The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1869-04-03
The Causes Or Intemperance.
By DIR. ALERT DAY.

y
/. Inas far as my own observation has
extended, it has induced me to regard con-
stitutional temperament asnot unfrequent-
ly q predisposing cause Of intemperance.
No one doubts that the constitutional Item
permanent Of some men stands as q wall Of
adamant between them and excess. They
are constitutionally moderate men. They
are the men who always want joke ex-
planned to them before they can appreoi'
ate 1t. They seem unconscious Of the
place where the laugh comes in. Such
men are compared by a distinguished ad.
vooate Of temperance TO slot Of tunes
boxed up in a barrel-organ. On turning
the handle you viii get the same tunes,
without a variation, for twenty years"
Such men seldom become the victims of
intoxicating drinks. But show me man
of lively and exoitable disposition,,a q Wig
orous imagination, generous impulses
one fond Of society, and fashionable amuse-
ment, the life Of the social eircle--one
who can tell good story and raise the
laugh at wildly hisgayeties and gravities,
and will show you man who, with all
his manliness and pride of character and
Of culture, is most liable to fall into the
snare Of intemperance.
q A corresponding readiness toward the
acquisition Of habits Of intemperance is
known to exist among all mon Of high
nervous sensibility. You will not under
stand me as referring now to that excita'
bility OF the nervous system which Is q
uniform consequent Of occasional or
habitual hard drinking. We refer to an
original and constitutional nervous exeita-
hility as a cause Of .intemperance which
predominates in some persons and which
may have descended to them by inheri-
tance from parent to child. The ope-
ration Of this cause was everywhere
apparent during the late civil war, and it
| Is becoming every year more and more eY-
ident. The constant excitement in which
the whole country was for five OF six years
---by the recruiting of men for the army
and navy, and the hard services which
they were called to perform On land and
on sea, the fatigues and exposures and sac
rihces which they endured in summers
heat and winter cold, the thrilling scenes
of the camp and the battle field, the break
ing up Of families, the scattering of house
holds, the disruption Of business relations
all these and more that we style "the
1 varied fortunes of war" created q demand
and developed a propensity for stimulants,
the physical effects Of which, to say moth
ing of the moral effects, will not be eradi,
Gated when five generations of our de-
scendants shall have passed from among
the living and ceased to exist on the face
of the earth. There is q very close con
nection between general excitement in q
community for any cause, and craving
for intoxicants Of every description, as
may be seen every day during the sojouTn
of a npany Of circus riders, the arrival
Of a, managerie, the visit Of strolling play
ers, election days, the Fourth Of July,
Christmas, New Years and 1hanksgiv-
ing, and other days which custom has
sanctioned as fit seasons for tine gathering
of crowds Of idlers and pleasure-seekera
for purposes of hilarity and sport In
hundreds and thousands of instances the
first glass of intoxicating drink has been
swallowed on these occasions Of public
festiYity and conyiYiality by those who af
! terWard acquired the habit of intemper.
ance, and transmitted the elements Of q
similar degradation and destruction tc
their children.
8. II is also fact well known to thosC
2 who have studied this subject, that there
, is q tendency in some occupations of hu
man life more than others to awaken tina
I desire for stimulants, which, when in
dulged, leads to habits of intoxication.
shall not here be understood to refer 4
! that class which we denominate the man
! ufacturers of liquid poison, nor TO thos
who buy and sell it by wholesale or retail
T. Our reference is not to brewers, distiller
. aud hnfa1 6aanaro pnF N tho Yrouriatnr
of saloons, sample rooms and dance houses
! We do not refer even to tho managers 9
/ theateTs, circuses and their employees.
4 is matter of public notoriety, that tn
:. instances are rare in which men employe
in any Of. the occupations named are no
/. shamefully addicted to the practice Q
: intOxicatiOn, and with scarcely an exceI
|. tion fall victims sooner or later to their eH
. cesses. Iallude to an altogether ditfeFen
4 class of men, Yiz; Tailors printers
= bookbindeIs, .paper-makers, shoemaker
i bakers, and to all those whose occupation
2 are what we term sedentaTy, and whiel
! when pursued under the most favorabl
4 circumstances, exert from the necessar
3 confinement which they require, yer
4 depressing effect on the nervous systeI
& generally. When these avocations al
i pursued in close and badly ventilate
q lrooms or shops, and when numbers al
= crowded together, the, debilitating and d
> pressing influence of such occupation
n past description, and men so employe
r. naturally have recourse to- stimulants il
n temperance is, therefore, unfortunatel
le very prevalent among them, The fact
q undisputed and indisputable, that emplo,
Z ment in an impure atmosphere, for sever
le hours in succession, leaves those 50 er
4 ployed edsusceptible of no stimulus but tn
le Of ardent spirit or Of excited and reckIe
4. passion.
"a 4.Itis clear that cold and damp arei
% eentives to intoxication. The stomach
ii shortsishted guide, When the atmc
10 phere j. wet and chill, II issues orders I
III earbon,lof which, ,fermented liquors affo
et the largest supply. It does not refe
/ that though the demand may be proper
al the outset, indulgence will rapidly turn
~ into q mere craving for stimulus. TIL
ay however, seems to be . chief cause
en- the greater comparative drunkenness
ed those residing in northern latitudes III
he principle may be seen illustrated eve
he day. Gold aud exposure are sendingthl
al victims to the rum shops. The omnih
y. driver, or the driver Of the city car, year
81 for his glass Of bourbon more than I
Az clerk at the counter, and more in q co
nd stormy day than,when July sun is shini
"a. on him. 1t is 4 we'll authenticated Il
nv that trade in beer falls off more than h
N. in cold and sharp weather, which mig
"a. seem 10 point another way but the r
/ SON has been ascertained TO be, that
III drinking classes betake themselves to d
.en TILED liquors at such times, IN Preferer
AL 10 those drinks which contain less 9
to.. bon.
lid 5. Excessive fatigue Of body or Of mil
YEA or Of both united, creates desire for sti
tn ulants. This exhaustion isoften produS
lef By exciting and vicious amusements-
ne being several hours IN oyer-cr0wd
ID rooms, by late hours, either at convig
ier parties or at the festive board travel
~ all night Ii badly ventilated cars q
Iod steamboat late suppefs and consequI
led indigestion Remaining too long il ]
I'd baths AL these produce q debility viii
Ies. calls for stimulants
lof g There are unphysiological hab
L which are sure Incentives 10 intemp6ran
ND OTerworking Of tho brain studying
n.