Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-06-16
ALCOHOL AND THE EXPERTS.

ALCOHOL AND THE EXPERTS.
Just at present cloud of scientific
witnesses have arisen to the Indictment
Of alcoholic beverages as provocative OF
/ crime and insanity. Dr. Masoin, per-
manent secretary of the Belgian Royal
| Academy Of Medicine, in the report of
the sixth international prison congress
recently published by order of the
/ United States congress is credited with
the assertion that as an Immediate and
essential influence on crime, drinking
| exceeds any of the other recognized
| causes. DR.. f. II. Bushee describes
drink as the chief cause Of poverty and
medical superintendent of a great En-
glish lunatic asylum. shows from statis-
tics that of the 10000 insane in En-
gland and Wales 81 per cent is attrib-
utable to alcohol as cause. He finds
men between the ages OF % and 40 most
susceptible 10 alcohol. The Medical
Record in commenting upon DR.. Jones
article asserts the assertion that drink
is the most potent cause of mental dis
orders would now pass without cavil;"
as the brain is the organ which is most
disastrously affected by excessive in
1ulgence in alcohol altho other organs
may be seriously injured, the outcome
of the habit is more frequently mental
dissolution" DR.. De Boeck, another
Belgian authority on insanity, said to
the prison congress: Alcohol is a vio-
lent poison to the nervous elements"
He went further and asserted that the
only way of lessening The frequency
o: crimes and misdemeanors engen-
dered by alcohol Is to fornid the sale of
alcoholic drinks or to raise the price to
such an extent as to place them beyond
the reach of the mass of the people,
Everywhere among the most civilized
nations inebriacy is receiving serious
attention. Great Britain has provided
for the Imprisonment in hospitals and
compulsory treatment of this class of
unfortunates and similar steps are un-
der way In France and Germany. Iowa
is making an attempt to succor its Dip
somaniacs al. three hospitals.
The report of DR.. APPRECIATE. superin-
tendent of the inebriate ward at Mount
Pleasant, contains some very interest
ing statistics. OF the $50 who had been
admitted when the report was made LA
were men and six were women. The
average age was 40 years, the youngest
is and the Oldest 81. Ten were over so
when the habit was begun and two
w ere under Is. The greatest number
began between the ages Of Is and %.
Skilled laborers comprised forty-four OF
the patients, unskilled 'aborers twenty
SIX, farmers but ten, clerks twenty one
mechanics twenty-e eight druggists
dentists and doctors blu. two, lawyers
three and one clergyman. There were
eleven unbeIieveTs. eighteen agnostics,
twenty-four methodists. ten Catholics,
two each of Quakers and Presbyterians.
Seven Bapt.sts had failed to stick to
water as c. beverage and forty-four
were .'back<,liders.' All hut four We're
fairly educated and these could read
and write. Forty -four had good homes,
fifty-fiye fair homes, tWnnty-four UNI
satisfactory homes and but sixteen
plead guilty to bad home conditions.
Eighty-fiv of these irebriates used
whisky mostly and but twenty-nine
favored beer. Eighty-two secured liq-
uor at saloons and drug ores, nineteen
saloons only and forty-two
confined their purchases 10 drug stores.
Seven had liquors shipred to them bg
express. There was nervous disease
present In eighty-four Of the patients
and ten were afflicted with epilepsy
These statistics assist IN bearing ont
the statements of the scientists. They
are given without comment and left to
suggest remedial action.