, while 25 per cent. 
 of the })eo])le live in dila])idated houses, and while 70 ])er 
 cent, of the i^eople are scjjarated by so narrow a margin from 
 destitution that a few weeks' sickness or hjss of wages brings 
 ihem face to face with absolute want. 
 
 The soil was created for the support of the people and yet 
 the majority of the people must struggle in order to gain a 
 very limited su]i])ly of the bread which the soil wouki pio- 
 (lucc if the people's inherent right to the soil were acknowl- 
 edged. Thousands of hel])less little children are suffering 
 and tens of thousands of them dying every year, because of 
 the lack of an adetjuate suj)ply of that nutriment which the 
 soil was designed to supply, because of the lack of the disin- 
 
32 
 
 vlii 
 
 icclni}^' lUviXMiicnls oi tlic boil winch wuukl tlchlri)} the piUl;>|^g| 
 
 s:ciiic ^cnns \vhich cause itifcclious disease, and hecause of il 
 i;ick ot tile health-s^nving- fresh air and smishine which is in: 
 avoii.lal)ly nionu[)(iUzed by those who nujnopohze the land. 
 
 liefore 1 )r. i'aton became a fijreign missionary he was tii 
 minister of a parish whose people were a sturdy Scottish pea> I 
 antry livini; in happ\ homes where, on their small but w > ive 
 cultivated farms, ihe\ were making- a comfurtable livelihonn ' 
 tor themselves and their children. Upon his return from tli J 
 foreign mission field he found the parish depopulated — cvei''i^' 
 home having- been razed to the ground to make room fnder 
 (leer and grouse, lie foimd many of his parishioners suffvi''^!' 
 ing and dying amidst the poverty and pestilence of the closi. '"8 
 and wynds of Edinburgh and Glasgow. pr^ 
 
 From a sui)erficial view it would appear that the prevaiiin.^vit 
 ]ioverty of the slums is due to the prevailing inteniperanci,^^^^ 
 Is intemperance the cause or is it a result? Before the;4ui 
 were driven into contact with the moral and physical con-_ 
 tamination of the slums, Dr. Paton's parishioners were :^^ 
 Thrifty and sober people. L'nintluenced by the degeneratiii.^u< 
 environment of slum-life their children alscj would have grow i^^^ 
 V]) to be thrifty and sober men and women. i'3-3 
 
 During his life in the .South Sea Islands, while studying tli' •!" 
 sitcial condition of the savages. Dr. Paton had found that oiui^" 
 ni their fmidameinal economic ))rinciples was that they wou!'^^* 
 not soli the land upon which tlie\' lived because they woul'!„, 
 not sell the inherent right of their children to the land upon 
 which they were born. i 
 
 In America our system of land lemn-e has not yet resultei; 
 Ml such baneful effects as are to be seen in Clreat P)ritain, bin 
 similar causes in America will ultimately produce sinular 
 effects. 
 
 While the land in Canada and the United States is more gen- 
 erally ow'ned b\- the ])eople, the distribution of wealth is equally 
 unequal, and, many would say, inequitable. While, in New sa 
 ^'ork. there are t.io^ millionaires, upwards of i.ckio.ooo peo bi 
 ide live in the slums enduring the moral atroj^hy and i)1iysic;i! th 
 deterioration which slum life entails. While there are in Xcw d( 
 \'ork men with an income of a million a uK^nth, there are alsi pi 
 poor widows whose only means for the support of themsclve- lii 
 and their children is the making of shirts at twenty-five cent- ci 
 a dozen, supplying- their own thread. \\'hile a young w'oman li' 
 on Fifth Avenue spends $io,ooo in laces and diamonds t" p 
 wear at a $50,000 banquet and ball, a homeless girl in the p 
 Bowery, defeated in her battle against want, and against sin 
 
33 
 
 vhicli ill licr case was tin- result of want, nislios tn solf- 
 
 ' lestruction 
 
 h 
 
 "• " ^[a(l from litVs history. gl;i(l to rU'.-itli's niyptory. 
 
 Svvilt tu l)e ImrU'd aiiywhc-rt — aiiyuinri' out of tlio world."' 
 
 h '^ 
 
 , In iSij7 in the saiiu' city 3.1^ i<) persons wlu) had hved the 
 , ives i)f paupers and (hed the death of the pau])er were Juried 
 ,n the I'otter's Fehh 
 
 ] Tlie siiL(ns of our limes point, (hstantly perhaps, luii not 
 
 lindistinctly, to the advent of a more humane civihzation. nn- 
 
 ider the ]:)rotectic)n of wliich the ( hurch can sa\ to the meni- 
 
 jbers of trusts and combines and lo all others, whose increas- 
 
 i^.ing riches cause increasing;' poverty, that, as -eh'-seekiu^ jiro- 
 
 l)rietors. their l)usiness ])rinciples are no lon|L;er in harmon\- 
 
 [Avith the altruistic principles of a L'hristian aj^e. and by tlie 
 
 ^ authority of which, the State can say that henceforth indivi- 
 
 -dlial ri^ht must j^ive jdace to the di\im' rii^'ht of \hc ]k'oi)1c. 
 
 ,'. \\ itii the onward and upward march of the ai^es i\\v world 
 
 ds beiniLr more fully prepared for sucli legislation. I'Ai'ry 
 
 succeeding' year brings nearer the time when law. while -.till 
 
 1 retaining its majesty, will Ijecomc more liumane. The iirst 
 
 rays of the dawn of thai, dax have already begun to pcnetr.itc 
 
 , and dispel the benightment (d' human selfishness. .\t the 
 
 (full dawn of that day every rood o\ ground will maintain its 
 
 , man . 
 
