The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-06-01
THE DRINK CURSE IN FRANCE.

"The great black spot on the horizon is
alcoholism. No doubt its influence is felt
among all classes of society, but it is. es-
pecially popular plague recent plague
that has made itself sensible with in the past
thirty or forty years. Alcoholism is par
venue of the last hour, and parvenue cos
mopolite. It speedily acclimates itself every
where. Since by heredity it has entered
into the blood and marrow of the people, and
has spread itself in the country as it has in
the city, not only physicians have become
alarmed but also men Of the law and by de-
grees all intelligent and rejecting persons.
At the present moment 1t increases and as
sumes the proportions OF a universal danger.
The race is struck in its vitals. The hospi.
tails, almshouses and prisons bear testimony
to its progress. In certain districts ons o
longer counts the drunkards, but those who
are not. That which is now drank is in
finitely different from that which was for
merly consumed. 1t is a cheap kind OF liquor,
adulterated With brandy made from the
beet-root and potato, with which unprinci-
pled manufacturers are flooding the world, /
and this poison Is alike destructive OF inyf
tellectual, moral and physical life. 1t may
be truthfulIy said Of him who drinks 1t, that
he drinks his own death and that Of his chill
dren. It tpoisons the future and predesti-
mates coming generations to physical weak
ness, imbeciIity and crime. It is impossible
for any one to fully estimate the moral,
political, social and hygienic effects OF al
coholism.
"In nine-tenths of the msladies, the acci-
dents. the crimes and the ruin, in much Of
the uncontrolled passions and popular dis
orders, one can well say, 'Cherchoz Pal
COOL
ssThe ravages of alcohol among the youth
of the common classes are frightful. There
Is scarcely any longer an amusement or
recreation with which it does not mix itself.
It interferes with or destroys every rational
enjoyment. 1t prevents proper physical de-
yeIopments, 1t neutralizss the good effects
of reunions for SOCIAL pleasure and relaxa-
ton. Every assembly, every excursion for
whatever object, is in, danger Of terminating
In q drunken debauch. Manners become
coarse and the language as well as the songs
brutal.
Formerly the large cities depended upon
the country for the purifcation Of the Life
blood. The source itself is now tainted. In
the lovely valleys that roll back among the
Volges, springs Of crystal water abound, the
air Is pure, and within the memory Of man,
epeiemic has never reigned. But alcohol
now reigns there as master. The number OF
feeble children constantly increases. Dis
order is in the manners, in the purse and IN
GQ6 uOuSeuOlu. 1ue lTuiCS VI q LlcIiLno "
toll disappear.
"Alcohol is more terrible than war, than
pestiIence, or no matter what patural calam-
ity. One can repair the external disasters
-one can rebuild the worlt of ideas. But
what can remedy the evil that destroys the
blood, the brain. the nervous system-that
destroys the foundations of lire?
I'm contemplating our present civifza-
tion, it might be asked, what is there that
could seriously menace itS 1t could not, as
in antiquity succumo to an invasion Of bar
barlans. Its enemies, however. are not far
away. They do not first make their APPEAR
ance in the distant horizon like the Huns
and the Vandals. They are in our own
bosom, and the most terrible OF them al is
alcohol. What hope is their for to-nnrrow
with the youth of to-day saturated with al
cohol? Democracy rests on thu intelligence.
on the wisdom and energy Of the citizen, on
the spirit OF order, Of industry, OF economy.
For all these one may we'll fear, IN proper
ton as brandy and absinthe, PROGRESSES
Our barbarians our ourselves, behold tnenF
Revue Chretienne, Paris.