Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1903-07-21
WHAT SCIENCE SAYS
IMPORTANT TESTIMONY REGARDING
THE EVILS OF ALCOHOLISM.

York American In the SOurse OK
One of Its Powerful Temperance
Editorials.
Heretofore in its attempts to show
the people the evils of the drink habit
this newspaper has dwelt largely upon
the moral phases Of the subject, says
the New York American. We have en-
deavored to show in plain language
how the use of alcoholic liquors weak
ems the will, lowers the tone of thought
and winds up with the complete degra-
dation of character and life. But today
we intend to contine ourselves strictly
to the physical and scientific side of
the question.
1t isa very common thing to meet a
man who talks about like this:
Il am a regular but moderate drink
er. No one ever saw me drunk, and
yet l drink every day. And what's the
harm of it? Can you see anything the
matter with me:'
The mln would seem to have the adj
vantage of YOU. You cannot see any
thing wrong with him. So far as the
outward appearances go the case IS
squarely against you. The man ap-
pears to be all right. But is he? The
effects of drink upon the system do not
show themselves to the extent of at
tracing a very marked attention, 1T
least until the conditions are fairly
ripe.
In the man who comes out on to the
street after q protracted debauch the
effects of the whisky he has been pour
ing down his throat are so visible that
even the little children notice them.
He may not be drunk. 1t may have
been hours since he touched q drop,
but any one can see that his physical
system has received a severe shock
and is in a very dilapidated condition.
In the moderate drinker these signs are
not visible, but the alcohol which he
daily imbibes is doing its work, and
slowly but surely his constitution is
being undermined.
Now and then we run across some
old man who is hale and hearty not
withstanding the fact that he has been
a moderate drinker all his life. But no
one will think of denying the fact that
this old man is an exceptional very
rare exception. Many old men who.
Notwithstanding the fact that they are
old, should be hale and hearty, are suf-
fering from the ailments born OF the
drink habit, to which in their earliest
days they were enslaved.
In the "rheum, the dry serpigo and
the gout" which rack their frames.
make their bones ache and render mis-
erabl and thankleSs the evening days
which should be SO full Of peace and
beauty. they are reaping the fruits OF
their harmless" moderate drinking.
Not long ago we made reference to
the report by NJ. Mesureur, director or
the department of charities, Paris, up
on the results Of alcoholism In France.
That report was no sooner made pubic
than the French liquor dealers were up
in arms against it, Indignation meetings
were held. The mails were Hooded
with all sorts Of protests against the
truth Of Mesureur'S claim that alcohol
ism was slowly but surely destroying
the French people. The discussion at
last became so heated that the govern
ment took it upon Itself to subject the
offensive report to a careful scrutiny,
with the result that it was confirmed
in every particular.
We quote from a poster issued by
the investigation council for promot-
ing the public welfare" and now dis
played all over France:
alcoholism is the chronic poisoning
resulting from the constant use OF al
cohol, even if this does not produce
drunkenness.
at is an error to say that alcohol IS
O necessity to the man who has to DO
hard work or that it restores strength.
The artificial stimulation which 1t pro-
duces soon gives way to exhaustion
and nervous depression. Alcohol IS
good for nobody, but works harm to
everybody.
alcoholism produces the most va
ried and fatal diseases Of the stomach
and liver, paralysis, dropsy and mad
ness. 1t is one of the most frequent
causes of tuberculosis. Lastly, it ag-
gravates and enhances all acute dis
eases, typhus, pneumonia, erysipelas.
These diseases only attack q sober man
in a mild degree, while they quickly
do away with the man who drinks al
cohol.
THE sins of the parents against the
laws Of health visit their offspring. If
the children survive the first months OF
their lives, they are threatened with
imbecility or epilepsy, or death carries
them away a little later by such dis
eases as meningitis and consumption.
alcoholism is one Of the most ter
rible plaques to the individual health,
the existence of the home and the pros
perity Of the nation"
The document from which the above
mutations are taken is signed by the