New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-23

N c00c<fve
.. .no,siy the general system. lew Of them do in
deed appear 10 affect great number OF the org sns
" of tbe body; but mseA TIE larger proportion "eM,
o. the contrary, 20 act on one or more organs oAy
and net on tie general syste~. Thus for example,
s-,e,ic in poisopous doees attacks and inhames ;he
mncus membrane of The almentary passage; stryeh-
nne takes eest upon the spinal cGd snd eed fsstens
mon "a mus~ee of the wrist, paraiyzng them ana
nIoducrg What IL known smoog painers and white
fesS asuf.c,urpr, o. xria drop The dis,lrbsne
occ. soued by The SosoDous sReDt may not De co.,
6ptd 10 q single pat; yet urder the action OF tn,
Fundamental law Of TIE constitution the tendency OF
!. 10 GEEK out and fssen upon particular por
hon. of the org aDism which first and most directly
,uftrs from heir action.
With this bssty analys of the reaive va of vs.
rious parts Of man tuition and OF the sT uncer
vhich the, are acted upon by foreign agents. pro-
ceed 10 examine the manner IN which II 10 Affected py
Alcohol -, -
s.o1 acb ar mstttr Of necessity tnls oeipg the rous
of introduction for liquids and solids 10 the geaerA sy
tim IN, they do not long remain in this organ FOR their
nesepce there would sp ediy and u'erly ares: The
ssioes.ive process 1T is q remarkable fact, saws
Or Durdss Thompson, III It Alcohol, when aided 10
the objective fluid, produces While prsciprase, 80
,ha, H. Amid Il 40 lorg ger capable Of dig estinx AMI
mai or vegetable matter Ins precipi "a ion 10 the
coe. ulation Of The pstn, an esseanai element OF
gastric iuioe Those 0isogulsheS pay hologsts Todd
and Bowman in their late work, gay: " The use OF
alcoholic sti ulan:s ALTO reiards digestion oy coasu'
"lating The pepsiD and tberby interfering with us
action Were 1t not that vine and spirits are rap
oly absorbed, The Introduction OF these into The
I" stomach in any Qudatty would De CO. plete, oar
10 the digestion of the food, the pepsiu would be
"pr.cil,taied from solu ion az qui'ky as II Wa
forutd by the stomach" Alcoholic mixtures are,
therefore promptly AFFORDED they penetrate the IT,
sues Of tie stomach and are quickly launched int the
circulation
ALCOHOL ATTRACTED TO IHB NERVOUS sYsTrN-ir
Is A BRAIN DIsoRoAsrzER.
The question ow is, af'er Alcohol has passed into
the vital am, and thus gets free course through he
general system what then becomes OF Il Under tbe
ilfuepce of the great physiological Law 10 which
have referred what ia it's destiny 10 what part OF
the oganism il first and chiefly attracted It's the
nervous sy stem and especially its great controlling
center The brain that is singled out and becomes The
the chief focus otits rsvaees This Is truth sckDo~l
edged aid beyond dispute For ehIe II 10 matter
Of notorious observation that spiituous iiquore when
drunk have tendency 10 " ny 10 the head, as
eyipced by the prompt mental disturbance which they
produce the dssector shows that the organ OF mind Is
The rally ing point Of palp4be dsorsanizstoa aud DIS
ease and the sbes sPoogists of Alcohol also bear ex-
Icit testimony 10 the fact late able writer IN ne
W,Sminster Reriep, who has at'emp I'd q scientific
defense Of Alcohol recognizes fully its spec o. relation.
ship 10 the Dtrv Gus system, "Gy its great affinity and
he seectire eagerhess rh Uhich acts on at tts-
sue in controversy which you had some. years
since with DR. Hun of Albany upon the question OF
stomsch diseases induced by Alcohol your adversary
affirmed that at is on the nerrous,y'tem hat Il. most
"terriJle effects produced" That Alcohol
has been extracted from he matter oil tae
brain after death by into1cs'ion, is well.
