The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-09-27
AnAeyapM 0ntgllineneGr.
LIQUOR DRINKING,
The Practical value of Abstinence.

The distinction between temperance
and total abstinence is no longer q prac
iica one. There was time in this
country in the memory Of men not YET
old, when liquors were on every side
board, and the conscious scruples against
moderate drinking were felt by few. The
day Of moderate drinking is past. Soci-
ETY. is already divided into two great
classes: teetotalcrs and drunkurds
There is certainly small class between
these two, but so small as TO be pract.
caily out of consideration. And this
small class is rapidly diminishing to zero.
! am not now .iustifying this distinction.
| only assert it rs q fact discerniblc to
any one who will look into the condition
ofmodern society. Go through any com.
munty and you will discover that the
men who use alcoholic liquors in any
degree, beyond strictly medicinal use,
are such as use them to excess. Con-
trariwise, those who abstain from their
use in any degree abstain altogether.
Doubtless there are few communities
in which this is not the case But they
will invariably be found to he such com
munities rs are far behind the age and
do not in any considerable measure par
take Of the restless activity Of our times.
For such sluggish and phlegmatic people
moderate drinking may still be safe
But this class do not represent the pres.
ent generation. The average man Of to.
day is busy man. He is driven from
morning to night by eager demands OF
his business. He is under continual
strain of intense nervous excitement,
Stimulants can only increase this and
lo,-, fny nnn n I I,y
over-taxed. The drinking habit can ony
GUS force. That which was safe for the
the man who is dillisent in business.
Stimulants may serve to arouse q torpid
nature, but they are as oil poured on fire,
to the intensely nervous aud active man.
And such is the man Of this generation.
Activity, not torpility, is the charactcris-
tic of our age. 1t is this intense life OF
our modern times that is making temper
ance and total abstinence one and the
same thing.
TO the active man abstinence s of the
highest practical value, because it is the
conservation of his muscular and nervous
strength. The power to do hard work is
preserved by abstinence and lost by iu-
diligence. Success comes easier to the
tcetotaler than to the drinker. Take for
example tho lowest order Of SUCCESS
that which depends on stout and sturdy
muscle. The strength which carries the
hod or digs the ditch is mainly animal
strength. There is almost no demand
here either for nervous or mental energy
Now animal strength is never increased
by the use of alcohol. The man who ha,
just swallowed his drink feels himsel
stronger beyond doubt. IIo often feel.
himself richer also; but lie isn't. Iii:
increase of wealth is dclusion. So i.
his increase Of strength. We must grant
that alcohol has the charm Of deluding
men into believing themselves stronger
by its use; but we must Insist that tho
belief is dclusion aud n snare. For i
there bo any power in alcohol to increase
animal strength why don't you give il
to animals? Why not make the horse
swallow his portion of liquor when he i.
to draw an unusual load or be driven ar
unusual distance? We know this wouI,
be nonsense. But why more nonsense L
hope to add to the strength Of horse
body by alcoholic stimulant, than to ado
to the strength Of n mans?
Nor does alcohol add to ones power 0
endurance. 1t easily renders ono uncon
scious of the strain that is made on hi
strength, because it stupefies the brail
where all such strain is felt and reported
The brain is the guardian of our strength
because it notes any unfair demau,
made upon it and Immediately warn
against it. But if this guardian be rcn
dered so insensible that it cannot not
as usual, the injury inflicted on the mus
cies, the draining of strength does no
Cease because Gu: observation OF
ceases. The scottish soul may cry on
between hiccoughs, "They have stricken
me and was not SICK" but he is sic
nevertheless. The stroke has left it
injury though he is iusensible to it. Th
draught made on the physical energies
just rs great and greater when one is y
stupefied by stimulant rs to be insensibl
and indifferent to it. What is true {
muscular strength is none the less trll
of nervousness and mental strength. Th
use of stimulants does not augment b.,
rather decreases the chances Of succes
in those lines of business, which depen
either On skill or intelligence. Ahst
nepce is not only safe but It is pro6tabl,
--Erchange.