The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-07-07
ALCOHOL AND LIFE.

ALCOHOL AND LIFE.
The Physiological Effects of Rum on the
Human Body-A Searching Investiga-
ton and Its Conclusive Results.
We are glad to see that the more ad-
vanced and wide-awake members of
the medical profession are turning their
attention to the physiological effects of
rum on the human body. By rum we
mean any kind of liquor-spirituous,
vinous or malt-which contains alcohol
in any quantity whatever. There is
growing disposition among the doc
tors to investigate the old beliefs OF the
profession regarding runs work in the
body's economy; to take nothing for
granted because it is current as part
of Old medical literature. but to put
each assertion to the proof, and test,
by actual experiment, its truth or
falsity.
The Blade recently discussed the
topic of rum as a medicine. and en-
deavored to give its readers, without
the use of technical or medical terms,
the latests results arrived at by the in
vestigations of English scientists and
medical men, which results may b.,
summed up in the statement that alco-
hOl, and of course rum in all its forms,
is a poison, no more, no less; never
tonic, never stimulant in the medi-
cal sense; in fact, not u medicine.
Within the past few days the use of
alcohol (and rum) in medical practice
was discussed by the Ohio State Med
zeal Society, at its annual meeting at
Akron. this State-the discussion being
brought up by paper read
before the society by Dr. Will
lam B. Davis, of Cincinnati, on
1.-The Alcohol Question. While the
paper was for the most part strictly
professional in its treatment of the sub
ject, and hence of interest only to ply
sicians, the general conclusions of the
author, as well as we are able to Judge
from the brief summary before us, were
in accord with those before given in the
Blade. There were some additional
facts given, however, as to the habit
uul uSO VI Iuills uIt VI tut WlutSl
interest to the public.
Most interesting was his discussion
of the influence of rum on the dura.
ton of life. One might reason by
analogy that as alcohol is a poison,
the constant drinking of rum is equiv
alent to slow poisoning of the indi-
vidual, and that shortening of the
natural term of life would be the inev-
liable result. DIR. Davis shows that this
is actually so. 1t is found by the great
life insurance companies that the use
of rum shortens life. These companies
have direct pecuniary motive in as
pertaining the truth Of this matter To
them it Is not humanitarian ques-
ton, but one of dollars and cents. Put
in its plainest form. the problem they
had set before them to solve was;
''Does it pay to insure drinking menP'
One of the most eminent of English
actuaries, Mr.. Nieson, made within the
past few years searching investiga-
ton of the "risks" Ga technical term
for the persons insureD Of the life in.
STRANGE companies of England, with
special reference to the effects Of alec.
hol upon the duration of life--Or, to
toput it in other words, to find wheth.
er a company is justified in insuring 9
confirmed drinker mot necessarily 8
drunkard, but steady, moderate
drinker) or not. The results at which
he arrived are startling. Understand
that the worst class Of drinking mer
are excluded from the list-those who
are so far on the downward road tina
no insurance company would accept /;
risk upon their lives-and that in thu
class of drinking men" all are in
c,uded who use intoxicants to any de
gree. The results of this investigation
may be stated thus:
|. Where. in given number o
''risks," ten non-drinkers die between
the ages of fifteen and twenty, Their
are eighteen drinking persons die
That is, stating the fact in anothe
form: nearly tao drinking youths di
to one abstainer, among those who's
ages range from fifteen to twenty.
,. Between the ages of twentv-On
and thirty, there are iifty-one death
of drinking men to ten deaths of alb
,tainers. That's over fire incorporate
plen die to one Generate man!
). Between the ages of thirty-on
and forty, there are forty drinking me1
die for every ten abstainers; that is
the ratio of deaths is four to one.
1t must be understood that compara
lively few of these men die Direct
from rum. They do not all, nor neal
" all. die in the horrible rawlings of d.
lirium tremens, for instance. But thei
lives nave been shortened by rum. TIL
alcoholic poison has undermined tn
constitution of each. and DESTROYED a
recuperative power. The diseas,
whatever it may have been, which wa
the immediate cause of death. was vi,
torious only because the system of th
sufferer was enfeebled by rum.
What else could be expected as tn
result when man, day after day fc
years, takes into his system poison
The currents of life are polluted at III
foIntain-head. The life-energy is e,
penoed in the daily task of overcomin
the pelnicious physical influence ,