The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-10-16

|
sues in the ordinary wear and tear OF life,
but, rightly administered, II is probably
equal to every emergency in which slim
ulation OF the vital powers Is required.
Experience, for instance, has proved that
soldiers on a forced march are sustained
on "meat extracts, better than on coffee
or any kind OF alcoholic liquors. Cana
dian lumberu en-, living in holes dug in
the snow in winter, and sleeping on hem
lock boughs covered with robes, allow no
spirits in their camps, and destroy any |
that may be found there, Dr. Kane, in |
his expedition TO the polar regions, also
prohibited the use OF spirits as beverage, |
though the thermometer sometimes reg |
istered 20 below zero, and the fatigues OF |
the sledge journeys were exhausting to |
the last extreme.
1t 10 popular error that alcohol forti-
fies the body against cold. BY dilating
the vessels OF the skin, and Increasing
the circulation OF the blood through them
IL gives, indeed, a ruddy glow to the exte-
rior, but at the expense OF the vital organs
within. The blood, cooled at the sur
face. carries q lower temperature TO the
heart and lungs.
The normal state OF things is just the
reverse. Exposure to cold causes the Gu
taneous vessels TO contract, thus forcing
| the warm blood back, aud limiting the
| loss of heat, except in extreme cases, to
| the skin. A blue, rather than reddish
| tint, under such circumstances, is Ma
| ture's signal OF safety.
| 1t In related OF a party OF tourists cross
| ing the Sierra Nevada, that they encsmped
| one night In an exposed position above
the snow-liue. Some OF them took large
draughts OF spirits before lying down,
and went to sleep warm and happy; others
took a moderate quantity, and resigned
themselves quite easily to the oiscom-
| forts OF the situation; others still ao-
stained altogether retiring very cold and
miserable The next morning, however,
those who had taken no spirits arose In
good health; those who had taken little
got up cold and wretched; while those
who had imhlbed freely did not get up at
ail--they had perished during the night.
| The men who took no alcohol kept the
heart warm at the expense OF the skins
those who took much warmed the skin at
the expense Of the heart.
Our bodies are always undergoing waste.
Every act, every thought, evevy breath
we draw, are all at the expense OF our liv-
ing tissues. 1t Is for this reason that We
are said to begin TO die at the moment OF
| birth.
To repair this waste, however, Nature
has made bountiful provision. The raw
material for our nourishment is mex
haustible, for IL 10 the earth ITSELF No
part OF the solid crust on which we live
fails TO contribute its quota to our sup
port.
In food, therefore, every possible loss
, that we sustain In the wear and tear OF
, our bodies can be made good.
OF the deficiency OF food, either in
quantity or quality, however, we know
only too we'll the inevitable effect. IL
creates sense OF exhaustion TO which
anything that stimulates the vital power
affords immediate and grateful relief.
Wanting natural means of sustenance, the
body demands temporary substitute.
Alcohol is not food, but it's effect on
the system IS, for short time, substan'
TALLY the same. 1t quickens the circulation,
paints the skin with the glow OF health
revives every energy and warns and ex'
bilara.es the heart. We may, in like
ms ner, start up the fire In furnace, by
opening the drafts without throwing in
coal. We get more heat for the moment,
but we extinguish the fire by quicker
combustion.
IT may be stated, then, as general
rule, that the greater the deficiency In
the supply of proper nutriment, the great
er will be the tendency to resort to the
use of drugs and stimulants.
Establish chop-houses for the people,
in such locations and numbers, and al
such scales of prices as will insure fol
them the widest patronage. 1t Is entire
ly practicable to do this. Food OF good
quality and variety, well-cooked, palata'
Bile and nutritious, can be furnished,
wholesale and retail at these restaurants
at far less cost than by the wastefui and
dangerous methods now too often in
vogue In individual homes. Bodily nourish
ment At the lowest possible expense to
the benefciaries should be the sole aim.
We should be content with apartments
well-lighted and scrupulously clean, and
not insist upon placing them, like out
Protestant churches, on too high socia
level.
An admirable illustration OF what car
, be accomplished in this way, even under
, the pres ent economic conditions, Is afford
ed by the Coffee House Association of the
I | City OF Toronto. Organized In 1881, with Q
0 working capital of sl2, 600, on which div
0 idend OF per cent has been paid every
\ year, II has maintained several restaurant'
Y in various parts OF the city, for the dis
= tinct purpose OF combating the evils o
intempersnce. In one of them alone
known as the st. James, during the win
ter OF 1sSS-S9, $4,000 meals were serves
at an average charge OF less than cents
each. Out OF the philanthropy tha
achieves such results we may yet draw
a new proverb; Take care of the eating
= and the drinking will take care OF itself
= Whatever eShausts the bodily energies
- beyond the limit OF easy and natural re
- cuperation, lessons the efficiency OF labor
70 and shortens life.
,s Excessive or unrepaired waste OF tn
W tissues, creates a craving for excessive
I, and injurious stimulation.
20 II produces the same effect as the def
D cheney OF food.
Iwould also suggest in that connection
as another great aid to the cause OF TEN