Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-05-22
DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
Why Alcohol Kills Some Men and
Others Thrive on 1t.


There have been scores of chapters writ
ten in the medical books as to why alco-
holic liquors undermine and ultimately de-
stroy a mans system. or. in other words,
drink killed him. but the precise reason
why they kill one man and not another is
not satisfactorily explained" said promi-
nent specialist to a Star reporter today.
Il noticed a dispatch in The Star re-
Gently of the death of a centenarian who
had been a steady drinker all his life. l
have had patients who were moderate
drinkers succumb in from five to ten years
The mystery lies in this: Two men of ap-
parently equal physical strength, for a
mans soundness cannot always be deter
mined, will each drink an equal quantity
of liquor daily, say half pint to a pint of
whisky, or from five to twenty average
sized drinks distributed throughout the day
and evening until the night cap just be-
fore retiring Tens of thousands of men
average this quantity daily.
"One of these steady drinkers will die
inside of ten years, perhaps FIVE and the
other will live to be eighty. The death OF
the first can be traced by a medical man
directly to the use of liquor, that is, but
for the effect of the steady doses of alco-
holic poison upon the heart, stomach or
kidneys the man would not have died Of
the disease given in the death certificate.
1t may truthfully be said. then, that he
died of drink, though the Immediate cause
of death was heart disease apoplexy
or any other >of the sudden or lingering
diseases. The other man may die an acct
dental death at ripe old age.
The general effect Of alcohol upon the
organs of the human system Is too well
known to be recited. but it Is the oppo-
site way it affects the systems of different
men that constitutes the interesting point.
My theory Of alcoholic death as 1t were, Is
he ly eff Of thn %t,o
excretory organs, especially the skin which
1t clogs and destroys, both it's life and that
of the muscles and the organs it encases
In fact it's continued effect is to practically
decay the human system and the bodies of
the old soaks, or men who have died of
alcoholism in the great cities, and which
have afterward been cut up in the dissect-
ing rooms of the medical colleges. are
practically a mass Of putrid organism
When, therefore, alcohol attacks a certain
weak organ of the body, that organ sue
cumbs to the attacks. does also the pa
tient, to put it in untechnical terms, and
he passes
"Since men will continue to drink to the
end of time, I'd say this to the steady
drinker: Let up entirely at stated occa-
sicns. Go for two weeks, or longer, with
out a drop to give the system a chance
to rest. 1t becomes tired Of oft-repeated
defensive efforts to overcome, counteract
and fight against the assaults of the stfmu-
liant and the corresponding strain. Many
men who are hard and steady drinkers are
conscious of their ultimate self-destructton,
but are powerless to resist the temptation.
They make 1t a practice to let up as
they say, and when they begin again the
system has been rested and strengthened,
and renews the battle Of cOunteraction and
recovery with added vigor, and the mans
life Is prolonged. Just so long as the vital
organs can fight against and overcome the
destructive effects of alcohol a man will
live. When they cease struggling in their
desperate efforts to maintain their normal
condition. the death certificate may as we'll
read heart failure as any other cause.
1T doesn't make any difference"