Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-04
A POPULAR POISON.
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH.

circumstances uhder whlch ehe ur,"Ai"s
CIV 80, go, nha,ono,ns,on however of
tho 1-hoIa ,ootter ,,nor thot occa sion was
that If uos n GOOD deal better not to drink
otou
Tho ,,,r,oso of s,oh q st.+ement Of the
case was tp sot tho dr;nl question unon a
bo sis or ,ctro1 foot II drinking even n
very litt,e could he sbo,vn to he an actual
sin like Wing or stealing then the temper
ance advocates woulo certainly have q most
powerful argument But if their desire for
such an argument leads them to treat drink
ing as essentially sinful, when really it is
onlv drunkenness that is sinful then their
efforts are binaared bv the fallacy in the
nrerise Jntelli,ent peonIc cannot be per-
shaded bv ANYTHING bnt the truth.
Since that time in addition to many ex-
pressions of dissent which 1 hope value
properlv. have received n communication
from a friend Of mine. one of the known and
best Informed chemists of this CITY, in which
he attacks nv position upon the ground that
all liquors that arc drunk to-day contain
alcohol, and that alcohol is a poison. So
that drinking even n yery little is drinking
lust a little poison And not onlv that but
n noison wh ose neculiaritv it is to stimulate
the annette for more noison of the same
kind. That is. alcohol is a most seductive.
and dece ptiye. as well as fatal poison
Tb. auth,-;t;es nm Poison
No"' aii We wan. III 'h,s Ha'.ei e, 20 ..e
siiH pie truth. Inc uesire To oe cohsis'eh'is Is
only another form OF seli-cohceit. 20, my
part l "ou,u oc oelisn.co ~ 'aho n'.A
ever shihs tna' was saiu' anu W h,'.ii.ai Ia
'ni' even She shallesI laSte vi 'ho iiS hto'C
WINE Is oeauiy sih-h lcouio ue cohNinoeo
that that Is true. 10 take poison cannot
readily De conceived OF as Vlrtue-eAcep'
IN the case OF homeopathic meoiche, Ii
man voluntarily, IN search OF sehsatioh Oh
plehsure' taxes in1o ms system .na' Wnioh
ne KNOWS Will 90 MN pnysicai 1ur"i' ne
coliiIli1s d SIM ho' only "ealns' us oooS' ou'
'salisI ms sou'.
AocuroinSE' SOU uo"h heie' ouS vi my
irieho careful cltatioA Oh au'iori.ies' as
iii'ny mi'uesees " MS PosiUioi as '"oo 10
space ior' leaVlhg the uecision " e'ery
maj Juusllen'
"ha. Is Po.son' Ioisoh' says Dunsif
son :, heoic'il -y, Dictionaty, Is eenerlo nauis
~. an substances WHICH "neh ii,'louuoou
ail.o 'n1 anili.al eoonoy, el'nei ns .i'"
tive oan.I act in narious -nonrar on tho
vital properties or the texture of oreansn
"a poison according to Taylor's Treatise
on Poisons sis substance which when alb
sorbed into the blood is capable of seriously
affecting the health or DESTROYING life." DR..
Tracy, OF the New YORK BOarO OF HealCn,
says thatI'any substance whose nature it is
when absorbed into the blood to iniure
health or DESTROY life is called poison"
That these Characteristics of poison are
present even in the lighter liquors. beer
wine, cider, etc. is affirmed py Dr. W. S.
Davis, of Chicago, founder of the American
Medical Association, and President of the
late International Medical Congress- Dr.
Davis certainly ought to know what he is
talking about He saws: "There is not a
greater or more destructive error existing
in human society than the belief that beer
and wine and distilled spirits do no harm if
used in moderation, and may even supply
some want to the system. The oft-repeated
maxim, that it is not the temperate use
bus the abuse Of alcoholic drinks that does
HARM embodies error that is still inducing
tens of thousands of honest citizens to rob
themselves of an average of 10 or Is years of
life. through the agency of chronic disease
produced by the moderate use of ale ohol."
That vould make a good TRANSPARENCY for
a torchllght procession of Prohibitionists.
aI.,h,, 1 po,.o
hEhh ho" are eminent autnori'ies 8ho
CLASS aicohoi rs poisoh' LIZ. Mussey' fro-
.essor vi hn''o"y anu out Al D'i 'iiiou vi
Coilese; Aicohoi ls ciasseu among polsohs
oy lneuicai "ri'ers Oil poisohs' l no hot
hho" vi au eAoepVioii auions s phs sioians. ~
Is rahheu anohs poison' nun i's eheo' VI
tue pouy ahaiosous W 'no'eo o'ne, Poisons'
" hat Is saiu vi VIC enooO Va a,oonoi iius' 10
true vi All uoses ihrse vi shiaii' ai'nou IL tne
ehecG Vi very minute uosee may De inpei-
cep'toie' u. iaiiiel' roiessor vi rh'n-
oioSS nhu ii"o'o y, t neuioe III ,io Uo.-
leae Vi lheui1iie a"u T"is in 'he oni-
Neis's vi 1"ieniso". " o iiiei III
Mli''hS upoA poi'o9 oo' 'ouoi "ions
'neni' anu nU one uenio' W 'nl' "i''oie
poisonous qua'luies, s
Inc iate III; "hiaIu raFker' oi rhliauel-
phla: is alcohol Po'son' reply, yes. IL
answers 10 the description OF a poison. IL
possesses an inherent oeleterlous property
whlch, "heh introduced. INTO the system Is
oapaoio vi Us ing nv Gnu mas i.s Piaoe
oninm Toxicolopists divide noisons into
three classes: Irritants. narcotics. and
Observation-Disclosures. Alcohol belongs to the
latter class in its effect upon the living svs-
te,n IL is first an irritaut and afterward
when it has entered the circulation. il be. |
comes q narcotic. We're alcohol q N irritont
onIv a man would as soon po1son himself
With arsenic or aoua fortis The narcotic
e,emant is tbe siren that leads him to rnin
ond 70 deotbn
prof + T, Youmons founder of tho po,,,,
lar S.;e,,co 16o,,b7,,. "klcoboI is uniyarsoIl,,
70 ntod among noisons bv nbvsiolooistS
ohemists nbysicions to,icologists ord oil
,,bo hove eynerimented or written -,
.h;s srh;oot ord ubo tbereforo bos, -.
stand ;,m nr wiIIiam H.mnond n.
,Ifrod rornenter 1ote presid.nt of t,o
:, -. HS