The Indianapolis journal., 1899-11-14
DEFENDS USE OF ALCOHOL.
Physician Says 1t Has a Place as q
Food and Medicine.
New York Tribune.

new Ork lTlpune.
DR.. Thomas ]. Hills. of this city, read
scientific paper before the State Medical As
sociation entitled, Alcohol a General
Stimulant and Heart Tonic; Its Use TO the
Animal Economy in Health and Disease"
In part, he said:
IF bob veal, which is the meat Of a
young calf. is exposed for sale, such ex-
posure constitutes a crime. and the offender
Is punished. Why is 1t accounted crime?
Because the young veal is not Mt for hui
man food. The same rule should apply TO
Like veal, 1t will be fit for consumption by
and by, when IL grows older-age is the fac
tor in both cases 1t may here be stated
If whisky was sold in its proper state two
thirds of the crimes and four-fifths of the
insanity charged 10 the account OF alcohol
would disappear from the indictment. so
bulky and terrible. that stands against it
on the statute books of society. II is the
quality Of the alcohol product not its
quantity. that should be considered.
I'VE know. through the experiments con-
Quoted by Professor Atwater recently on
strictly scientific basis. that alcohol Is
force the same as a pound Of bread or
bowl of soup. and is best at time under
circumstances that make IL impossible for
either of the others TO have any value as
food supply. Alcohol. however, differs from
all substances in one essential particular.
that il presents alotropic features with
varying body conditions, acting as stimu-
liant, tonic, food an irritant poison.
Alcohol in the banquet hall, In the beer
garden and at the domestic hearth. makes
hundreds merry for. every ten Il makes mis-
cradle and for every one IL destroys. The
man is justified who, feeling insecure, puts
up lightning rod to protect his house; SO
is the man who cannot handle aicohol In
rational manner equally justified In taking
a pledge and attaching himself to a tenn
perance society. There he will have an OPP
portunity with others TO put himself on ex-
hibition a weakling. and as person
without moral strength or resolution, but
he has no right to denounce alcohol be-
cause of his weakness any more than he
should a lamp post he was unfortunate
enough TO run foul OF when under its ef-
fects."
DIR. Hills cited cases where the use OF
rye whisky had saved the lives of persons
afflicted with pneumonia, and said that in
disease like phthisis the alcohol COM
pounds like porter. ale and beer are Of great
tered. In closing DR.. Hills said:
Alcohol should never be taken in hot
drink fO tRs WHISKY
temperance lecture o. preaching sermon:
1t will develop ideas. but cannot formu-
late them !, viii loosen the & tongue and In
reasoning powers and weaken the judgment.
Whisky is a necessity TO some people after
a great mental or physical effort. as the
alcohol after eating; II cannot aid digestion.
and what cannot aid must retard by its
weight and bulk; further, II precipitates the
digestive ferments, coagulates the albumi-
noids and often completely arrests the di-
gestive process. Alcohol or the matted liq-
uors may and often do assist digestion when
used before eating by stimulating the gas
trio glands. Alcohofs highest value 5 an
aid 20 digestion is seen about three and a
hall hours after dinner, II fats have formed
auy part of the repast Alcohol creates
nothing in the domain OF mind, but It can
pursue and seize a train OF thought far be-
yond the grasp of the faculties when not
excited by its action. 1t is the bloodhound
which pursues a trail through the trackless
waste. makes its circuit Of the. convolu..
tions, In some manner not given TO mortal
man to know. quickens and facilitates
thought. The amount of alcohol TO be con-
sumed by an individual depends on the de-
mand made on the vital forces and the re-
sisting power of the individual At ole time
IL may be one dram, at another time eight
ounces. IL is 4 question of demand and sup
ply, and must not be confoundsd with sup
ply and demand. Alcohol has a place on
the sidebosrd. and II must have a place IN
the sickroom."