established fact; and repeated distances record
where It has been taken from the cavities (venTi3es)
Of that organ in sufficient strength to be set on he
and burn with its characteristic blue flame Alcohol
has been obtained from the brain several Gays after
the victims death and it has been found in the cre
bral substa1 ce when il could not be detected eli her IN
the ven rces of the organ or in any other part OF the
BODY. But in which the sction OF Alcohol upon
the human brain Gao be directly or satisfaei Only
tL1 al M
dental. For the thorough and accurate exploration Of
the subject therefore resort has been ha1 10 the
elucdaiion Of many other important physiological
problems, TO experiments upon the inferior animss
We art inc ebtd TO DR. Percy OF lnburgh for course
of experimental inquiries of this kind shich olpleto
" settle the question and verify the conclusions drawn
from observations upon the brain of man. He destroyed
the animals by injecting strong Alcohol into the
syttem, AID then subjected TO analysis the brains
and o,her parts TO detect the presence and
proportion Of the poison The result of his investiga
tior not only that Alcohol drawn TO the brain
by special attraction but that II existed rather in toe
c. bIa substance than ia the vessels Of the organ
He says: Although have subjected to analysis q
"much greater quantity of blood than can possibly
abe present within the Uranium, yet haze IN general
"ef alcohol from lie brain than from all ttss qna~ty
of blood He hence infers the existence OF an qwR
"ay Jetween Alcohol and the cerebral matter"
Now it can hardly be necessary TO state that coho
is an sgert of such active and powerful qualities that
il canntt be dfused through the oral tissue with
out sivipg rice TO profoubd disturbance. Ihave stated
that the brain is laboratory of the most RAPID vI,al
chhDges upon which its Functional exercise depends
substance Of the energe afnites and hery rfl'sn,
nature OF Alcohol OF enter the tbeater OF these
Transformations without producing active interference
We know that TIE direct action OF Aicoho upon the
,issue. is that Of disorg AIMING poi.op ano %nen
LODGE thin the BRAIN this must be IFS kind OF elect
whatever msy be its degree. By irs eager attraction
for oxygen and its extreme inHammabity, ranging in
this rtspect high above all normal ailments, it pro-
duees an uni aura intensity OF vital combustion,
and col sequenily excitement, extilaraion aud In.
creased action throughout the system. by
robbing the srterial blood Of It's oxygen,
il changes 1t prematurely to the venous condition. and
contributes, long since sho wn By Dr. Prout, to
the unnatural retention Of csrbonic acid within the
body. Thus by the direct action Of Alcohol diseemi
mated through the substance Of the brsn and by the
altered condition of the blood which 1t induces, disease
OF the organ becomes inevitable. Accordingly, II 10
found that upon post morton examins ion Of the bod
les Of inebiiates the brain exhibits conspicuous traces
of the deleterious agent in the shape Of enlarge nen
of the vessels and thckening Of their coats watsry
and bloody illusions enlargement of the membranes;
preternstural sof enng and pulpy disorgsnizaton Of
the cerebral texture, with various other morbid sp
pearancee. In one case where death was suddenly
produced by excessive quantity OF rum, the brain
pr, septed bloody spots and the cavities we're loaded
with blood, slti ough the stom. ch was ns ural.
THE DIsoRGASIzER or The MINDS ORGAN Is ALSO A
DIsoRGANIZER OF TIE MIND ITSELF.
Pbysiologiss sre agreed that different parts OF the
brain ale devoted 10 different The first effect VI
Alcohol is upon its isher and frontal portion, which,
the seat OF the intellectual and moral faculties. This
part Of the brain is excited by small quantity Of
liquor and when mere is taken, it becomes more
deeply perverted, and the hinder and lower portion Of
the organ, which controls the of melton, 10
atscked ard the individual loses the faculty Of per-
fectly governing regulating the bodily movements.
When q still greater quantity lie drunk the &C
OF that part which is devoted 10 the hi ,ber sen
mens seems utterly suspendedI the power of volas.
ary oiion is lost and the poison downward 10
the extrere lower portion Of the organ, which is
rected with the spinal cord ano has charge Of the res