The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-07-25

-xeHtVo1U UWCc <aNOOCUCcss
Tho Place Of Alcohol and Some RoI
cent Utterances az to 1t. 2,sI
It Is seldom, nowadays, that we have snyj
new Investigations as to alcohol. no supleStl
has moro eiicted Tie attention Of those Mhal
must rank as able investigators In tho d6H
main Of medicine especially tho methods oSj
physiological and pathological research afi
applied to therapeutics in general has bce0l
fuflyapplied to this article. Besides no ono
medicine has been subjected to more careful,
observations Of clinical experience. While,
the result has not been to settle the question:
as to the breadth Of its application, It cerj
tainly has been to retain it as an article Of
materia medica, but greatly to restrict 1t In,
the extent Of its application. The tes.
timoniss Of Sir James Clark as well as OF
hundreds of others might be adduced In this
direction.
There has recently been congress Of Ger
man physicians held at Wiesbaden, REIN
forced by investigators and special prac-
titioners from all parts Of the Empire A
recent notice thereof, in the London Ldncct,
says that the feature Of the congress was the,
paper Of DR.. Binz Of Bonn, and the debate
that ensued on alcohol as remedial agent
It will be remembered that Binz is tho
most recent authority and most frequently
quoted as contending for the value OF alco-
hol as food. It is refreshing to hear from
on this subject. It is not to be concealed,
that he clings with great tenacity to his
view Of the medicinal value of alcohol IN
which no doubt most physicians In varying
degrees are in accord with him. Bus
physicians are not the class by whom he fs
chiefly quoted, but rather by those who be-
lieve in wine for dinner, In an occasional
dram when you feel like it, and in beer very
frequently. .-- =, 81. -
We therefore give the following extract
and call special attention to his use Of the
word 'sick-bed" as denoting the kind Of
invalids that may need it.: ;,
"Dr. Binz set himself to prove: % that
alcohol has q value, not represented by any,
other agent, in heart failure and lung disease;
(2 that it Is SpdrmitteL economic factory
In the organism, because it is consumed
therein; and 81 that it operates as con-
troller Of pyrexia and fever: On the SICK
bed its virtues are invaluable; but In the
healthy subject it is difficult to define where
its abuse is not felt For the man In good
economizer of energy or replacer OF o bumen,
no depressant Of temperament. All that can
be proved in favor Of alcohol in such q case
is It's power of renewing cerebral energy,
when lowered by mental work. Even here
moderation in well-watered alcohol IS imf
perative. DR.. Binz further contended that
alcohol consumption between meals, especially
in the form OF beer, is great, ana, IN Sel-
many, national evil, practiced as u ls IN
the stuffy atmosphere OF cellars, and that
too, for hours. Not only do the secondary
products OF beer exhaust the system and tnf
duce an adipose habit, but tho habituai beer,
drinker is as much an alcohollst as tnc
drinker of drains, with this difference, thar
he has not the excuse OF the latter IN tnat
okolSo lv,ao fov
immediate, though in the long run fatat
remedy"
It viii thus be seen that Binz Is the last
man to be quoted in favor OF any ordinary
use of fermented or malt liquors, or even II
favor of loose prescription in daily use: He
defines closely the class OF cases IN which 1t
may be needed as medicine. He agrees
with the view that it reduces temperature, q
fact supported by the recent cose investgaS
tions Of Zunz. This removes entirely the olG
defense for alcohol that 1t keeps out cold and
makes up for defective animal heat. we
have another recent utterance OF much imi
portance because it states the growing sentiS;
ment Of medical practitioners who have been
close clinical Observers Of this substance, In
1871 many Of the most distinguished medicA
men of London expressed their views as e0
the needlessness Of alcohol as beverage and
as to its overuse in medical prescr1ptionsA
Dr. j. J. Ridge, Of Enfield, near London.
has recently collected similar testimonies.
A recent eminent authority speaks thus:
"The medical man that does not see thas
alcohol is very o-edged tool must be 1g;
norant Of the literature OF bis profession ana
destitute Of the lowest powers OF obeerva-
ton. He must also be uniformed OF tne
best practice Of the leading physicians OF nus
time. which we may without immodesty SUPP
pose to be better time than any anterior
period. When men like DR.. Hughes Ben.
nett have treated $50 cases Of pneumonia
with scarcely any mortality and very
small amount of alcohol; when men like Dr.
Gardner tell us that fever, especially In tho
Young. does better without alcohol; when
men ike DR.. Wilks tell us that In bronchitis
he has repeatedly seen Improvement where
stimulant he.s been let OH, and shat ne y
convinced that the mischief done by sunny. n
lants in heart disease is immense (Iha
Lancet. Vol. I, 1867; p. 5O6-those are
Without Without excuse who think its indisi
criminate prescription in underlined and
large quantities a light matter. One
other great improvement in our estimate ot
the uses of alcohol is to view 1t in regard to
the state of the glands and blood-vessels Ok
the patient. If these are blocked, and II tne
powers of elimination are impaired, 1t can
be easily understood that in more advanced
age, when alcohol is thought to be more ad'
niissible or oven necessary, it must be given
with much Judgment as to form and dose
harm is not to be done" -
While we fully maintain the lnestlmaole
value Of fermented liquors in certain cases OF
disturbed circulation, of Impairment OF lung
tissue. we must strictly hold to the d1stlnc.
tion between medicine and beverage, and not
allow the physiological chemist or physician
to be quoted as authority in direction
against which he fully protests. -lnaepe"-