The biographies of certain men are recorded in the Word of God in order that Christians living in the last days may catch the spirit which animated these men when they were placed in peculiar positions, or called to act quickly upon some important matter. If we lose sight of the fact that such characters were under the direction of the Spirit of God, their works appear miraculous; bearing this fact in mind, their lives teach us that in this day and age it is possible to accomplish a work not one whit less wonderful.
In view of the present campaign for the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons,” I have been led to study carefully the life of Nehemiah, and to me have come the questions: Would Nehemiah, if living to-day, sell “Christ’s Object Lessons”? Would it take a man with his fire and enthusiasm weeks, and even months, to accomplish the work we have undertaken?
A brief survey of his life experience will answer these questions. During the Babylonian captivity the children of Israel lost confidence in God’s instruction and promises. To illustrate: when the prophet Jeremiah told the Jews at Jerusalem not to build houses in Zion, but to yield themselves to Nebuchadnezzar, they disobeyed, and continued to build. At the same time he was asking his people in Babylon to build houses and plant vineyards preparatory to remaining seventy years.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon: Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.” Jer. 29: 4-10.
False prophets told the people in Jerusalem that the restoration would take place in two years; therefore it would be wise to build in Jerusalem instead of in Babylon. Thus it was that both in Jerusalem and in Babylon the people who bore the name of God disobeyed his direct commands. This indicates the condition of God’s people before and during the captivity.
At the expiration of the seventy years, the condition was no better. By the decree of Cyrus the Jews were permitted to return to their native land. But again stubbornness and self-will marked their actions. Before the seventy years had expired, they were anxious to go to Palestine, and would not settle in Babylon, where it was their privilege to disseminate the principles of truth; but at the end of the time, when it was the will of God for them to leave Babylon and to go to Palestine, strange as it may seem, the majority refused to go. A small company under the leadership of Ezra went up to Palestine to restore the holy city.
A number of years later, Nehemiah, who was cupbearer to the Persian king, inquired concerning the Jews at Jerusalem. He learned that they were in great affliction and reproach. “And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” Neh. 1: 3. The wall was broken down, and the city was in anything but a prosperous condition. Nehemiah turned to God, pleading for wisdom that the name of the Lord might not be further dishonored in this matter. The Persian king, for whom he was cupbearer, noticed his sorrow of heart. He asked the reason, and when he learned the cause, he was pleased to aid Nehemiah in building up the city. The king said: “For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?” Nehemiah says, “I set him a time.” Neh. 2: 6. But
Nehemiah knew that God had appointed him to this work. However, his course was beset with difficulties. There were at Jerusalem two men, closely associated with the work of God, who were much displeased at his arrival. When they heard of it, “it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.” Neh. 2: 10. But Nehemiah’s interest and determination only increased as he met opposition. During the night, without the knowledge of the rulers, priests, and nobles, he went out and viewed the walls and gates that were in ruins. To a few faithful friends, he said, “Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” It is written also: “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” Neh. 2: 12-20.
The work to be done was great, and in order to do it to the best advantage, certain parts were apportioned to the leading men of Jerusalem. Each leader, with his company, was to build a definite portion of the wall. For instance, Eliashib, the high priest, and his company, built the sheep gate; another leader and his company built the fish gate, and so on. Of one company the following report is given in the Word of God: “And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” This was not true of all, however, for of another company it is said: “After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece.” Neh. 3: 1, 3, 5, 20.
E. A. SUTHERLAND.
(To be continued)
The Work in Ontario
By Joel C. Rogers
At the invitation of the president of the Ontario Conference, in council with the president of the Canadian Union Conference, the writer came into this field to engage in the work of the message. An effort to enlist our Ontario churches in the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” was the first work suggested. Our little company of about twenty-five members at Selton was visited. That is the only place in the conference where we have a church school at present. When the plan of building a school with the book was laid before the church, two sisters immediately volunteered to take five copies each. These had both sold copies of the book before, and knew the blessed experience of it. Others hesitated, some saying that they would do what they could, while some seemed too timid even to try. At the next meeting, the children broke the waiting spirit by offering their help. The first book was sold by a little girl of eleven years. Before leaving, the company of workers agreed to do their best to sell the fifty books taken there. Only twelve, including children, felt free to join the force of workers. But I believe they will sell the fifty books, and more. Nine copies were sold by three, or four persons in a few hours’ work.
