New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-27
DEALING WITH DRUNKARDS
SOME EXPERT OPINIONS.

SOME EXPERT OPINIONS.
An official commission has recently examined INTO
=, -,,o ~ drunkenness and it's treatment IN
C.oat pritaip It's inquiry covered a great range,
o,d secured the testimony and RECOMMENDATIONS
of many physicians police and prison onicers ana
otbers well qualified to discuss the matter The
ros,,,ts ~ the commissions work have now been
nub,,.bed In a Blue Book, and are repete with
interest Sir Andrew Clark. for example expressed
a moor oninion of institutions--aS at present con.
ducted-for the reclamation and cure OF drunkards
and thought II a shame that England shouid MAIN
tain them They were. he believed especially WORTH
less for the cure OF women drunkards. Inc STATE
ment that from 80 to 30 per cent Oh the inmates
were cured was he thought, Inaccurate and ex.
oroted ct am speaking he said, "as private
musician dealing with these cases just as they hap.
non to turn I'D. When the vice has become haot
Il Is difficult to In men; 1t IS all put mposs'oe
!, women. When taken early In hand cures are
obtained in both SEXES; but even then the propor'
ton in women is painfully small.
The manager OF one Of these asylums conhrmeo
,ht, t,aorv that women are harder to cure than
mon. nerhaos because he said the man has more
likelihood of having occupation 10 keep Ms
thoughts from the one subject than woman mas
cir Iobn Bridge gave a police Justices opinion on
the subject Of the arrest OF men FOR intoxicauoh
1t would he said, be positively wrong 10 summon
70 court every man who gets drunk. "A man may
cot drunk 7 will not say without blame. but in
way that we would not look upon as anything bad
in ITSELF ,,
AT present any one can bring such cases as this
before you if they chose?
.'Of habitual drunkenness-bad drunKehness-no
doubt they can
.r,,, =, noint Of fact II must rest with the poceT
"It must rest with the police. and they think,
should only do i'll mean. my own OPINION "oue
be that they should only do ton receiving susn
sufficient information as TO the real haoi.ua' eo"'
duct OF the mans drinking as to make 1t proper
for the superintendent OF police 10 take Jul d SUN"
mons against that man..
"On the existence Of such notoriety In each case.
81 do not think man should be summoned simply
because he is little lettering IN MS sai' as T"
walks along the streets. or anything oil tiat SORT
hut where a mans habitual drunkenness has D.
come a real evil his family. or to the neishoor'
hood then they ought to do something there
I'm the case you put OF a man beng drunk ohcs
or twice a week and going home and beating MS
wife-that would be an entirely dinerent maue''
am speaking Of simple intoXication. lmmeoa'eV
a man adds beating his wife to 1t, 1t Is very
different matter
Another official view appears in the testimony OK
Lieutenant Colonel MciIardy. the Scottish prison
1T would" he said. "be best for me
n nont out that in Scotland the number Of people
who have TO be dealt with offenders for drunk
enness is very enormous. think you VIII
find that the proportion OF apprehensions IN SCOT
land is very much greater than In Ensiand tor
crimes that are either pure drunkenness or i'm
medately connected with druhkefhess' suen ~
breaches of the peace"
"Of course YOU are not abiding, when you say
breaches OF the peace, to simple ACCOMPLISHMENTS
where there is bad blood and there Is no drinking
in the question:
NOUS with drunkenness: there are loVD IN
round figures out of the whole 10000 apprehensions
I, H. an enormous proportion, you see.
''The 800 900 covers every crime"
'"rha 80 covers every crime
.Iarcenies and shoplifting. and everything OF thas
sort"
Every crime murder and everything else.
So that really drunkenness is the great bulk OF
ma gisterial work and prison work in Scotland.
ON the subject of hereditary drunkenness, Pro.
fessor clifford Adult. of Cambridge SAD l"e
curious thing about drunkenness is that 1t Is so
hereditary in that particular form-as
drunkenness. With regard to kleptomania a fatner
might be dipsomaniac and child might be a
kleptomaniac. | mean the malady might not APP
pear in the same form in that But drunken
ress generally comes in the same form ana MANI
festations; IL appears not merely as generai ten
dency to insanity but special form OF IT,
have been very much struck in practice by the eN-
,raor,iinary drinking streak which runs through
certain families. and this in many cases wnere the
members have not had very much association win
each other. 1t seems to me to be very strong
hereditary tendency 10 special craving l I,tS
sor Adult believes that the evil H. steadily ninlih.
shing: Public opinion. education. physiolofy anu
SO having such a strong e1ect tnat tiiils
the thing will in great measure die out. / am no.
very keen. personally. to take any very large 500
in the matter. and | do not think that inc nu.n-
bers will be found to increase. That Is my ieeihnS;
There Is an immense number of commitments uus
1t Is very much the same people over anu o'eF
again. ...,..
Many curious stories were related Of the trickss
resorted to by patients in asylums TO get loiu %
grog. One physician said: Il remember 4 Pdtien.s
that was a very troublesome one that we naa IN
the retreat some years ago. She was GONG on ta
" well, and one day 1 went up-the natron hap
pened to be not quite alive TO the Ulcks anu ues
vices of these women-and FOUND tnat uoie 49,
been some misconduct there evidently haa pern
some liquor got hold of, and FOUND that so ,h;s
curling tongs had been INTRODUCED ana upon n III
plea they had got some methyfeteu spHit ~ "a
hem with. and IL turned out that one lauy hst
made a compact with two or three. ana theg spe
INTO their own ROOM by hook by crook. ana oo.
tanned hot water. sugar and lemon tulce tioin az, w
II the maids, and then made grog Win tnese n asrs
erals together with the spirit. recollect III s
DR. Anstie said he knew of a case or paueus
drinking backing because there was aicoho' J" :"
"a Their than not have something alcoholic ..,x
Even the famous ''cup that cheers but not ineo,s
ates' comes In for condemnation The m aha bsd
IN ASYLUM at Chiswick testified that patiei, ~
been under treatment there for excessive tea uiin.
ny ..She would consume a pound or tea III d u"y'
Many of the symptoms were the same AZ tnone
Arising from alcoholism: the same nervous coi gill;
ion This woman would lie In state OF coma 'an
Nv from the amount OF tea that she drank anu oo,vX
developed a tendency to pawn everything she so"f
ay her hands on fJr the sake OF obtaining tes Al
reland'