The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-06-27
Professor Atwater Confuted.


ProfessorS Atwater, or those who have
spoken for him, have declared that one
and one-half Sto two ounces of alcohol.
taken in divided doses during the day are
oxidized, and fseem" to do no harm.
The subjects 8f his experiments were
adult males, sofle of whom were accus.
toned and some &ot accustomed to drink
ing some kind of MlAholic beverage. 1t is
further stated that Whose experimental
upon were not underR Rservation, in an
experimental way, long Sugh TO deter
imbibing this amount of alcoh61 long
time. The fact to which attention S460l0l
be called is that no definite measures were
instituted to determine whether the or
ganism at all suffered in its functions by
the taking of these small daily quantities
of alcohol. It will not satisfy the earnest
investigator to be told that they seemed
to do no harm, nor need he content him.
self with this answer. Others have deter
mined that, arriving at definite results.
DR.. Herman Frey, in Sahlis clinic, in
Bcrne, Switzerland, in 1895, undertook to
determine the effects of small quantities
of alcohol upon muscular work. We cam
not, within the limits of this article, give
these experiments in detail. Suffice it to
say that they were carried out with the
utmost care and all apparent sources of
error eliminated. Alcohol was given in
yhe form of cherry brandy, cognac, wine,
beer and diluted water, not more than
one and one-fourth to two drachms, or
tered at one dose. The strength of the
muscular contractions was measured by
Mosso's ergograph. As result of his ex-
perments DR.. Frey found that alcohol in
these quantities decreased both the
strength of the individual .contractions
and the amount of work which the muscle
was capable of doing before being fatigued,
in some cases the decrease amounting to
nearly fifty per cent. Of many expert
show this result, and these, the expert
menter thinks, were. influenced by sug-
gestion, as they were hysterical subjects.
mental entail PROCESSES as M Ss have oSiy Is Taeaii
the work of Kraeplin and his co.laborers.
These eminent and careful investigators,
after many experiments, 1850 in one group,
announced without reservation that all
the intellectual functions examined SUI
fered marked depression after the inges:
tion of small, moderate and large doses of
alcohol, and this depression makes its APP
pearance Immediately after the alcoho!
has been ingested." Among the mental
processes tested were the power to add
these there was a constantly decreasing
power with the continued ingestion of al
cohol, followed by an immediate rise when
the alcohol was withdrawn. Nor should
it be forgotten that the quantity used was
exactly that which Professor Atwater and
others say seemed to do no harm.
AS to the heat producing power Of al
cohol that is another fallacy; for, in spite
of the fact that really more heat is pro-
duced in the body by the oxidation of al
cohol, the heat radiation by reason of the
dilatation of the peripheral vessels is in
creased in still greater degree. and the
sum total of the effects is an actual de-
crease Of bodily temperature.
Let any one consider these facts, which
have been established by the most care
full possible methods and with mathemati-
cal precision, and he must deny in toto
that alcohol deserves place in the list
of carbohydrate or any other class OF
foods.-New York Independent.