Public Sentiment in Battle Creek Toward the Sanitarium
Very interesting developments have been taking place in Battle Creek the past week with reference to the question of the rebuilding of the Sanitarium. It has been a great question whether the institution should be rebuilt here, or in some other locality. Numerous bids for the removal of the Sanitarium have been coming from other places, accompanied with very flattering inducements in the form of gifts of real estate and cash donations. It has not been a matter of course that the Sanitarium should be rebuilt in Battle Creek. There are other localities having in many respects far superior advantages. The managers have felt that the proper course to pursue in the matter was to seek for some evidence that would indicate the mind of God. The Sanitarium is His institution, and the point to be determined is not, Where would men have this institution? but, Where would He have it? If His providence indicated that it should go somewhere else, then the removal would be made. In the solution of this problem, an essential thing to be considered was the attitude of the Seventh-day Adventist church and the citizens of Battle Creek. The attitude of this community in the past toward the Sanitarium has been far from right. It has been one which has caused the Sanitarium managers to feel that they would be glad to shake the dust of this city from off their feet, and go to some place where the character and work of the institution would be better appreciated. If the sentiment of the people here remained what it was before, it would be a strong indication that the removal of the Sanitarium was the proper thing. Under all these circumstances, the matter of the sentiment of this community toward the Sanitarium was necessarily brought conspicuously to the front, and a train of events was started which has led to very interesting and important developments. The nature of the existing situation touching this point was made manifest by— which have been held in the city the past week. The first of these was held at the Tabernacle the evening of March 16. Elders Daniells and Lane, and Dr. Kellogg, were the principal speakers. The purpose for which the Sanitarium was established; the early days of its history; the principles for which it stands to-day; and the importance to this community, and to Seventh-day Adventists especially, of extending to it full sympathy, support, and co-operation, were the themes dwelt upon. Dr. Kellogg stated, further, that the institution was left by the fire in a condition of practical bankruptcy, having only assets enough left, including the insurance, to cover its indebtedness; that a large sum would have to be raised to enable the managers to rebuild, and that the matter of rebuilding must be settled at once, as the income of the Sanitarium had been almost wholly cut off, while its expenses were nearly as large as ever. A resolution was presented, and adopted as the sentiment of the meeting, by a unanimous rising vote, expressing sorrow that a situation so unjust to the Sanitarium and its management should have existed among those in whose midst this institution has been placed; acknowledging, as members of the church here, their remissness in duty in this respect, and resolving “that we hereby and now, pledge ourselves to do all in our power for the upbuilding, not only of the structure, but of the principles for which it stands.” The second mass meeting was called by the Battle Creek Business Men’s Association, and was held in the opera house, the evening of the 17th inst. Its purpose was the raising of funds to assist the Sanitarium in rebuilding. It was a large and enthusiastic meeting, at which the fullest expression was given by leading citizens to their appreciation of the great value to the city of the moral and material advantages conferred by the Sanitarium, and their earnest desire to have it remain with them. At this meeting the fact was made conspicuous that there has been— A Complete Change of Sentiment
in the minds of the citizens toward the Sanitarium since the destruction of its buildings a month ago. This revolution of opinion was not based on sympathy, but on the knowledge gained by the thorough investigation into the Sanitarium management and finances made by a committee of the Business Men’s Association, as reported in the Review of March 18. With the facts before them which had been thus ascertained, the business men of Battle Creek were not slow to acknowledge that they had been mistaken in their estimate of the institution. Such expressions as, “My opinion is now changed,” and, “If I were not of a different frame of mind now, I would not be here to-night,” were on the lips of the speakers at this meeting. How strongly in favor of the Sanitarium the sentiment of these men has become by this turning of the tide, is indicated by the fact that the members of the Citizen’s Committee, by whom this meeting was called,—men who are among the most prominent and highly respected citizens of the place,—left their business, and gave their entire time for days to the work of clearing up the misunderstandings regarding the Sanitarium that have heretofore existed in the community, and of influencing public opinion, and creating a situation which would insure the rebuilding of the institution in this city. On the day this mass meeting was held, this committee raised among the citizens in a few hours’ time the sum of twenty thousand dollars in cash, which was increased by liberal contributions made at the meeting. A more thorough canvass of the city by this committee has been in progress since. The third mass meeting was held in the Tabernacle, Tuesday evening, March 18. At this meeting opportunity was given those present to testify189to their appreciation of, and loyalty to, the Sanitarium as an institution devoted to the moral and physical uplifting of the people, and doing a work which is in every way ennobling to all brought within the sphere of its influence. Dr. Kellogg was present; and after a number had spoken, he arose and said that he thought too much was being said about appreciating the Sanitarium itself and the work of those connected with it. This was not what he most desired, or believed to be of the chief importance. The essential thing in his mind, he said, was that the community in whose midst the Sanitarium was placed should be loyal to the principles for which the Sanitarium stands. He then told— Why the Sanitarium Was Located in Battle Creek
It was not because of any natural advantages in the way of climate or surroundings; for there were many other localities which in these respects were far better. But thirty-six years ago, when the Health Institute was first started, the principles it advocated were far less popular in the world than they are to-day. Almost every doctrine for which the institution stood was at that time ridiculed by medical men and by the world, and it required courage to stand up and advocate them before the people, and those who did so felt the need of the sympathy and support of the few who stood with them in this work. In Battle Creek there were at that time a hundred and fifty or more people who had accepted the principles of healthful living, and this was the largest community of health reformers then to be found. In Battle Creek there was the largest number of those who would rally to the support of the health and temperance work which the institution was to do; and it was for this reason, and only this, that the Health Institute, which has developed into a sanitarium of world-wide fame, had its beginning in this city. And to-day, the essential thing, he said, is still, as it was then, that this community should heartily indorse and further the principles for which the institution stands, and rightly represent it before the world. It is expected that the sum of one hundred thousand dollars will be raised in Battle Creek toward the expense of rebuilding, and a further large sum by friends and former patients outside the city, some of whom have already made unsolicited donations of large sums. This, with the amount of the insurance (one hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars) will provide a fund sufficient to erect a new structure adequate to the needs of the work, and one to which the public can be invited with the assurance that there is no danger of another destruction by fire.