The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-17
IF WE ALL SMOKED.
Optimistic Philosophy of a More Gem
eraI Use of Tobacco.

eraI Use of Tobacco
Chicago Journal.
In the affairs of men there is a tide which,
taken at the flood. leads on to the serene
destiny Of the rational smoker Of tobacco.
Not to the vacillating anxiety Of an Ulysses
Of the weed. threatened by the Scylla Of
overindulgence on the one side and the
Charybdis of abstinence on the other. but
rather to the calm delights of a T~hackeray
weaving OF wisping tobacco smoke the
WITNESSES of Vanity Fair.
Science and art agree that the excessive
use alone Of tobacco is injurious; that a
moderate amount of it tempers the tenn
pestuous nerves and lays a healing balm on
every doubt of the questioning mind.
Art, literature and science owe a tribute
Of gratitude to My Lady Nicotine: for have
we not the assurance of a Tennyson that
without the gentle stimulant of his ever
present pipe I'm Memoriam' might have
waited unspoken in his thoughts? Without
the perpetual solace Of tobacco the dys-
peptic Carlyle might never have perfected
his pepsinless philosophy. Our Edison of
to-day consumes more tobacco than table
foods, and attributes 70 the calming influ-
ence of the weed the ~tireleSs patience that
has led to his wonderful discoveries.
Who knows? If Napoleon the Great had
been a smoker perhaps that impetuous
spirit that led TO a Moscow and chafed
itself to death at st. Helena would have
sObered TO benign achievement; and thus a
ptpeful of tobacco, more or less, might have
changed the history Of the world. Indeed,
has ii not done so already?
Before the advent of nicotine as a factor
in the worlds affairs so-called civilized
man was predatory TO a degree, given to
conscienceless bloodshed and fierce personal
passion. Men were brutal in all their pur-
suits. yet lacking In the steadfastness Of
purpose which alone makes effort perma-
nently useful. Columbus discovered the
new world. and that discovery comprehend
ed the new force which, perhaps, is respon-
sible for that tolerant enthusiasm, medita-
tive persistence and steadily broadening
philosophy characteristic of the times.
With the ever-increasing vogue of to-
baccO, in fine. man has progressed to the
saner arts of living. Your typical crank
scorns the weed. Can you imagine an An
thOny COmStOck musing on the sins of in
decent exposure and dropping his pipe to
go out and reform them? From his present
quietude one might surmise that he has
taken TO the pipe.
The pipe has become a synonym of phil
osophy. Omar of old, had he been a mod
ern, would have written, "A stone Of beer,
a trusty pipe and thou etc, no doubt. 1t
is impossible to mediate volcanic activity
and the perniciOuS enthusiasm of prOfitlesS
reform while musing in the aroma of after
dinner tobacco. As of old the higher wis
dom comes 10 a man in a cloud, but now
1t is in a cloud of fragrant smoke from the
burning weed. trimming with good will and
peace on earth.
The special pleader who has never come
under the dominion of tobacco shudders
with horror and shows US our handker-
chief. made amber-cOlored with the breath
we have been amiable enough to blow
through it-fOr it is hard to refuse any
reasonably unreasonable request when
smoking.
There" cries the suffering enemy of the
habit, look at all that vile yellow nicotine!
Awful poison, killing you by inches!"
1t is useless for you to explain that nicO-
tine is cOlOrless and present in infinites-
finally small quantities in the smoke which
discOlors the handkerchief. 1t serves you
not to assert that there is as much deadly
poison In a potato as in a cigar; that the
baneful essence of a strong cup OF tea would
Kill a human II properly administered Yet
II is a readily demonstrate fact that thou
sands die of partaking too freely of meat
and vegetables while one is running life and
health by excessive smoking.
Even the juvenile adventurer who is
about to give up the ghost, but compro-
misses on something else. after smoking his
first ciagr. will recover in half an hour if
given fresh air and fresh water. If the
boy may escape even the half hours dis
comfort. and it rarely happens that the
first cigar sickens a mature man.
One could name a list including practical
~ all of the most skilled physicians of the
world who subscribe to the assertion that
in most cases the moderate use of tobacco
is beneficial rather than the contrary. 1t
relieves the nervous tension and lessons
the mental friction. It's psychological effect
is as valuable as the physical.
So common has been the use of tobacco
among the great intellectual leaders and
men of achievement OF the past three hun
dred years that the EXCEPTIONS, such as
Robert Browning, are noted as remarkable
examples. Even a Browning might have
discovered an added smOOthness in his
numbers less opaqueness in his expression,
had he courted the Weed and the Muse to-
gether.
Gentlemen. If we are TO settle the des-
tines of the world let us do IL over our aft
er-dinner cigars, and l dare assert that the
settlement will have more of the golden
rule in IL and less poor hysterical selfish
ness than If we stared at each other across
the empty distance Of an atmosphere un-
clOuded, of an interview untempered by
the grateful haze from the altar Of My
Lady Nicotine.