The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-08-20
PROF. ArwArnn's EXPERIMENTS.
His Teaching In Regard to the Al
oohoi Question in the schools.


TO the Editor of The Post.
Boston, Mass, August 1.-The recent ex-
poriments ~ Prof Atwater are Of great
interest TO Psychologists and chemists
since they throw much light upon one OF
the doubtful questions Of physiological
chemistry or pharmacology. that of the
metaholism of alcohol in the body.
1t is a mistake, however, to think as
some people apparently do, that the result
of these experiments should change tho
teaching In the schools in regard to tho
use of alcohol from hygienic point of
view The schools teach that the use OF
alcoholic liquors as beverage Is not
justifiable under the laws Of hygiene. The
results of Prof. Atwater's experiments do
not contradict this teaching,
These experiments merely show that the
body can derive some energy from aloohol.
This does not In itself entitle alcohol to be
placed among the food substances in the
hygtenic sense of the term, which is the
sense in which The schools and people in
general use the term food. II II dld, such
q violent poison ns muscaripe., the active
principle of the poisonous plants OF the
mushroom family would have to be class
in the body with liberation of its contained
energy.
To class q substance among the foods
we must know that the sum total effect
OF It's use are beneficial to the body. MUS
carine is not food because It's poisonous
effects Offset the benefit Of the energy
which IL liberates. Alcohol has poisonous
effects az Prof Atwater himself admits,
The question as to whether IL can be con
sidered us food depends entirely upon
whether it's beneficial effects aye greater
than It's poisonous effects. Prof Atwater's
experiments do not prove this. Until this
is proven the burden Of the proof 10
against those who would include alcohol
In the list OF food substances. For ecien-
tifc experiment so far, experiments upon
large bodies of men in the ordinary con-
ditions and Wclssitudes of life. in the
armies and In exploring expeditions where
labor and exposure have to be endured,
indicate that when the regular "modera-
ton" quantity of alcohol is taken. the
harmful effects Offset the beneficial ones
and that the drinker is made less Mt
rather than more Al to work
And stronger stlll is the reason against
speaking as Prof. Atwater does, OF alco-
hol as food in the same sense as sugar
For people generally, VIII interpret this
to mean that It Is food equally to be
recommended with sugar and ordinary
uNEltDlr lOOuB. anu itls, hh iIois aAlWuLoi
will agree is an entirely false Idea and one
calculated 10 do much harm. For while
We get our energy from sugar without
risk OF poisoning, to get energy from alco-
hol we run great risk OF poisoning and
to get any amount such as would be nee
essary to support life In ordinary condi-
lions. we must take enough alcohol TO pol
son ourselves seriously. (By poisoning
IS meant some harmful effect upon the
funpttnua nj the hDlV.o
The above dangers in the use OF alcohol,
also the possibility OF the formation OF the
alcohol habit, make its use as beverage
unjustihable even II there were no other
arguments against II.
1t is unfortunate that the alcohol guess
ton has been brought upon this techni-
cal ground. The question Of the hygienic
status of the use OF alcohol does not de-
pend upon the technical question of the
definitions OF food and OF poison. Tho
controversy upon this point has produced
statements upon both sides which have
given rise In the public mind to great mis-
conception OF the truth.
Both sides In this technical controversy
will agree In regard to the main question,
that children should be taught to look upon
alcoholic substances TO be avoided from
considerations OF health and general well
fare.
And in the present light Of our expert
ence and OF scientific investigation. the
school books must continue to exclude al
cohoi from the list Of substances desirable
as foods, and TO teach the avoidance OF
this substance as good hygienlc rule.
II. Il. Hewes, NJ. ID.