from the AUTHOR'S NOTE TO THE CHILD:

This book has been prepared to help you in learning about "the house you live in," and to teach you to take care of it, and keep it from being destroyed by two of its greatest enemies,--Alcohol and Nicotine.

As you study its pages, be sure to find out the meaning of every word in them which you do not understand; for, if you let your tongue say what your mind knows nothing about, you are talking parrot-fashion.

And do not forget that you must pay for all the knowledge you obtain, whether you are rich or poor. Nobody else can pay for you. You, your own self, must pay attention with your own mind, through your own eyes and ears, or do without knowledge.

Be wise: gain all the knowledge you can concerning everything worth knowing, and use it for the good of yourself and other people.

"KNOWLEDGE IS POWER."