Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-08-16
1.-THE GREEN CURSE"
Alarm Felt over the Growing consump.
tion Of Abslnthe In This Country.

The growing consumption in America
OF absinthe, the green curse Of France"
has attracted the attention of the de-
partment of agriculture, and an investi-
cation has been ordered TO determine to
what extent it is being manufactured in
this country.
Abslnthe, recognized as being almost
as fatal as cocaine in its blasting eff
fects upon mind and body, curiously
enough owes its present popularity to
great extent to a song from a popular
opera, says Harper'5 Weekly Before the
song was sung 1t was little known and
less INDUCED in among the general pub
lie, but the catchy air served to familiar
ize II.
The material for the manufacture Of
absinthe is found in abundance through
out the eastern portion Of the United
States, being nothing more than the IA
miliar NORWOOD which grows wild upon
almost every farm. Oil OF NORWOOD is
the essential ingredient of the liquor, and
is produced in considerable quantities for
medical purposes In this country. To
what extent the finer grade of oil, such
as is required for abslnthe, has been and
is being manufactured is not known. To
manufacture NORWOOD oil for lotions,
linimentS and horse and cattle remedies
the seed may be sown broadcast, the
plants cut and roots bark, twigs and
leaves sent to the distillery, where the
mass undergoes a process very similar to
that by which whiskey is distilled from
the grain. This oil Is very valuable, and
the European market has heretofore Ia
ken all that America would supply.
Should the investigation by the depart
ment of agriculture reveal a condition Of
such Importance as to warrant it-and
the general belief Is that it will-Con-
gress will be appealed to to take some
action toward checking the development
80 .1-r-f.. IL. -
power would not extend so far as to
prohibit the cultivation Of NORWOOD or
the manufacture Of OIL The shipment Of
the liquor from state to state could be
controlled under the interstate com
merce laws, however, and a prohibitive
internal revenue applied.
The European nations fully realize the
danger Of the insidious green liquid, and
Belgium prohibits absolutely its manu-
facture. importation or sale in her do
minions. In both France and Switzer-
land there is a growing determination to
end the traffic.
France consumes about 80 per cent. of
the worlds production Of absinthe, the
greater part OF which comes from Swift
zerland. In former years many Of the
monkish orders in France manufactured
absinthe. but this was ended when those
orders were expelled from that country.
In Switzerland are great plantations Of
wormwood which net their owners mil
lions Of dollars per year; but it is prac-
tcally certain that popular sentiment will
cause their abolishmenr, even II the same
thing is not effected by legislation. For
merly the Swiss, while producing large
quantities Of absinthe, did not themselves
consume 1t, but in more recent years
its use in that country has increased
alarmingly. Already two cantons have
porhibited its manufacture and sale.
The effect of absinthe is directly upon
the brain, a deep melancholy followed
by homicidal tendencies, being the result
Of its continued use.