Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-10-03

Il HE LIQ ORs OF COM
Merle sTIAULAETS IN
SICK RO0Y.-The vile sst OF adulseratipy al.
coLolic liqucos was prac.icsi in Greece and
Rome more ,hsn two centuries agc, and then Is
now. the medical faculty denounced il. and Ia.
mestcd the difficulty Of procuring pure and
wholesome stimulsnis FOR the sick. Hippo.
crates called attention to the tricks of the At
Christian era. Gaisr, some wha. later. st.rnly
rsbuksd the wine merchants Of Rene for tam.
pering With the iu-e Of the grape. There was
~ distilled liquors in those days. and many Of
tbs subtle poisons At crescent used BY liquor
mixers we're unknown but considering their
knowledge and opportunities. Iths sdultsfators
Of the classic ages showed considerable ad-
ro.ness in their nessrious calling Lead, lime.
gypsum. IND sea water were put into new wine
BY the Romsn dealers, and 1t was bsied and
left to cool ia metal vessels. by way Of improv-
ing its taste snd giving il transparency. To
this day.som OF the Mediterranean wines Gre
subjected to q similar process. Ali The wines
Of Europe are more or less sdul.ersted before
they leave the .'Ass. hands, and q 70 the stusf
commonly resailod in this country. under the
homes Of Port. sherry, Madeira. &c e, s,oejuice
decoction Of loogwood. powder of catechu,
alum, plaster Of paris. lead, litharge, carbonate
Of soda. Of! Of almonds, cider and bad rum, may
be mentioned as among their pleasant ingredi.
en.s.
But il in the conc section Of "spirituous H.
quors" this. he adu,ssrators o. this generation
particular ' excel. Tho tricks Of tie Greek and
Roman winners were mere chld's play to theirs
Strychulne. sulphuric acid, sugar oflead, Jalap,
opiates. and variety Of pungent alkslies, are
delesaeies that enter into the composi.on OF
ordinary bar-room liquors, and some OF them
consist almost wholly OF psrnieious chemicals.
with small admixtur Of unrectitied spirit.
No wonder. under such circumstances, that tav-
ern brandy, rum, gin and whisky. carry death
and adnesr 10 their train. No wonder. also,
that ply sicians have lost confidence in Tho H.
quors Of CONNIE rec, and are afraid TO use them
Btimulants. however are as necessary in me di.
col prs ctce as febriugeto Oh, ano-
dynes, or alternatives, or any other of the recog-
nized specifics in disease. The great question
is, can pure stimnlant be had? We say Il
can. We assert tina, HosrsrrRR's SrcnAcs
BlrsrRr. the alchoho:c basis of which is the es-
sence Of sound Monongahelo Rye, is as pure u
stimulent as it IL possibla for human skill to
manufacture. /: is, however, something more
and better than this. to-wit A judiciouslv
moderated stmulant, in which the qualifying
ingredients arc the finest stonachic, aperient,
Alternative and ambitious herns, roots and
gums. These vegetable constituents modify
and control the effect of the spurious elements
aud render tho BtteIs the safest, mil5es.. and
most effective invigorant At present in use. II
may be r.marken. perhaps, that this is au EASY
thing to say but how is il to be provede To
his We have only to reply that corrobora.ive
testimony faom high scientific sources, and
from citizens OF good standing in every prctes
sion and calling. extending over a period o
more than twenty five years, is at the service Of
whom il may concern. Volumes Of this tes.i
mouy have been published, and there remain,
at leas. an equal amount as We. imprinted. 70,
the melancholy consequences which eueue from
the sale of unwholesome compounds bearing the
names Of the various spurious liquors. The
powers that be are in some degree responsible
Deriving. as it does, = large revenue from the
importation and manuf acturs Of alcoholic bev
erages. il 10 manifestly the duty of the Genera
Government to protect the people as far as pos
sible against the introduction OF ro,soxs int,
their daily drink. Still nore imperative Is The
obligstihn to snield the sick from the peril o.
berg killed or injuree BY psrnicious excitants
administered - nsSicixss inspection and tax.
alton ought, II this matter. to 10 hand ia hand
and IN all cases Of adulterated articles, instead
ofbeing taqed. should be DksTaorsD. Every
tincture and extract contrasting, or purportinH
to contain alchohoi. should be examined BY
competent scientific men, and not permitted "a
90 into tue msrdet until its purity has been
authoritauvely certified. The sanitary inter
ests OF the eommunity should be paramount to
tae hnancial interests OF the Government-the
public health being Of Infinitely more impor.
lance than the public revenue. But no such
protective supervision 10 exercised either BY the
central power at Warrington or BY the STATE
governments. The internal Revenue ASSESSOR
n vi 49, IL -.
ms nothing about the wholsscme ness or IN
wholes0meness Of the articles upon which It II
levied. The Custom House Collectors insis,
upon payment Of the duties required BY law
on imported liquors, bu how much or how lit
tie foreign poison there may be in each cask q
punchcon. u 10 not their business TO ascertain
Nongress seems 10 have entirely overlooked il,
function Of public protection in legislating OF
the liquor question. State Legislatures have
bssn equally remiss. Many OF them have tried