The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1876-05-27
Spirituous Liquors as a Medi-
cine.
ny REV. c, DEvoL, NJ. b.

There as no occasion tor The employ
meM Of Spirituous liquors IN Me treat.
mem Of the sick. There is ample provi.
sion in the materia medica without them.
In the United States Dispensatory are
seven thousand five hundred preparations
Of medicine. Misunderstanding stimulants
are numerous and various, and well adapt
ed to all supposabe cases. Among these
authorized and approved remedies are
carbonate Of ammonia, valerianate Of am
monia, aromatic spirits of ammonia, com.
pound spirits of lavender, aromatic tine
ture of cloves, cinnamon, cardgmona and
ginger prickly ash, grains Of paradise
mezerion, myrrh and capsicum, ether,
assaf@tida and chloroform Alcohol is
anesthetic, that 10, it renders the subject
Of 1t strengthless and insensble, and all
the wheels of life, but one or two, stand
still The action of the sentient and
motor nerves is suspended. The drunk.
ard is dcmoralized generally, he is ami
malzed, demented and demonized He
is scarcely an animal, he is more vege-
table. He has congestion of the brain
tie is unconscious. lie is insensibc to
violence. You may use needles or the
scalpel upon him. You may dress his
wounds or iuAict others, you may ampu
tate his limbs he is perfectly passive
lie is an easy and sometimes profitable
victim to the pickpocket or assassin
Whether an@ thesia be produced by chlor-
oform or ether or laughing gas, or any
spirituous liquor, :he pathological cond-
tion and effects are the same, except that
the sembance of death in drunkenness is
more complete and of longer continuance
The drunkard is said to sleep of the
fumes of the liquor. He lies in a stupor
with stertorious breathing He may re.
cover or he may not. The engorged
brain may give way, and apoplexy close
the scene, or convulsions may ensue, as in
the tremors OF delirum But for the
wonderful provisions Of nature, the divi.
sioDs of the nervous system into sentient
motor and sympathetic nerves, the first
debauch would be fatal. Profound
drunkenness, and anes.hesia, or alchohol-
ism. is temporary paralysis of the seu-
tient and motor nerves, reason is dethrou
ed, imagination "ascehds like Il rocket
aud comes down like a stick The cou
dition is semi.suicide Drunkenness is
induced at fearful risk. 1t cannot fail
TO impair the nervous system and general
health Of the unfortunate triher with hiin
sell. 1t is very likely to produce hysleria
or epilepsy, or catalepsy, which nervous
. condition may be permanent or occasional,
or periodical.
Any person assumes a fearful respon.
sibility who presumes to use sp;rituous
liquors as beverage or as a medicine.
A double and treble criminality attaches
itself to the doctor OF grogshop keeper
who dares to administer them to others,
knowing as he must, if he knows any
thing at ALL that the morbid appetite for
strong drink is certain to be produced and
cultivated, end that when this condition
ensues, the helpless victim is the slave OF
appetite, and will soon become incapable
of self control and Indifferent to the en-.
treaties Of friends or the dictates Of rea
son and the precepts OF morality and re-
ligion y ermOn IifNeSS.