Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-02-28
THR DELus1oN pR1NK.

/ ming OOlOAOH HdS buC CT6ulJ VI
being the wisest man that ever lived;
and he declared that he who is de-
eeived by wine, the mocker, and
strong drink, the raging, is not wise.
The delusions of drink are as old as
drink itself, and are as prevalent now
as in Solomon's time. There are
men who honestly believe that al
eoholic drink is good for them; yet
there is not one of them who would
touch it except as a prescribed med
icine if it were not for its pleasant
taste. The delusion touching its
healthfulness grows out of the de-
sire to Justify an appetite which may
be either natural or acquired. If a
man likes whisky or wine, he likes
to think that it is good for him, and
Fhe will take some pains to prove
that it is so, both to himself and
others.
Now, alcohol is pure stimulant.
There is not so much nutriment in it
as there is in chip. 1t never added
anything to the permanent forces
Of life, and never can add anything.
Its momentary intensi6eation of
force is a permanent abstraction of
force from the drinkers capital
stock. All artificial excitants brings
exhaustion. The physicians know
this, and the simplest mans reason
is quite capable of eomprehending
it. If any man supposes that daily
drink, even in small quantities, is
conducive to his health, he is delu-
ded. If he possess a Sluggish tenn
perament, he may be able to carry
his burden without much apparent
harm but burden it is and burden
it will always be.
After a man has continued mod
crate drinking long enough, then
comes a chango--a demand for
more drink. The old quantity does
not suffice. The powers which have
been insensibly undermined clamor,
under the pressure of business, for
increased stimulation. 1t is applied
and the machine starts off gradually:
the man feels strong, his form grows
portly, and he works under constant
pressure. Now he is in condition
of great danger, but the delusiOn is
upon him and he is in no danger at
all. At last, however, drink be-
gins to take the place of food. His
appetite grows feeble and ftful.-
He lives on drink, and, of course,
there is but one end to this-viz. /:
DEATH 1t may come suddenly,
through the collapse of all his pow
ers, or through paralysis, or it may
come slowly through atrophy and
emaciation. His friends see that he
is killing himself, but he cannot see
Il at all. He walks in a delusion
from his early manhood to death.
A few weeks ago one of our city
physicians publicly read paper on
the drinking habits of women. 1t
was a thoughtful paper, based on a
competent knowledge of facts. 1t
ought to have been of great use to
those women of the city who are ex-
posed to the dangers it portrayed,
and especially to those who have
ACQUIRED the habits it condemned.
Soon afterwards there appeared IN
the columns of a daily paper a pro-
test from a writer who ought to be
> GOOD deal more intelligent than he
Is AGAINST the doctors conclusions.
The health and physique or the beer,
drinking English woman were placed
over against the health and physique
Iof the water-drinking American
women to the disadvantage of the
Ilatter. The man is deluded. 1t i:
not a year since Sir Henry ThOmp-
son. one of the most eminent medical
linen in England man notorious
Inv beyond the reach of any purely
lIChristian- considerations-declared
Ilagainst the beer-drinking of Eng
liand on strictly sanitary grounds
Hour literature declares that the
IFnolishwoman can out walk her
/ BAmericad sister. That depends en-
ltirelv upon the period of life wher
| the task is undertaken. The typic
al EnglishvOman who has stood by
/ the beer diet until she is more thai
fortv wears OLD, is too fat to wall
anywhere out doors, or GRACEFUL,
within. - t.H a
During our late 6iEA war the mat
tel. of driking for health's sake wa
thoroughly tried. A stock 0f exp,
rience aud observation was acquire
that ought to have lasted for q ceI
tury. Again and again, Thousand
and thousands of times, was it pro-
ed that the man who drank nothin
was the better man. He enduret
more, he fought better, ne came oil
, Of the war healthier than the ms
, who drank Nothing is more d
> mOnstrable than that the Bqeor use
by the two armies among officers an
e men alike, who was an unmi9gate
a curse to them. 1t disturbed q
Q brains and vistiated the councils I
! the officers, and debilitated and d
3 moralized the men. Yet all the tin
: the delusion among officers and me
0 was, that there were both eomfo
q and help in whisky.
s The delusions of drink are nuT
i berless, but there is one of the
r which stands in the way of reform
l. decidedly that it calls for decide
9 treatment. We allude TO the n
y tion that it is a nice thing to driI
t nice liquors or wines at ones hon
e to offer them to ones friends, 81
l. make them minister to good fello'
T chip at every social gathering, VIII
!, it is a very different thing 70 dril
r bad liquor, in bad places, and
It large quantities. A man full
: VINE 3 =. R9 Fis
ueESet Nfkhl ssHss - =