The Palatka news and advertiser., 1903-04-17
The. Taylor Lectures.

Rev. E. o. Taylor, d. D., of Boston
has been delivering course of four lee
lures on american Citizenship" in Pa
latka. The first and second were de-
livered in the Baptist church on Sunday
and Monday nights. The third and
fourth at the Methodist church on Tues
day and Wednesday nights. Interest
in the lectures grew from night to
night, and at the final lecture the audi
ence filled every available space in the
church.
DR.. Taylor is specialist on the sclen-
tific aspect OF the alcoholic question and
his lectures were educational The
lecture Of Wednesday night was the
summing up of the whole course. The
topic was Goods message in science to
men who make laws" H said in part !:
"Every poison likes some one part of
the body better than it likes another.
For instance, the poison Of lead likes
the muscles of the wrist. Mercury likes
the salivary glands the best. Manganese
likes the liver. Tobacco likes the heart
the best. Arsenic likes the stomach,
strlchnine the spinal cord, aud alcohol
likes the brain the best. This places
alcohol at the top of the list as the most
serious poison of all those mentioned,
hA hn
which is the most vital and sensitive
part of the human body, the home Of
the mind. Why does alconol like the
brain the best? Because Of the large
percentage of albumen composing the
brain substance. But why does alcohol
like albumen so we'll? Because 1t has
chemical affinity for water. Albumen is
largely water. Alcohol draws the water
of the brain tissues out, leaving the
cells of the brain impaired, and you can
not impair the brain cells continuously
like that without impairing the mental
faculties. DR.. Charles Rlchet of France,
one of the best authorities in the world
on psychological action of alcohol, says
in substance what other authorities con-
firm, namely, that alcohol in small doses
over-stimulates the memory, the imag-
ination and the association of ideas. At
the same time it depresses the judg-
ment, conscience, reflection and will
"While this unbalancing process is 60
ing on, 1t is attacking the base of the
brain, over-eXciting the animal impulses
of the man and by as much as the high
er faculties are depressed, the lower fac
ulties run riot in the mans body, so that
under the continuous habit of drink, he
comes to act more and more under his
impulse and less and less under his judg-
ment, conscience and will" This, Doc
tor Taylor said, was unquestionably the
most serious statement that can be made
by any man on the temperance question
today, because it account In scientific
way for the harm wrought by drink.
"In no other way can we account for
the fact that nine-tenths of all the crimes
committed are the result of liquor drink
ing 1t cannot be supposed for mo-
ment that such a proportion Of crimes
could be the result Of the abuse Of a
thing in its inherent or essential nature.
"The first faculty which shows depres-
sion under moderate and continued use
of alcohol is the spiritual faculty. This
is for the reason that this faculty is the
most highly organized and sensitive OF
all of the faculties of the human mind,
and the highest order of faculties are
the first to be impaired by any narcotic
drug.
"No man called of God to preach the
gospel has any right to tolerate the liq-
uor traffic, apologize for it or lie indiffer-
ent toward it. The same logic makes II
the duty Of the church to lead the forces
of citizenship in the effort to overthrow
the saloon, because 1t is the nature OF
a cohol to unbalsnce mems minds and
lead to the commitment of crimes and TO
their spiritual degredation-the traffic
can never be regulated so as TO prevent
harm being done"