The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-22

NfS - ~ lAN
ducing degeneracy. He admits that tho stats.
tics compiled durin the first half Of the pres.
ent century seemed to Justify the conclusion
that 1t Is tho most potent agency. but he points
outthatthose statistics COMPOUNDED coincidence
and cause. or effect and cause. to "a remarkable
degree. As a matter of fact. n vast majority OF
the races OF mankind have used alcoholic
beverages. Each Of these is called by a local
name. thus Offering conclusive evidence OF
local origin. Even the social insects bees
and ants) at times indulge in fruit fer
ments. The assertion. therefore. that al
cohol is a product OF high civilization.
hence OF recent origin. and hence pecul-
iarly destructive. is untenable. That excess
in alcohol frequently occurs in degenerate
stocks is. In truth. undeniable. but. as Kraft
Ebing. Herman, Spitzka, and others have
shown. the inability to tolerate alcohol is IT.
self an expression OF degencracy. The person
intolerant OF alcohol becomes either a total ali
stainer because Of a personal idosyncrasy like
that which forbids certain people to eat shell
fish. lest nettie rash occur. or because of par
simony. or for both reasons combined. 1t Is
noteworthy that such total abstainers leave de-
generate offspring. in which degeneracy as
sumes the type Of excess in alcohol, as well ms
even lower phases of deterioration. In DIR.
Talbot's opinion the race tests Of the deterior-
~N''] ''eNhN VI ui''lANi "a
ralueless. nor are statistics concerning al
coholism In the ancestry OF degener-
ates much more useful. The alleged enor-
nous amount of idiocy. for instance, In
Scandinavian countries. which used to be i'm
puted to alcoholism In the parents. has been
by the most recent researches cut down to less
than Z per cent. Insane hospital statistics
vary to a like degree. 1t is not bad faith that
Is attributed to these statistics. but lack of
analytic skill and the dangerous unscientihc
philanthropic tendency which rebels ut data
unfavorable to preconceived sociologic theories.
The ignoring OF everything except the alco-
holic factor opens the door to many elements
Of error. Herman. for example. cites twenty
khree cases in which degenerate stocks were
charged to alcoholic parentage. but which. on
analysis. proved to be due to "A degenerate fac
tor in the parents. OF which alcoholism was
merely one expression.
1t follows that the influence Of alcohol must
be studied II in the individual. II we would deter
mine its value and it's method OF action. consid-
cred as n cause Of race deterioration. Careful
medical researches have shown that alcohol pro-
duces q nervous state closely resembling that
produced by the contagious and infections, q
state which Is often. but not always, accompa-
MED with mental disturbance. There is, how
ever. a greater tendency to impotence and ster-
iiiey IN NiO iSi WIS "a u W dlCOIlil
than in that due to contagious and infections.
Consequently. alcohol exerts less influence on
race deterioration. 1t is Acknowledged that
alcohol il apt To set in action degenerative
tendencies latent in the liver and kidneys.
Like all toxic agents. moreover. alcohol
interferes with the functions OF the eye.
and ear. and nerves. Special weakness Of the
kind thus created ia transmissible to offspring.
The mental disorders Of chronic alcoholism
are compared with those OF tuberculosis. ex-
cept that CAPRICE and eXaltation are less fire.
quent than the tendency to suspicion. which
takes the form of delusions OF
poisoning and insane jealousy. There is. in a
word. no doubt that. but for it's deterioratinG
effects on the ovaries and testicles. alcohol
would be a serious social danger. Through its
action on the generatiye organs. however. it
tends to prevent the survival OF the unfit
rather than to develop degenerates.
The abuse Of opium as a narcotic seems to
be much older among English-speaking races
than is generally suspected. 1t has been
demonstrated that the inhabitants OF the Fens
OF Lincolnshire long ago employed opium rs a
prophylactic against malaria. The ratio of in
sanity In that region was very great. Similar
conditions once obtained in certain malarial
regions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where
the use Of strong infusicns of the poppy was
I'M A''Hf . NtAiNNlN PiipN AituN NV lFI-
of opium abuses in Pennsylvania at the
Of this century was very large. The
drug differs in two important respects from
alcohol. 1t Is nearer in chemical composition
to nerve tissue. and the tendency to its use
may he transmitted by the mother directly to
the foetus. which, us Bureau and Ringer
have shown, receives through the pla-
rcnta from its opium-using mother. n
certain amount Of morphine. In consequence.
the child. in the arst month of infancy. must
be nourished on the milk of an opium-using
woman, or receive opium in some other way.
1t perish. 1t has been proved that not only
are the children OF opium using mothers born
with a tendency to the opium habit. but the
frequently abort with twins. and the
who survive are very liable to convul-
sions. Opium Is a more dangerous factor OF
1eReneracy than alcohol. since the opium user
be In a continuous state of intoNication
% pursue his usual vocation. while abstinence
8 compatible with proper work on the part Of
he drunkard. The opium habit is increased by
he peculiar propaganda carried on by the
1~abituGs. who strive to Justify their practice by
frying tho use Of opium for any ailmcnt, how
aver trivial. Opium does not have alcohol's ten
iency to interfere with the structure of the
varies and the tcsticles; hence the greater
OF the opium consumers children sur
Opium. indeed, stimulates the repro
iuctive apparatus.
The origin Of the use OF tobacco is usually
to the New World, but historical
evidence leaves no doubt that tobacco
vas indigenous in western Asia. In our
judgment. the statistical method.
adopted. proves no less fallacious
when applied TO the degcnerative effect Of to-
,acco then IL does in the case OF alcohol and
plum. A careful study Of its effects on the
Individual is needed to determine its further
on the race. The most careful researches
Indicate that the typical effects occur. as a
only after long-continued use of tobacco.
sometimes. not until twenty years or more.
While many smokers reach old age. many, on
he other hand. fail to do so because they are
Among the proofs that nicotine has
,een absorbed in excess are loss of appetite
nd vomiting. In women menstrual dis
occurs: abortion and rluriparity
re frequent in female cigarmakcrs. The sea-
IaI appetite il impaired. and sometimes
fertility and impotence are observed; also
heart action. pnlpitatinn. rapid and