Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-01-04
t.:c!.a"jaS Il Demon.

u- ll, h,h' ilrIaIt =. rtiiicdto III Il
ulciuirr Wtu mad, II, It i ciaiin, Il ,
violated one 4 Tia. faI'i!me neal rc-
Iur' ueni, q. the assUcl itlUn, su1-
.c~i~ few Thoughts ~ Ia the L, -
r.u. 'l'hiN IL yi! ~I1an- III rr"sc,It-
us alcoholic silinulunts for those
vino nave once acquired taste fol
ardent sprIt,. 1he case may be
hri ilv stated III these words: The
ui .Auzauou Is based upon the cor
ucI stone Of temperance; the holder
of H., It!iicttc hao. been an Lubitual
iIuukAii. hls reformation dated
nom the Time he lUiLcd the Or1an-
IItuon, and Was cOlnpe.e; he Alter
ward, b>canc .lllicttd with form
81 hoart-discaec; his physician pre-
sCrIbci alcoholic siinulants; the old
habit returned and obtained com-
plcte mastery; the physician, reaiz
ing his error, ordered dlscontin-
uancc of alcohol. but the victim had
ceased 10 be master of his oWn act
IONS, and, Wills intoxicated, tell
iiom the cars, sustaining injuries
from which he died; the ASSOCIATION
suspended payment of the bene-
fit to the family of the deceased, on
the ground thai the .ra'.d pii. ciple
upon which the order WAS based
total abstinance-has been vio-
lated. Whether this decision is,
under the circumstances, Just OF
unjust, we express no ollnion; but
certain 1t Is that tie physician who
prescribed alcohol for man who
had acquired an iDsatiate taste for ar
dent liquors, placed in the hands of
madman n razor to cut his own
throat. 1t is time that the medical
fraternity realized the responsibility
of such course. They should
know, if they have made the human
system study sufficient to under.
stand the complex laws by which it
is governed, that there are vicious
monsters, in the form of habits.
which when once Embossed can never
be reclaimed.
1t may be said that the victim,
in this instance, would have died
from his malady. Very true; but
had he been called in the full pos
session of his senses, he might have
gone hence better prepared to pene-
tiate the mists which surround the
tomb, leaving as legacy an un-
sullied name and an ample provision
for the immediate wants of the loved
ones who mourn no less the means of
bis fall than his actual death.
There was choice presented be-
tween some mildcr form of treat
ment and possibly death, and the pre-
scription Of alcohol, with the almost
absolute certainty of o drunkard's
grave. The physician, who could
not have been ignorant of the an
tecedents of his patient, chose the
latter. let us say heedlessly, or re-
lying upon the letter of the law as
laid down in medical authorities.
He made the patients disease suit
the supposed remedy, instead of
adapting the means of relief TO the
peculiar condition OF the affection.
This mistake is so often made, under
just such circumstances, that it just
tifes severest censure. When ply
sic;ans recognize the alcohol. habit
as disease, as inevitable in its re.
turn under favoring conditions when
once formed, aud as disastrous in
its results as the most malignant form
OF physical disorder, then they will
hesitate to prescribe deadly poison
as an antidote for any other bane.
The writer was we'll acquainted
with the history of this victims re-
formation; the many weeks of de
termined warfare against the habit
which had placed him in the gutter;
the devoted efforts Of his Companions
to shield him from temptation; his
final triumph and the joy it brought
not only to himself, but those de.
pendent upon him. All that noble
work was undone by few strokes
of the pen by one who works by rule
instead of reason. let US hope that
the Supreme body of the oreaniza.
ton to which Wa refer. will at its
next session, place all blame where
it properly belongs. and pay the
widow and orphans the full amount
OF insurance held by worthy man
who made a manly fight against the
demon which finally destroyed him.
SENATOR Rolph has introduced q
bill appropriating $780, 900 for the
improvement of the mouth of the