Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-11-09
OF PIPES AND PUFFERS.
GOSSIP eY THE LATE Or. MOTT CON-
cERNlNo SMOKERS AND SMOKING.
Dangers Of the Weed. and Some Of the
Public People who Tempt Thsm-Prss-
idsnss. Statesmen, Authors and Editors
Especial Ccrresrondcncs.l

idents. ststcsmen, Authors and Editors
~ the shrine--soms Good Advice.
Especial ccrrespondcncsJ
NEW YORK, Nov. 7.-"It Is q curious
thing" said the late DR.. Alexander Mott
o short time before his fatal illness car
ried one Of the best oil round New York
ers to the other shore, "that wo doctors
rarely agree on tho subject Of tobacco.
Because nicotine Is tho active principle
Of the weed, is poisonous in its isolated
form, tho inference has been broadly
drswp that tho man who spokcs or
chews must be injuriously affected. The
experience OF mankind. however, does
not confirm the conclusion. Ask any
consumer to state distinctly what kind
Of pleasure or kind Of injury the daily
use Of tobacco produces, or why he con-
tinues the indulgence, and not one In .
hundred can give you satisfactory an.
swer. Who ever heard man say he en-
joyed smoking when he couldn't see the
smoke, or attributed his shake in the
morning to tho smoke Of the night be-
fore?
Another point worth noting" contin-
ued the doctor, sis that geographical lati-
tude and constitution have much to do
with the popular habit. In New Eng.
land, for instance, there Is q large and
conscientious body OF men and women
who would suppress the use Of tobacco
II they could by legislative enactment,
while from tho cosmopolitan city of New
York southwark, one is brought In con-
tact with the habit in its most offensive
forms. Chief among these is the cigar.
ette. 1t is but q short time ago that a
physician was suddenly summoned to
attend one Of the brightest young men
in the metropolis. While saying good
by to his hosts one evening he dropped
like a log, and then followed O succession
Of spasms. jerks and uncomfortable mus
cular motions that lasted for nearly three
weeks. The doctor had all he could do
to save the young mans life, and it will
be months before he RECEIVERS anything
like his former health. Inquiry devel-
oped the fact that on the day of the at
tack he had smoked forty of the poison
Gus pests. Now, IL the nicotine stains so
often seen on the fingers Of cigarette
smoker can so easily discolor the outside,
what must be the effect OH the more deli.
cate membranes of the throat, lungs and
blood vessels. The truth is, more insidi-
ous harm is done to the system by the
indiscriminate and habitual smoking Of
cigarettes than by the use Of bad liquor.
This brings out another thought.
There is danger In being miscellaneously
polite. Among the patients Of friend
Of mine is q gentleman who is threat
ened with tho loss of his arm from
poison which he Is supposed to have
absorbed by handling cigar after 1t
had been returned to him by stranger
who had borrowed it for light. The
latter was probably engaged IN some
business in which poisonous substances
are used, and, neglecting to wash his
fingers, had unconsciously left trace OF
the poison that produced the disaster.
II smokers could see the filth that sur.
rounds nine-tenths of the men and wo-
men who manipulate the weed, their
careless and unclean habits, and observe
the nasty fingers and sometimes lips
that put on the finishing touches of SO
called Regalia, there would be larger
demand for cigar holders, and instead
of biting before lighting, they would use
knife to clip the folded end.
"There are, doubtless, cases." contfn-
ued the doctor, 'in which cancerous af-
fections Of the lips and malignant dis
eases Of the stomach are traceable to the
abuse Of tobacco, but have found few
among the records, compared with the
extraordinary number Of people in pub
lie and private life who use the weed,
that illustrate the idea OF permanent in
jury to persons in general good health,
any more than would result from the in
PRODUCTION into the system OF other dele
terious substances. Fancy your German
philosopher working out his problems
without his pipe"
Take some of the best known of our
own people, especially those engaged in
intellectual work; tho majority are great
smokers. James Gordon Bennett is ad-
dicted to cigars and cigarettes, and I
happen to know, can use up pile Of
them during night. Charles A. Dana
is an admirer Of the ,brier root. Pulit-
ger, Joe Howard, Willie Winter and Still
son Hutchins are exceptionally abstem-
ious. for most newspaper men smoke
pipes. The night editors find In them
their chief solace. Senator Sherman
smokes the best Havanas, but his broth.
er Tecumseh enjoys o dry smoke.
Judge William ID. Kelley, the pig iron
protectionist Of Pennsy lvania, indulged
in the habit for two generations. Gen
Grant, as VIC all know, smoked inces
sanity, and is pointed out as an example
of tho evil; yet he says in his memoir.
that he tried for years after leaving Wes,
Point to acquire the habit before he wa,
successful.
Chaunccy Depew formerly could ge
away with twenty or thirty cigars day
now, his after dinner cigar is a luxury
Grover Cleveland enjoys smoking whil'
at work, and il you happen to meet hin
on his travels, ten chances to one but /
will be in smoking car or on the smok
ers' side Of ferryboat. Bob Ingersoll i
famous patron Of good cigars, bu
many OF tho reverend gentlemen whc
occasionally handle him without glove
could smoke him out Of house and home
Randolph, Of Roanoke" when h
went abroad, carried barrelful Of Pow
hatan clay pipes and corncob pipes will
cane stems. Henry A. Wise was an in
veterate chewer Of tobacco, and in hi
own home devotee Of the pipe. Alex
ander Ii. Stephens, of Georgia, would g.
to bed smoking, and his long stemmet
pipe was his first companion in the morn
ing. Andrew Jackson was famous 70
his corncob pipes, and Chief Justic
Marshall for his snuff box and excellen
Maccaboy; while the records tell US tina
the two Adamses, father and son. Cha,
and Webster, Calhoun, Benton, and il
fact nearly all tho early great lights O
| the reDublic were addicted To tho use O