The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-21
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
A Sweeping Verdict - The Distin-
guished DR.. Metchnikof Shows
How Alcohol Paralyzes the
White Cells Of the Blood.

White Cells OF the Elood.
Dr.. Metchnikof. lately lectured in
London. A considerable part Of his
first lecture, delivered before q large
medical audience OF very great dis
tinctioD, was devoted to q discussion
of the influence Of alcohol upon, I'M
munity from, and susceptibility to-,
disease-these being ultimately de
pendent upon the behavior of our
white cells. One wished that the
abused and fouted medical pioneers,
long dead, could have been present
at that lecture and could have heard
the enthusiastic and spontaneous ap-
plause with which that audience
greeted Professor Metchnikof's sue
cessive sentences. The professor
showed that alcohol, even in tiny
doses, paralyEes, the white cells OF
the blood. In the presence of dele
terious microbes which they would
otherwise promptly and successfully
attack and kill, the white cells re-
main passive and m%otionless..
It is an easy matter TO protect Tab-
bits against the disease known as
anthrax, but the methods which are
ordinarily so efficient are found to
fail completely if the rabbits mean
while have been dosed with alcohol.
Then, when the white cells are ez-
amined under the microscope, they
are found to be paralyzed. A host OF
other microbes beside that which
causes anthrax are found to be sim
ilarly advantaged by the paralysis
which alcohol induces in the defend
ing army Of the body.
Lastly, there is the extremely
striking fact that, in almost every
case, the failures to check the de7el-
opmentt of hydrophobia in persons
sent to the Pasteur Institute were
found to occur in alcoholic patients.
The summary of Metchnikoff, loud
ly applauded by a large audience full
~ representative of the leaders of
scientific medicine in this country,
was this. u
Besides it's deleterious influence
on the nervous system and other m
portrait parts of u body, alcohol,
therefore, has a harmful action on
the white blood cells, the agents of
natural defense against infective NIL
c-obes."
BY a curious chance the post brings
me-, as / dictate this article, a little
pamphlet upon the food value of malt
LIQUORS. ! note with interest Il quo
tation from the late Sir James Paget,
writing in the Contemporary Review
symposium upon alcohol, now abb
surdly out Of date. The great sur
geon qualities his highly qualified
opinion by the phrase with such evil
dence as we have" ~
Well, after all these years, we have
more evidence, and it MAY interest
the reader and the conscientious pre-
parer of advertisements to know that
in a few months there will appear a
| new and unidue discussion of alcohol
which is being edited, at mysrequest,
by the honorable secretary OF the So
! ciety. for the Study Of Inebriates.
This work will consist OF twelve ar
| ticles, written by twelve Of the most
DISTINGUISHED members Of the medi-
| cal profession in this country, and
| covering as many aspects of the
| great question which is shortly to
engage the attention of Parliament.
I desire nothing more than the dis
semination everywhere of authorita-
tive medical opinion on this subject.
But l mean to put a stop to the quo
tation Of opinions twenty years old.
If the upholders Of alcohol want TO
invoke science, science they shall
have of that draught, at any rate,
they cannot drink too deep.-London
Daily News.