The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1907-10-22
FIGHTS AGAINST DRINK
Men Who Defy Temptation
and Sometimes Lose.
LEAD MISERABLE LIVES
Self Torture by Reformed orunkard
"A Musician Who commtted Sui
eide Rather Than Yield to the De-
mon Rum-The Inevitable Moment
Of Weakness.

| mon Num-Ine tnevitapie moment
OF Weakness.
Recently story was printed in the
sew York Sun telling how steve
dore committed suicide after yield
ing to temptation to drink, Seven
years before, after having been pull
ed through bad spree with extreme
difficulty, he had bought some poison
and declared that he would use 1t II
he ever fell to drinking again. He
carried this resolution out.
"A case of what we call the fixed
idea, rather unusual among men OF
the stevedore class, but by no means
unprecedented" was the comment or
this case of medical man who for
many years has made special study
OF alcoholism. up to ten years ago,
| used to be called in every three or
four months to take care of an up
holsterer whose spress lasted from
ten days to two weeks.
"Ten years ago he got so bad that
| had a job to get him through.
When he was able to listen told
him that another spree would wind
him up for certainty. He told me
there wasn't going to be another.
''He lasted for six straight years,
subjecting himself to a yeritable tor
ture Of temptation all the time at
that. On the day when he went back
In his shop after that last bad spree
he got a quart bottle of fine old Ken
lucky bourbon whiskey with a rich
bouquet.
"This. after loosening the cork, he
placed on little shelf Immediately
above his work bench. Then he went
to work, with that bottle Of whiskey
right before his eyes. Every once In
a while he'd take the bottle down,
remove the cork and take long. gloat-
ing smells OF the whlskey.
Dropping into his shop, caught
him doing this time and again.
81 told the man frequently that he
was torturing himself unnecessarily,
that he was racklng his nerves with
out any reason. and that eventually
he'd become the victim OF an irres-
istible impulse.
"'No l won't he'd protest The
stuff made a fool OF me for good
many years, and now I'm get
ting hunk-I'm making fool OF
tho whiskey
zone forenoon In his seventh year
OF abstention he was going through
his stunt OF breathing the bouquet Of
the shelf bottle into his nostrIls and
gloating over his triumph over II
when the moment OF irresistible i'm
pulse arrived. He put the bottle to
his lips and never stopped gulping II
till he had swallowed the whole quart.
Then he fell of his bench In a state
of coma and when l got to him he
was dead.
"The stun that he'd conquered for
six years got him in the long run,
as had supposed II would all along.
But as a matter OF fact that uphol-
sterer might have killed himself with
drinking long before had he not de-
veloped that peculiar mania.
"In my own practice / had another
case OF similar sort This man
was the black sheep OF an old Wash
ington Square family. who when cast
OF by his people onac count Of his
dissipated habits. supported himself
by giving plano lessons
This mans tipple was peach
brandy. for which he had a passion
amounting to a mania. One night
while sitting intoxicated In the back
room OF a Fourth avenue saloon he
quarrelled with young fellow. The
young chap drew knife. and the
music teacher struck out at him
blindly, catching him on the point
of the Jaw with his right fist.
''The young fellow went to the
floor and his head struck the edge
Of an iron spittoon. His skull was
fractured and he died In q hospital the
next day.
"The music teacher was tried for
the thing. but there were plenty OF
witnesses that he'd only acted In de-
fense OF his life aud he was let 60.
He never drank drop OF his fayorite
peach brandy or OF anything else
when he left the Tombs. Instead of
that he devised the same scheme OF
selt-torture as the upholsterer.
"He'd place q bottle OF the fragrant
peach brandy-than which no liquor
made has more perfect bouquet
on the piano In his lodgings, and
then, with the bottle uncorked anc
the fruity aroma filling the room, he'd
play for hours In q sort OF trarce.
zone night while playing at the
piano, with the bottle of peach bran
dy sending It's perfume all over
the place. the black sheep music
teacher suddenly ceased playing.
grabbed the bottle. knocked the neck
of It against the side Of the piano.
poured the liquor out on the floor,
and then with the Jagged edges OF
the bottle cut his throat. There is lit
tie doubt that the old mania for the
drink had seized him and that he had
killed himself rather than surrender
TO 1t.
Why The 200" wArcHf
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