The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-08-22
ALCOHOL IS A POISON,
ITS TERRIBLE EFFECT UPON
THE HUMAN SYSTEM.
startling Illustration of the Local ANN
ity OF Whisky for the Rrain-Eloquent
Auuress OF hey. Joseph Cook at Water
IRON the N~or,bvo.a,n ,.,

Oi tl0 LOCAL "A mn
ity OF Whisky for the E,rain-Elouuent
Addiess of Rev. Joseph Cook at Water.
town. Wis.
from the Northwestern NALL
The speakers subject was "The Effect
OF Alcohol OIL the Human Brain.n The
address was opened by an allnsion to
william Pitts famous sentence, 81 have
no Teal OF England, she will stand till
the day OF Judgment" to which Edmund
Burke replied, "What I fear for England
Is the day OF no Judgment" The begin
nlng OF the mischief worked by alcohol
IS the fact that it brings about the day of
no Judgment; that it destroys the judg-
ment OF hin who partakes of it. Ha-
bitnal drinkers always lose the nice bal
ance OF mine which they might other
wise retain. They lose their fine sense
OF order III their family matters, in their
business affairs, and fail to observe the
ordinary rules of prudence. What if
You should be asked to vote for a law
that would bring about the same re-
suits? Would you do it? No, you would
recoll, and ask, care We barbarians that
we should ask to take away the iudg-
ment from q man?" Consider the blast
ing effects upon his family. upon his
little ones. This thing we cannot do.
But Ill addition. suppose you were
asked to pass enactments by your votes
mat should permit the very nerves of a
man to be fastened upon as by red-hot
pinchers, until his body is diseased and
until his brain is set on fire and his soul
given over to be wrecked by demons?
What would you do then? You would
exclaim, as thy servant a dog that he
should do this thing?"
II O man Is to resist temptations he
must needs have a healthy body. Sup
pose again, that it were proposed to en-
act into law in Wisconsin a proposition
to go farther in this matter and to au-
thorize the transmission of disease down
to the third and fourth generations. No
citizen would support such a measure.
Every person would say that it was a
horrible form of injustice. Why should
the children be compelled to bear the
burden of sins for the commission of
which they were in no way responsible?
Why put this awful condition upon in
noccnts yet unborn?
"If Wisconsin should pass such laws as
l have outlined, the world would stand
aghast. Now, if you please, or for that
matter If vOu do not please let me say:
Laws Of just this same tenor and force
have been enacted by a supreme power
and relentlessly executed. This is a fact.
These are facts. Drinkers do lose good
judgment. They do become diseased.
The disease is transmitted to succeeding
generations. l read this law upon the
divine statue book and it will not be re-
pealed.
"To that statute book | am loyal. But
what reason could justify Wisconsin in
passing such a law? Only that view of
the question which should cover The
effects Of alcohol ON the human brain.
"DemoSthenes said that every argument
should begin with all nndisputcd propo-
sitiOn. These are propositions | now put
forth: First, this law I have outlined
has passed; second, it will not be repeal-
ed; third, there are good reasons behind
Mr.. Cook then called attention to the
fact that though he weighed about 300
pounds, all except about 80 pounds was
water. That by evaporating the water
out of an ordinary sized nal he could be
shriveled up to a mummy weighing about
80 pounds. That books declare that roo
parts in 1000 OF human tissue is water.
Here he broke an egg and put the white of
it into a tumblcr and called attention to
its appearance and to the fact that it was
mostly water, yet an example of healthy
albumen. That as albumcn it would not
harden or change on exposure to atmos-
phere. He called attention to the fact
that white blood c%orpuscles are also al
bumen, and exceedingly sensitive, deli
cate and s%usccptive to the touch of
poison. At this point he produced a
little phial of alcohol which he said he
had purchased in Madison and poured a
little of it into the glass upon the egg.
The result was Il stringy white mass, the
result Of the thirst Of alcohol for
water. as Unsuitable as the drunkard's
thirst for alcohol. The glass with its
stringy contents was the tipplcr. His
health was impaired, and will weakened.
He then referred to his once considerable
interest in the subject of chronology in
which he said he still believed there was
some truth so far as counties were con-
cerned, but he wasn't so sure about the
townships. AT any rate he thought the
will and consciousness of man were
somewhere near the top and were i'm
paired by the first touch of alcohol, just
as the topmost buds are nipped by the
first frost. Certain it was that the first
drink taken made the second less easy to
refuse. The man in the glass was not
drunk, but was cOarscr, his character
detoned. The effect of Il little alcohol
was first felt on tho brain, also, because
the brain was mostly water and alcohol
had a great affinity for water. Also,
physicians know that medicines have
local applications. One medicine will at
tack one organ and another, another,
and q large partof the physicians knowl'
edge consists in knowing which medicine
to apply for each local ailment. Strych.
nine for the spinal cord, le%ptandrin fol-
the liver, and so on. Alcohol has a locaI
affinity for the brain.
Here the speaker turned a little moro
alcohol into the glass and the mass be-
came leathery. This was the man whose
sensibilities were tanned. His will and
conscience were leathery. He would
likely kick his wife, might be in jail. OF
possible might reach the gibbet. The
local affinity of alcohol for the brain was
further illustrated by calling atteption