Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1900-02-09

the children and young people instrue-
lions ABOUT the Bible and its teachings.
The excellence of this method OF teaching
is seen In the fact that 1t focuses thought
and clearly presents focal points of
truth. The method is as valuable In
teaching the effects of alcohol upon the
human body as In teaching Bible truth,
and 1t is also scientific.
| In 1895 the Rams Horn, Chicago.
printed few short catechisms, each one
OF which dealt with the effects OF alcohol
upon some portions of mans BODY,
Here Is the one that considered alcoholic
actions upon the nerves.
ALCOHOL AND THE NERVES.
Question. What do the nerves look
like?
Answer. Like slender, silver cords,
branching out from the brain and the
spinal cord, like twigs from tree. I'm
der microscope each of the slender
nerves is found to be made up of bundle
of finer threads.
| Q. Of what are the nerves made?
A. Or very soft and delicate matter,
which rude touch would crush and de-
stroy. They are very full of blood ves-
sells, and contain great deal of water.
q. How many kinds of nerves are
there?
A. Two; the motor and the sensorv.
Q. What do these words mean?
A. Motor means moving, and sensory.
feeling. The motor nerves are those
running from the brain to the different
organs to tell them how and when to
move or act; and the sensory nerves run
from the organs to the brain to tell it
how they feel.
Q. If you should accidentally pick
up hot coal, what would happen?
A. My hand would telegraph to the
brain, over the sensory nerves, that it
was burned and the brain would hurry
! of message over the moter nerves to
the hand, to drop the coal. All tins
would happen in Just an instant of time
! z. Is it important that the Deryes be
kept in healthy condition?
y. 1t Is very important. Many of
our actions are under the direct control
of the nerves, and are disturbed " hen
the nerves lose any part of their power.
Then the muscles lose their energy. and
the body trembles and the speech be.
comes thick.
Q What does the alcohol do to the
nerves?
a 1t does several bad things. 1t
is always verv thirsty for water. and the
nerve pulp is full of water. which the
alcohol drinks up, leaving the nerve
pulp DRY and hard. The nerves cannot
work when they are so dried. 1t is just
like cutting a telegraph wire so it can
not take message to the office.
Q Is that bad thing?
\. Yes, certainly. We need to know
when we are burned or cut; otherwise
we would not know what we ought to
do to save ourselves from injury.
q. Does the effect of alcohol on the
nerves last long:
\. Yes; when alcohol is taken up by
the nerves it does not easily escape. It,
seems to be shut up in the substance of
the nerves, and is only very slowly
thrown of from it.
Q. What does alcohol do to the
nerves?
\. 1t crowds the little blood vessels
of the nerve tissue too full of blood, and
in that way injuries the nerves.
q. But alcohol relieves pain, does it
not?
A. No; it only prevents the brain
knowing of the pain, by cutting the
little telegraph wire. There have been
cases of drunken men freezing their
hands or feet without knowing it at all.
But the poor feet were just as badly
hurt ms if the brain had known.
Q. What is the final result of the ac-
ton of alcohol on the nerves:
\. Insanity. \ great many men and
women are now in insane asylums, and
seem to have lost every trace of reason
or intellect, Just through the effects of
alcohol. They are perfectly helpless.
and will remain so long as they live.
That all alcoholic liquors tend to
produce insanity, is a generally re
cognzed fact. Most men do not need to
drink very large amount of rum or
whiskey or beer, before they begin to
behave in an insane way. Watch them
in public places, or notice how they treat
their families at home, and we are COM
PEELED to say that, for the time they act
as though they had unsound minds. The
may know what they are doing, and be
cunning about many thing, but all the
duties and responsibilities of life which
require sane minds they are untitled for.
Figures which state the amount of
permanent insanity, resulting from the
drink habit, are startling.
We have seven national soldiers
homes In six of which are found beer
selling canteens. The one that is free
from this feature is the home at Marion,
Ind In tins home there 63-l00 cases of
insanity to each 1000 of its inmates. In
the six beer. selling homes, the cases of
insanity range from 1856 to % to the 1000
inmates. The home without the beer
has from 600 to 1000 per cent the ad-
vantage of the homes with the beer.
In the insane asylums of the United
States, drink is recognized as one of the
| phinf pauSas Of insanity