The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-21
MODERATION IN DRINKING.
ONE DRINK MAY DE AN EXCESS
AND 1TENTY nay NOT BE.
IL All Depends Upon the Circumstances and
tho MANA Man who Drank Forty
Glasses or whiskey n Day aud = Woman
who Drank Sig Quarts OF ChampnE

tho MANA Man VINO Drnuk Eorty
GLASSES OF whisky n Day aud = Woman
who Drank SIX Quarts OF Champagne.
But" said the patient. cant I drink and
smoke In moderation ~
What is moderation 2" asked the ply sician.
"well." replied tho patient, "a couple Of
drinks and 4 couple Of cigars q day wouldn't
hurt any one"
Better not" re;oined tho physician. You
can't say that one drink OF whiskey Is modera-
tion for some men. or that twenty drinks are
excess for others. 1t is all a matter OF tempera-
ment and constitution. y on must bear In mind
that both alcohol and tobacco are poisonous.
All constitutions differ in their susceptibility to
poisons. To take common illustrations. you will
see one mans flesh swell up and become inhamed
when bitten by mosquito. where another will
scarcely notice the insects attack. One man
may be able to handle poison ivy almost with
impunity. while another will suffer II he oven
passes near It. So with alcohol. With some
men q single ounce OF whlsKey 10 enough
to pcrmeate the whole system instantly. and
destroy their moral tone. so that they are In
capable OF resisting the craving for drink which
Is aroused and excited by that one swallow In
the observation OF inebrlates II Is very common
to ind men who stay sober for months. or even
years. so long as they take no alcohol whatever
into their systems; but having taken . single
drink. they are swept away. and stay drunk un-
I'll some takes them In hand and works all
the alcohol out OF their systems. For such men
n single drink is very far from moderation. On
the other hand. the amount some men can
drink without apparent, or. at least. INN. diAte.
harm Is astonishing. Every ono has heard
OF the huge quantities OF beer consumed by
brewers-from forty TO sixty and seventy and
even one hundred glasses a day. Laborers In tho
vineyards OF Switzerland drink commonly from
six to eight iitres OF the common wlue OF tho
country every day. l suppose that many French
men are not really sober from one years end 10
another. ana yet they carry their absinthes
and their peths rerros nd their other potations
so well that people are accustomed TO speak of
France rs a land OF sobriety. i recall two OF my
patients. a man and . woman. The m an was
&C customed to take from thirty TO forty drinks
OF whiskey day. and maintained stUutly that
he never felt any III effects from the practice
II he drank less, he was not himself.
ana lie never. OF rarely. felt himself tempted to
o beyond his limit or to indulge in what he
would call Scess He had been doing this for
ten or twelve years when met him. and as =
matter OF fact am not sure that he did go be-
y ond the bounds OF moderation. At least I
noticed no direct i'll effects. So, l suppose, you
can lccRtS moderation in drinking somew here
between forty drinks n day and none at all. II
Sou want to-"
But, Doctor" pleaded the patient, two
drinks a day is different from forty. and never
go to any excess"
what is excessY" answered the physician.
! There is tho other patient l spoke OF, tho
woman. She Is accustomed to drink half .
dozen bottles OF champagne a day, and soms-
times varies It BY u bottle OF brandy. One day
OF that would be enough for me; II would lay
me up for n week; but in her case there are no
III effects on the surface. She is n business
woman. and she attends TO her affairs IN way
that few men can match. Yet both tho man
and the woman are among my patients now.
and not for anything connected directly with
excessive drinking. Their systems may DO
capable OF conquering more OF the poison OF
alcohol than those Of other people yet all along
| the alcohol las been attacking and sapphg ana
| further weakening the weakest points OF their
constitutions, and so when extra strain came
someihlnv gave way that might have stood had
| II not been for the alcohol"
| Then YOU ARE against drinking altogether ~
| asked tho patient.
| Mot NJ all. Alcohol, like other polsons, may
he valuable remedy. Then. In the majority
| Of CASE II one does not go too near the limit no
| harm 10 done by drinking, stop II now for six
mouths or year and Sou will he n1le to take
your two drinks day afterward without
danger Tho same Is true OF tobacco Some
resist hut two light cigarettes n day satisfy
them amply. Any more would I've excess. Other
men smoke from fifteen to twenty strong ciHnrs
| themselves compelled to consult n doctor
| for something that has nothing to do with
smoking. hut has been made possible nv It, I
| have IA young man studying with mo who II in
the >onndest health you have ever seen; but
can tell whenever his tobacco has given ont just
| by looking at his handwriting. smoking may
not hurt him directly but II will weaken his
weakest point 50 as TO render him more sus-
cept ole whenever he is attacked by anything.
So II You want 10 get we'll In a hurry stop
smoking and drinking for the present"
Huh" said the patient, disgustedly.