The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-06-30
A POISON.

Mistaken Beliefs as to Its Alleged
Nutritiousness - More Dangerous Even
Than Whisky.
There is q vast deal of error in the
minds Of people with regard to the ef-
fects of all kinds of alcoholic liquors.
People do not understand that they
are poisons, and that they produce
evil effects, even when used in mod
Grafton. There is especially lack Of
knowledge concerning the true nature
of beer and other malt liquors. There
are many honest people who really be-
lieve that beer is nourishing--that it
really is a food; that it exerts q bene-
fetal effect upon the system. and that
it may be used as regular drink |
without harm. There are thousands
of men who think it virtue that they |
"don't touch whisky, but take glass
of beer when thirsty"
Such mistaken beliefs on the part of
the masses are industriously promul-
gated by the minions of the rum
power, because they aid in forming
that bulwark of ignorance concerning
the real effect of rum in the human
system. which is one of the means of
perpetuating the reign of the rum
power. Now, with the consumption
Of beer increasing so rapidly, it is of
importance that all interested should
know its true nature. We speak now
of "pure" beer. made of barley and
hops. 1t has been proved, time and
again, that some brewers use such
drugs as quassia, alOes and nux
vomica, with numerous other SUBJ
stances, for the purposes of adultera-
ton. These are poisons-but beer
is poison also, and the difference is
that these drugs will kill quicker than
pure beer will.
Prof Iiebig's researches proved that
there is nutriment in beer-but how
much? He showed that twenty-three
barrels OF beer contained as much real
food as three pounds of meat or five
pounds of bread! But the twenty
three barrels of beer, if bought over
the counter at five cents a glass, would
cost over one hundred dollars. Is not
that high price, to pay for meat and
breadp What if your butcher should
charge you thlrty-three dollars per
pound for beefsteak? Then comes the
advocate of beer and triumphantly
points to the bloated, puffy bodies and
faces of confirmed drinkers with the
cry: ''See how fat these men get on
beer!" But it is not healthy fat.
Beer-fatness is of the nature of dis
ease, as any honest physician will tell
you.
1t matters not what excuses men may
give for drinking beer, the real reason
is that it produces feeling of exhila-
ration, like that felt in the first stages
of intoxication, when drank in moder-
ate quantity. Guzzled in large amounts,
it produces drunkenness, Just as GER
talnly as whisky. The only difference
is, man has to drink greater bulk
of beer to become intoxicated. Men
drink beer for the alcohol it contains,
and for no other real reason.
Now the alcohol in any liquor, any
form of rum, is the thing which causes
all the mischief. The man who drinks
beer in moderation" who takes it as
: a beverage but does not get wholly in.
t toxicatcd, never going beyond the
point of intoxication, is killing himself
Just as surely as the man who goes tc
3 bed bowling drunk every night. He il
doing it more slowly, that is all. The
peril of alcohol is not alone in getting
, drunk. This moderate, steady drink
ing keeps alcohol in the system all tho
t time, and alcohol is poison. NJ
, sooner is it taken into the stomach
J than it is absorbed and goes at once
a into the blood, thus being carried
within few minutes to every portion
t of the body. Every eXcretory organ
| at once sets to work to get rid of it
o to throw the poison out of the body
1 The liver and kidneys stop their regu
lar duties, in degree proportional t
the amount of alcohol taken into thu
0 system, and begin the work o
q eliminating it; the skin does the same
Q thing. and so do the lungs, as may b,
3 tested by the sense of smell-for the
expired breath of the drinker is loadet
J. with vile alcoholic fumes.
it Now. all these organs have enough
a to do. in healthy man, to eliminate
d the WORKOUT and poisonous particles
g from the circulation, which was tn
d work they were designed to do. tt
compel them to take up the additional
G burden of throwing off the alcohol i
merely to overtax them. 1t is the sam
as asking laboring man, who has
full days work to perform, to turn il
} and do another three hours work il
addition. What is the result to him
d He is overworked, and if the additions
It labor is exacted each day. sooner O
is later he will sink under the strain
n and meanwhile his regular days wor
,e will be imperfectly done.
This is exactly what happens to tn
lungs, the liver, the kidneys, etc. Will
n they are working to clear the body Q
n alcohol, they can not well perforr
le their special functions, and much effet
y and poisonous matter is left in tn
le body which otherwise would b
l. promptly excreted. They are ove1
n taxed: they have too much work to dc
y and after awhile they become diseased
+ Cirrhosis of the liver - "hobnaile
10 liver" or whisky liver"-follows
" that organ, while the kidney
ia are afflicted with many forms {
disease, including the incurabl
Eyes, incurable. no matter VIII.
r 9uack doctors may say) Bright's di
N ease. The lungs suffer in the sam
d way; the entire digestive tract is veal
l. ened and poisoned, and any ono of
- long list of diseases may be the resul
Your moderate drinker" Is sure, vi