CHAPTER 15 LOST CONFIDENCE RESTORED

ALTHOUGH the Health Reform Institute had passed a real crisis by 1868, yet there were still grave difficulties confronting its management. The wide publicity that had been given to the initial prosperity of the institution had led to an unwarranted optimism for the future. It was, therefore, somewhat of a shock to the stockholders when, at the third annual meeting, they were told by the auditor that there had been an operating loss of $1,178.68, and that the institution was heavily in debt. The Review and Herald, May 25, 1869.SHM 183.1

The deficit was not only a shock, but also an occasion of surprise to many, for it was common knowledge that the institution had been crowded with patients nearly all the time. The difficulty had arisen from the fact that with the assignment of the dividend by the stockholders to the directors of the establishment, for its charitable uses and purposes, half rates had been offered to needy church members, and the patronage had been largely of this class, giving a patient income of only $8,000 for the year. The full rates were as low as $5.00 to $7.00 a week.SHM 183.2