The Lincoln County herald., 1872-04-18
For the Lincoln County Herald
The Effects Of Alcoholic Drinks.

The Effects OF Alcoholic Drinks.
Notwithstanding all that has been said,
and we'll, on this subject, there are some
persons who deny that alcohol and strong
drinks are poisons; and I feel disposed,
therefore, to present what regard as
the pith Of the evidence on this point
Is alcohol 10 all the forms of its beverage
use a poison? In attempting to decide
this matter, let it be borne in mind that
if can show, or good authority, that
alcoholic drinks do produce results sim.
liar to those which mark the modus oper
andi of acknowledged poisons, my end is
gained. II, in addition, its deleterious
influence can be shown to be greater than
that Of common poisons, the cause ! ad
vocate will be found to have acquired
strength.
Christison Orf'a, Beck, and all authors
of note on toxicoloey, class alcohol with
narcotico- acrid poisous not only pure
alcohol, but its varied forms of mixture
in common use, are all shown 10 be deci
dedly deletcrious TO tho human system.
1t may be reasonably asked, however, of
what benefit is even the temperate use of
ardent spirits to healthiul individual,
who requires no additional excitement,
either of his mental or corporal ener.
gies? To this question no satisfactory
reply can be offered, aud notwithstanding
the universal desire Of the human species
for intoxication and the ingenuity exer
c,sed in obtaining means to effect it, yet
ardent spirits can be justly regarded in
no other point Of view than as either
medicine or poison. Recently had
Intelligence Of lad ten years of age, who
secretly drank from whiskey bottle, in
imitation Of his father, who was at work
in the field. The sudden silence Of the
boy attracted the notice of the parent,
when wild, fixed gaze was discovered
that denoted something wrong. The
father called the boy by name, but in
vain and in less than an hour he was
dead. Just think for moment of what
sad issue that father so unthoughtedy y
brought IN his family circle Yet how
many fathers are following the same ex.
ample
We can look back through the past
and call many sad results to mind in
which the fatal results we're more slowly
developed, being preceded by delirium
insensiti'ity, spasms, convulsons, apo
plcxy, etc. These diversified operations
of the poison all, however, tending to
the same sad issue-are very similar tc
what ia often noticed in the poisonou:
effects of opium, arsenic and the like.
These latter given IN large doses kill
speedily if the dose be smaller, the
! effect is procrastinated to hours, or days
or even months. So if arsenic fails tc
, spend the whole Of its energy on the
primae riae, and should happen to i'm
press mOrbidly the nervous system, VI
discover paralysis Of the extreuities
which extendiugits spheres at length per
vades the whole system, and the victim
perishes niserably after days or evel
months of severe suffering. The SAM
, reasoning is equally applicable to all th
{ forms of alcoholic drinks.
But the dsleterious influence of alcoho
! goes even further. 1t reaches the yer!
deepest recesses of the moral as we'll q
E the physical nature poiscns not onl.
the fountain Of life, but the springs o
. intelligence, and transforms the man int
r a nondcscript, to compare which with th'
e harmless beast would be an unmerite'
0 degradation of the latter.
JUAN ORLANDO.
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