The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-05-13

Thursday Morning: May l0, 1859.

CORTLAND

IFrom the Boston Journal OF Chemstry.l
Spirituous liquors used as beverage have
caused and are causing an incalculabfe
amount of evil in the world. 1t would SEEM
ingly have been better for the race if atoms
OF carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen had been
rendered incapable OF grouping themselves
together in form to produce alcohol. Alco-
hol is useful in art processes, and it perhaps
serves good end in medicine; yet we are
almost ready to say that it could be annihi-
lated without serious inconvenience. The
progress of science wQald not have been es-
sentially retarded, or any great discovery pre-
vented, ii alcohol had never been known.
ChIoroiorm and other an@sthetics can be
manufactured without it, the druggists
medicinal tiEctures and extracts can be made
available in other fOrms; the surgeon and
naturalist can preserve their morbid anatom-
ical and other specimens in mixture of
water, glycerine, and carbolic acid, equally as.
well and at much less cost than by the use
of alcohol. Its solvent powers are certainly
useful to the chemist, but modern science has
pointed out very satisfactory substitutes. IL
serves as apleasant stimulant in certain forms
of disease, but even here it is so often mis-
applied it would perhaps be as well for inva-
lids if it were never mentioned by physicians.
But alcohol is in the world, and mankind
have learned TO use it for proper as well as
for improper purposes, and the question is,
how can it be retained for the former and
placed beyond reach for the latter.
How to properly and benefcally regulate
its sale is problem among Lawmakers not
easily solved. All laws hitherto made have
proved Intellectual or inadequate to meet de-
sirable ends. In our view they are based
upon wrong assumptions, and are too COM
plicated. The general license system has
proved a failure; vending liquors through
State and town agents is not only miserable
failure, but public disgrace. 1t opens up
a system of fraud and empiricism hurtful to
public morals.
In constructing laws, they should be brief,
explicit, and, above all based upon an intelli-
gent and minute knowledge of the subject leg
islated upon. All liquor laws" so called,
have assumed that different forms or modW
cations of alcohol were needed for medicinal
and art uses. Brandy, rum, gin, whiskey,
wines, &c. Tor Fictitious mixtures bearing
these names), have been placed in State and
town liquor shops, in the State of Massachu-
setts, and vended under the protection of law,
as if each subserved separate and distinct
purpose, and were in fact important each in
ITSELF What is the chemical nature of these
various intoxicating liquids? They are all
composed of alcohol diluted more or less with
water, and holding minute portions of agree
able but unimportant ethers, or fiavoring sub
stances. None OF these ethers, oils, or favors
in any important sense are medicinal; none
of them are ofthe least service to the chemist,
| artist or mechanic. The one ingredient Glc0-
h0L is all that is demanded, or that can prove
really useful in medicine or the arts. These
peculiar substances only render alcohol at
tractive and pleasant to the taste. Alcohol
in itself, il pure, has no marked flavor, is not
paatable, and would find but limited sale
and do comparatively but little mischief ii il
was allowed free, unrestricted sale. Mix
water with it, add oil of juniper and other
foreign agents. and call it gin; or distil it from
the cereal grains, mixed with water and
grain oils, and call it aohiskey; and thousands
will drink it as if it were the nectar of the
gods. Ii it is true that simple alcohol is
the only liquid that can in any way be re-
garded as useful, why not make brief, plain
laws forbidding under severe penalties all per-
sons to manufacture, sell or transport any
kind of spirituous liquids other than chemi-
cally pure alcohol, or alcohol containing five
per cent of pure water. Allow all respectable
apothecaries, under certain restrictions, to
sell this alcohol, with other chemical and
medicinal substances.
A law of this kind would be clear, explicit,
easy to enforce; would meet all the require
ments of chemists, druggists, physicians,
heads of families, ETC., and place Intoxicating
liquids beyond the reach of those who i'm
properly use them. No state or town liquor
agents would be required, no complicated OF
fetal machinery put in operation. Brandy,
whfskey, wines, ale, etc., could not be legally
vended, and the sensible and correct principle
recognized in law that no kind of spirit but
ru~sT :sesstri se actualtv raeded tor any pur-
| pose IN medicine or the arts.