The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-12-24
HEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young.
ny FELIX L OSWALD. N. D,
CHAPTER CXXVI.
INEBRIATE CURES

most sure to reassert its power
Even after years OF uncompromising absti-
nence n mere spark may Iekindle the smoth-
cred flames-an experience that has repeated
itself till matter-of fact physicians have begun
20 doubt If the fetters Of an nveterate stimulant
vice can ever be shaken OF altogether. After
the first year Of the life-and-death struggle
/ against rebellious passions. the fangs of the
| ever gnawing pOisOn-t thirst become blunted but
| even 10 years later the weakness Of single IN
| guarded moment may bring on a relapse and
/ the demon Of alcoholism breaks out like beast
long Gagged and ravenOus 10 enjoy its Tegained
freedom. Nor are reformed drunkards apt to
deceive themselves as to the precariOusness Of
| their situation. They may have kept their
passion under absolute control, but they feel
that they have a wolf by the ears, and mourn
their inability to subdue their physical fond
ness for the life-blighting stimulant.
Hence the success of the specialists who ad-
vertise chemical remedies, guaranteed not only
90 subdue but 10 eradicate the thirst for strong
drink, nay, TO turn the eoYetiug passion into
| positive aversion.
"Would you not think IL worth an expert
ment If you could put yourself in my placer"
writes a man evidently in earnest to regain his
liberty at any price. Il have tried the moral
! control plan and failed in spite Of prayers and
curses. Is there no other way? Probably no
better way from theoretical point of view. but
If that path has proved too steep should back
| slider renounce the hope of deliverauce alto
gether? The main objection to DIR. Ms
| remedy Is the suspicion that the alleged cure
Is, IN fact, only substitution Of one poison for
/ another, thus obliging the slaves of King AlcO-
| hOl 10 purchase freedom at too great an expense
of health. But the experience of two friends
| Of mine does not justify that inference. In one
case the disgust OF strong drink took the form
of general lack Of appetite bad disorder Of
the digestive organs, but that trouble subsidized
aud the desire for alcohol had failed to retnrn.
The mere smell Of brandy produces q of nausea
| which can only be overcome by brisk exercise
| in the open air. Some Of the after effects OF 10
years Of intemperance may still linger but the
vice itself (meaning the desire for Alcohol)
/ could certainly not DO more radically cured. In
| the other case there was a relapse OF the pas
sion. but it yielded in less than a week TO
repetition Of the same remedy, aud not in very
/ large doses either. The price of the medicine
/ is a little high, but that would be q mere trile
compared to the value of its effect So what,
in the worst case could be the risk Of the expert
I mcnt2 That risk. / confess, would have TO be
! desperate indeed 10 constitute greater evil in
case like mine. / am not oyerblesE with the
means Of comfort, but have often felt that |
would chcerfully consent 10 the loss Of both
| hands and both feet, to almost anything in
/ deed. except total blindness, if / could thus
shake of the chains Of my slavery. A person
\ who has been lettering near the abyss Of moral
/ aud physical ruin must be pardOned for not
being oyor-fastiduous in choosing the means Of
| salvation"
In the first place. fully agree with my
| friend that the doilar-and- conts cost Of the
remedy would be trilng indeed, il IL
could DO relied upon to fulfill the promise
of its advertisers. A bOns-fde inebriate cure
would be cheap at almost any price ever
asked for miraculous specifics the elixir Of
eternal youth Of the Count Alexander CagliOs-
trO hardly excepted. That II. however,
still involves several unanswered questions,
and we must regret that our correspond
ent fails 20 state whether in the first men
toned case the patient WAS obliged to repeat
the application Of the remedy. The disagree
able first effect would DO minor consideration.
AntidOte means counter poison. and desperate
evils might demand remedies OF like nature.
a. Temporary loss Of appetite" would DO very
| cheap ransom for deliveranee from sick head
! aches, blue devils and midnight struggles with
| the powers OF despair. Even suppOsing that do
| liverance to require second and third dose,
its price would be cheap enough
But what If resort 10 the same remedy
should have TO DO repeated ad infnitumH
| Can the patient consider himself cured if the
cure should happen 10 involve a constant
hankering after the expensive specific? In
| financial sense his former vice might have been
rather the less grieyous and perhaps even from
sanitary point Of view. There are strange
rumors about the composition Of drunkenness
/ cures. Some years ago the wayside fences
\ Of northern Germany bristled with advertise
/ ments that might have been mistaken for quo
tatons from the homIlies Of Brother Sam
Jones: stop! Stop. in thy reckless career to
| ruin just long enough 20 let me whisper one
/ word in your ear: There is a remedy for the
alcohol habit! A cheap and positive remedy.
/ For particulars address DIR. K. y. Agents
wanted"
The advertiser avoided newspapers, but used
the fence road to popularity with persistence
which ut last attracted the attention Of the
Government Health Bureau. A sample Of the
sOul-redeeming compound was quietly pro-
cured and Analy zed, much to the regret of
many help-seeking tOpers In a country where
| the sale Of proprietary medicines is not per-
mtted without the Endorsement of a Santats
Rath Estate Sanitary Commissioner. The func-
tiOnary in question refused his sanction on the
| ground that the cure contained large admir-
lures Of deleterious substances.
A Russian with an unpronouncable name re-
Gently proposed 10 cure the drink habit by
simultaneous injections of fluid which has
since been proved to be a solution of strych-
nine, and it is probable that the active prinei-
pie Of the salvation nostrum was a kindred
poison that however, would in itself hardly
justify the prohibition Of the specific. Strych-
nine in some Of its forms Is sold openly in drug
stores, and the victims of lile-endangering
vice should be granted the privilege Of taking
risks accepted by sufferers from much less seri-
Gus complaints. The question recurs: Does
that risk involve the contraction Of a new
poison habit2
Thus far the available evidence does not
fairly seem 10 warrant that conclusion. There
are by this time some five different alcoholism
cures in the market and competent judges
suspect that in at least four Of them the active
principle Though disguised by all sorts of fanci-
fol admixtures) is the same. That in a large
plurality Of cases the remedy has actually au-
swered its main purpose can no longer DO de-
fnied. Persons whose unsupported statements
might perhaps be Questioned, have in hundreds
Of cases proved by the practical evidence Of
changed habits aud changed appearance that
they had actually cOntriyed to break the letters
OF their vice.
Aud by the same evidence 1t seems more
than probable that at least some of those freed
men had done more than exchange the form of
their chains. A passion Tor strong stimulants
would betray its effects in the form of a stTych-
nine habit as well as Of an alcohol vice. That
IN some cases this exchange of besettng sins
has actually taken place is equally certain. and
the chance Of an alternative result appears to
turn upon the following question: Has the
patient INDUCED his original vice (the alcohol
habit so long that his system has for years
been dependent upon the aid Of an artificial
stimulantf In that case his attempts at eman-
cipatIon will be likely enough to result only in
an exchange of masters. The ex-alcohol fiend
will become an arsenic or strychnine iiend.
| But with "A fair rascrva fuud nf vital yiOor