West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1881-11-16

~ iieo Tue woodward of that es-
punishment, placed one hand unon
the block, and with an ak in the
o 39li struck 1t off at a single blow.
" lth the stump raised and stream
ing he ran into the house, and cried
get some RUM get some rum
my hand is off" In the confusion
and hustle of the occasion, a bowl
OF rum was brought, into which he
plunged the bleeding member of
has body, then raising the bowl to
his mouth drank freely and exult-
antly, exclaiming, "Now | am sat
lshed." This is an extreme case
but the morbid appetite of inebrie-
ty exercises an almost absolute
power over the operations of the
mind, exciting ideas, emotions and
passions, entirely at variance with
the natural characteristics of the
individual, so that he is impelled
to commit acts that his sober and
sound Judgment would condemn,
The control which the intellect ex-
erclses over the moral senses is
overbourne by the superior force
derived from disease, for this NOR
bid impulse which prevades the
entire organism is a disease-is an
insanity, the subjects Of which are,
however, morally responsible, in
that they have deliberately chosen
to practice habit which primarily
was not disease, and which reason
and science alike teach them must
inevitably result finally in self-de-
structlon and utter abasement, both
physically, mentally and morally.
One OF the reasons why people con
tinue the use Of alcohol habituallv
is that the social customs Of this
country are such that many feel it
to be impolite to refuse the wine
offered by the host or friend, and in
this way many an inebriate has
been made so by the desire to be
courteous. The danger in social
drinking consists in the fact that it
is the peculiar property of alcohol
to beget in the great majority of
men who take it a desire for its re-
peated use. Notwithstanding the
fact that the irresistible impulse to
drink, which constitutes the pecul-
lar feature of inebriety, is a disease,
and proceeds from the morbid state
of the nerve-centres, the habit Of
drinkingin this early stage of which
| am now speaking is not uncon-
trollable. The power of restraint
is not lost, and the man is perfectly
capable of understanding the de-
basing and destructive nature of
alcohol, and the cogency Of the
reasons why he should abandon it.
He knowingly exposes himself to
temptation and to the danger at
tendant upon indulgence. The use
of alcohol begets the habit and his
inebriety is a vice. If this habit
be persisted in the inebriety be
comes a disease, with a rapidity
modified by the constitutional ten
denotes of the subject, causing or
ganic and fatal disease Of the brain
and nervous centres. AS result of
social drinking in young man,
we find him often at middle age
with a shattered constitution. At
q time when he should be in the
prime of life, his digestive powers
are weakened, his appetite impair
ed. his muscular system enfeebled,
his blood impoverished, and the
general nutrition disordered. Very
often apoplexy, gastritis, epilepsy,
or Bright's disease close the scene.
70 a man ambitious of distinc-
ton in any of the liberal professions
the knowledge Of the nature and
effects of alcohol, and the certainty
that it's continued use will inevlta-
blv result in loss Of tone in charac-
ter, bunting Of moral perceptions,
and the certain impairment Of In
tellectual discrimination, and OF all
the mental faculties, is, l think,
the strongest possible argument IN
favor of abstinence.
According to the report Of the
Snecial Commissioner on the Rev
enue, of which Hon. David A.
Wells was chairman, the amount
IF distilled spirits used for drink
ing purposes in the Qniteddo o t ate
for the year ending June 81, 1860,