At St. Thomas the company of active members numbers only about fifteen. At the first call for volunteers, forty-eight books were taken by twelve persons.20
Two others agreed to sell as many as possible. One of these had already sold a large number. It was a pleasure for me to call upon the senior judge of the high court, who told me that he is convinced that Christian schools, such as we are building, are greatly needed. He showed his interest by purchasing two of the books. A brother of seventy-five years took ten books, and sold four the first day he went out with them. His testimony at the missionary meeting that night was better than a sermon. This little company has a rare opportunity of holding forth the word of life in that center of travel, and most of them are doing faithful work for Christ.
When the time came for our meeting with the London church yesterday, a cold, steady rain was falling. A brother of over sixty years, one of the elders of the church, had four miles to drive with the writer through rain and mud. This brother is actually preparing for the Lord’s coming. Having sold his farm, keeping only a garden spot for a home, he is ready to help advance the message with heart, hand, and means. We were pleasantly surprised to find thirteen gathered at the place of meeting. As soon as they understood that their co-operation was wanted in this work, they offered willingly, and seventy-six books were taken without delay. Of these, thirty-eight are paid for by the volunteers; the others pay as soon as the books are sold. I expect that other members will raise the number to over one hundred. A brother who had already sold ten copies, took twelve more for himself and family. Surely the Lord is moving his people here; and if this same spirit runs all through the conference, our industrial school to be opened next fall, will be placed on a substantial footing. JOEL C. ROGERS.
Current Mention
— The bubonic plague is raging in the Punjab, in India. About 70,000 deaths are reported monthly.
— Twelve hotels were destroyed by a conflagration at Atlantic City, N. J., April 3. Loss, $1,000,000.
— Four thousand houses in the silk-manufacturing town of Fukui, Japan, were recently destroyed by fire, this news coming from Yokohama, March 31.
— Governor La Follette, of Wisconsin, was called on recently by the sheriff of Sawyer County for troops to settle an election riot at Hayward, in that State.
— Cholera is reported to be on the increase at Manila. The natives and Chinese constitute the victims of the epidemic thus far. Detention camps will be established.
— A serious condition of affairs prevails in Macedonia, according to recent reports, and the Turkish government is said to be making preparations to mobilize the auxiliary Turkish troops, in anticipation of an attempted Macedonian revolt.
— The American consul general at San Salvador reports that on February 16 the whole coast of Salvador was inundated by a tidal wave ten feet high, two other smaller waves following it. A village containing about 200 inhabitants was destroyed, and many of the residents were drowned.
— Pope Leo, it is said, probably figures as legatee in more wills than any other person in the world. According to the New York Tribune, he was named in more than 700 wills last year, the legacies aggregating about $600,000. In this fact is reflected the strong devotion of Catholics to their church.
— Hebrews in Newport News, Va., protested recently against allowing the repetition of the Lord’s prayer in the public-school exercises, and demanded that their children be not compelled to listen to the prayer. The school authorities were at first inclined to agree with them, but so much opposition was developed against the idea of abandoning the practice, that the authorities have ordered it to be continued as usual.
— Two boys, aged sixteen and twenty, residents of Trenton, Mo., recently sought to wreck a passenger train on the Rock Island Railway, out of revenge for having been put off a freight train. They had recently been perusing dime novels.
— A cholera epidemic prevails at Mecca, the shrine of Mohammedan pilgrims. The deaths number hundreds daily, and the pilgrims are fleeing to Jedda, sixty miles distant. Many of them are indigent, and great distress prevails.
— Twenty-two lives were lost at Dayton, Tenn., March 31, by a premature explosion in a shaft of the Nelson mine. The explosion wrecked the woodwork at the mouth of the mine, and several of those killed were standing near the entrance on the outside.
— A report from St. Thomas, in the Danish West Indies, says the expectation is current there, from dispatches received from Washington, that the United States will allow the Danish West Indies a separate government, at least provisionally, and that the prospect is very gratifying to the inhabitants, who have long been allowed self-government to a considerable extent.
— A dispatch from Lexington, Neb., states that a raid like those inaugurated by Carrie Nation was conducted by twelve women at Eddyville, April 1. All the women wore heavy veils. They smashed a liquor “joint,” destroying the furniture and several cases of whisky. The proprietor was given twenty-four hours’ time in which to leave the town, a coat of tar and feathers being promised him in case of refusal.
— Official notice has been served by the United States upon European governments that if American goods are excluded from European markets, the United States possesses the power to retaliate very effectively upon the country so offending, by excluding its products from American markets. A list of goods which are liable to exclusion under the existing tariff act and other laws in force, accompanies this warning.
