The Press., 1893-08-24
". C. T. U. DEPARTMENT. The Effects of Alcoholic Beverages.
BY W. JENNINGS DEMoREsr.

The Effects of Alcoholic Beverages.
 BY w. JENNINGS DEMoREsT.
 After careful study of all the latest and most reliable authorities on physio logical science, we find that alcohol being the excreta of animaloule, the refuse pro Suct of the decomposition of grape juice corn, malt, apples, or other starchy sub stances is the very ashes of death, there fore the enemy of life.
 Contrary to all preconceived ideas sci entistss. now agree in placing alcoho among the most irritant, virulent, ant deadly poison to animal life. A small quantity, taken pure, kills instantly by paralyzing the nerve centers, like an cleo tric shock.
 The ordinary effect of alcohol is to irri tate, thicken and parch the mucus mem branes of the intestines, and paralyze tht nerves. When taken into the system either in the form of whisky, brandy | beer, eendials or light wines, etc., it's 1 poisonous effect, while so exhilarating as to be very fascinating, are so deleterious t2 all the nerve tissues and flores of the body, that general Arrangement of al the vital organs inevitably follows, lead ing to dangerous and fatal diseases.
 The lungs and arteries confected witf the heart become more or less congeste6 and paralyzed by the poisoh and incapa ble of rightly performing gheir ordinary functions, and this initiatSFy burning ol corroding effect commences with tho smallest quantity of alcohol taken into the system. Therefore there is no suct thing as moderation" in the use of alec heSc beverages; the poison in them is al ways active in it's deadly mission; goes all through the body, permeating and de teriorating every fiber of the human [structure. The result on the heart and brain is especially noticeable, as these organs arc | very sensitive, and are so retarded ir their operations that death would rapidly ensue were there not in nature generous amount of active recuperative power struggling to counteract and eliminate the poison.
 Alcohol, being foreign, poisonous ele ment, even when greatly diluted, as ir beer, which contains from to per cent. does not assimilate like food, but taxes the heart and all the other oegans with extra exertion to expel the intruder, which is partly ejected through the lungs ol breath, but mostly through the pores ot the skin and through the kidneys, all o which are more or less inflamed, and therefore obstructed by congestion. But much of the poison will finger in the sys tenn to bring OH and aggravate any dis ease to which the drinker is liable This specific action of alcohol on thf vital organs is especially injurious to the brain, which is composed of numerous minute coils of gray, fatty substance, sur rounded by limpid fluid. Alcohol has 6 strong affinity for water. and when taker in the stomach, being very volatile, a portion of it goes immediately to the brain, which it hardens or cooks much like the action of heat on the albumen o1 an egg, and also disturbs the finely ar. ranged nerve flores, and blood vessels, SC as to impair their ability to nourish this fatty substance, and in this way it renders the brain incapable of continuous logical thought or action, and the man is said tc be more or less ''drunk ," which is anoth. CT way of saying that the mans brain is paralyzed or parched.
 This effect can be tested by putting a drop of alcohol on the tongue; the smart. ing, stinging sensation proves that it is parched by the alcohols eagerness to ab. sorb or get at the water in the tongue, and this corrosive, irritating effect is the same on all the organs of the body, be- sides producing a craving thirst to supply the loss of oxygen the alcohol has occa- stoned.
 A continuous use of alcoholic bever- ages produces results that are irremedia- ble. After numerous attacks on the brain and other sensitive organs, a chron- ic change takes place in the victim of all cohol, which manifests itself in all the mans actions and character.
 He generally becomes morose and stu pid, with tendency to paroxisms of vio- fence, and sometimes idotic hilarity. His will power is enfeebled, and he is left to be controlled almost entirely by his ami nal passions; his condition closely allied to criminal insanity. -.
 Besides an increasing longing for more of the poisonous liquid to gratify the cravings of the unsuitable appetite that has been engendered, other symptoms follow, such as diseased fatty degenera- tion or bloated body, torpid action of the liver and ulcerated kidneys, accompa- nied by red or infiamed skin, and some- times by offensive eruptions, all of which can be plainly traced to alcoholic poison ing. m
 Many of these indications of paralysis and other symptoms of poisoned, dis eased body, would horrify drinkers were they sufficiently aroused, or were they anxious o1 willing to believe the facts as they develop themselves in their own ex-
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