The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-13
What is DrunkennessP Drink.

Editor Morning News; Abuse never
convinces or converts any one, but on the
contrary, does more harm than good.
Man is a reasoning soul and he should be
addressed through his reason and OBJ
servation. 1t is all stuff and folly to de-
nounce liquor selling or those who sell by
the drink or the gallon. The law recog
nizes and permits the selling of liquor in
any and all quantities. Man is an omniv-
orous animal so far as his stomach is con-
cerned, and to eat and drink any and
everything seems to be his nature. He
eats and drinks poison as naturally as he
eats food. There is no nutrition in
alcohol or tobacco, opium or laudanum.
They are all stimulants, excitants, OPT
ates, sedatives, in a greater or less de-
gree and when used or taken in mOdera-
ton, or as a medicine, do good. The
stomach in man is very much like his
conscience; IL can be accommodated to
most anything. The Stygians of Hun
gary eat arsenic by the teaspoonful, and
what would kill man not accustomed to
such a stimulant, acts with them only as
an excitant The children eat IL Just
as naturally as our boys smoke cigarettes !;
''for as the old cock crows, the young
ones learn"
BUT WHAT Is DRUNKENNEssR
1t is at first habit and then a disease !;
a disease that grows rapidly and becomes
prepotent in very short time according
to ones temperament and predisposition.
Let young man for instance, drink regu-
larly for week or month, and the dis
ease begins to assert itself. The very
moment one says Il must have drink, -
declares an alcoholic or toxic craving for
drink. The disease is known as alcoholic
insanity among alienist physicians.
Drunkenness then is an uncomfortable
desire for drink. BY drunkenness, do
not mean one who staggers or neglects
his business, but one who feels he must
drink
A man takes a drink and in less than
three minutes the brain feels the effect;
the liquor is not digested as milk, soup or
objective point for its peculiar manifesto
ton. Alcohol has a great affinity for
water, and thus takes the water from the
brain, hardening it, or, in other words,
changing the nature or normal condition
of the brain. A thinking man Ssees at
once where the danger lies.
Drunkenness, then, is not n habit, but a
deterioration of brain tissue But when
we look at the physiological effects on
chi 1ren, we see why children are born
with a natural desire for drink, and take
10 drink as naturally as duck to water
They are born dipsomaniacs, or born dis
eased with abnormal natures. Drunken
ness then, in time becomes q neurosis, or
a morbid affection of the nervous system,
and when such is the case is easily trans
mitted to children; then look out for in
sanity, epilepsy, dementia, melonchOlia,
and kindred diseases.
write the above, Mr.. Editor,
for the young men of Savannah
and everywhere else to read and to
think about. 1t pains me to see young
men cultivating the habit of drink; not
that l am interested in any man, young
or old in the city, for l am not But l
know the consequences that will follow
in time. have seen too many go down
to their graves from drink in the morning,
noon and afternoon of life, when they
would have lived to see the sun set of
life. Among the associates of my early
manhood l can count over thirty who
have gone down to early graves from the
effects of drink. Verbum sat sapienti.
r. NJ: o.