Northen, Reams, & Senate Document 264
In 1936, Rex Beach who lived in Sebring Florida at the time, wrote a short article about the work of Dr. Charles Northen. Northen (not Northern) had stopped his doctoring work and shifted to agriculture because he felt he could help many, many more if their diets were improved.
Beach's article, Modern Miracle Men, was published in Cosmopolitan magazine and then read into the Congressional Record as "Senate Document 264" by Mr. Fletcher. No, the article did not start a stampede for hearings to examine the diet of Americans and determine what could be done to improve things. Remember that this was in that inter-war period where the cries of such as Professor Albrecht that too many of our young men could not pass a physical because of bad teeth, bad bones, and bad health went unheard. 264 had some meaning for those with long memories a few years later when so many draftees failed their physical exams exactly as Albrecht and others had predicted.
Carey Reams admired Dr. Northen, had studied under him, did lab analysis for him, and he grasped the importance of the article. Better plants could be grown on better soil and those higher quality plants were the foundation for stronger, healthier animals and people. So there is little doubt that the message of Document 264 is linked with the later work of Reams.
Sadly, 264 was hijacked by "mineral" peddlers, who used it to convince a wary public that waters dirty with leached substances from earthen deposits here, there, and everywhere were "good for them." Those who gagged and retched at the astringent qualities of the various leachates nevertheless listened to that "good for you" mantra over and over as they were enticed to buy yet another high-priced bottle. Perhaps the customers were thinking of "strong medicine" and the bizarre idea that if something tastes bad it must be good. How different that from the sweet taste of crops grown on properly mineralized land.
Over the years the peddlers have slyly changed a word or two here or there to use the document in ways it was never meant to be used. So there is a need to keep the original unaltered document close at hand. For that reason, we have included an authentic copy that you are free to download or use any time you wish.
Beach's article, Modern Miracle Men, was published in Cosmopolitan magazine and then read into the Congressional Record as "Senate Document 264" by Mr. Fletcher. No, the article did not start a stampede for hearings to examine the diet of Americans and determine what could be done to improve things. Remember that this was in that inter-war period where the cries of such as Professor Albrecht that too many of our young men could not pass a physical because of bad teeth, bad bones, and bad health went unheard. 264 had some meaning for those with long memories a few years later when so many draftees failed their physical exams exactly as Albrecht and others had predicted.
Carey Reams admired Dr. Northen, had studied under him, did lab analysis for him, and he grasped the importance of the article. Better plants could be grown on better soil and those higher quality plants were the foundation for stronger, healthier animals and people. So there is little doubt that the message of Document 264 is linked with the later work of Reams.
Sadly, 264 was hijacked by "mineral" peddlers, who used it to convince a wary public that waters dirty with leached substances from earthen deposits here, there, and everywhere were "good for them." Those who gagged and retched at the astringent qualities of the various leachates nevertheless listened to that "good for you" mantra over and over as they were enticed to buy yet another high-priced bottle. Perhaps the customers were thinking of "strong medicine" and the bizarre idea that if something tastes bad it must be good. How different that from the sweet taste of crops grown on properly mineralized land.
Over the years the peddlers have slyly changed a word or two here or there to use the document in ways it was never meant to be used. So there is a need to keep the original unaltered document close at hand. For that reason, we have included an authentic copy that you are free to download or use any time you wish.