Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-12-21
lNssRlETY.
A New Theory That the Weather Is 70 Blame.

Those time honored excuses sitting
UP with a sick friend" detained on
business" been TO the lodge" etc.
must all give way now 10 q new and
scientific explanation. My dear. ish
all 'sh weather" Professor Edwin g.
Dexter OF the University Of Illinois.
Urbana, HIS. has discovered certain
fixed relations between definite
weather conditions and drunkenness in
New York. After an exhaustive eN-
animation of records and much tabu-
lating and computing. Professor Dex-
ter has arrived at these conclusions,
which he is prepared to back up by
figures and diagrams. In New York
city. men get drunk more in cold
weather than in warm weather, and
they fight more in warm weather than
they do in cold weather This is most
astonishing. for we always associate
fighting with drunkenness. But the
figures prove otherwise. The sxplana-
ton is that men fight and brawl
when they have an excess Of vitality,
and drink when their vitality is low.
All these things Mr.. Dexter sets forth
in his article on the subject pub
lishcd III Annals Of the American
Academy. He says: My other stud
les Of weather effects have seemed to
show that during moderately high
temperatures the vitality of the body
is relatively excessive. while for low
temperature il is deficient. These facts
in themselves would effect the de-
mand for stimulant. \ 'bracer is
taken when needed. and for many
'bracev' means drunk. We may.
believe. with justice conclude that many
Of the hdbitueS Of the police court as
prisoners. struggle against their ten
denotes to drink. knowing the conse-
quences. When vitality is excessive.
they do struggle with success for days
and perhaps. for weeks they are win
ners. but finally the time comes when
the fight Is too severe and they sue
Cumb. That was on the day when the
vitality was at its lowest ebb and the
toli contributed to that condition. a
few glasses Of whisky would remedy
am that. ana it did 50. What cared
the poor fellow what Arctic explorers
have said about the effects Of alcohol
upon the system III tn long run? He
was cold: lie was weak The stimulant
would give him immediate. though
temporary. relief He took it and our
figures show the result. Perhaps
another influence Of different tenn
pnratures shown is through the kind Of
alcoholic beverage used. In hot wealth
er a man drinks beer: in cold. whisky.
During the former conditions of tenn
perature the body demands large
quantities of liquid, which. through
the secretions of the skin and the at
tendant evaporation, may reduce the
bodily temperature. Beer meets the
requirements and. at the same time,
furnishes alcoholic stimulant. Yet in
quantities so small as to intoXiCate
only when taken Unfortunately. Yet il
our theory IS correct the conditions of
vitality are such that even this small
amount of alcohol more nearly meets
the demand of the body than during
the cold season and consequent drunk
enness is less frequent"
So you see drunkenness is a question of
vitality and vitality is largely question
Of the thermometer.
Another thing which Professor Dexter
found out about drunkenness in New
York was that il had q certain relation to
the height Of the barometer. This. he
thinks. may be owing TO the effect Of
storms upon the vitality Of tn" body The
barometer is low during periods Of bad
weather. and wnen the storm il over it
rises. Then does man get drunk. lie
has struggled against the bracer during
the storm. but al its close his state Of vi
tality is exhausted, and he gives up the
fight ana drunk" follows. Professor
Dexter adds that the seeming effect of
barometrical conditions upon The ten
dcncy to drink is just the reverse of the
effect Of these conditions upon the ten
aency to commit misdemea norS in peni-
tentiares and public schools. and upon
the frequency of arrests for assault and
battery and upon the frequency of sui
eide. In other words, with 4 high barom-
eter man gets drunk; with j low ba
romefer he raises rows and rIctions'
and commits suicide. The ideal state of
atmospheric conditions for getting drunk
would seem to be high barometer and a
low thermometer. excessive humidity and
a high wind. Man is more prone to fight
when the temperature is high. the barom-
eter low, the humidity small and the
wind light.
High winds" says Professor Dexter.
ARE among the salOonkeepers' best
friends and he accounts for this by the
fact that high winds. like great humid
tiles. intensity the effects of cold His
weather studies have shown. he saws. be
yond doubt that vitality is greatest i'll
times of small humidity. At such times
the death rate Is lower. drunkenness is
less and disorders of a more active ma
ture are prevalent. The electric poten-
Sreater-!tseif stimulant without being