I am confident that the American habit of eating sumptuous and late suppers, whether at our homes or church fairs or festivals, is damaging the physical, mental, and moral health of our nation more than any other one thing of its kind; more damaging, because it has the appearance of innocency, and the sanction of our fathers and mothers and some of our pastors. Furthermore, the habit of eating hurriedly, or hastily, is preying upon the vital and moral forces of many of us. A meal eaten hastily or nervously, under the pressure of intense mental activity or nervous tension, or great weariness, begins its work of nutrition under the greatest possible disadvantage. All our meals should be eaten calmly and deliberately, so as to thoroughly masticate the food, and not impose on the stomach and viscera the legitimate work of the teeth. In the interest of health to soul as well as body I enter an earnest plea for more time for eating, and especially at noon, when most hard working people take their principal meal. Clerks, business men, and school teachers, mechanics, laborers, and our children who attend the public schools, need more time at noon to properly dispose of the chief meal of the day. No better investment could be made to secure the best possible physical, intellectual, financial, and moral returns than for all classes of people to take two hours at mid-day for resting and eating dinner. Selfish greed demands otherwise, and makes a show of gain; but the loss is sure to come in due time to all parties concerned.