Advocated By Man Who Walks the Streets Almost Naked.
New York, Feb. 20. – “I would walk down Broadway naked if it were not for the police”, said a remarkable looking man whi attracted agreat crowd as he strolled along the Rialto, attired in a corduroy mantle which coverede his body from shoulders to just below the the knees. His legs were bare; he wore sandals. He had bushy whiskers and long silky blond hair, tied back with a brown ribbon. He was Joseph Salomonson, who arrived from Holland last Friday on the American Liner Haverford. He believes in living the life of the “natural man,” believing his ability thereby to prolong his life 150 years.
Until 1899 Salomonson was a successful merchant. In that year he became a vegetarian and ceased to take liquid. He is 51, but does not look to be over 35 or 40. He has a peach and cream complexion, and is strong and quick in his movements. He speaks good English.
“I only began to live when I discovered this beautiful kind of life. I am living,” he said last night. “Salt is the enemy of the world. Since I stopped eating salt with my food I have not taken a drink and have moistened my mouth only with the juices of fruits.
“It used to cost me $5000 a year to live, now it costs me only $250 a year. When I am at home, I do not wear any clothes – nix, nix – I want to get as close to nature as possible. I sleep out in the fields, and the magnetism from the earth is like an injection of morphine. I am awakened in the morning by the glorious sunrise, and my eyelids and whiskers are covered with dew. It is delicious.
“When I went to England an walked through the streets with only a thin robe of linen thrown over my shoulders I was made fun of by the people, and went to Switzerland. When I was in the country I did not wear anything. The time is not far off when no one will wear clothes – clothes are horrible.
Duluth Evening Herald, 21. Jahrg., 20. Februar 1904, S. 18. Online