The herald., 1894-04-11

Is the remedy permnnentg n SO why do peo-
| pie relapse? And DOES the medicine leavs
any i'll effects behluditq Does 1t injure tho
system, brain or any other sense in any way?
In other words, is the remedy as prepared
"innocenb" as the doctors use the term?
lam convinced that its use does the patient
no harm and that the remedy is permanent, If
the convalescsd patient chooses to have ii so.
As far as have been able TO investigate, the
| relapses had social or moral causes at their
base. Iobscrved that the men who went back
| to their cups were in most instances young
men who had become tired OF the m notony OF
sobrlety; persons OF bat little moral stamina,
who longed for the society OF topers and ca
rousers. They admitted that they had no de.
sire for liquor; that the appetite for il had
been cured; but they liked bibulous company
and enjoyed the hilarity caused by alcohol on
their brains Those men deliberately relit the
quenched fires and returned to their poison re-
gardless OF the consequences. They used their
viii power to acquire anew appetite for liquor.
Hence their fall is due to moral or social causes
rather than to physical or any lingering REM
nsntsof the old deb sed appetites.
The older sn who had drained the cup to
the bitter dregs, and had experienced all tho
dreadful wretchedness and misery which the
chronic slaves Of ale ,hol have to endure and
knowing that alcohol biteth like a serpent and
stingeth like an alder did not court the temp
ter but gave it wide berth. My observation,
then is, that soma rescued men backslide. but
the fault is not in Keeley's cure, but entirely
in themselves.
might here close my remarks but am in
formed You desire that should relate how
came to investigate aad endorse tho Kelley
treatment for dipsomana The story is
simple one
heard Horace Greeley eclare more than 40
years ago in public lecture on the evils OF in
temperance, that alcohol was a rank poison in
It's effects on the brain and body OF human be-
ings, and that 1t was only produced by de-
composing and rotting food substances, and
that the process aud purpo were wicked
and dehllng and tn Satan alone could have
taught mankind how to distil alcohol with
which to besot and poison themselves. But he
suggested no remedy for the evil except to
swear of drinking and to practice total alb
stinence by effort of the will, which was some.
thing easier to advise than to do.
Six or scyen years ago heard reports that
an old doctor in the village OF Dwight Ill.
has discovered remedy for the liquor habit
called the gold cure'' and that he was m lk-
ing remarkable cares. But believed that his
alleged specific WAS like bromide OF potas-
stun, or cinehona rubrl, or nnx vonica,
merely temporary or palliative in its benefits.
and that the gold cure oaly extracted gold
from the pockets of tn patients, inste ia of al
coholic poison from the blood, ana therefore
let 1t pass.
About four years ago heard incidentally,
that Chicago physician in good standing had
sent bibulous patients to this gold cure doctor,
and that they hal rem lined sober since taking
the treatment, which in some OF the eases was
whole year My curiosity was exsltcd, and
feeling that II the reports wsre true, II might
prove boon to mfnkind sent a newspaper
reporter to interview the Chicago physician;
but he declined to give any Information, say
ing that 1t wo1ld b. ulprofessionaI Bat hav-
ing learned the nlm,s OF some OF those whom
he had sent to Dwight-they were board of
trade men-I had thenk seen, but they refused
to talk and curtly said it was noboly's bus-
ness However, managed to learn from their
personal friends, that while they had been
hard drinkers, they were perfectly straight"
ever since their return from Dwight, and they
were inducing soma OF their drinking friends
to try the new remedy which seemed to be
durable.
My next step was to send a medical student
down to Dwight who was somewhat addicted
to liquor, to find out what he could about the
nature of the new cure, and to try it on him
self by way OF experiment. and to stay thare
under an ass lmed name, SO that Dr. Kelley
should not know his real business or WAC sent
ported to me that remarkable cures wero un-
dolbte1ly being mld,, and that he really be-
eyed he WIS permanently relieved of his own
thirst for liquor, and that he met persons there
who, having been relieved of their drink
habit" were bringing in intomparate friends
of theirs-somc from Missouri, Iowa, Indiana
and other states including Illinois. But he
was unable to tell mo the composition of the
medicine administered, except that 1t was
called by the doctor double chlorldeoi gold";
but he described its action on the patients,
some OF whom had arrived at the institute
" .ead drunk' and Others with "sniSes in
their boots,' as periently marvellous. As far as
my youag doctor could ascertain, the cnre ap-
poared to be permanent and that it destroyed
the mania for drink and left no evil effects be-
hind it on the patients health or constitution
Thus, it looked as II a cure for the awful evil
of dipsomania had al last been discovered
But the news seemed almost t 10 good TO be
true. At this time | had never seen DR.. Keeley
nor corresponds with him; but wrote ask
ing him number of pointed questions about
his so-called "gold cure" its discovery, history
and action on patients He replied, claiming
that it was an absolute specific; that its in
gradients were perfectly innocent" as doc
torssnsed the word; that he had cured many
confirmed drunkards, and had never observed
any i'll effects on the general health of pa
tients that could be traced to his remedies,
and that the relapses based on several years
experience had not exceeded per cent.
After some further correspondence DR..
Keeley explained to me his theory that the
drink habit degenerated into disease known
a. dipsomania; that the effect of alcohol ON
the blood and germ-cells of the body and nerve
centers of the brain was that OF poison; in
short, that a man addicted to liquor was
poisoned, and he claimed to have discovered
an antidote which expelled the poison without
injury to the system.
To prove his faith in his theory and remedy,
he made me the proposition. That l should
select and send him half a dozen of the most
confirmed inebrate and helpless wrecks of
alcoholism to be found in Chicago; and he did
not object II some OF them were "morphlne
lends'' as well as whisky bloats, and ii did not
matter ifany or all OF them were delivered to
him in a state OF dslirum tremens or opium
idiocy provided they were alive And if he
failed to return each and all to me within
month of their reception by him, completely
cured, he would defray all their expenses at
Dwight including medical treatment, board
and washing, and If he failed to cure to my
complete satisfaction he would make public
confession OF the failure OF his remedies The
challege was so bold and startling that l
at once accepted 1t, and proceeded to select a
half dozen OF the toughest prod uets of alcohol
ism which the Chicago saloons had been BILE to
turn out and the drunkard-makings shops in no
other city can beat them in their line of work
manship The experimental cases were sent
down to Dwight one at a time, extending over
a period of several weeks And in due time
they were all returned to me- looking as if
vertable miracle had been wrought upon