The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-08-05
A Striking Story.

The Swiss paper Sentinel gives
the following account of how DR..
Aug. Forel became an abstainer.
He says: During twelve years
at Munich as assistant, and at
Zurich as director of The ASYLUM
for the insane, Ihad a number of
of alcoholics with and without
delirium, and I had never seen
one cured. The delirium past,
they recommended to drink. I
had long felt that there was a
defect somewhere, but I did not
find the remedy. In 1881 an al
coholic of the worst species had
had four attacks of delirium in a
year, and had always recon
menced, beating his wife, etc. l
declared him incurable, and ad-
vised his wife to get a divorce.
But she conveyed him to a small
asylum Of the Blue Cross, at
Bale. There he was cured, and
became agent of the Blue Cross,
at Paris, whence he wrote a let
ter to tell me of this. He thank
ed me, not without irony, for my
care of him. From that time l
understood more and more that
the usual treatment of alcoholics,
consisting in efforts to bring them
to the moderate use of drink,
rested on a fundamental error.
I forced myself to press upon my
drinkers total abstinence, but
without the least success. |
sought a society of abstinance,
but could not find one.
"In 1884 a shoemaker in the
neighborhood of my ASYLUM
came to measure me for a pair of
shoes, and he refused the glass
of wine which I offered him ac-
cording to a well-known custom
in Switzerland. I thus discover
ed that he was quite near US at
the head OF a little Temperance
Society. Enchanted with him, I
asked if he were willing to take
my drinkers into his society.
With great pleasure, said he,
send them all From that day
Isent to him my drinkers, accom-
panied by a nurse. With exem-
plary devotions and patience he
occupied himself with these
drinkers, spoke to their heart,
and made them enter the society.
Then, for the first time in my
life, I saw my alcoholists cured
not all but a good number. New
ertheless, I had the weakness to
wait IS months watching what
was done. Then 1 said to the
shoemaker, My dear sir, here is
a year and'a half that l see my
drunkards cured, and until then
they were incurable. Only one
thing seems TO me clearer and
clearer, that it is you alone that
cures them, and not me. How is
this? It is truly shameful for
me, a medical specialist, paid by
the state for getting the sick
cured by poor shoemaker who
receives not a sou for it; it makes
me feel incapable on this point.
1T is very simple to me. answered
the shoemaker with a bantering
smile, 4 am an abstainer; you
are not. You cannot make a per-
son an abs5ainer without giving
the example yourself. you are
right, I replied, I have long felt
it, and cannot understand why 1
have delayed so long, but from
now I abstain.
"That was in 1886, in the COM
mencement of the year. From
that time I continued an abstain
er, and have cured hundreds of
alcoholists without having need
of the shoemaker. My shoemak-
er, M. Bosshardt, has become by
my influence the emeritous and
venerated director Of the lnebrl-
ate ASYLUM at Ellikon. Until
1892 I had the weakness to offer
wine to my guests. and friends,
while my wife, children, and my
self lived as abstalners, to our
great advantage as regards
health and work. Itweighed up
on me that still had not had
the courage to break with the
custom. In 1892, my entry into
the Order of the Good Templars
relieved me of my wine and Of
this painful load. Since then I
have felt myself free and open;
I have broken my last tie with
alcohol" !"
The Sentinel says that "here
is an example which a large num-
Der of persons might follow who
lament the ravages of alcoholism,
but who, while they cry TO the
fire. do not themselves take g
pail Of water to extinguish it. y