Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898.
- Michigan. State Board of Health
- Date:
- 1898
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![ing', wiiirli iueliule a practical courtsc in the modes and means of keep- ing cleanly in person, have been established. Children are inspired with the thought that there is sweetness in life—that there is beauty and dignity in cleanly living which they never experienced before. A criminal who had sojourned for years at Sing Sing i»rison returned to his home at Five Points, and was astonished to see the changes that had taken place in his absence. With the change in material things in and iibont his favorite haunt there was a notable change for the better in the peojde that inhabited it. A light dawned upon his soul, and he turned away from these changed conditions, determined to make a like change in his own life, to forget the prison and the prison garb, and to plant his feet in the paths that lead to duty and righteousness. The lessons of history and experience teach us, that material prosperity is not all that contributes to the better life of the community and of its })eo])le. They may enjoy great commercial })ros])erity and yet be upon the verge of ruin. If the moral well-being of the community is not ad- vanced side b}' side with the material, moral disease will insidiously sap the city’s life. The free cities of Greece were never so prosperous as when they fell an easy prey to the sword of Idiilip of Macedon; Rome was never so lu'autiful, nor was she blessed with a better water supply —great military roads leading out into all the nations of the earth—as when Cmsar crossed the Rubicon and crowned himself Emperor. It often happens, also, that communities become a prey to diseases whose course cannot be interruj)ted. The eloquence of Demosthenes could not save Greece; the valor of Hannibal coitld not save Carthage; all the statecraft of Marcus Antonins could not prevent the dissolution of the Roman Republic, while there is no picture in all history so deeply pathetic as that which shows one who. Himself the Saviour of M.xn- kind. would not and could not save a city dying from moral and spiritual indifference. The aged Apostle St. John, when permitted a vision of the Heavenly City, describes its symmetry and completeness in these words: “And the length of it, and tlie hight of it, and the breadth of it were equal”. So in every city that would be perfect there must be a coordina- tion between its commercial, moral and spiritual forces. To this city of our affection I again bid you a hearty welcome. You will travel far to find a city that manifests greater thrift or more that is homelike, than the city in which you are now assembled. There is no city of its size in the world where a larger proportion of the land belongs * to the people. The houses are in every sense homes. This statement is true, whether it applies to the palace or the cottage home owner. You will not fail to note the evidence of ownership in the garden planted with vegetables for the table; in the vines that clamber over the doors; in the flowers that trail above the window; in everything and everywhere there is that which is significant of ownership, of thrift, and of home. We may well ask the question—why should not Detroit be a magnifi- cent city? Consider all her natural advantages—the beautiful river and the island park both creations of nature with all that is ideal in natural beauty! Nature has done so much for us that we can only claim the wisdom of making fair use of that which she has so abundantly provided. Let me, by an incident that occurred at one of our early missionary stations, emphasize the spirit of your welcome. It is said that one of the early Jesuit Missionaries, worn out from his labors, stood under a spread- ing oak on a hot June Sabbath morning, preaching the gospel of peace](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22335213_0023.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