— Statements derogatory to the character of the papacy are not often heard in governing assemblies in papal countries, but Belgium has recently furnished an exception to the rule in this respect. The Brussels correspondent of the London Times says that on March 22 a socialist leader in the chamber of representatives moved the suppression of the Belgian minister to the Vatican, and declared that the crimes of certain popes in the Middle Ages discredited the papacy in the eyes of Christendom. His motion was voted down.
— The Shanghai correspondent of the London Times says, in a recent letter on conditions in China, that the most important impression fixed in the Chinese mind as a result of the campaign of 1900, is a new conception of Christianity and its results, drawn from the doings of the “Christian” nations. The correspondent alleges that the deportment of these troops compared very unfavorably with that of the heathen Japanese, and he adds that it can only reasonably be expected that the cause of Christianity will suffer further in the near-future.21
— According to statements made by those who assume to know, the United States is considerably behind leading European nations in the equipment of its ships of war with wireless telegraphy outfits. Experiments are now being conducted by the government, however, to determine which of the several systems that have been brought into use is best adapted for the purposes of naval warfare.
— The State department has received reports which assert that a Russian monument erected in Alaska to mark the boundary line between Russian and British territory when Alaska was a “Russian possession,” has been removed by an official surveying expedition of the Canadian government. The secretary of state has directed an investigation to be made, and has appointed a commission for that purpose.
— Professor Ranke, a leading scientist of Bavaria, Germany, in a recent lecture spoke of his belief in the commonly accepted theory of the descent of man from the ape, among his hearers being Prince George of Bavaria. Immediately afterward the prince walked up to the professor and told him that the royal family of Bavaria—no matter what might be true of the common people—could not possibly have descended from an ape, and that such talk on the professor’s part would have to stop. The professor was too much surprised to make a reply.
— Great floods in Tennessee along the line of the Cumberland River have been reported the past week, the rise in the river being almost unprecedented. Over twenty persons are known to have been drowned, and property has been destroyed to the extent of millions of dollars. In Giles County, Tennessee, only five iron bridges remain out of thirty-five that were standing before the flood. Floods have also prevailed in some sections of North Dakota. At Jamestown a lake thirty miles long and two miles wide has been formed, which bids fair to be permanent; at Grand Forks high water interrupted the service on the Great Northern Railway. The floods along the southern Mississippi are receding, and the worst is thought to be over. The damage to property along the great river will be enormous. Many negroes are believed to have been drowned.
— A train load of passengers on the Northern Pacific Railway was snow bound on a North Dakota prairie for four days, ending April 1, near Williston, and passed through an experience attended with much suffering from cold and hunger. The engine drawing the train was disconnected, and attempted to push through the drifts to Williston, but became stuck, and had to be abandoned. There was no heat in the coaches and the food supply was short. A fierce blizzard was raging, which prohibited any attempt to go on foot for relief. One man, a professor in a Western university, became insane, and tried to kill himself. Finally an electrician and telegraph operator who was on the train improvised an apparatus by means of which, after climbing a telegraph pole and tapping the wires, he managed to send word of the situation to a neighboring town, and a rescue was effected by engines sent out with snowplows. The coaches were buried to the roofs in snowdrifts, and this helped to keep the passengers from freezing.
— A boy under twenty-one years is not ‘of age,’ and is supposed to be legally under the guardianship and in the custody of his parents; but as between parents and the government, the latter is declared by the courts to have claims paramount to the parents over minors who have enlisted in the military service. So says a press dispatch stated at New Orleans, which reads: ‘A decision affecting every parent in the land has been handed down by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. It returns a sixteen-year-old boy, Dan Miller, of Austin, Tex., to the custody of the military authorities to stand trial by court-martial for desertion, declaring the military law paramount, and reversing the opinion of the district judge, who had granted the habeas corpus applied for by the parents on the ground that the lad was a minor. The decision holds that the parents of the prisoner lost, by reason of the enlistment of their son, their right to his custody.’
The Relief of the Mount Vernon Academy
By Percy T. Magan
When the effort for the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” was begun, the Mount Vernon Academy had a debt of about seventeen thousand dollars. As there are not three thousand Sabbath-keepers in the Ohio Conference, the work of raising this debt rested upon comparatively few persons.
The revival of the relief work is taking hold of Ohio, and a good campaign is now in progress.
