The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-01-09
Hereditary Effects OF Drink.

DR.. Willard Parker, referring to the
hereditary effect of drink, said to New
York repol ter: "Of all agents, alcohol
is the most poten. in establishing hered-
ity that exhibits itself in the destruction
Of mind and body. It transmits an ap-
petite for strong drink to the children,
and thepe are likely to have that form
OF drunkenness which may be termed
paro1ysmal; that is, they will 60 tor Q
considerable period without any indul-
gence, until at last all barriers OF SELF
control give way. The drunkard by in
heritance is more helpless slave than
his progenitor, and the children he
begets are more helpless still. Heredi-
tary effects Of drink are shown in insani-
ty, idiocy, epilepsy and other affections
Of the brain and nervous system. Pr1t-
chard and Esquirol, two great autbori.
ties on the subject, attribute one-half
OF the cases of insanity in England to
the use OF alcohol, and the same is prob
ably true in this country. One.half OF
the idiots are of drunken parentage. l
have been acquainted with several men,
having brilliant and cultivated minds,
who inherited the vice, and they have
stated to me that there were times when
the impulse to drink strong liquor was
irresistible, and that nothing had power
to dissuade them from yielding to it.
An instance Of how a mother, accus-
toned to the use Of alcohol, influences
her offspring, may be related from my
own experience. A merchant in good
circumstances came to me for medical
advice. he Was in the habit Of getting
intoxicated every night before retiring.
His mother also drank habitually, and
died of paralysis. He had two brothers
and three sisters. The oldest brother
died o paroIysmal drunkard. Ny patient
was always in state of mental discom.
fort and was suspicious and jealous to
the most unreasonable degree. The
third brother and child died drunkard,
and the fourth child, a sister, was an
inmate Of lunatic asylum. The fifth
child was intolerable on account OF her
eccentricity. The sixth child, also q
woman, died Of consumption. The second
son, my patient, married a woman of
fine physical and mental organization.
They had two sons; the elder was asso-
ciated with his father in business, and
was an energetic man. but very e1citable,
and although not an habitusl druukard.
was slave to his other animal appetite.
The other child was in reality moral
idiot. Here, in spite of the restraining
influence Of the fine mental and physical
organization Of the mother, we see the
sffsefs ol nloo olf0f cropping outiR the
third Kenexstions We do not sl@55s
sea the WORT effects Of flia heredi itGx
iniluencs ol alc0hdI;; becsdse of the IL
aasnk ming 0f good blood with tSst
Nhiob IS tainted. From my Own obsl
avations "a thet stiimony OF othere, u
Id IA thaa eshtdon 4hat. Iss las u.
larger share 81 menfal diaeesey poysrfy,
and cfSin ~ the di66Jk heri itage 0f siSb
bnl. tis al36 fhe eause ot d great shire
of orr bodily disesse, and ID BhorteniSg
The sVerSge duration of Life. q obbiDs,
in work on sanitary science, says that
the average duration OF life in this city
in 1910 was between twenty y-six and
twenty seven years. Since then it has
decreased until the average age does not
now exceed fifteen years. If we reduced
the death rate to what it was fifty years
ago there would be a saving Of more
than ii, 900 lives every year. Our city
ought to be one OF the healthiest in the
world. A careful examination will al
ways reveal the fact that indulgence in
alcoholic beverages and the death rate,
MS we'll as the increase in mental and
nervous diseases, have relative proper.
tion. OF course there are other de-
generative causes, bnt they go back to
iDtemperance as the primary one."