The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-03
ABSINTHE DRINKING.
ObservR tiUns of 81 Physician in New
q Orleans, Where Many Use 1t.

obserV'R tiSns of Il Physician in New
. Orleans, Where Many Use 1t.
From the New Orleans Times-Domocrat
Il see that the French government is
making al effort to suppress the manu-
facture of abstnthe, remarked 2 New
Orleans physician, and that the ,1tedical
corps OF the army has made some very
alarming reports as to the effect of the
stuff on the rank and file of the ttoops
A similar movement was started in 1880
or thereabJuts, aud, if l remember right
ly, an order was issued forbidding the
sale of the cordial to any soldier. Tns.
subject was discussed at Il myth in the
papers at the time, but the dealers
brought their influence to beIr and. the
crusade was ultimately abandoned.
''Absinthe is a strange tippla,'. he con-
tinued, land the evidence as to its effects
is singularly contradictory. some people
drink,-it all their lives ami apparently
suffer no bad results, while Others are
reduced to@herrible mental and physical
wrecks By not half as great an indul-
gence. More absirthe is consumed in
New Orleans than any other city OF the
United States, and in years past have
made the habit something Of Il study,
hoping TO discover the exact toxic prop
critics of the preparation and some fixed
facts as TO its effect on the system.
Iarly successful. The liqueur is simply q
distipation of NORWOOD, known botani-
cally as Artemisia Absinthium-he.ic
the name. abSinthe. WormWood itssff is
used to some extent as a medicine, and
a fluid extract made from the leaves aud
topsfis regarded as a coed tonic IN cases
of dyspepsia The extract has some very
slight narcotic properties, but tie distI.-
Iation seems to develop new and power
tI11 ,i,.1,
directly on the brain and great nerve
centers and stimulates them to an extra
ordinary degree The ultimate effect is
a breaking down of the system loss of
memory Inability to articulatC, hallucna-
tons and some thing resembling palsy.
one" ahsinthe wreck whom | treated
for several months had strange lJpses in
which he would forget his own identity
and be unable to find his way home An
other patient was continually using the
wrong words like a man with aphasia
one day he walked into the Office and
SAID; Doctor, l have run out OF refer
entail He meant to say he ilad~lun out
of medicine. but was absolutely unable
to do it, and to this day / never hear
the word 'referentiaF without thinking
OF him. But as 1 said before, it eli d.
ponds on the individual. Some are nat
urally immune to the poison ana others
are abnormally sensitive to it, zen.
again. the symptoms diff5r widely. so
widely that it would be iupossible to
diagnose a case without knowing some
thing of its history. Altogether The ac
tive principle of the stuff is great mys-
terry.
Here in New Orleans absinthe is gen
orally drank in combination with anisetta
diluted in about six parts Of water.
think the French way of taking it * less
injurious. In Paris the confirmed alb
sinthe drinker pours about half a gill in
the bottom ef large tumbler AMI fills II
up with water. Then, as he sips he adds
more and more water from the carafe
until the mixture is almost Transparent
One glass will occupy him at 1aast IN
hour. and he rarely takes a second"