The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1908-06-04
I. Z osii7g 9th
Are the Doctors

r. J. .4 Il AL i =
:poison pare and simple. 1t cogulates
the protoplasm in the and brin~s
ON old age
Sir Victor Horsley. ofsLondon: said
at the meeting of the British Medical
Association in Toronto: "You are
probably aware of the attitude OF the
medical profession towards alcohol
on this side of the water. viz: That
the medical profession as a whole has
a hostile rather than n friendly feel
Ing toward the drug which we call
alcohol
Tho medical fraternity Of France
has taken the same view of the mat
ter. sfl
I DIR. S. "A. 1Snoqf. of New York,
honorary vice president of the British
congress on tuberculosis. In his prize
essay on that disease and how to
combat IT says: Avoid all alcoholic
beverages
Prot. Vincent t. Bowditch, of Har-
yard Medical School maintains that
alcohol not only does no good in con-
sumption, but that 1t does distinct
harm.
DR.. Henry p. LOOMS, of New York
City, in public lecture said 1t was
formerly thought that alcohol was In
some way antagonistict to tubercu-
losis. but the observations OF late
years indicate clearly that the reverse
Is true. and those who use alcohol
alcfol are much more liable to have
tuberculosis than those who do not
use 1t.
Or. L. d. Mason. of Brookly, N, ".
sent a circular letter to the various
medical colleges of the United States
and one to Canada, inquiring as to
the methods OF teaching on the use
subject of alcohol, and from the re .
plies he received ne draws these con-
clusions: That the average medical
student Is far in advance of the av-
crage medical practitioner OF the
past or of the present who has not
had his advantages, or made for
himself a special study of the nature
4nd properties of alcohol and its re-
lation to alcoholic: medication
We have many things to unlearn
regarding alcohol: even our teachers
in medical schools are coming to this
conclusion.
They have been teaching us that 1t
Is stimulant. but now many of them
admit that instead of It's being n
stinmulant 1t is poisonous narcotic
and anesthetic. Our old text books
on the practice of medicine, after ex-
haustlng all their resources, aud
when they know of nothing that will
do any good usually wind up by say
ing: give alcoholic stimulants as the
last resort"
The first year I practiced medicine
i was employed by good German
family to treat the mother in the
mother in the home for anasarca, or
general dropsy, and when ] had fail
ed to cure the good woman and She
continued to grow worse, and just
before she died., her father asked
me what more could be done for her
and j could only say that ] would
give her whiskey. But imagine my
surprise and chagrin when the level
headed old farmer told me If that
was all that could be done he objected
as he did not want his daughter to
died drunk. Was not this the quaint
essence of presumption for an old
gray headed man that was not sup
posed to know anything about treat
ing disease to talk to young man
just out of medical college where he
had gotten all medical knowledge OBJ
tainablefresh handed from the mas
tiers themselves, who told us that
when all things else failed then to
give alcohol. But when / took sec
ond thought did not remember that
they said that 1t ever cured any one
OF disease. You have all been there,
and of course know that this Is a very
critical time in a young mans career.
and that he not only knows, but that
he knows that he knows.
A number of times since then /
have been guilty of the same offense
of giving alcohol at the end of the
struggle and so have you, have you
not? And does notYyour conscience
prick you some what? Mine does.
Do you think4that you ever prolonged
n patients life for one day by giving
alcohol? amconfldent that l never
did. Instead of aiding the cause of
temperance we have hindered it, rs
we are held up as advocating the use
of alcohol. Every once in while
some medical man rises up in his
might and advocates the restoring OF
the canteen to the army, and also
some one finds out that alcohol is a
food. Can q substance be food and
a poison at the same time? Physiol-
ogy does not teach 1t. The laboring
man has been taught to call beer
liquid bread through the supposed in
faiiibllity of the medical profession.
In states where the medical profess
sion has taken steps to combat the
abominable liquor business. the cause
of temperance has gained rapidly.
Town after town has voted out the
saloon in these states and this is due
one may say that the medical profcs-
in great measure to the interest ta-
ken by the medical fraternity. Some
sion has no business meddling in the
temperance question. II not, pray
who has right?
We all certainly know that the
Iwhiskey business is great, evil the
world over, and that it Is the source