The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-01-15
ALCOHOLICS NUTRlTIVE VALUE
REPORT ON SZATElIENTS OF PROF..
ATWATEE OF WESLEYAN.
Made by Committee of Christinn Work.
ers-The Injurious Action of Alcohol
Found to Far Outweigh the Value of
Exception Taken to Some of the Pro-
fessOr's Figures.

Boston, Jan. 14.-The committee ap-
| ference of Christian workers, August
| IL, 1899, to investigate the statements
Of Professor Atwater Of Wesleyan uni
versity in regard to the nutritive value
of alcohol has made an exhaustive re-
port in sixteen-page pamphlet en-
titled "An Appeal to Truth" published
to-day. This committee acted in CO.
operation with the advisory board of
the National Temperance societies, the
Presbyterian Woman's Temperance as
ISOLATION the permanent committee on
temperance OF the general conference
of the Methodist Episcopal church, the
National Woman's Christian Temper
ance union, the Massachusetts Total
Abstinence society, the national depart
ment Of scientific temperance instruc-
ton in public schools and the non-par-
tsan National Woman's Christian
Temperance union. Under these aus
Ipices the data furnished by Professor
Atwater as the result Of his expert
ments at Middletown We're subjected to
searching analysis by leading experts
in physiological chemistry, and the
following deductions are made:
Professor Atwater says his expert
ments proved that alcohol is oxidized in
the body. This is not denied, but it is
denied that Professor Atwater's claim
proved alcohol to be a food, Many
poisons besides alcohol are oxidized in
the body. The Middletown experiments
are said to prove that alcohol in being
oXidized Sn the body furnishes heat
and energy. This again is not denied
but the assertion is made that the
claim proves nothing in favor of alco-
hol, because its injurious action at the
same time far outweighs the value of
the heat and energy it liberates as is
the case with other poisons oxidized in
the body
Professor Atwater claims that his
experiments proved that alcohol pro-
tects the materials of the body from
consumption just as effectively as cor
responding amounts of sugar, starch
and fat But eminent scientists testify
that these statements are not supported
by his own figures in the tables of his
first official data. bulletin 50, published
by the department of agriculture No
vember s, 1899. This is the testimony
of professors occupying the chairs of
chemistry in the Universi-
ty and Bellevue Hospital Medical school
of New York city, of physiology in the
medical school of Northwestern univer-
sity Of Chicago, of hygiene in the Med
co-Chirurgieal college of Philadelphia,
and of a former professor in the Phil
adelphia Polytechnic and College for
Graduates.
S-These scientists, after careful and
separate study of Professor Atwater's
official report, come to the same conclu-
zion, viz. that his tables do not show
that alcohol protects the body material
of the man experimental upon but
show, on the contrary. distinct loss
of heterogeneous material when alcohol
was administered. The entire testimo- !
ny in the appeal to Truth" goes to
show that, according to his own tables,
Professor Atwater's costly experiments
have produced no evidence to sustain
his charge of error against the present
teaching that alcohol is not !
a food, but poison.
4-The report says of Professor Atwa-
ter's unpublished experiments: 'Tf they
show the same loss of nitrogen when the .
man took alcohol as do those of bulletin /
80, such unanimity would by so much |
refute the statement that alcohol pro-
tects the material of the body from con-
sumption If they should vary, that |
would prove such data made
luate, for to be worth anything for
there should be uniform
ty in the results of such limited num-
ger of tests made under conditions so
unusual to everyday experience"