The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-08-27
NICOTINE AND ALCOHOL
Extracts FROM Joe Howard's ObseIvs
tious-An Era Of False Excitement. n :

tions-An Era Of False Excitement. -
tJoe Howard in Boston Her4ldI
This is an era of false excitement
Everybody drinks, and the large ciresa
OF women who indulge in eXcitants ek
various kinds, from that which thss
take by hypodermic injections througa
tho yariOus grades OF morphia, to lltes.s-
indulgence in wine, and thence t
spirits, is very great, and constantly OF
the increase. ;" it'll the exception OF {
few church temperance societies, there
is very little organized cndcaNor here to
check the growth and rapid progress of
this drinking habit, which fastcns its"n
upon the cigarette smokers of tender
years, and is part and parcel Of the
daily routine Of thousands of respectable
men and fathers Of respectable families
/ don know that there is any marked
undcrtOnin@ OF general morality Ill con
sequence OF this. | have noticed with =
great deal Of apprchcnsiyc interest the
prevalence of the drinking habit. Mes
Senger boys not only smoke, but drink.
Dung clerks smoke aud drink. 80 do
:hcir employ els MI the great whirl
and twist OF What is called the swim OF
society drinks and smokes Sit in
EoX with me III any first class, second
olaos. third elias theatre. The curtain
falls at the end of an act. Is it an eX-
a%gcration to say that four fifths of the
men get up, walk outt Leave the box:
follow the crowd. They go into the
neighboring bar rooms, into the drug
stores on the corner, into the hotel
cafes Nearly all Of them smoke. All
of them drink. How queer it wou!G
seem if the women did the same, and
vet why not. Is it irksOme, tircSOme,
boresOmc for man to sit three or fout
hours in u theatre 30 his muscles
need relaxing. Must his nerves be
braced up. How about the women:
Are they not rs fragile, as nervous, as
sensitive to impure air,
Dealers in drinks tell me a marked in
creas has been noticed during the past
year or two III the sale of cOrdIalS and
liquors. and they attribute this to
habit that many women have OF keep
ing these cordialS, not necessarily for
their private tippling, but with which to
cheer and entertain their callers during
the day. Many ladies have handsomely
decorated baskets, in which are a set
OF cordial bottles Others keep them
upon the sidebOard in the dining room,
others have them under lock and key,
bur very many have them somewhere,
and glass or two Of cordial here,
AM another glass or two there, during
the course Of afternoon calling, must
necessarily produce some effect upon
even the female physique.
The bartenders don drink. The pro
prictOr of the place doesn't drink. Why
not, Have you ever thought of that
of all the bartenders in Cambridge, in
Boston, you cant name one who drinks.
Why not: Did it ever Occur to you us
q singular fact, n clear fact in the prob
lem Of usage There probably never
Was q habit known to mankind so pc
tent as this cursed h&bit of drink W HEB
dominates the race, not alone the PEG
pie OF New Iork and Boston, but ths
people of the world-more Sonspicu
ously, however, | think, the people %
the ntcd States. 1t isn't that We ar.
a nation of drunkards, but that we are
drinkers and smokers, and unless all
our precOnceivrd notions of phySi ~
law are erroneous. the next generation
Will show, in II very marked Gcgrer, the
effects of this SenScleSS custom by th"
present race OF men and women.
without the faintest desire to preach
or scrmonile, | ORD the simple fact
which must lie patent to any careful
observer of society, in its various
phases, for this isn't confined To the
poor, or the ignorant, nor 10 the wealthy
OF Ii' wen informed. III Is a size" on
the loaf of existence, from the sn%h
ernst 10 tie soggy bottom, They are
all bitten with the same bite. The
same pernlcious habit has fastened
upon them all The race is given over
to palate tickling, and sense Indulgence,
manifested more especially i'll its devo-
ton To nicotine and alcohol. Rich men
drink because they like sensation. Poor
men drink because they hen FORGET then
troubles We abound III poor men and
they are all in trouble, and they all
drink