Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1907-01-10
{. T. i. COLUMN.
Edited by the ladies of the local union.

Department of Scientific Temperance
Instruction from the report of the
world convention. Franlein Julia
Kassowitz, of Vienna. Austria, gifted
daughter of a noble father, said Mrs.
Stevens in introducing her, addressed
the convention i'll part as follows;
THE temperance union, as whose dele
gate | come before you, the Union of
Total Abstinent Women of Vienna,
whose best greetings and wishes l am
TO bring you is but a very small part of
the mighty army of temperance women
of the world. The impulse to its found
alton was given five years ago by the
International Congress against alchol-
ism, held in Vienna in the year 1901,
which brought to our city the best
scientific investigators of the alcohol
problem and many able temperance
workers from other countries. In fact
the beginning of our Aus trian total
abstinence movement dates from that
Congress. One of the most important
of its successes was, that the leaders of
our labor movement declared them
selves for total abstinence On this occa-
sion, seeing that alcoholism is one of the
most dangerous obstacles in the eman-
cipation of the working class From
that time onward, total abstinence has
expanded itself, especially among the
working class of our country.
Our Women's Total Abstinence
Union has, for some years, had the
privilege of being the only organization
promoting abstinence among the mid
die and higher classes. 1t is our con-
viction that it is of most Importance to
win the leading spirits of a nation, the
scientists and artists u all the
pioneers of civilization, for our cause.
As you will probably well know, the
abstinence movement III the European
continent has always been in closest
connection with science; in fact, its
source and origin has been scientific
investigation into the physiological and
social effects of alcohol drinking.
Those men, who, through the clear
light of science, had freed themselves
from the prejudice in favor of alcohol.
felt the great responsibility laid upon
them through this knowledge, and they
thought themselves bound to unfold a
truth of such vital Importance for the
preservation Of their people. Ny father
too, has become an adversary of alcohol
by theoretical considerations alone. He
recognized the fallacy Of that physiolog-
ical theory, according to which many
physicians still think alcohol TO be a USE
ful punishment. This erroneous
(which-he called the "catabolic" theory
Of nourishment) assumes that food is
burned in cur body like coal in a steam
engine, furnishing in this way the
energy necessary for living. And as
alcohol is, in fact. burned in our blood
TO carbonic acid water, it would be
according to this theory. an excellent
food, because, at it's combustion, many
Galleries of heat.energy are set in free
dom, of which the organism. as these
psychologists think, can now profit for
for its various purposes. But the
whole of this hypothesis, that / have
now exposed to you, cannot all be con-
tested by facts. and my father opposed
to this arbitrary assumption another
theory, called the "metaboiic.n
According to his theory, only these SUBJ
stances may be described as food that
can be used for the upbuilding Of the
living Substance. the protoplasm Only
by becoming an ingredient part Of the
chemical molecule Of this :~protoplasm
the real food oar be . source OF energy
for the various physiological sork that
must 60 ON our organism. According
to this theory, which IL In harmony
With all facts Of physiology and
explains . great many Of them in
satisfactory way. 4 is quite impossible
that any substance can unite in itself
ths qualities Of . food ana ! poisos.