Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-08-16

young AAu &C. some OF NUom Mt9 al
Mexico,are in the habit Of not only Of.
fering vino and liquor 10 young meE
and boys bat are also in the hahit 81
drinking themselves. This Is q terri
bic state Of affairs and We feel sur,
that Il does not exit to any Iargl
extent here in Mexico. The ST. Louil
Republic Of Sunday contained . col.
umn article from Mrs, Mary L. Lake
Of thAt city, referring to the prevn.
ience Of intoxication among tht
women OF this country. The Repu5liS
sAys: HArs. Lake said that drunken.
mess among women b on the increase
and especially noticeable among
women In society, whoss lapse from
the straight path b more noticed and
commented upon than ID the humber
walks Of life. Mrs. Lakes startling
arralgumsnt Of her sex, which 10 said
10 hsvs ~ahockedher listeners and the
staid public Of Philadelphia, ID mos q
matter Of surprise 10 thoss who have
bad an opportunity 70 observe closely
the conditions prevailing In society
Mr.. Lake, in her address 10 the con-
vention, inciuded in her HYrAignment
only those women who have the
entree into recognized society, and
she was charitable enough 10 declare
that the eYf OF intcxicRtion was
brought about, primarily, by the
social ~exigencies Of the SESSION, which
overtGxed-the physical. endurance Of
women and compelled them to.seek
some stimnlsnt to their natural re-
Cooperative powers. me announce
ment that many women, In the
semiprivAcy Of afternoon tess, reeep-
tons, balls and even public functions
patronized only By people Of their
own social sanding, r a. invsterate
tipplers ~ the men, & not regarded
a. startling news by st. Louis physi-
clans and others who have made Q
study Of the subject. These men de-
clare that 10 Il q lzmentable condition
that haa only been limited at in the
society journals, lightly touched upon
in the conservative press Of the coun-
Try, when, as sometimes happens, one
Of their number falls into the hands Of
the police. I~ntoxicztion among
women has no geographical o social
limitations, say specialists. It 10 as
much in evidence in London, Vienna,
Paris and Berlin &c 1t IL in New York,
Chicago, st. Louis or San Francisco.
The hIgh-born aristocrat mstron or
debutante drinks high-priced wines
ano seductive cordials atthe exclusive
functions Of their set, while the sales-
woman or stenographer imbibss cock
tails or plebisn beer In the parks Of
summer gardens. The only difference
lie that the former takes her tipple in
semiprivhcy, while the latter is COM
PEELED to take hers in the full glare of
publicity" The following is an ex-
tract from Mrs. Lakes address:
"There is more drunkenness among
women than the general public has
any conception Of, especially among
the upper cleases. The eason for
this is not hard to find. There is not
only every opportunity but every
inducement, offered society women,
and especially the younger and I'M
thinking ones, to indulge In intoxi-
cants. Nowadays no social function,
no matter how simple, is considered
an fait unless some Intoxicating bev-
erage IL offered the guests. No re-
ception is complete without its punch
bowl or champagne tub. Every ban
quet or dinner has lie various wines,
cIaret, sautsrDe, Burgundy, cham
payne, ending with brandy. Cock
tails r served before informallunch-
cons, and heady wines 81 dances.
Debutantes, buds Of two or three
10, and matrona alike are pressed
TO partake. The liquid refreshments are
stimulating, refreshing and exhilarAt-
ing, and q delightful time IL had. Next
morning when the effect has worn on,
the woman 1nds herself depressed,
nervous and Ill. She needs y stimu.
lant-what the men call q 'bracer.l
Feeling this need, she calls on her
physician " druggist, who too often
prescribes morphine to relieve the
depression and revive her spirits.
That lie the worst consequence OF the
indulgence In intoxiesnts. The woman,
far from having her appetite for drink
destroyed, acquires the drink habit
and the drug habit ct and the
same time, almost. Al the very next
social function, remembering the
pleasant e~xhIIarstion that followed
her previous d~alIiance with the fasei-
mating liquor, she INDUCES again
without q thought Of the consequence
or, IL she pays any heed 10 the future,
with the complacent thought that
her physician win relieve her from
the triiing indisposition which may
follow overindulgenee. In the homes
Of the wealthy there il either q we'll
stocked cellar, or = sidsboard, to
which the women Of the household
have unrestricted access. When q
woman has once tasted the sweets Of
the grape juice and lie kindred and
has learned through more expert
enced heads the balm for over-indnl-
gence, the temptation to indulge Sc
cretly, where the opportunity IL 90
conveniently ct hand, is irresistible.
There are other households where
neither q cellar nor : sideboard ID
maintained, the head OF which pays
his monthly bills In 9 lump without
Inquiring into the items. This gives
the woman or women The opportunity
70 obtain liquor IN any quantity de-
sired, and have II charged without
the knowledge of the head Of the
household. I have ssen young girls In
their first season ont, debutantes Of 9
season or two, and stsid matroas, 90
hopelessly intoxicated ct social func-
tons that they were absolutely help
less and unable to reach their own
carriages, have often myself been
called upon 10 place women In their
carriages at public receptions, where
they were so Imply drunk that I had
to carry them bodily from the floor Of