Union and American. [volume] (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1875-1877, 1877-01-25
lNEBRIErY as 4 Disc isG.

ihNOroNaiiiJ IfNOiNfc uile phl 'ilS CVn
demnatlon Of the practice, and
earnest eDaeavors on the part Of
society 10 reclaim those addicted
to It, But Science, on the other
hand, draws a bod distinction
4 between drunkenness ss vice and
drunkennessnsas . dlsease. Tbr
man who drinks for pleasure, it
holds, may look for benefit in the
connsels of others or in his own
sueng,h of will; tuthe who drinks
because he cannot help it, being
led by an irresIst lie impulse, is
a sick man. aud needs not q lem
perancc pledge hut a physician.
II is in this. last aspect that we
propose to consider the assertion,
quoted fro,4 o daily Journal, that
1ntcmpefance is a growing vice,
bearing co stanly heavier upon
the rising generation and Incl.
dentally the subject of inebriety
generally in this country.
DR.. George NJ. Beard, of this
city. not long since delivered, he<
:cre the American Association for
the Cure of ln' briates, pn address
on the ''causes of the recent ins
crease Of inebrietv in America"
! 10 which he emboaips many Of the
conclusirss which medical men
have reached relative to the DIS
ease SUI erindnced by alcohol Ir.
ebriety he holds to be fnnc:ioual
dlSea Of the nervous system, and
should be treated, on the same
principle as other nervous diseases.
it becomes c'assea. therefore. with
| fdyspQ lsia ard nenralgia: aud like
HeproSls il possesses perlodlclty,
al d--the fact is a startling one
is hereditary. When b"reditarv,
| it is all the harder to ccwbat: in
conformity with the laws Of inher,
ilance. it may take the plac OF
.othet Jiieortivrs, UT TnHv77 -fTrurr,
lead to them; and it often en-.
| duces t0.various forms Of insanity.
The perlodjcny Of the desire for
I iquor, the feeling which inupels
| The drunkard who has abstained
for certain period to enter upon
kal prolonged spree" is'too well
known to need more than mere
reference.
tits curious and somewhat par,
adoxical circumstance that, while
drunkenness as VICE public
opinion to the contrary rotwith~
s'audn g-is actually decreasing,
the disease Of inehricly isaentIc
increase. THE rover was .
tinF,p says Dr. Beard, ''ir he
history Of our race. wIfr i. rro-
portion to tbepopu'atlon thlc was
SO little lntrmperar ce and 50 !ittlr
}dlinking among tie high,rrIasses
as tcsday" The nervous sysrems
of Americans are now such that
we cannot bear alcohol as cur
fathers could; and there is ne
doubt bur that the effo t. of re-.
formers ard the general progress
of culture has exercised potent
eiitc ct toward temperance. Caves
ofsdrunkenness were rare among
the Thousand who visited the Cen,
itennlol. But on the other hand
that very heightened nervous sen
sitiveness, which prevents our IN
du|ging in alcohol for pleasure,
equally heightene the suscepti-
billty to nervous diseases; and Of
these, Inc briefly not being consid
cred, it is well known the increase
of late y ars has been marked.
1t is not necessary here to re-
peat the facts, which every OBJ
server of American habits has
noted over and over again, in or>
J der to prove that we live toorapid
Ily.y For the pursuit of wealth, we
1iconcer trote an enormous quantity
rand Intense quality of work; we
4 chffy the seriousness Of labor into
our umusements; ve crave the sen;
satiobal and the fever of constant
ErGcittment: and under the terrible
tUxput'upon il, the nervous force
unnecessarily weakens. THUS. in
Saccordpnce with all analogles.
nervous diseases increase with the
progress Of modern civilization;
and hence th gres'er prevalence
Of The nervous disease known ns
inebriety during tho present time,
Dr. Beard further supports bis
views by inductivereyson based
Eupon extended examination. BY
comparing The ligber, ard J. wer
GLASSES, he shows, that, among the
latter, such functional peryens die,
'oases as sick headache, neuralgia,