The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-11
TEETOTALERS' CRUSADE.
1T IS SWEEPING EUROPE THROUGH
OUT ITS EXTENT.

| Its Leaders-AbSinthe the Curse OF
France-Its Cost and Its Conse-
quences-The Crusade I'm Belgium
and Austrfa-RoyaIties Who Do
Not Drink.
Paris, France, May sl-Publlc attention
is being forcibly directed just at present
to the aggressive campaign against in
temperance which IS being carried on in
nearly every country on the contInent,and
| especially in France. The advance in this
country Is absolutely unique of its kind,
as there never before had been any gem
eral movement of a national nature The
| French have been wont to look upon
themselves as good examples of modera-
ton, while they gave their pity TO Ger
many and England as horrible examples
OF people who drink TOO much.
But France Is now duly shocked DIR.
Laborde, of the famous Faculte de Medi-
cine in Paris has calmly informed the
! French that they are the most intemper-
ate of an the civilized peoples on earth,
! and gives science and figures 10 prove it.
When this announcement was made, the
| French who frankly told the doctor that
! he was mistaken and worse, the news
| papers took it up and published columns
of indignant protest against the SANDER
GUS charge-and Investigated as second
thought Then they changed their conf
dent note for in a series OF articles pre-
pared by NJ. Cornely of the influential
Daily Figaro, II Is shown that close TO
fifteen htres, or about sixteen quarts, of
alcohol are consumed every year for each
of the 100000 of people in the republic.
The French find that instead Of heading
The alcoholic list Germany and the Brit
ish isles come third and fourth in the
ranking, as Belgium takes second place
after France, but with nearly one-third
less in its per capita consumption. Fifth
in the list is Switzerland, the home of
absInthe, and then, in the order named,
there follow Italy, Holland the United
States, Sweden, Norway and Canada.
Norway Is the most temperate of any Eu-
ropean country. Canada leads the world
in its moderation, with a per capita aV-
erage of over two litres a year This
means that our neighbors in the northern
dominion drink less than a seventh as
much as the mother country, from whence
many of them came as French emigrants
Most reforms, of whatever kind, may be
counted upon TO have humble beginning,
thence to work upward among the people.
But this movement reverses the almost es-
tabllshed order, for it has started at the
summit OF Intellectual and cultured
France. It Is from the Torbonne the Fa-
cutie de Medicine, and the other famous
lycees that the new propaganda has been
sent forth. Even more remarkable is it's
present development for total abstinence.
Heading the movement is DR.. c. GRAIN one
of the best medical authorities in France,
who is president of the National nnti-aI-
coholc League and editor Of a temperance
monthly, called L'Alcool. As his active adj
jutants Is a cOterie of u doctors of medi-
cine, and other faculty members, nearly
all of whom are men of wide reputation
and Independent means, several being total
abstainers in common with their president,
George Barley, Head of the Reform
Movement.
Under the stimulus from their distin-
guished leaders, il Is not strange that the
students in these schools, and in the coll
leges throughout France, should take -
the campaign. They have organized tua
Students National lie Grain League and
are pushing the work into all parts of the
| country under the leadership of Georges
Barley, who is an adVocate-at-law, active
ly connected with the defense in the Drey-
fus case. When I saw Mr.. Barley a few
days ago, he said he had Just returned
from a tour in the South of France, where
he made 26 temperance addresses in as
many schools and colleges. In all of these
| he organized leagues of the students,
numbering from 20 10 $50 members IN each.
| To such proportions has this movement
reached that il is extending to other couIs-
tries, notably TO Switzerland, where stud
| ents' leagues have lately been established
at Lausanne, Basic and Zurich.
"KiIIing the Little Worm"
| Drinking shops in the poorer quarters
| of Paris are open at 4 o'clock I'm the morn
| ing, and even then there are shivering
men and women who have braved the nip
! ping cir TO kill the little worm" as they
| cali their thirst for drink. In the poor
| quarters / have seen by night little groups
OF women put their drink money into a
| common fund, so the amount of alcohol
may he a Bit larger than if they bought
separately. and they drink 1t often-times
in its full strength. This use Of neat
drinks is steadily growing. So fierce is the
appetite for the strongest Installations that
ethe law compels chemists to sell methlv-
| ated spirits only In colored form, which
means that they are poison
ed. Alcohol from wood is
deadly. but popular with them. In Paris
they drink ether, in the north of France
turpentine is growing in popularity and
here and there a case is found where kerr
osense oil is taken. although this is gener-
| ally done secretly. Petroleum i'm especial
has terrible effect, and causes severe
vomiting and other sickness, until the
stomach becomes Injured TO the horrible
! practice.
Normandy Is the most drunken Of all the
departments in the republics. While the
fishermen and peasantry of the north
coast are bad enough as men, the women
are worse. So besotted have many OF these
people become that they work but five
hours a week, earning but enough for the
barest necessities of life. and to keep them
selves in drink So keen is the desire for
liquor that on the farms after the apples
have been pressed for cider-making they
are put through a fermentation aud anoth-
err milling, TO gain a further intoxicant
from the rancid mass. Much the same is
done with grapes in some sections.
TerrOrs of Absinthe.
If absintheism is not checked. France
may go insane as a nation. II is only A
few years since two old women living in
a secluded mountain valley in Switzerland
gave out their secret for brewing a drink
/