Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-02-15
Por the Fsyesesilis 0besrEsr.
Intemperance, Scientific
ally and Morally Con-
sidered.
NO. I.

NO I.
III. Editor There are few
evils according to the observation
of your correspondent, ol greater
magnitude than intemperaDce.-
1t steals upon It's votaries imper-
Iceptibly and bOlds them with an
iron grasp, tits a notable fact
that few dFankards ever reform.
especially if they have drank for
several years, and have reachei
the age of thirty-fiVe or forty. A
tdrunkard is more TO be pitied than
ieensured, as We shall endeayor To-
show before we close the argu.
ment upon the question. Alco-
hol becomes the master Of him who,
drinks il as o beverage, and sways
him as easily a. che tempest does.
a forest; yet ne man ever began
tdrinking with the belief that he
would become q drankard !; but,
having confidence in bis ability
to control his actions, he takes the
fatal step, and when he fain would
relieve himself of his oppressor,
he finds himself in the grasp of q
mighty foe which knows no relent-
ing, and every effort to escape on
ly seems to tighten the fetters
with which he is bound.
Man is not himself who drinks
ardent spirits as beverage--he
is controlled by a special poison.
which blunts his sensibilities and
0emoralizes the whole man. AL.
cohol is a universal exeitant, ex~
alting all the functions, with q.
special influence on the brain and.
nervous system generally. The
effects of Alcohol are well known,
beginning with simple excitement
of the vascular and nervous sys-
tens with exaltation Of all the
mental and bodily functions, they
speedily reach tie second degree,
+or that stage called intoxicatiOn,
characterized by a disordered con-
.ditIon of the intellectual tnnctions
and volition; or by delirium and
inability OF regulating the action
of the voluntary muscles. The
physiological effects of Alcohol
are not positively known as they
should be, considering the extent
to which it is used as beverage.
Alcohol diminishes not only the
absolute quantity Of carbonic acid
exhaled by the lungs, but also
the relative proportion of it in
the products Of respiration. The
amount of carbonic acid exhaled
by the lungs under the influence
of Alcohol is, according to exper-
ment, about one fifth less than the
ordinary quantity after the alco-
hel is left off. The pulmonary
movements continue about tie
same, or a little quicker than
natural, while the carbonic acid
exhaled, retarns to tie normal
standard, so that there are more
products Of respiration expired
than even in the pEsyious condi-
ton, proving that the arrest of
excretion is really due to the.
Alcohol employed. We conclude.
therefore, from the above argu-
ment that Alcohol is not sup
porter of combustion IN the body.
but that it arrests the oxidation
of carbon. The blood of the.
man who drinks whisky, is def
cient in fbrin, though he may
not drink to excess--his blood is
also blacker than in perfect health
and has greater quantity OF
eolorless corpuscles tkan the blood
OF him who does not drink.
The researches and expert
ments of some oi our best phy-
siologists the world ever produced,
go to prove that alcohol is in no
sense a food, that it is neither
transformed nor destroyed within
the human organism, but reap
pears in a short time, eliminated
in the excretioDs of the skin, lungs
and kidneys; through which. it.
begins to escape shortly after it is
swallowed. These experiments
show that alcohol remains up-
changed everywhere in the body,
the blood, tissues, liver and espe-
cially the brain and nervous tis-
sues. How, therefore, we would
ask, can man be himself, when
even the substance OF the brain
becomes saturated with whisky?
Bot admitting, for the sake of ar
gument, that alcohol is food and
nourishment, the evils which it
occasions more than counterbslan-
.ce any benefits which may accrue
from its use. Eternity alone can
reveal the evils occasioned by the
use Of Intoxicating spirits. We
shall, in our next, discuss the sub
ject pathologically, SC.
Respectfuliv. HoQo.