The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-11-26
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS AsoUT
the VICE or INTcMPEaANcE.

fs 10 ths Power sf sslf.Coatrsl whieh d
First ParsIyssd By Aleshoi-Hsw ths
Grave For It 70 Fully Dsvsloped .
Neral Essultsss Rinszly Disabled.
The highest pinnacle in . mans moral
nature n the power TO control or inhibit
the suggestions or inclinations OF his lower
Il il this power Of inhibition Or self-con.
troll that 10 first paralyzed' BY alcohol, and
the paralysis is. apparent at the earliest
stage Of alcoholic insestion. 4 man vho
has jurt come under the influence OF
moderate quantity Of alcohol b at once NO.
ticed to lose his reserve, his self.restraint,
his discretion.
Later in the stage Of intoxiestiou the
next tier Of brain cells goes. while the,firSt
tier remains functionless throughout, still
more and more saturated with its poison:
His moral judgment becomes dulled, and
more Of his sell f.control 10 givsn. up.
Another tief 10 paralyzed and some mo
tor centres are gone; still, in harmony
with the law that the nerve cells are made
functionless in the inverse order OF deSe!.
opment. the highest and last developed sui.
fering first and most.
During all this time the lower centres
Including those governing the animal pas.
bsSaADl ~ hh u osSsG SA Wv
Another tier goes, and the mind 10 Q
blank. Paralysis Of al the higher centres
is complete; tho victim becomes inscnsi.
bic: the muscular power Of the limbs gives
way. and profound aresthesia results.
II the alcoholic dose has been large. and
stin another tier paralyxed, the respiratory
function 10 lost. and the heart, whose cen.
tre is FIRST developed, soon ceases to beat.
Thus at the etage OF complete intoxica:
ton al the higher centres-moral, mental
and motor-.are .paraly.ed; the nerve cen.
tres are hathed in blood saturated with al.
eohol. and surcharged with waste products,
and reduced vitality are not able TO elm.
mate.
Now. disrezarding the incidental aleo-
holic diseases OF the viscefa, such 40 cirrho'
sis. ETC., this brief description OF an attack
Of aeu.e alcoholism 10 an accurate epitome
Of c,reer of chronic alcoholism. Chronic
alcoholism Is simply an attack Of acute in.
toxication spread over a.number OF years
instead Of number at hours.
The cunning hand Of man has uanufac.
tured beverage which has the peculiar
property OF giving an evanescent buoyancy
Of spirits and vivaeity Of thought, and OF
placed It ready to his lips in tempting and
oAoAtn0
Il is not unnatural that men 10 sstisfy
thirst should accept this tempting potion,
unconscious Of the fact that though pleas.
ant to the palate in the end IL stineeth
like q serpent and biteth like an adder.
But few men at first realize the power OF
alcohol TO beget an ungovernable craving
for itself. and we can readily believe that
10 drunkard ever lived who did not at
one time boast that he could take It OF
leave it alone"
The iirse element in the crave, than, u
the simple desire for liquid; the next sle.
ment arises out o., the discovery OF the
power that alcohol has Of producing pleas:
urable feelings, essltation OF ideas, and OF
In the crave IL force Of habit; fourth ID
che desire to relieve the depression follow:
ing previous ingestion. and the fifth and
most powerful and pitiable 10 the loss OF
self-control which comes sooner or later
from alcoholic paresis or paralysis OF the
highest brain centres.
The crave IL not fully developed and ire.
sistible until this highest tier, first and
most degenerated alike in acute and chronic
states, Il paralyzed and destroyed.
The victim has now Q diseased brain,
and to fine him or punish him IN any way
b worse than useless-his inebriety, at first
vice, has become q disease, beeau:e OF
the alcoholic degeneration OF his brain
cells. =,
Later in the desenerative process the
other layers 20, and Judgment, perception,
and the higher intellectual: 40 vel! % the
higher moral. faculties are deranSed, unsta.
be. or altogether lost. Many chronic aleo'
holics who, to the casual observer, never
seem 10 be suffering through drink, have,
nevertheless, lost their Judgment, and their