The people's recorder. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1893-1925, 1901-12-21
THE GRRA i li'l DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE or lNTEMPERANcE::'

B hFg-'
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF iNTEMPERANcE::'
Tho Blood of tho lNation-NIo.t Excess in
tito Use Of Alcohol IN Not Due to
Primitive Appetite - Tho Powor or
bad Influence.
President David Starr Jordan. Of the
LELAND Stanford University. hhs nub-
1ishcd in the Popu)hr Sc;ercc Monthly
the Nation: A Study Of the Dpcav Of
Races Through the Survival Of the Unfit"
That class Of Dsii!asouhE-s who are EN-
dcavoring to establish tho theory that
drunkenness and it's ATTENDING vices and
Of tho human race will find little comfort
in DR.. .Tordan's article. Conceding to
those gentlemen certain amount nf truth
which it would he extremely difficult to
nrovc in behalf OF their theories, DR.. Jor
dan enys:
"Thc effect of alcoholic drink m race
PROGRESS should In considered in this con-
rcctinn. Authorities do not agree as to
the final result Of alcohol in race selcc-
ton. Doubtless. IN the long run. the
certain authors are right in regarding. this
rs gain to the race. On the other h1nd
ner's remarls, tha. lofIall cnrstics gan irene
is the most expensive. The people OF
Southern Eurone nre 3relatively temperate:
Thev have used M;nesfor centuries. and it
is thonght by A-chda1l Reid and others
that the cauee of ttelr Temperance ia to
be found in this Id 10 use nf alcoholic bev-
eraqes. All those rith vitiated OF uncon-
trollnble appetitesI have hecn DESTROYED in
the long cxneriea:e with wine. leaving
or1v those with nd :mnl tastes and normal
ability Of resistancE. The free use of wine
ia. therefore. in khis view, a cause OF
Anal temperance while intrmnerance
rages on:v among those races which have
not long known aNohoI. and have not he
come by selectinrt resistant to it. Tho
snvare races whicN>have never known al
coho! are even less resistant, and are soon.
or DESTROYED br it'll
"In nj this thert must be a certain c!e-
ment If truth. 1he view. however iG-
pores the evil efd,t on the nervous sys.
tenn of lono-cont;nucd poisoning. even If
tho noison he only in moderate amounts.
The te-'perate Itala with his daily sc.mi-
saturat tior. is TO more q normal man than
the Scotch farmer with his OCCASIONAL
snrens The ner'c disturbance which wine
effects is nm evil. whether carried to "S-
cess in rr~,,'aritv or irreGu!arity. We
know tor little Of its final result on the
raca tn give certairty 70 our snccu'a tiops.
It. is moreover trre thai most excess in
the rsc of nlcaho{ is not d''e to primitive
annette. Tt is drinl- which causes apnc-
t;tc. and not annctite which socks for
drink. In q given number IF drum Eards
but n very few he"ome such through in
born aspctitc. Tt 3 influence OF had en-
annie, lack of corr,"e fa'sc idea os NAM
Jincss. o. some defect in character or mis-
fortune in envirorrc~t which lcods to the
first stcns in drunkenness. Tho taste
on"- established takes care Of Itself In
ear times. when the nature OF alcohol
was unknown and t1thl ebstincr"c wa I'M
dreamed of. it was tn" strong. the hoister-
ous. the crergct;ca the anost'e IF the
strenuous Hfc.' who lcarried all things to
evcese. The waeeail bowl. The bumper of
ale. the favor of wine. all these we're the
attribute of the STRONG. We canrot cay
.iHt those who sank in alcoholism th ern'1"
;''ustratad the. susv;rsGl nf the fttrss Wio
.,a say that as the Latin races
tel"nerafa thew did not also become oori,;
and weak? In other words. considering
the influence cf alcohol alone. unchecked
by Az educated conscience. we must nd
nit that it is thc STRONG and vigorous, rot
the weak md nerucrtnd. that are dc.
strovrd by it. At the hest, we can only
say that a'coho'ic se'ection is a con,nleN
force. which makes for temperance-,f at
nl}. Mt n fearful cost of lif" which without
alcoholic temptation would he well worth
prescrvinr."
DIR. Jordan it ia to be presumed. would
. idea that the winc-drinkng countries Of
Europe have been me dc temrerate by their
nr.drnking. He IS nrohably much too
we'll acauaintri with the current history
of France and the other so-called "wine
countries" to he in igrorarcr Of the true
state OF affairs thcre.-New Voice.