 "His host conijirmiiins. innooi'iice and lieaUli." 
 i,The full noontide of that da\' will 
 
 '■Rinj? out the feud of rich ;ind poor." 
 . because it will 
 
 " RiuR in the nobler modes of life. 
 I With .sweeter manners, purer laws." 
 
 r 
 
 LEGISLATIOX. 
 
 In the last paper of the series on .Sanitary Science it was 
 : said that the greater amount of physical suffering and the 
 higher death-rates amongst the poor of the citv slums were 
 ' the direct results of our present s\stem of land tenure which 
 denies the iidierent right of the peoj)le to the soil which wcudd 
 produce an ample sui)])ly of liread for all whose supply is now 
 limited, the cultivation of which would provide healthful oc- 
 cupation for many who now cannot find employment, and the 
 life unon whicli would give slum children an mdimited sup- 
 ply of fresh air and simshine, for the lack (»f whicli they now 
 pine and sicken and die. It was said in the same ])ai)er that 
 
34 
 
 vviili till' advent of a hij^-Iier civilization, llicrc wonld be t-iiacu 
 a moR' hcnij^n Icj^islatitin which would acknowledge this n Tl 
 iKiiiii rij^lil of the people to the soil. ie, 
 
 .Many m<to(l and wise men would look upon an agitatin 
 fiT siicli le.i..,n slat ion as sxnonynious with socialism and anain ol 
 i.-^ni. it i> argued by these that the only proper means of .in 
 iecting political reform is by the regeneration of the he.iii b^ 
 of individurd men. oi 
 
 Due weight nuist be given to this view. There cannot 1 tli 
 too miu-Ji done for the enlighteniuent of individual men. I'.i; c( 
 when this is accoiui)lished on a large scale — when the nation, fe 
 life is really affected thereby — it will manifest itself by ih ni 
 enactment <»f wholesome and righteous laws. And these kni in 
 as the outcome of the intelligence and conviction of the :ii;i tl: 
 jority of the peo])le will become potent educative agencie- pi 
 ( )ne of the chief differences between civilization and inir c< 
 barism is that under the former there are laws upon the >t;i sc 
 lute ]jiiok> wliich interfere with individual right. ,\11 tli tl' 
 great reforms which ha\e transformed the crude civilizatic c( 
 of the -Ancient Uriton into our higher .\nglo-Sa.\on civili/:; rc 
 tion have been initiated l)y legislati(jn.. 'i'he Oreat Charter > la 
 T\,nglish li1>ert\ was secured b} the agitation of the luigli- 
 llarons of tlu 13th century. That Charter is merely the k 
 i;islation which the)se barons compelled King John to enar: 
 The majority of good and wise men in the days of Charti-i 
 h'oked upon that agitation as extremely unwise, and yet a. 
 the great i)rinci])les for which Chartists contended are nov 
 embodied in luiglish law. The reforms enacted by thosi 
 laws would not so soon have come but for that agitatini 
 ^vhich exposed existing evils and taught the people how thost 
 evils might be remedied. 
 
 In the days of American slavery the slaveholders believii - 
 that slavery was just. The majority of their religious teache:- 
 in the Southern .States taught them that it was in harmuii 
 -with the teaching of divine revelation. Had Lincoln aiii 
 other abolitionists waited for the higher moral developmei' 
 of the individual, the slave might yet be in l)ondage. 11'; 
 ill the Xorthern States a few men. with a firm convictin 
 that the love of neighbor and the brotherhood of man wer 
 fundamental princii^les of Christianity, began an agitatio; 
 A\hich culminated in that legislation which abolished slaver\ 
 That agitation was the education which moulded public senti 
 ment and aroused the public conscience to such an exten 
 that a half-million of men were willing to give their lives i' 
 order that the slave might be set free. 
 
35 
 
 V LctJfi^lati<)n per sc is a means of educating public sentiment. 
 II The more humane system of land laws of the Mosaic code was 
 
 legislation, 'ihe Decalogue was legislation. 
 (, Did the divine inspiration of holy men end with the wonls 
 •I of the Seer on i'atm...s: Whence the holy tire that glowed 
 . m the liearts and upon the lips of Bright and L'obden, when, 
 11 by words of burning eloquence, they aroused the conscience 
 
 of the J'Jiglish (.oinmnners to ^ee the wrongs inflicted upon 
 1: thousands' of women and children, who were starving on ac- 
 ;i: count of the high price of bread? And in our day, in pro- 
 i; fessorial chair, in pulpit and in legislative hall, are there not 
 h men worthv of being called up itn() the Holy Mount, to stand 
 \' in the presence of Jehovah, and to receive on the tables of 
 1,1 their hearts an impress of the Divine will? And will not these 
 - prophets be faithful to their divine connnission in communi- 
 ir eating to the i)eople this revelation, with its true interpretation. 
 ;i so that the laws of nun may l)ccome more in harmony witli 
 l! the will of God. and so that 'the present system of unchristian 
 '; commercial strife between man and his neighbor may make 
 :: room for the coming f)f that Kingdom whose fundamental 
 ' laws are love and peace? 
 
 t " Peace, beKiiining to be 
 
 ., Deep as the nIccp of the sea. 
 
 When stars their faces glass 
 ', In its blue tran(|uility ; 
 
 '■ Hearts of men upon earth. 
 
 )v That have rested not from tlieir l)irth. 
 
 s, Shall rest as the wiUl waters rest 
 
 With the colors of Heaven on their Ijreast. 
 " Love, which is sunlipht of peace, 
 
 ^' Age liy age shall increase 
 
 Til! anger aiicl hate are dead, 
 ■( ' And sorrow and death shall cease." 
 
 1' 
 
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 • ••t III «l 
 
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