The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-10-02
Che Otber Side Of
State Education. ~~~~

perate drinking among the people,"
At the fourth Anti-Alcohol Congress
held at The Hague, Professor Sokvis
OF Amsterdam, one of the recognized
heads of the medical profession in
Holland, declared, "That man could
not exist without stimulant, and in
sisted that alcohol was good stimu-
liant" But he said that alcohol should
be taken moderately with food, and
admitted that if man took large
quantities of alcohol without. food the
consequences would be disastrous.
DR.. Suiedens, representing the Dutch
society of medicine, and DR.. Smldt, a
representative also of the Holland
medical profession, supported these
propositions.
We will conclude the subject on liq-
uor and its relation to education by
briefly quoting Professor Kelley the
discoverer of the famous Keeley Cure,
and author of book called "Non-
Heredity of Inebriety." Mr.. Keeley
asserts that, Education does not con-
troll the will. The brightest minds, the
greatest intellects, the virtuous, the
godly, are alike brought low by alcohol,
no matter how small the beginning. 1t
destroys the will, or overcomes it by a
more powerful craving for drink. 1t
is the craving for alcohol that keeps
up the drunkenness of the inebriate.
1t is probably never the result of vi
ciousness or lack of early education on
the subject of the evil effects of alco-
hol."
In table No. 2, of Mr.. Slowgo's arti-
Gle we find this statement: "The
growth of intellectual culture has al
most banished the superstitious dread
of misunderstood phenomena. One
mystery after another has been cleared
| up; so that now even the common peo-
pie laugh at the suggestion of super
natural agencies when confronted by
phenomena that are as yet inexplica-
ble." The various eminent authorities
which have consulted differ greatly
from the opinion which Mr.. Slowgo
has advanced in regard to misunder-
stood phenomena. In fact we find that
superstitious beliefs, under their vari-
GUS heads, are just as rampant and re-
ceive just as much credence now as
they formerly did.
Professor Fiske, in his book "Myths
and Myth Makers" shows concIusively
to what an appalling extent supersti-
tion is still profoundly believed in. He
remarks: "It is common occurrence
to see people turn deathiy pale on hear
ing the prolonged, mournful howl of a
dog, as it is supposed to presage death
in the immediate neighborhood. An
other superstitious observance which /
had supposed long since dead and for
gotten by all men, except students
interested in Mythology, is the divining-
rod. 1 saw an elderly man moving
slowly up and down the road, holding
with both hands forked twig of hazel,
shaped like the letter Y inverted. With
his palms turned upward, he held in
each hand branch of the twig in such
a way that the shank pointed upward;
but every few moments, as he halted
over certain spot, the twig would
gradually bend downwards until it had
assumed the likeness of Y in its nat
ural position, where it would remain
pointing to something in the ground
beneath. This ancient method was
resorted to in locating water in time of
drought"
Divining-rods are today manufac-
tured in large quantities and find many
purchasers who imagine they can locate
hidden gold mines with them. These
rods are advertised quite extensively.
We will again quote from Professor
Fiske: "Myths, like words, survive
their primitive meanings. The break
ing of mirror is supposed to herald
q death in the family. The belief that
some harm is sure to come to him who
saves the life of q drowning man, is un-
intelligible until it is regarded as q case
lof survival in culture. In the older