Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1878-12-28
Is IT A DISEASE ?

| "What used to be regarded and de-
nouuced Invariably as the vice OF IN
J temperance is now said, IN many AMI
| the worst cases, TO be dipsOmaula,
| mad, Irresistible craving for alcoholic
| stimulants. In large number OF In
| stances il il, UnquestiUnabIy, a species
! of moral insanity; it is often associated
with other forms of mental Cerange-
ment, and is very apt, in connection
with one or mSre of these forms, to be
| hereditary, even through several gen.
eratiOns. While there IS usually
| broad and palpable difference between
the vice and the mania, the former
may frequently become the latter, cs-
pecially In persons OF . nervOUa-sau-
guine temperament, women being
more liable TO the mania than men,
| The alcoholic principle perverts The
action, If not the nutrition, OF cerebral
matter, and the repeated disturbance
| of the mental functions by hts OF in
| tOxication, the loose and Irregular hab-
| its suEeTindueed, the eXcitauOn Of re-
| moFee and seIf-discUst, with desperate
| and continued efforts 10 drown mem
| DRY sad thought by increased drink
| ing, ell combine TO cause dlpsOmania.
| The victim Of it loses entire COM
| mand over MS Will; he has 10
| power 10 WltasSLsuu hIC dEpGkAtE
| for alcohol, and IS transformed into an
| abject slave OF his morbid thirst. He
| deteriOrates mentally aud morally
| with physical indulgence, anu, ere
| long, becomes a wreck of everything
| useful and estimable. In such cOldl-
| ton, hs requires confinement or Te-
| straint before there can be Any hope .!
his cure. This view : -ow taEeG by
advanced phIIan1bTCpjsge ana ref1Tm-
| eTs; hence, iDebrigte R~yiums are con
tinually spTinging up in different
] parts OF this cGuAlry. G--h s5yluTs
are beginning 10 - cc"-L' ~ need
ful 60 ssylum5 for other kIu1s OF IL
| sanity aud il will not be many ysais
| before they shall De established in
! every community. We have com
menced 10 see that vices anu crimes
| arise quite "a much from mental dis
order es from moral defects; that alI
sorts Of evil are, TO P certain extent,
| the result Of dement's, and should be
| 20 treated, We marvel now ct the lg-
noraDee that could regard insanity as
4 vice for which the sufferer was re-
sponsible. In due season We shall be
sbIe, let rs hope, TO detect vicious or
diseased tendencies in man, aud, by
| zkiliful sympathetic treatment, direct
them 10 healthful ends, aud 50 solve,
in s measure, the stubborn problem Of
evil"
Incompetence is a vice. This
is universally admitted. No
man has a right to make beast Of
himself, and when he does it he COM
mits q crime against himself, his
family, his country and his God.
It is very difficult to make laws to
restrain men from the commission
of such crime, or to
punish them for their trans
gression- The statistics Of crime
for generations past show that the
Incorporate use of alcoholic drinks
has been productive Of more mis-
chief and the fruitful source Of
more misery to the human race
than anything to which man is ad-
, dicted. This fact makes it hateful
in the eyes of the people and those
who thus throw themselves away
are apt to lose the respect and sym
patty of those who would otherwise
y be their friends.
This is perfectly natural, but it
leads to misanthrOpy, and we are
often led to forget our duty to those
who are in the gutter, and they are
left to work out their own swift
destruction and damnstion Unre-
strained and unobstructed. The
man who loses his reason and be-
comes mailman is confined to a
lunatic asylum and restrained from
the commission of injuries to him
self or his family, but the poor,
miserable wretch who has INDUCED
in ardent spirits until the habit
becomes fastened upon him and who
becomes a slave to his appetite for
. strong drink; who loses respect for
himself and reels upon the highway
and wallows in the filth of the gut
ter; who through his incompetence
becomes a burden to himself and
his friends-a mailman, he is
, spurned and treated with universal
? contempt.
) A few years ago, comparatively
: few, the idea of an asylum for in
: ebriates was first conceived. 1t be-
gan to be admitted that inebriation
r might be carried SO far as to become