Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1908-05-29
WAR AGAINST WHISKY
How the Drink Evil Is Being
Fought In Australia.
ALCOHOL A DEADLY SC0URGE

The Habit of Drinking Leads to Moral
and Physical Degeneracy-Rum En-
qenders Paralysis and insanity and
Is Frequent Cause of Consumption.
The organization of a branch of tho
International Reform bureau at Sgd
ney. N. S. w.. during the recent visit
of d. and Mrs. Wilbur +. Crafts to
that country was followed by the
adoption of a programme covering the
reforms commended to the people of
Australia at large.
The following poster. after pains
taking consideration, was unanimously
recommended for adoption by city gov
ernments In Australia and throughout
the world:
Alcoholism and Physical Deeeneraey.
Extract from proceedings French
supervising council of public aid. 1902,
report by Professor Debove, dean Of
the faculty of medicine. and others.)
Alcoholism is the chronic poisoning
which results from the habitual use of
alcohol. even when the latter would
not produce drunkenness.
1T is an error to say that alcohol is
necessary to workmen who engage in
fatiguing labor. that 1t gives heart to
work or that it repairs strength. The
artificial excitation which it produces
gives place very quickly to nervous de-
preston and feebleneSs. The habit of
drinking spirits leads rapidly to al
coholism, but the so called healthful
drinks also contain alcohol. There is
merely a difference of doses. The man
who drinks every day an immoderate
quantity of wine. cider or beer as sure
" becomes alcoholized as he who
drinks spirits.
1.-THE habit of drinking entails dis
affection from the family, forgetfulness
of all duties to society. distaste for
work. misery, theft and crime. 1t
leads at the least to the hospital, for
alcohol engenders the most varied NAL
aides, paralysis lunacy. disease of the
stomach and liver, dropsy 1t is one
of the most frequent causes of tuber-
culoSis Finally. it complexities and
aggravates all acute maladieS. Ty-
phoid fever. pneumonia, erysipelas,
which would be mild in the case of a
sober man, quickly carry off the al
coholic drnker
'"The hygienic faults of parents fall
upon their children. If the latter sur
vive the first months they are threat
ened with idiocy, or epilepsy, or, still
worse, they are carried off little later
by tuberculosis, meningitis or phthsis.
For the health of the individual, for
the existence of the family. for the fu-
ture of the nation. alcohol is one of the
most terrible scourges."
What follows is from another French
poster, giving Verdict of Scholars"
M. BertheIot. member of the Acade-
mics Of Science and of Medicine: AL
cohol is not Il food, even though it
may be fuel Atwater himself did not
conclude from his experiment that al
cohol is true food-that is, that it is
capable of assimilation by the human
organism
DIR Charles Richet of the Academy
of Medicine: If alcoholic drinks could
be entirely abolished possibly a small
portion of nourishment would be lost,
but one would have rendered an i'm
mense service to humanity
"Mr. Magnan of the Academy Of
Medicine. chief physician of st. Anne
Insane asylum: In my opinion alcohol
would not be i'll any case Il food to be
recommended. 1t pushes into our asy-
lums Of the Seine almost One-half of
the inmates
DIR. Gardner. chief physician of the
Special Almshouse infrmary: The
food. alcohol. feeds crime and mad
ness The former is indebted to this
substance for about 20 per cent of it's
victims, the latter for SO per cent +"
From British city government post
ers. quoting parliamentary report on
physical deterioration prompted by
failure of a majority of candidates for
enlistment in British army to pass the
physical examination:
alcohol is not a source of muscular
vigor or dexterity, but the reverse.
alcohol may produce temporary ex-
hilaration. but depression soon fol-
lows.
1.-The continued use of alcohol. wheth
er in the form of beer, wine or spirits,
even though not to the extent of drunk
ennesS, often leads to chronic poison
ing.
"Of CLIPS people the average deaths
per year by insurance tables will be
1000
"Of G1,215 liquor sellers the death
average is 1,642.
"Of 61,215 Rechabites (abstainersl
the average is $50.
"Sir Frederick Treves, physician to
King Edward, declares that alcohol is
an insidious poison and should be sub
ject to the same strict limitation as
opium. morphia or strychnine and that
its supposed stimulating effects arc
delusive."