The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1888-11-03
DEFECTIVE VISION,
a WRITER WHO THINKS THAT
COFFEE is TO BLAME.

'-"?ciichcc OF . fatrOn of tho Fragrant
Sarcotic-Some of tho Results of Inor-
slinate Coffee Drinking-pecuIiar Eff
fccts Upon Children.
am satisfied that defective vision and
blindness will pretty soon be q prominent
characteristic among the American people,
the same as rotten teeth have been during
the last 200 years. | make this assertion
without having seen any statistics whatever
on the subject of blindness l found out long
ago that cup of coffee leaves a night shade
on the brain which continues longer than an
eclipse of the sun. | had long noticed that
the eyes of Old coffee drinkers had a dry and
>h..Erlrd appearance.
Having discovered, some years ago that
iny own cNrsight was surely Weakening |
thea c'f.'. I" drink coffee as freely as had
nrv | A. and became Il moderate and more OBJ
servant patron of the fragrant narcotic
l'"' have learned that moderate coffee
dll.llns is Il hard thing to manage being
pretty Ssli" TO develop into the regular habit
Il" 'iii Nilh iisl'iious ease, especially at those
lt:!.'' wilcn the physical system feels to be in
MI "i some elixir. Besides it is quito dis
Il ~ lor n person to bc fighting Off q
lr' .'r.al hab,t at each meal | now feel
i."s ii HE coffee drinking vice. and will
Ia. - more trouble with it unless | shall
as.'.' I'll Il victim to some church supper or
t IA magnetic Establishments of some buoy
;i't ltt,,l">S.
!livln1 long worked at trade which re-
HuItS almost us eXact Il use of the eye as the
"r apal"n of Il icwccr, made the discov-
ri'y that Il single cup of coffee would have Il
p"rrrptlblc effect on my eyes This fact was
the moro apparent because my cyesight was
.,,,i,, ~,
Ailrr hlvim;, used coffee with Indifferent
frequency and copio,lsness for many years
my sight became abnormally weak, and
t"s:in To feel II horror of darkness, wishing
tina, the sun would never set, and desiring
mstnc,lvclv To 80 to some place where the
l1sltS would lac short during tho entire Year
l'l!, now have quite little of this feeling
EFT. My eyes have rcgalued, to n curious
"N'"nt. their former range and spontaneity.
! Il ain enjoy the long panoramic views Of
m-.tre which are afforded from the baby
~: antainS that skirt Council Bluffs on tho
''t Iik" mn cncampment. | can take these
ia D.; t"lcSropic sweeps of vision again with
i hlinLlng or feeling the weakening relax
81 II w.,lch alarmed me week ago.
hl,e no doubt hut what this weakness of
vac eyes which results from coffee drinking
'i'i" t" the sympathy which the optic nerve
n;s fer the nasal cavity (thc latter beng
rpnlnuous with the membrane of the mouth,.
Tn nasal cavity, with its first pair of brain
i"rV"S, is naturally IL principal place to he
affected by any drinking habit. For i'll
eianro, To l'artake of dish of soup will
,"ni"tinles cause Il persons breathing to be-
rHne thick and decidedly laborcd All Of
i.l,. >,'usory nerves are much affected by cof-
l''" drinking those gentle and highly refined
# tI,,f iii, "A,
,Il-sriy into the scilso of SMELL taste, sight
Hnl hearing Tho entire sympathetic svs
trnll, likewise involved Immediately in the
''n.tnc drlnking habit. The BRAN, again, is
M, msrly affected thereby, because the prin
".pil nerves Of the brain branch OFF from the
nts;ll cavity
Coffee drinking is especially injurious
In.n 1t is res"rted to as II backing for strong
i"d There are plenty of robust persons
among us who have drank coffee pretty
freely for Il lifetime, but who are seemingly
,minjurel by it. To this fact 1 reply that
appearances are sometimes ,lccciving to un
pr,cticcl eyes, and that II vice does not in
al cases show its effects plainly in the first
;."n'ruton The free use of coffee dates
i,a"k only one generation in this country
Bat this will say, that no person is as stout
tor three hours after he las drank coffee as
lie was before.
.A5 long rs u person remains endowed with
lr'ri't constitutional strength he can partc-
pate in different viccs with seeming immunity
but he is gradually using up his capital and
will reach his limit clc his life is fully pro
i"nscd HIS children and grandchildren will
show degeneration Of the family stock,
though they doubtless exhibit at present u
premature brightness fmind. Children that
are allowed to partake freely of coffee will
bcrome restless, fussy and noisy, half wild
with mischief They probably advance in
their school studies with abnormal raptlity
Bat they hate work. AT times they are in
different about education. Their strength
socs to the brain. They grow rapidly, but
not Alright. They develop into men and
women three years too soon. Yet their eyes
dance with angelic spendor, and their checks
glow with verniion, providing that they
started in life with robust constitutions. If
they began life with puny physiques, how
ever, coffee will make them slim and ghostlv,
and their eyes and features fiat. Coffee will
Seem Z" improve those persons only who have
II surplus Of constitutional vigor. These in
tlividluls will seem possessed with forms aL.i
faces of marvellous grace and finish Yet they
will fade all too soon, and fall into the hands
of the doctor. Cpifce has Il magical effect on
the heart and circulatory system, and for a
while produces the intoxication which APP
lroaches that Of opium or cocaine. 1t causes
Il swift growth and swift decay 1t pro-
duccs beauty and cxhlaratlon, but not en-
lurancc. North American Review.