The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-21
WORSE THAN OPIUM.

From the New York Morning Journal.
There goes gentian drunkard -
"A whatW
IA gentian drunkard
This morsel of conversation was heard
by a journal man yesterday in a big
Broadway drug store, where $40 worth of
soda and liquor is sold daily to 10 conts
worth of drugs 1t only took a few words
of further conversation with the two
speakers, one OF whom happened to be
the proprietor Of the store. the other be-
ing certain very well-known physician.
That man" they said, who just
passed us, has craze for drinking the
essence of gentian. Now, gentian in
medicine Is the root of the plant gentiana
Utica. 1t grows wild in the mountainous
parts of Europe and is brought to this
country. In the Swiss and Tyrolean
mountains the peasants macerate the
plant in cold water, and the sugar it con-
tains causes it to ferment on standing.
Then they distill from it a queer
liquor II it bitter and unpleasant to the
taste, but when you have got a Jag of it
aboard it's a great one, so people who
have got used to it say. That man buys
the tincture of gentian solely. He drinks
about pint Of the stuff in twenty-four
hours and how he keeps up and escapes
Inflammation of the mucous membranes of
the stomach, l don't see."
Dr. William c. Bland of Bellvue hospi-
tai, was asked if had ever had any
person under his charge who was a victim
to the craze of drinking gentian.
ssOh, yes he said, Its a well-known
form of INDUCING in stimulants Tine
ture of gentian con tains a very large pro-
portion of alcohol, and you can wager
that If you once get to using the drug,
you are as bad off as if you were chained
to opium's slavery"
The speaker said that the effects of
drinking gentian extract closely resem-
bled those of the other pure bitters, such
as quassia and colombo
Gin small doses at first the drug aids
the appetite and invigorates digestion, s"
DR.. Bland went on TO say but the user
cannot stick TO small Doses for as soon as
his system becomes at all used to the
dangerous drug he finds he must increase
his doses to get any effect.
by and by the victim begins to have a
constant irritation in his stomach and
this develops until inflammation sets in,
which only death ends. The condition of
the poor victim of his habits at this time
is deplorable. He cannot stop taking the
drug because he is so bound up in its eff
fects. He finds that when once he is out
of the first feeling of iDtoxication which
the drug gives him he suffers the most
excruciating agony in his stomach. This
goes on and on until finally he dies in tor
ment.'
DR. Franklin E. Baldwin, of the New
York hospital, tells the story of woman
who was the victim of the gentian habit.
"Of course cannot tell her name, ;"
added the speaker, but she really was
woman OF great deal of standing in this
community. She was married and had a
husband who idolized her.
He was quite well Off having a large
Wall street business, and every summer
used to take his wife abroad among the
Swiss mountains"
DR.. Baldwin added that it was while
abroad on these trips that the wire got to
drinking gentian, which the Swiss people
brew to such an advantage.
The liquor has a sweetish taste" said
the doctor, (which is followed by intense
bitterness. But the effect is. l suppose,
ten times that of a common glass of
whisky. At all events, the woman be-
came addicted to the drink and they say
that she was crazy over it, She became
so bad that they brought her to us.
There was little that we could do you
know. When a person has got to be a
confirmed gentian drunkard that settles
it. Ali the physicians in the world can
not cure; nothing can cure but death.
Well, this woman fingered along about a
year, and then died from stomach trouble,
as all gentian drunkards usually do!
DR.. Paul Godfrey of Roosevelt hospital
laughed when asked if he knew anything
about gehtian drunkards.
II should say l did, - said he; "also
about calisaya and wine of cocoa drunk
ards. morphine eaters, choral drunkards
and dozens of other classes who use any
stimulant rather than whisky.
"Of all the people that come here to be
treated none are so hard to cure as the
gentian drunkards. That class of people,
i begin to think, cannot be cured. And
there are hundreds Of them in the city.
People whom you would never expect are
addicted to the drug, and when once it
fastens its grip on the victim he can't
break away until death aids in the re-
lease. -
The speaker said that in his opinion,
the sale of tincture of gentian should be
restricted Just as is the sale OF morphine.
ITS craze that is spreading daily"
concluded the physician. Il guess there
are at least 5000 gentian drunkards in the
metropolis alone, and they are increasing
in mum bers daily and hourly BE whisky
drunkard, if you must, but don't be a
gentian slave"