The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-03-25
HOW ALCOHOL 1NTox1cATEs.

Harmless Until It Gets, Into The Blood.
 .swhen alcoholic liquors are, drunk the effect is, of course, first perceptible on the lips and tongue, then on the throat and stomach, and, after the lapse of short time, on the system in general" said a leading chemist the other day.
 .sThis effect is slightly irritant in character the degree of irritation de- pending on the proportion of alcohol present; the more alcohol the greater the irritation. New or recently made liquors contain more alcohol than do those that have been aged or kept a long time, because alcohol evaporates, leaving purer and less intoxicating beverage, hence the esteem in which old wines and 1icuors are held.
 ''The first effect of liquor is a decid- edly stimulating one. The heart muscle tones up and does more work. The blood courses more swiftly through thes veins; the nerve centres and nerve flores feel the stimulation, and the SUD- ply of blood to the brain is increased, thus stimulating thought, action, and emotion
 Tt is thus during this. first step, this preliminary stage of intoxication, that the best or better effects of al- cohol are seen. It is in this stage that men feel that glow of good-felloWship which leads them to declare their love Z and admiration, first for themselves and their own achievements, and then for their felloW-men.
 During this preliminary stage, when the system is under the stimulation referred to, there is a general sense of what the French so aptly term bic naise,' but for which the best equiva- lent we have is the phrase ll-being. Not only are the physical centres up- lifted, but often the moral ones as we'll. a It is no uncommon thing to hear man in his cups bewail his failures and firmly avoW his determination to do better. This is due not so much to any personal equation on the part Of the subject as to the decided stimulation of the brain, particularly those portions in which the centres of thought and emotion are seated This stimulation Is, of course, but temporary, though it may be prolonged for short period by repetition of the dose.
 ssAfter passing through the digestive organs the alcohol enters the blood un- changed. Here, meeting with the al- kalinity of the blood, the alcohol be- comes acid and sets free the active principle of intoxication, which has been termed furforol. Tn intoxication we have to deal first with ethylic alco- hol. of which fusel oil has long been considered the most active element. Recent investigations have proved that it is a heretofore unknown element of this fusel oil which causes all the trouble. By a process of elimination this element has been separated and SO < recognized and named furforol. It has also been found that this element is not separated or set free from the alcohol until it encounters a certain element in the blood for which it has an affinity Therefore, while the alcohol is passing through the digestive organs not hav- ing yet been passed on into the blood, and thence into the general circulation it is only the pleasant features Of a mild systematic stimulation which are experienced .y
 .It must all along be borne in mind TUtC III SpGdhlIlS OL lII5UfldIlOH all TdCCS are relative. The same liquor will have a totally different effect on different people: and what will make one man decidedly drunk will not have the slightest effect upon another.
 i've must also keep in sight the dif- ference in liquors; whether of a strong or a mild character; whether newly made, and so containing large amount of alcohol and ethers in an undeveloped state. or aged so that these harmful constituents have vanished, and like wise the purpose for which they are drunk. A man desiring speedy intoxi- cation will doubtless choose a new, raw X 1iauor which acts quickly, while the man who merely desires to secure moderate stimulant will select a mild well-aged beverage, which because of it's age has lost it's more harmful prop critics by. evaporation. ,,
 Once the alcohol has passed into the circulation, however, then the trouble begins. Under the stimulation already referred to. the heart muscles have been working harder, the veins and arteries have expanded to accom- raodate the increased flow of blood, the brain and nerve centres have become more active by the stimulation being artificial and coming from without rather than from within, these organs, puce the momentary stimulus fails, be-