The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-03-17
GIN MODERATION"

Influence of Whipping Upon Health"-
Total Abstinence the Only Sure Tom
perance.
The disapproval of the "abuse" of
Intoxicating beverages has become
very general. This dsapproval is very
often expressed in one form or another
by moderate drinkers, and is even fer
vently reiterated from time to time by
the brewers, distillers and saloon
keepers. But it Is refreshing to find
high medical authorities inviting pub
lie attention to the fact that even mod
rate drinking is injurious to health,
and therefore itself an "abuse"
, The Mcd'jca5 Record, of this city,
calls attention, in articles which the
Scientific american reprints entire and
thus emphasizes, to late discussion of
this subject by DR.. Harley, the English
psychologist and nephrologist, in the
Provincial Medical Journal DIR. Har-
ley's significant article is entitled
The Influence of 'Nipping' upon
HEALTH" and in it he considers the in
furious effects of drinking alcoholic
beverages lin moderation" Compar-
ing, in the registrar-generars report
the mortality tables of men exposed to
the temptation of frequent "nipping''
with those of men not similarly ex-
posed, the result is, he says. "start-
| ling in the extreme, more particularly
as regards the proportion of liver dis
eases" The rate of mortality is found
to be six times greater among those
whose business is practically insep-
arabic from "nipping" than among
those representing all tho other i'm
dustries combined. After the liver,
the kidneys. the heart and the nervous
system become most frequently affected
in moderate drinkers. DR.. Harley
says that sit is not difficult to under
stand why the liver, of all organs Of
the body, should be the most affected
by 'nipping, when it is remembered
that almost every drop of alcohol
taken into the stomach is absorbed by
the branches of the portal veins, is
conveyed directly to the liver, and has
to filter through its tissues ere it can
get into the general circulation, and
| by it become distributed to the other
organs of the body" That the kid
neys suffer less than the liver is pre-
| sumed to be due to the fact that less
alcohol reaches them, yet it is in part
eliminated by these organs, and DR..
Harley claims to lave obtained "pure
alcohol" from the kidneys of persons
who have died intoxicated, by the
simple process of distillation. The
bad effect of "nipping" upon the
heart consists in inviting disease in the
predisposed, as well as in augmenting
disease which already exists
DIR. Harley also believes that alco-
hol taken in small quantities at a time,
but frequently repeated, acts dele
teriously upon the nervous system by
keeping the blood-vessels on the
stretch, by engorging them and caus-
ing them to press upon the nerve-cells
and fibrils This, it is claimed, inter-
feres both with the proper performance
of their functions and with nutrition.
The nerves also suffer indirectly
through the action of alcohol on the
blood. Dr. Harley has found that
even in the small proportion of five
per cent, "alcohol exerts powerful
| chemical effect on blood, SO powerful
as to entirely derange one of its most
important overwhelmingly, the
function of respiration" "The
alcohol lie says, seems to act like
| ~, by-y-ionf
alone diminishes the power of the red
corpuscles to absorb oxygen. but to
exhale carbonic acid, and that, too, in
the same way (though to a somewhat
less extent) as morphia does. This
peculiar action of alcohol on the blood
nerve-pabulum may be thought to give
a reasonable explanation of the par
alyzing action of alcohol upon the
nervous system.
The five per cent. of alcohol thus de-
clared by scientific expert to have so
serious chemical effect upon the
blood is about the average quantity
contained in beer. In the light of this
very suggestive and important medi-
| cal and scientific discussion of the sub
ject. the reason becomes obvious why
beer ricks are avoided by life insur-
ance companies. why the so-called
moderate drinker. as well as the
heavier topper, is guilty of the "abuse'
of intoxicants, and why total absti-
nence therefrom is the only true
Temperance. - National Temperance
AdOo cate.