Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1867-07-16
Tsar IlouoRs OF COMMERCE

TsnE LIQUORS OF COMMERCE.
rQfsoNors sTiMriANrs IN THE SICK roox.
The vile srs Of adalsers.ius alcoholic uou,t.
was vracticed In Greece and Rome more ,,.a
Two centuries ago. and then. as now. the Mcai
cal Faculty denounced H. and iamen,ea the All.
hcui'y of procuring pure and whole some ,umu.
lan,s forthc sick.
Hippocrasss called attention to the tricks of
the Athenian winners four c,ntu-ic before the
christian era. 0aien. somewhat later, sscrnly
rebuksd the wine merchant. of Rome for tam
per'ng with the Juice Of the grape. There va.
NO distilled liquors in ,hose asys. and many Of
the subtle pcisons a, present uecd hv liquor
mixers were unknown. bu, considering their
knowledge and opportunities the sdul.cratcrs Of
the ''classie sses'' showed considerable aao,it
ness In tAeis nefaricus calling. Lead. lime. rvn.
sum. and sea-waser were put into new wine by
the Roman dealers. and |. Was boiled and lei, 10
cool in setsl vessels BY way OF Improving II.
taste and giving Il Ganspasency. To this day
some Of the Mediterranean wines are subjected 10
. similar process. All the wines Of Europe are
more az less adulisra,ed before N ~ leave first,
hands," and a. 10 the ste commonly ressicd in
this scuatry under the names Of Port. Sherry.
MADEIRA, Ac., kc., sloe. juice. decoeuon Of log
wood, powder of catcher. alum plaster of paris
icsd, lithcrgc, carbonate of soda. oil of almonds
cider and bad rum, II ay be mentioned as among
their peasants ingredients.
But II is in the concoc,ion OF "sprituous
liquors that the adul,rrs,o's Of this generation
PARTICULAR. excel The tricks Il the Greek and
Ro an via,ncrs were mere chiid's lay - theirs
CNrycuuiut, huipuuItC "sstt rhFHs w ''""' JtF"fs
opiaies. and . variety Of puneen. alkaiies are
am ing the delicacies tina, enter into the coupo
8 tion of ordinary 'bnr; room liquors. and some
chemicsls witty a small a'mixture Of unrcctihed
spirit. No wonder, under such circumstances.
that tavern brandy, rum gin and whisky. carry
ecath snd madness in thcis train. No wonder.
also, that pAysiciaas hare lost con fa.acs N re
liquors Of CONNER. aai are AFRAID TO use than.
Stimulants. however. are - necessary In med
ical practice febrifngcs. or catonrtics or nnc-
dyses, or Alternatives. or any other OF tine 'ecog
nissd specifies for disease The great question
is. can pure stimulant be lad wcsay il can
We assert that Tlosrrrvss's Sscxacu B'rrsss,
the alcoholic basis Of which is the essence 81
sound Aonongshsli Rye. 10 % pure ssimsiant
as u IL pOssisis for Asasdn stiu 10 manetaetars
It 10. however. something more and better than
this. TO Wit. = Judiciouslv medicsDsd stimuiant.
In which the qualify ing ings edients are the finest
stomachie, aperient. sl:crative, and ansi-bilous
herbs. roots and gums. These vegetable con
stituents modify aud control the I'll, &, Of tho
spirituoua elements. snd render the Bitters the
safest. miidsst and most effective invigornn, At
present iususe.
II may be remarked. perhaps. that this IL an
easy thing 10 ssy-bu how is i. TO be proved
To this 10 have only TO reply that corrobrrativc
testimony from high scientific sources. and from
citizens Of good standing in every profession
and calling. extending over apcsiod OF more than
twenty. five years. 10 ~ the service Of whom II
may concern. Volumes Of this testimony have
been published, and there remains ut least I'm
equal amount as yet imprinted.
FOR the melancholy consequences which ensue
from the sale of unwhoiesome compounds bear
ing the names Of the various spir tuous liquors.
the powers ihst DO are in some degree RESPONSE.
BILE. Deriving - u does, large revenue from
the importation and manufacture Of alcoholic
beverages. it 10 maniiestly the duty Of the Gen
ersl Government 10 protect the people Us far ~
possible against the introduction Of poisons into
thclr daily uflVk. HtiIl mOr" imperative " the
obligation 10 shield the sick r., m the peril Of be-
ing killed or injured by pernicious excitan,s. ad-
minis'ersd ~ medicines Inspection ard taxa
ton ought. In this matter. 90 band in hand. and
in I'll eases Of aduteration. the sdu,erated arti
Gle instesd of being taxed should be destroyed.
Every tincture and extract containing. or puspor
ting to contain alcohol. should be examined by
compstent scientific men, and not permitted TO go
into the market until its purity has been author
its,ively certified. The sanitary ,Ncres's of the
community should be paramount 10 the financial
interests Of the Government the public heath
being Of infinitely more importance than the
pubic revenue. Bot no such pro,vcsve super
| vision 10 exercised either by the central poser
| ut w Arlington or by the State Governments.
| Tho Internal Revsn nue. assessors, and collectors
| simply demand their tau, knowing nothing about
/ the wholesomeness or unwhoicsomeness of the
| article upon which II is levied The Custom
Hoa.e Collsctors insist on payment of the duties
reqsircd BY Law on impcsied liquors but how
much or how d lie foreign poison there may be
In esch cssk or puucheoo il In not their business
20 ascertain. Congress seems to have eutire'y
| overlooked its function Of puolic protection in
tektAt0SSuB ou tuc u1"Vv uuUsoous 'sn'U
lssures have been equally remms Mnny Of them
have tried prohibit,op, and failed No one Of
them, 20 far - We are swsfs. has endeavored TO
mitigate the evils Of which they have all com
rlained b inst,tutng rigid svssem Of inspection
We should 10 glad TO see such . system
| adopsed - an experiment. II would At lea.t
prevent u7psinc,pIcd dealers fron pslming of.
uros the working elasses. to ~ unlimi ed ex
test the Assy fluids which dll our jsiis. poor
houses. Hospitals. lunssie asylsns. and innumer-
able graves. with miserable victims.
Were soch regulaaios in force W should
have no need to explain the nsture and value Of
our preparation through the public prees. Tho
rspsrt Of the isepscsisg officers would b. our
sa0sisss voucher-a stronger advertisement
than asy ~ could frame. Gladly would ~
wslss1s ~ oGDsisl agsnts u the Government
State o. Fsdsrai-to our factory. and challenge
their closest serutiay, their sharpest tests. An
inspsssion Law or the hind indicated ~ould. IL
competently sdmlnistersd, b one Of the most
useful ensesassss ever placed on osr statute
hxcka ~ .~~lA - n~~snev afi~e alika 0f health