The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-03-08

dealers at once, after M. Duclaux den-
milton of dogma, entered suit before the
courts against the Project of the Seine
NJ Mesureur's administrative superior.
for damages done to their corporation by
the anti-alcohol placard- AL the other
corporations-wine and spirit merchants
distillery, cavistes, through the manifold
varieties of retail and wholesale trades OF
all classes connected with the ingurgi-
tation of alcohol-have united in prepar-
ing an opposition placard, rehearsing the
merits of alcohol as food, as per the
American professors certified by the di-
rector of the Pasteur Institute.
Meanwhile, the doctors have been hav-
ing their very indignant say in the mat
ter. Dr. Laborde, who has DEVOTED all
his energies to the overthrow of the en-
tire seed, breed. and generation of alco-
hol in human society, openly threw
doubts on the validity of the American
experiments. and wished the Academy
of Medicine to invite NJ. Duclaux to re-
peat them before supplying French alco-
holists with scientific weapons NJ. Du-
claux answers that Professor Atwater's
experiments could not be repeated for
less than 10000 francs, and where is
the money to come from? Besides, they
were carried on during the space Of five
years, under every condition desirable
of control and publicity. and he, NJ. Du-
claux, is quite prepared to certify their
validity from his informed scientific con-
science.
Yesterday a member of the Municipal
Council took up the matter, giving notice
that he shall question NJ. Mesureur at the
next session about the money spent on his
piacards-that the Director of Public As
sistance has no right to use funds set
apart for the relief OF the poor. and less
still the money of the taxpayers. to un-
dertake a campaign which is likely to do
business harm to a great number of
PariSians.
In reality, it is the vested interests of
alcohol in the community which prevent
all the efforts of hygiene and philantro-
by from coming to any complete result
Since 1874 no special license has been re-
quired for the selling of liquor in France,
and the number of citizens engaged in the
trade has far more than doubled since
that time. What stands still more in the
way of legislation is the fact-not pecu-
liar to France-that the elections depend
largely on the liquor dealers.
In all this it is clear that little fact is
worth a great deal of theory. The facts
seem to be very bad, especially for GER
tain regions of the country. In Norman
dy the race itself seems to be attacked
vitality DR.. Leroy, physician for the in
sane at Evreux. has made a careful in
vestigation from the pathological point
of view; he supplements the brilliant
work Of NJ. Brunon, a young physician of
Rouen. whose thesis was summarized
some years ago.
Alcohol welcomes the Norman country
child from his birth; after the christen-
ing a spoonful of cider-and what Nor
man cider can be is well known-is adj
ministered as beginning. Thence
forward the eau de vie (cider brandy is
given literally Ito kill worms" When
he is old enough to totter to school his
wits are sharpened by alcohol in his
morning coffee; two years will not always
teach him his letters. His mother has
not confidence, if he is delicate. in Gods
liver oil or such nostrums-alcohol is the
universal remedy. A schoolmaster noted
that, at a single family feast where
cider. plus five litres of brandy had been
drunk; the litre is a little more than an
American quart. In one year the single
department of the Eure expects each of
its inhabitants of adult age to drink nine
ty-six litres of brandy (at fifty degrees
alcohol, which gives more than ten little
glasses a day.
There is one liquor shop for every seven
ty inhabitants; taking account of child
rem and abstinent women and men, it
may be said that every liquor dealer is
supported by twenty-three people. Here
is the daily bill of food and drink Of q
well-paid workingman. on the seven
tenth of January: Three little glasses,
6 cents; coffee with brandy, IL cents:
Madeira, s cents; food eggs, bread.
cheese) p cents; coffee with brandy, Is
cents; two absinthes and two little
glasses. "a cents-in all, 81 cents for drink
to % for food That the workman con-
tinues the struggle for existence success
fully should be an additional experiment
confirmatory of those Of Professor At
water.
The other side of the statistics is not so
favorable In the last century the aver
age mortality of France fell from TWEEN
ty-five to twenty-three per 1000 inhabi-
tants; in the Eure it has risen from twen-
ty-two TO twenty-six. Fifty years ago
there were twelve suicides to the 100000
inhabitants in that country province;
now there are forty-six, as against twen-
ty-two for the rest of France. In other
ways the progress-downward-i still
more headlong. In 1890 there were forty
lunatics in the asylum of Evreux; in 1898.
without any change of system, there
were 200.
Now all this may be put beside the sta
tistics of the development of alcohol
selling since the Republic abolished all
licensing with the result that the liquor
seller has become the great elector. Be
fore 1870. an equal population in the Eure
only got away with 10000 hectolitres in
the shape of drinkable alcohol; in 1850 the
inhabitants augmented their capacity to
SO. 0o0 in 1890 to 5000 The average con-
sumption has mounted from TO is litres
(alcohol 100 degrees) per head of the pop
ulation.
A little child received as the subject
of her school composition the description
Of the grain threshing: She wound up
AT midnight ali is over and every one is
q little pompette Gipsy).' If this were all,
NOBLE DISCIPLES FATE.