In the city of Columbus evening classes have been held for the study of “Christ’s Object Lessons.” Those who attended this class spent the day canvassing. To some the work at first seemed hard as rock. But these learned by sweet experience that still there is “honey in the rock.”
One brother states that he did not accomplish anything at first. Then in the “Manual for Canvassers” he read the following statement: “Humble, fervent prayer will do more in behalf of the circulation of our books than all the expensive embellishments of the world.” He put this instruction into practice, and sold many books. More than once this brother has seen the tears roll down the cheeks of the ones he canvassed, as he read to them those touching paragraphs about the prodigal son.
One brother says that he dreaded to canvass for “Christ’s Object Lessons,” but managed to muster up enough courage to go out to sell the Life Boat. He took a copy of “Christ’s Object Lessons” with him, not expecting to do anything with it. At the end of one hour’s work he had sold three copies of “Christ’s Object Lessons,” but no Life Boat.
Sister Ida Walters writes that some time ago she sold her quota, and then dropped the matter, thinking that her part was done, and that the Lord was waiting upon others to do their part. Afterwards she decided that this is a war from which there is no release for anybody until all the debts on our schools are paid. She went to work again, and sold twelve books.
We must pray as if everything depended upon God, and work as if everything depended upon us. If all will do this, it will not be long before the song of jubilee will be sung throughout our borders. P. T. MAGAN.
The Rebuilding of the Battle Creek Sanitarium
By John Harvey Kellogg
The board of trustees have felt no small anxiety upon the question of the rebuilding of the Sanitarium, and have, up to within a short time, taken no positive action in reference to the matter. After waiting five weeks, this time being spent in careful prayer and consideration of the matter, the way seemed clear to rebuild in Battle Creek.
The complete wiping out of two main buildings of the institution by fire was an extraordinary event, and one which had never been looked upon as probable, although it had been regarded as possible that one building might burn, or at least a considerable portion of one building, but it was believed to be very improbable that the complete destruction of the main buildings of the institution could be possible, because of the fact that every portion of the building was constantly occupied, while facilities for putting out fire were very numerous, and as efficient as those usually found in cities the size of Battle Creek. Insurance rates were high, two per cent per annum, or more. The facts stated above account for the comparatively small insurance which was carried, considerably less than the actual value of the total property destroyed. The aim of the managers has always been to carry such an amount of insurance that the insurance money, with the property left after any fire which could possibly occur, would be amply sufficient to pay every dollar of indebtedness, this policy being necessary for the proper protection of the creditors. The loss occasioned by the fire was severe, and yet the amount of property left was sufficient to pay the indebtedness without the money received from the insurance companies.
In considering the situation after the fire, the board reasoned thus: The destruction of the buildings is a circumstance which must have in it some important lesson. To learn this lesson was their most earnest desire. Several
interpretations suggested themselves. For example, it might be suggested that the work of the Sanitarium had been so completely a failure that it was of no use in the world. Again, it might be suggested that the work of the Sanitarium in Battle Creek was finished, and that it should be moved to some other place, either to a more favorable locality or to a place where the work was more needed, or where it might be better appreciated. Again, the thought was suggested that Providence had permitted the destruction of those buildings in order that the grand principles represented by the institution might have in a modern and more carefully constructed building a better setting, and the principles a more consistent and adequate representation. Which of these interpretations was the true one the board did not feel themselves competent to decide, and so felt powerless to do anything but quietly wait for Providence to make things clear, and the weeks which have elapsed since the fire have been by no means days of leisure or idle waiting. It has been a time of anxious suspense, and of most intense and earnest seeking for the path of duty.
The moving of an institution like the Sanitarium, which has existed for so long a time in the same locality, about thirty-six years, is like undertaking to move a giant oak or elm, which for a like number of years has been putting down its roots into the soil, and spreading them out far and wide. It is by no means an easy matter. For many years four or five thousand invalids have been coming annually to Battle Creek for treatment. The name “Battle Creek” is associated with certain ideas and principles, and is known throughout the civilized world. Sanitarium methods and the truths represented in them and through the institution have come to be widely known as “The Battle Creek Idea.” The eyes of millions of men and women have been turned toward this place as the center of light and truth from which life-saving principles have been going out for more than a third of a century, and, through the distribution of health books, magazines, and other health literature from this point, have entered millions of homes, and have been the means of revolutionizing tens of thousands of households. For any man or set of men to say arbitrarily that the time had come to close up this work in Battle Creek and to start in some other place would be a usurpation of authority. God planted the Sanitarium tree in Battle Creek, as he planted the cedars of Lebanon, and divine Providence alone could decide the location of the new building.
