The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-03-02
ALCOHOL-ITS NATURE AND EFFECTS.
AN ABSTRACT OF THE SPEECH OF DIR. r.
NJ. LEPoER, OF BALTIMORE.

NJ. LEPoER, OF BALTIMORE.
In general lecture on Temperance, tie
speaker said that, in order to clear under.
standing of the question, it was desirable
to have knowledge of the character OF
the enemy we were fighting.
1t makes no difference what it is that
men may drink-whether it is wine, whisky,
brandy, gin, ale, or lager beer, it is the
alcohol that they are after; without which
any of them would be as unpalatable as
castor oil. 1t is the stimulus of the alcohol
that they want in air cases, and the only
difference is in the tlavoring that makes the
various liquors. What, then, is alcohol ?
1t is the distilled essence of death! deadly
narcotic poison. Everything in nature
exists by virtue of its opposing elements,
and alcohol is contained, in some shape, in
all vegetable products, just in proportion
to the amount of starch and nutriment
they contain. You may obtain it from
birch bark, carrots, or even brown paper,
but in small quantities. Grain that contains
the largest amount of nourishment, fur
nishes the greatest amount of alcohol, and
this is why it is so largely used in the man.
ufacture of that article. But in order to
obtain the alcohol every bit of the nutri-
ment is destroyed, -rotted, and the alco-
hol is then separated from the rotten mass
by distillation. This in itself is a crime
against the laws of God-to take the grain
that he has SO bountifully provided for our
sustenance, and convert it into poison
Alcohol is always the product of death, and
snot to be found in any living thing-grain
or vegetable.
What, then, is the effect of alcohol on
mankind? In order to come to full
understanding of tins, it is necessary to
look somewhat in detail into the human
organism. Man is 4 dual creature, having
two natures,-the mental and the physical,
and all the organs of his body are double
He has two brains, also,- front brain and
back brain: the back one of which controls
the physical man, and the front one the
intellectual.
The nerves extend from the brain and
about 1000, 600 of nervous fibre, covering
the entire surface of the human body So
closely are they set, that the point of the
finest needle cannot be placed upon the
skin, in any part of the body, without
touching one of them. Upon the healthy
condition of these nerves, the health of the
system depends, and if you destroy or para
lyze them, all power of motion ceases
Now, if you take piece of flesh from
any part of the body, and lay it upon
plate and pour water, coffee, tea, milk, or
any such substance, upon it, it will have
no perceptible influence. Now, pour alec
hol on it, and watch it through magnify
ing glass; and in one minute and a half the
nerves will fall like a piece of glue upon
hot stove, and in two minutes the meat
will be completely cooked.
Now, alcohol that is taken into the sys-
tenn is not changed by the gastric Juice, as
it is indigestible, but is taken up by the
blood and forced out through the heart To
every part of the system, destroying, in its
course, the nerves it comes in contact with
and when great proportion of these
become injured, the man loses the power
of motion and feeling, and this is the pho
nomenon of drunk.