The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-10
St!mulants.

IhOse dCcuStOmru 10 WatCn carefully,
from one motive or another. the relation
OF alcohol to the workings Of nature will
hear with interest n statement OF physi-
illogical facts and deductions concerning the
craving for stimulnnts made by an English
expert in nervous diseases, DR.. HARRY CAMP
BELL, before the Society for the Study OF
Inebriety. Inebriety and stimulants are
treated by the doctor, as might be expected
from the name OF the society he addressed.
rs phenomena OF nature to be investigated
dispassionately, like tuberculosis or ty-
phoid, and not from standpoint Of moral
apprehension.
The widespread desire for stimulants,
OF alcohol alone. Tut drugs and temper
anc," beverages l!ko tea and coffee. DR..
CAMPBELL. looks upon as the manifestation
OF physiological principle. namely, that
stmulant distances are normally present
IN the animal organism and exercise bene-
fetal influence on function" He defines a
st mulant as something which. while Il does
not yield energy, yet renders 1t available"
and which, moreover while rendering
stored-up energy available. tends at the
same time to evoke a feeling OF we'll being,
exhilaration, or even slight intoxication."
This feeling OF cxhilaration or perfect hap
pness, he believes Is a mark that the
physical organism Ia in its best condition.
So broad a definition must nee ssarily
INCLUDE many other things besIGes those
that &C. ch micGl y on the BIO d. on VIII Oh
DR.. CAMPBELL lays particular stress. In
somewhat quaint iuxtape sition he men
tions as Instances OF external stimulauls.
which nevertheless at directly on the
nerve ,entle5 through tho bio )d vessels,
n cut with II whip, n sniff OF ammonii n
warm poulticc breath of cold air,
| dancing. good news and Inspiring music
Tho blood, however, contains normally
| chemical Substances which serve to pro-
duce u fce,ipg Il we-being, and
whose part in physiological p-oCes SEES
has been commonly overlooked such
a cohol and certain non-ntox icat-
ing a'ka'o'ds Ike strychnine, which
are eitaer taken in with the food or arc
manufactured Within the body. Meat, for
instance, is st muating, and the case OF n
tribe q sava,e NeGetar, ans ade dlunk hy
eating 1t Is mentioned, rs w,ll ns meat i
eject on animals. Fish, and vegetables like
Indian cor /. beans and oats are likewise
stimulating. DR. CAMPBELL has SON chill.
dea wildly intox @ lted after purely
vegetable meal. He hGs also noticed that
tortoiseS crave d tndclion aud topples,
probably for tie opium.
Many of the internal secretions Of the
body act like drugs, us do substances formed
as by-products in the process Of digestion
and in the vital processes OF the tissues.
Though these substances are regarded gem
orally as harmful or at least as useless Dr.
CAMPBELL is inclined to believe that il IL
more likely that they have some definite
beneficial function to perform, Just as
poisons have when administered In small
doses. :" II this view be correct, we must re-
gard the body rs carrying on veritable
| drug manufacture by which Is produced
number OF substances acting in much the
same way as tho drugs which we adj
minister These bodies induce function in
various and definite ways and IL seems to
mo highly probable that the organism
makes use OF them to regulate and control
| it." DR.. CAMPBELL goes further; he sug-
| gests this curious hypothesis:
NOW. among the drug substances Of the blood arc
many OF which the action the n, rvous system 10
stimulant and tonic. Tho organism. In fact. pro.
II is provided with a distilisry OF its own. al.
may occur Aad alcohol be produced in the