The Somerset reporter., 1903-08-06
Physiological Effects.

From a preliminary report upon In
vestigations made by and under the
direction of W. o. Atwater, John S.
Billinge, 81. P. Bowditch, R. II. Critten-
den and w. Il. WEIGH, Subcommittee of
the Committee of Fifty to Investigate the
Liquor Problem, the following is taken
by daily paper: From such information
as the committee could gather 1t "seems
probable that of the adult males In this
country, not more than twenty per cent
are total abstainers and not more than
FIVE per cent are positively Incorporate
in the sense that they drink In such ex.
cess as to cause evident injury to health.
CT the remaining seventy-five per cent,
the majority, probably at least fifty per
cent of the whole, are occasional drinkers,
while the remaining twenty-five per cent
might perhaps be classed as regular
moderate drinkers. With the majority
of these occasional drinkers, and with
many OF the regular moderate drinkers,
such as those whose drinking is limited
10 glass of wine or two at dinner, no
especial effect upon health seems to be
observed either by themselves or their
physicians, but In some cases the drink.
ing is certainly harmful, while In a few
1t is thought to be beneficial" Among
the leading brain workers of the United
States 1t would appear that about eighty
per cent use alcoholic drinks occasionally
or regularly In moderation. The CON-
mittee consider the opinions of these men
as to the effects of alcoholic drinks 10
general as of little or no scientific value.
but Of interest as showing that the use Of
such drinks to stimulate mental effort
gives, on the whole, bad results. They
say: "We believe that such occasional
Or moderate use is likely TO be harmful
to young persons, and mainly because of
the danger Of Its leading to excess; and
that the cases where 1t is useful, other
wise than In disease, are mostly those Of
persons over fifty years of age, and when
the alcoholic beverages are taken with
he last meals Of the day."
The lay reader will perhaps be sur.
prised upon being told that "the special
fleets OF alcoholic drinks are mainly due
to the alcohol they contain, and, 80 far
MS these effects are harmful, the other
substances are of comparatively small
Importance. Fine oAd whiskeys and
brandies are nearly as likely to produce
IL furious effects as are the cheapest
grades OF the same liquors, IL taken 10
the same quantities. Some wines appear
to delay or check tie digestive progress
by reason of other constituents than
alcohol. as Is shown by the experiments
OF Prof. Chittenden with regard to the
effects of claret. In general the iDiur-
inus Effect OF an alcoholic drink is 10
proportion to the amount of alcohol con-
tained ia 1t, which seems to be the chief
reason why wine and beer are less irjur-
inus than distilled liquors."
1.-The question as TO whether a given
alcoholic drink Is food or a poison is
one which cannot be answered by any
short comprehensive formula In moder-
ate quantities, beer, wine and diluted
whiskey, are In certain sense, food
but they are seldom used for food pur-
/ @ es, but mainly for their peculiar eff
tects upon the brain. In large quantities,
and for few persons of peculiar tenn
permanent, even In moderate quantities,
they are posons. Alcoholic drinks in
moderate quantities may be useful as
fstoratiye in fatigue after the work is
done, but they often produce depress-
ing and even harmful eff .ct when used
just before or during physical or mental
labor. They are useless as preventives
OF infectious or contagious disease; on
the contrary, they appear to lessen the
power OF the organism to resist the feet
OF the cause of such disease.