How the Location Was Determined
After giving the matter most earnest consideration for several days, the Sanitarium Board decided to put the matter to a test, and in such a way that no power but God himself could decide the question at issue. The proposition was put in this form: If it is the will of God that the Sanitarium should be moved from Battle Creek, then the way for the rebuilding of the institution in Battle Creek will be closed up, while the way will be opened elsewhere. Having arrived at this decision, the board simply waited for developments. Several hundred letters were sent out to old22
patients,—business men, senators, lawyers, clergymen, and other people of influence,—asking their advice in reference to the location of the new building, putting the matter in such a way as to give no suggestion whatever.
What Was Done in Battle Creek
Observing that the managers were not at once taking hold of the matter of rebuilding, the citizens of Battle Creek began making inquiries in reference to the matter, and were informed that the board did not feel clear upon the question of rebuilding, that they had not yet any providential indication upon the question of location, and felt that there were reasons why another location might be desirable. Within a few days, messages began flowing in from all parts of the United States, some advising the erection of the new building in another place, but the majority advising to rebuild in Battle Creek, the very name seeming to be dear to multitudes who had here found restoration to health, and knowledge whereby to maintain health and usefulness.
The citizens of Battle Creek took the matter in hand with great earnestness. The Business Men’s Association appointed a committee, which, after visiting the Sanitarium, and fully informing themselves respecting the work and the financial affairs of the institution, undertook a most earnest and vigorous missionary campaign of the city for the purpose of removing misconceptions and prejudices, which were in most cases the result of ignorance or incorrect information. This committee left no stone unturned, and the result of their efforts was the creation in the city of such an intense and earnest sympathy for the Sanitarium and its work as was never known before. Such a revolution of feeling has never occurred before in the history of Battle Creek, and has probably rarely been seen in any city. The efforts of this committee not only broke down the enormous walls of prejudice which the enemies of the institution had built up, but resulted in the raising of a large sum of money toward the erection of the new building. The committee is still at work, so the amount cannot be stated in exact figures, but it may be stated as between thirty-five and fifty thousand dollars.
The members of our own church caught the spirit and enthusiasm which prevailed in the whole city, and, led by the church committee, entered upon a similar campaign, with the result that several thousand dollars more were added, the total amount raised by the church to date being about six thousand dollars. Neither the citizens nor the church committee were urged to do this. The board simply stated the situation, and left it for the Lord to move upon the hearts of the citizens and brethren to act as might seem to them right and proper under the circumstances. The result has been that the citizens, church members, and the members of the Sanitarium family have together raised the handsome sum of nearly one hundred thousand dollars toward the erection of the new building.
This is certainly very tangible evidence that something ought to be done for Battle Creek. Such expressions of sympathy and interest on the part of any other city, backed up in such a
tangible way, would most certainly receive consideration, and would be considered a very loud call for the establishment of a sanitarium. No mere human influence could have possibly created such a general uprising on the part of the whole city in behalf of truth and reform. God alone has power to work so wondrous a miracle. Many equally remarkable providences have seemed to open the way for rebuilding in Battle Creek. Eminent talent of various sorts has seemed to be divinely sent to help us in our extremity. Architects and builders of great experience and ability have come to our aid without seeking, and it seems to be as clear as anything well could be that the Sanitarium should be rebuilt in Battle Creek.
The board still felt themselves wholly incompetent for the task of deciding whether or not the Sanitarium building should be reconstructed, and if so, where; and not wishing to take the responsibility of settling this important question in which many thousands are interested, a council of the General Conference officers and Union Conference presidents was called. These brethren convened Monday, March 24, and spent nearly a week in the consideration of this and other matters pertaining to the Sanitarium and its work. The counsel of these brethren was greatly appreciated by the board of managers, and it is proper to say that the steps which have been taken looking toward the erection of the Sanitarium in Battle Creek were by the unanimous advice and recommendation of these brethren and the members of the Medical Missionary Board, as well as the Sanitarium management.
