The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-10-18
DRINKING TO KERp WARM.

Nothing is more common than for men to
take o drink now and then, In cold weather
'.to warm them up as they say. And no
doubt they would be very much surprised II
told that the drink does not do the least bit
of good towards keeping them warm. Yet
this is true, and in fact. SO far as warming
them is concerned, 1t does far more harm
than good. This Is not merely talk. or the
exaggeration of temperance fanatics. 1t is
guished scientific men, after calm, cold and
.unprejudiced investigation. Their object
was simply to find out the actual facts In the
matter. and their studies and examination
leave no room for doubt. ...,i <><- :i=t-"e'>"
The man who drinks hot whisky, O ''tom
and Jerry, or some other warming drink in
cold weather, does feel warm for a few min
utes. But very soon this glow Of delicious
warmth passes of, the temperature OF bis
body is lowered-that is, he becomes colder
and IL he does not feel colder Gas is some
times the CASEY, it is ssimply becausethe drink
has dulled his feelings. II you give him
knock, or il he bruises his hand. or II he
pricks his finger, he will not feel the hurt 80
much Us If he were absolutely sober, and In
the same way he does not know that thetem-
perature OF his body has fallen andthat there
is really not 80 much warmth in him as be-
fore.
We DO not speak here Of the case OF a man
who is dead-drunk-he feels nothing at Gil
but of the man who has taken two or three
drinks to keep him warm.
From an article in the Irish Ecclesiastical
Record we gather the following scientific
testimony on this subject:
DR.. Davis, of Chicago, tells us that from
extensive experiments made by him In 1851,
he found that when alcohol ia taken into the
system, 1.-The temperature Of the body begins
to fall within half IN hour, and continues to
decrease from two to three hours. The eX-
tent and duration Of reduction was in direct
proportion to the amount Of alcohol taken" "
Professor Binz tried experiments on the
lower animals, with the result that he found
there was fail OF between four and five de-
grees after fatal dose had been admins
tered.
1T is a fallacy." says Sir William Gull, the
famous English doctor, Ito say that man
ought to take a glass OF brandy on cold
morning to keep him warm. You had bet
ter give man iood."
Dr.. Burton says that sit is quite delus-
ion to imagine that alcohol causes warmth {,
It lowers the temperature OF the whole
body"
We can point to other practical proofs OF
this important point. During the Russian
campaign Of 1912, 50 fatal to the interests OF
France, it was found that almost all the sol
diers who used alcohol sunk under the cold
and fatigue, while only very few abstainers
fell victims TO these rigors. The Esquimaux,
Greenlanders, Laplanders, and other inhabi-
tants Of the coldest countries in the world,
testify that alcohol would unfit them for en-
during their severe climate. The soldiers In
the Russian army, when on the march IN
cold weather, not only use no ardent spirits.
hut no man who has been lately drinking is
allowed to accompany them, rs his drunken
debauch would render him quite unfit TO
withstand the cold. The same strict absti-
nence has been found by practical expert
ence in the Arctic expeditions to be the best
preventive against cold.
Here at home it is known that old and ex-
perienced drivers OF stages who sit on the
box Tor hours in the coolest weather, are IN
the habit OF drinking hot coffee, which keeps
them much warmer than any form OF alco-
holic drink.