Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-10-08
WORD or WISDOM.

One OF the lnpOrtaHt toli@r' 49,
4 before the Latter-day Saints at tiie
late Conference was the Importance OF
observing the Word Of Wisdom. AT the
time that Revelation was given, rela-.
lively few understood the evils OF IN
.temuerance. Today there is no doubt
among thinking men and women that
the principles #enunciated by the FRO
phet Joseph in that message TO tllc
world are true and dictated by WIS
dom. And those who listened to the
remarks on the subject OF temperance
by President Joseph f. Smith and otn-
rr sneakers in the Tabernacle on sun
day. would hardly fail to be Impressed
with the importance of doing some
hing nosItive In this State toward the
control OF the evils of the liquor traf-
Tic. 1t is not sufficient to depiofe anu
dtclaim against a Recognized eNi'
5,rhe Temptation should be removed, as
far as that can be done
The thirst for a drink does not exist
Al the case OF young men, Is loe
the same as with the liabituated TIP
nler Whether or not the latter Class,
MS n whole, can be reformed, is
question, but II is certain that tue
young can and should be shielded from
the unnecessary aud peculiarly inNltlhs
form Of solicitation towards ruin.
Whatever some men may think as to
tllc unwistlom of invading personal
rights III order TO reach the des1'aple
ord OF protecting the oncomins genera
INN from most or the evilsof an open
& st,sjon environment. IT would seem that
there eau not be any real ob1ectioha
Ia The abolition OF the crnle-breeding,
law-defying saloons that are a curse
to American cities.
But or equal Importance is the dis
semination Of correct knowledge about
the, evil effects of alcoholic beverages
upon the human system That subject
Iips been thoroughly studied, ard no
enc need to be in the dark about it. In
the October McClure's VIC find an artt-4
ele lii which the results of some expert
nrents by German scientist. DR..
Henry Smith, are set forth. These eS-
pcriments prove. among other things.
that small quantity of Intoxicating
drinks cause the vitiating OF mental
processes and the increased tendency
to hasty or incoordinate movements.
III, other words. a dwelling down pro-
cess is involved, whereby the higher
functions are dulled, the lower func-
tons acccntuated.
These experiments, further. explode
9the idea that man can work faster
4 under the influence OF alcoholic stnu-
1ants. DIR. Williams maintains that
s. man may think he is working faster
(. and better under the Influence of alco-
hol than he would otherwise do, while
rigidly conducted experiments do not
confirm this opinion. It Is, he says,
well understood by all who control
large bodies of men engaged in physi-
cal labor that alcohol and effective
work are Incompatible.
Ono of the discoveries Of modern In
pestigators is thisEthat there is bale
ful alliance between drink and con-
sumption. In France. the writer in
McClure's says, the regions where tu-
berculosis Is most prevalent corre-
spond with those in which the cor
sumption of alcohol is greatest Where
the average annual consumption was
i2,5 ltres per person, the death rate
from consumption was found by Bau-
dron to he 32S per thousand Where
alcoholic consumption rose to 35,A litres.
the dealt. rate from consumption in
creased to 1918 per thousand. Equal
~ suggestive are facts put forward by
Gfuttstah in regard to the causes OF
death In the various callings in Prus-
STA He found that tuberculosis
claimed 100 victims in every thousand
DEATHS of persons over Twenty-Five
years ur age. But the number Of
deaths from this disease per thousand
deaths among gymnasium teachers.
physicians, and Protestant clergymen,
for example, amounted respectively to
iaS, lis. ana Is only; whereas the mum
bers rose, fol, hotel-keepers, TO 157, for
brewers, to 344, and for walters to 556,
When il is remembered that "rneu-
lnonl and tuberculosis combined nc
count FOR one-tifth of all deaths in the
United States, year by year. the im-
portance.of the observance of the Word
Of Wisdom cannot be overcstirnated
1t was given, not to be a burden. but
a guide to health Of body and mind.
AGITiTORS AT WORK