Another consideration which has not been mentioned, but one to which considerable weight must be attached, is the fact that to remove the institution to some other place would require a loss of a hundred thousand dollars in the shape of property which could not be removed, but which will be valuable to the building constructed here. This consists of our large heating plant, underground conduits, dormitories for helpers, business buildings, etc. That the Sanitarium work has not been unsuccessful in Battle Creek is known to all. There has not been one year in the last twenty-five years in which the annual business has not exceeded that of the previous year; and this notwithstanding the fact that within the last few years a large number of branch establishments have been set in operation in various cities. At the time of the fire the weekly receipts from patients were over seven thousand dollars, and the number of patients under treatment was the largest ever in the institution in the winter season.
The Size of the New Building
After deciding that the Sanitarium must be rebuilt in Battle Creek, the next question of momentous importance was that of the size of the building. The temptation naturally would be to erect a building able to accommodate all the patients likely to visit the institution, providing the patronage should continue as it has been during the last two years. There might be a temptation to erect even a larger building, to provide for the increase in patronage, such as has been coming steadily in for several years past. Indeed, this would be looked
upon as good business judgment. For nearly a dozen years between four and five thousand dollars has been expended annually in the renting of cottages, eighty rented buildings being occupied the greater portion of the time for years past, in addition to the twenty buildings owned by the institution. The buildings burned were large structures, aggregating in all, including the wings and additions, space sufficient to make a building a thousand feet long, forty feet wide, and four stories in height; and yet this building, notwithstanding the fact that for the most part the rooms were rather small, many quite too small for the highest sanitary requirements, did not accommodate during the five or six busiest months of the year more than half the patients under treatment at the Sanitarium, and during the very busiest season, during July, August, and September, not more than forty per cent of the patients; the remainder of our patients were obliged to seek lodging wherever they could find places among the citizens of the town, and in buildings rented for the purpose. During the greater part of last year, the expense for rented buildings has risen to six or seven thousand dollars per annum. Five thousand dollars would pay five per cent interest on a building costing one hundred thousand dollars, and such a building would accommodate the patients much more comfortably than they could be accommodated in scattered buildings.
The Sanitarium family of helpers has sometimes reached the number of eight or nine hundred. To accommodate these only one dormitory has been provided, which is capable of holding less than two hundred, so that three fourths of the helpers have been obliged to room in various places scattered about the greater part of town, even at a considerable distance from the institution, a fact which has been a source of great inconvenience. Thus the temptation has been for many years to erect buildings for the accommodation of patients who could not be admitted to the existing buildings, and for the erection of dormitories for the better accommodation of helpers. Nevertheless the board has steadily set its face against making such improvements, for the reason that its purpose has been to increase the establishment of branches in various parts of the world, rather than the centralization of the work in Battle Creek. There has not been a time since the erection of the first large buildings when the institution was capable of holding the family of patients and helpers, and for many years there has been no time at any season of the year when the Sanitarium accommodations for patients were sufficient to make it possible to furnish room for all under treatment, except by the use of hired buildings.
In determining the size of the new building, the board have thought it their duty to adhere to the same principle and policy; and hence in the erection of the new building, the attempt will not be made to erect a building large enough to accommodate all those who visit the Sanitarium for treatment. The number of patients under treatment last summer at one time was about seven hundred. The managers have thought it wise to construct a building which would furnish about three hundred moderate-sized sleeping rooms. If means were suffi-23
cient, large, airy rooms would be provided, but the board have felt the necessity of reducing the building to the smallest size possible, hoping that they may be able to furnish accommodations for approximately half of those who come from abroad for treatment.
As before stated, the burned buildings were equivalent to a four-story building over one thousand feet in length. The new buildings will be approximately half this length, five stories in height, with one two-story expansion in the rear for bath and gymnasium purposes. Plans have been made in the most economical manner possible. The building must be severely plain, but dignified, and beautiful in lines and proportions, but without artificial decoration. Even the roof will be utilized as an exercise ground, being made flat for this purpose. A fuller description will be published later, when the plans are more fully perfected.
It is expected that the cost of the new building will be less than the cost of the buildings which burned, or at least no more, but the construction will be far more substantial and enduring. Brick, iron, stone, and cement will be the materials used, so that the building will be absolutely fireproof. The building will look much larger than the old structure, through the avoidance of wings, the whole structure being arranged in one long building, running north and south, thus furnishing an equal supply of light and air to each room.
The managers very earnestly desire the support, the prayers, and the sympathy of all the friends of the great principles and reforms which the Battle Creek Sanitarium represents, that in their efforts to reconstruct and equip the institution they may be divinely led, and may make such a representation of these truths and principles as will command the respect of the world, and redound to the glory of God and the blessing of humanity.
J. H. KELLOGG.