Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-04-14
TEMPERANCE COLUMN.
lCosraIBurgD BY THE WoxES's TEnPEKAHcx UNION /
ADDRESS OF HON. J. H. sEELYE BEFORE THE
CONGRESSIONAL TEMPERANCE SOCIETY.
fCant;,uaa

I (Continued.)
Whether it be L" sin per ser to use winc
r cider. beer. whiskey. or rum, DO not car
TO inquire. L know not, indeed, what i
meant by " sin per Sc" to my mind tn
, phrase conveys no sense. | know nothing
about sin iu deed. which does not vest it
self. hrst and last, IN the purpose, the in
tentiOn. the will, of the doer
Neither do | care to consider at much ex
tent whether total abstinence is physiolo
gically, the best course, for this is not the
most important inquiry Though it has it.
interest, and word or two upon it will not
here be out of place.
In reference to this question, physiology
cannot yet be said to have pronounced an
unqualified verdict on either side. There
are obscure points for whose clearing up we
must wait yet awhile. Taking our stand
on the results of the most advanced physio-
logy of the present day, we cannot po il
lively affirm that total abstinence is ply
siologically best for man, neither can we
positively deny it. High authority can be
quoted on either side, and We must admit,
therefore, that the question Is still in dis
pute.
But it Is great mistake 20 suppose that
nothing IS settled. on physiological grOund-,
about the use ofInt xicating liquors. With
| III tHt AGNt lew ICNCtlCut-.
experiment., with all the contrivances of
modern ingenuity. and in the full light of
modern science, more intricate perhaps. and
more important certainly in their bearing
upon this inquiry, than the world has seen
before have been made. And the results,
which are already inc0ntestIble, are not in
| considerable and believe II must be admit
ted that they give to the temperance argu-
ment strength on physiological grounds
which it has never known how to use be-
fore
The effect of alcohol in hardening muscu-
lar tissue, and Goa gulatlng albuminous fluid
is well known. In healthy state of the
body, alcohol thus interrupts nutrition. Ii
prevents the growth and multiplication of
germinal matter by hardening the tissues or
walls of the cells through which pa5uluB.
Is received. Alcohol may be OF service
where germinal matter, as in inhammatory
| diseases, Is progressing too rapidly.
If science is still in doubt in the matter
of total abstinence. it Is clear and positive
in its affirmation that beyond certain de-
gree,-a degree as vet unknown, and yet
degree which science has of late years been
steadily showing to be less and less, what
we call alcoholic stimulants do not stlmu-
late at all, but they pdraiy>e the structure
in which they work. The liquor which has
intoxicated man has simply paralyzed
him and every step OF intoxlcatlOn Is not
merely step tOnGrdS, but it is stage of
increasing nervous paralysis. stage Of
what Psychologists call LIBERALIZATION OF the
nervous system.
When man has taken Just enough alco-
holic liquor to produce a flushing Of the
face,-a small amount this would be, with
many men,-thIs result Is not because the
liquor has stimulated or given him more
strength of life ; it is because it has taken
away from his vital power. This flushing
of the face from the use of alcohol, this
warning of alcoholic inebriatiOn. indicates
that what psychologists call the cervical
sympathetic nerve is becoming psrslyzed
and as high an authority as could be named
upon this subject-Anstie, p. l7l-declares
that when this symptom is caused by alco-
hol lit Is always sign that paralysis OF
the hemispheres OF the brain Is cOmmenc-
ing. This Is the first symptom OF intOxl-
cation, the first step OF it,-and the sue
ceedlng stages are of the same sort they
are not stimulation but paralysis ; not an
increase of strength but diminution OF
strength. The process of intoxlcatiOn mas
one fixed order, the same in every man.
After the FIRST flushing of the face, the
drinker finds himself hilarious, or IN un-
naturally high spirits. and this would seem
like stimulation. like some new infusion OF
life. But modern science has shown that 1t
Is paralysis OF that portion 0f the brain
which the mind employs in its calmer pro
cesses of Judgment and thus the ordinary
restraint which sober man puts upon his
talk and his animal passions being removed.
these restrained tendencies flame out, like
smothered FIRE when uncovered 10 the air
As the intoxication proceeds. !. , " as
more and more alcohol begins 10 circulate
through the nervous system, and especially
through the BRAIN. fresh mental PECULIAR
ties are developed, but always In a certain
orderly sequence. although this fact easily
escapes observation. The clew to a right
appreciation Of the successive phenomena
l. this that the feelings ordinarily sup
pressed by voluntary effort or obscured by
the Impressions of actual life. are displayed
by the removal Of these customary wells, in
the order of their coneealment- Ibid, p.
Us.
Reason. prudence. the moral sense, one
by one cease 10 control and the man. not
now because be Is stimulated. bur because
he has lost toe restraint Of these hIy her
faculties through paralysis Of his brain
becomes infuristed in his passions. repre-
sents the real ferociiy OF hi- animal nature
all unShackled, while the p4raiyzing pru-
cess goes on till the les. Stage /, reached,
and the man falls Iusen>ate and elpless, Il
breathing thing. His intOxIearI0n has en-
abled u to see i<t wnat the foundation of
his nature l.. Ii ha~ stripped oh all DIS
guiSeS, one by one. until the Did pr0verb-
m reno rer1taS-nas been thoroughly justi-
fed. But thl- result l. reached by a gradual
process of deadening, and thus by loss
and no gain TO the person experiencing
1t.
\ man. alter 4 too hearty dinner. takes
glass OF liquor to escape the sense OF lndi
gestion. lie gains his end. The sense OF
indigestion disappears In glow Ot pleasur-
able excitement. But the Indigestion itself
has not disappeared at all. The nerves BY
which the state of the stomach Is commu
nicated to the brain have become paralyzed
so that they do not work but the overload
ed stomach remains the same and the in
.ensiblity to it, caused by drink. no more
removes the real damage TO tee >y-tem than
the ostrich running its head into the
bushes where 1t cannot see the hunter
shields it from the hunter aim.
The London Medicdl Practitioner. as high
authority a. any on the scientific aspects of
this question, article treating of the use
of intoxicating liquors BY the women of tie
higher classes of English society," use,
whose extent, already large. is growing
iesrfully and which is now recognized, by
physicians and other thoughtful men. as
fraught with the grsvest perils to the body.
the mind. and the character OF women OF
the wealthier classes in England directly
diminishing their nervous power. obscuring
their minds, deteriOrating their moral char
acter. and increasing their liability to IN
sanity.-I say the London Practitioner, in
an article upon this subject. undertakes to
set the limit beyond which. by the consent
of all Psychologists, alcoholic liquor cannot
be used without taking the edge off the in
teleet. and the yigOr out Of the will, the
strength from the muscles This limit, for
an adult man without much fat, weighing
100 pounds of mostly bone and muscle, and
who is a powerful worker all the time With
his muscles or his brain, this limit may not
exceed one and half ounces ID the twenty
four hours. For person not yet full
grown. for man who has not much fat or
who does not work severely, or for wo-
man, the maximum quantity that may be
used is less than this
Two WICKED AcToRs.-Miss Clara Morris,
in letter to friend in Washington. gives
this lively Renaissance Of two well-knOwn
actors They were boys then; one tall,
blonde, and lazy, the other short, dark, and
active. 1t was Sunday night; every one
IL IL.