The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-01-20
DRINK AND aEREDrYY.

without overstepping the limits OF SoorfeIyt
Not many, and very likely not one.-At
lanta Constitution.
DRINK AMI aEREDrTY.
g. O.Smythe, A. M, M. D., President OF
the Indiana State MedicalS Society, In his am
nual address at the Iats meeting OF the 30
ciety, discussed ssThe Influence of Heredftydf
in Producing Disease and Dsgensracy and
its Remedy Wequote, concerning alcohol
the following:
THAT the abuse Of alcohol has grown 10
be one Of the most gigantic evils OF the ageI1
no longer can be denied. TIE damaging inc
fuencs on future generations Is more far
reaching and deleterious than we have here
tofore been willing TO concede. Q arrest
this evil, or to reducsi It to O. minimum, even,
will require q most heroic efort-the com.
bined labor, in, fact. Of all good people.
HWe cannot escape indivfd dual responsible
ity when the public health, the general wei-s
fare. and the future hsppiness OF our racs
are at stake, We cannot fold our own
clean hands about us and say that as foe
me and mine we have no responsibility. The
individual who can do this and shirk the re-
sponEbilities OF life, who Is not willing To-
lend a helping hand to sinking humanity,
and labor for II 60 that the world may be-
better for his havingtlived in it Is q misan-
( thrope, and had better nsyer have been
born. But there ID probably no man so far
debased that he does not love his OWE Aesh
and blood; II behave nointerestin humanity
in general. his single aim in life being to
rrovide for his own descendants and maize
them happy. But he Cannot accomplish this
with certainty, for his neighbor may be an
inebriate whose descendants may marry his
children, and his grandchildren may he ep-
ileptic or insane, his great-grandchildren
criminals or paupers and die upon the scai,
fold, be inmates OF the p~enitentiary OF alma-t
house, and finally be buried in the pottsrs.s
field. Trulyyhe that does no provide fcr
his own household Is worse than an fnf1dets
1.-THE time has come when this question
must meet its solution. With the knowledgo
which the medical profession possesses upon
the subject under discussion, we cannot
occupy a neutral position. Wecannot doso
and discharge our duty to ourselves,
immediate descendants, or humanity In
general. Our voices must be heard In the
land, giving forth no uncertain sound. We
know that the improper use or abuse OF
alcohol Is a frequent and fruitful source OF
insanity. We know that ineoriety, epilepsy,
crime and pauperism, and host OF other
diseases too numerous to mention in-
diyidually. can be traced directly or IN
directly to it's door. We know that all
these conditions, when once acquired, are
: transmitted by heredity to future genera
tons We know that when a man is simply
drunk he Is temporarily insane, and that II
may be dangerous to the community Tor
him to be at large. We know that Wien
the State furnishes the means which makes
this individual crazy, or, what is practically
the same thing, makesis legally practicable
for him to obtain II, she makes herself
particeps criminis, and is an accessory be-
fore tbs fact in any crime which may be
committed, and wner she Furnishes the
criminal, she is Furnishing a part of herself
for her own crime, and Is occupying a posi-.
2Ttgn so absurd that it cannot be explained
BY any process OF logic known to the present
generation.
tsThe prime obstacle to be overcome in this
great movement Of reform is to be met at
the very threshold. Liks the evils OF the
Pension Department and foreign tmmigra-
ton, this thing has attracted the attention
of the politician. In the game now being
played the humanitarian and the patriot
have been lost in the shufd., and nothing Is
being dealt from the pack but the pot-houss
politician and the ward hummer. He who
can do the most dirty work and control the
most votes, or Is an expert In ballot-boE
stufing, alone approaches the surface, and
be it said to the everlasting shame and dis
grace of both the dominant political parties
Of the country that they would by these
means sell out the present interests OF the
people and mortgage the future prospects OF
all humanity for party spoils. But notwith"
standing tnis deplorable condition OF AFFAIRS.
it will be the conclusion of all thinking men,
afte mature deliberatioa. that the saloon
and whisky drugstore will have to go. This
is the first remedy which we, as scientific
men. must recommend; remove the cause
and cure the disease afterward." -!
! NEWS AND NOTES.
Some babies are brought up on the bottle
and q good many men are Drougnt down py
it. y
In Norway and Sweden and Finland the
sale of intoxicating liquors at groceries ana
similar shops is prohibited:
1t appears from a recent report that the
total amount Of British capital invested in
American breweries aggregates at the pres
emit time s92, Ol9, 24O.
or the 900 railway corporations in this
country, employing 6S9, 9l2 persons, no less
than 375 prohibit the use OF intoxicating
liquors by their employees.
Grand temperance WORK is being done in
the English navy through the efforts OF
Miss Agnes Weston aud others. On scne
ships ten per cent. of the ship company arc
enrolled as total abstainers.
The monster petition that decorated Fan.
euil Hall 6urins the Worlds and National
Convention 0: the W. c. T. U. was signed
in forty different languages; $4,000 OF the
signatures were brought from England by
Lady Henry Somerset. D..
A correspondent has discovered that pro-
hioition is OF Indian orr gin. In llul, at st.
Ignace. Mich. a treaty between the French
and Ottawas was adopted, in which the lat
ter stipulated that Father Enjatran be re-
stored to them and that liquor selling be
prohibited in their country.
The Humboldt County California; w. c..
T. U. has its tabernacle on the grounds Of
the Agricultural Society, where they keep
open house during the fair week every year.
The sigu, "W. e.. +. U. Rest Booth" stands
in bold relief on the front Of the building,
and within the rooms are comfortable and
inviting. Rocking chairs, lounges and baby
carriages are provided for the weary sight
seeIs.