The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-07

Whith IS mere reproduced from his man
useriPt by his special permission. The
extract is so significant in its meaning.
and so essentially the result of careful
investigation and experience, that the
message it contains assumes unusual
Importance.
| have been al my life what is called
moderate drinker-that is to say, I
have used beer and wine on occasion,
though never habitually-and I have
never experienced any ill-effects what
ever in my own person from either beer
or wine. Again, I have always reeog.
nized the truth of the Bible saying
about wine, that - It maketh glad the
heart of man. There is no doubt of
that fact; nevertheless, it may be
doubted whether it be expedient that
the heart of a man should be made
glad in that way. Frequent observa-
drinks have a tendency to cheer people
up temporarily, and make them jolly
and noisy, but the doubt about the
expedieney Of that kind of elevation
has gained on me as years have passed
The recent researches in physiology
and medicine tend strongly to show
that even the moderate drinking of
alcohol is inexpedient. As result of
experience one old practice in regard
to the use of spirits has been abso-
lutely abandoned No longer are men
who are to be exposed to cold, heat.
fatigue, or kardships Of any sort, pre-
pared or braeed for such encounters by
any form Of alcohol 1t is used to be
considered essential that a sailor in the
merchant marine or in the navy should
be braeed every day for arduous work
by grog; but now grog has been abol-
ished in our navy for many years and
is no longer served in well-conducted
ships of the merchant marine. The re-
suit IS q demonstration that the rough.
exposed life of a sailor was not really
helped by the moderate use of alcohol;
in truth It was injured. No captain
Of an ocean liner ever supports himself
now against the fierce exposures of the
bridge by means of alcohol. He may
take hot tea, coffee or lemonade to help
him keep warm and awake; but he
never braces himself when exposed to
terrible weather by means of alcohol.
It is just so in regard to strenuous
intellectual labors. 1t was long sup
posed that nobody could bear the labors
of a Prime Minister of England-in
the House of Commons late every
night, and in Downing Street during
long hours every day-unless he was
by one or two bottles of port
per day. Many famous men have lived
that laborious life under such stimu-
lation; but all such practices are now
absolutely abandoned 1t is well known
that alcohol, even If moderately used,
does not quicken the action of the
mind nor enable one better to support
hard mental labor. On the contrary, /
all intellectual workers find alcohol a
drag on their mental process; and If
they get accustomed to working on
alcohol they are apt to offset its effects
by an immoderate use Of tea or coffee.
Hard mental workers who use the
double stimulation of wine and tea or
coffee are admittedly burning the can
die at both ends. On this subject-the
value of alcoholic drinks to men en-
gagged in intellectual labor have my
self witnessed great change Of opln-
ion among well-informed men. The
new psychological laboratories Of the
learned world, some German and some
American. have supplied valuable evl-.
dence on this subject, and their results
are plain and all go one way. For IN
stance. the effect Of moderate use OF
alcohol on clerks whose principal fune-
ton IS to add ND columns of figures
has been thoroughly studied If such
a clerk drinks during the day mod
crate amount Of beer or wine 1t mas
been proved that he cannot add as wen
the next day as if he had taken no
alcohol the day before. These expert
menfs have been conducted on large
number of persons, so large as to estan-
lish the psychological fact.
An interesting line of experiment mas
been on what is called the time re-
actf6n. By time reaction is meant the
interval that elapses between nearing
sudden noise. or seeing flash OF hght,
and putting the muscles of the hand
and arm IN motion TO touch gwen spot
or object. The signal enters the oraln
through the eye or ear, and the VIII
then sets the motor nerves of the arms
and fingers at work to make the indi'
Gated motion. In different individuals
this interval varies much. Now It has
been demonstrated that alcehol-even
IN the most moderate quantity affects
upfayoraoly the time reaction-that is,
il slows down the whole nervous action
of the man who takes it, and this
slowing effect lasts for hours and even
DAYS
some years ago ] had occasion TO
learn about the actual time reaction
Of well-known pugilist. He was ex-
meeting to fight in city at some aus
tance from Boston. The day OF the
fcbf had been fixed, but the pugllist
had been on succession of sprees.
His trainer could not control him, and ne
had been under the influence OF aleohoi
= good part Of his time He was
brought to Cambridge and his time re-
action was tested. 1t proved TO be
Sow Now this man had always been
famous for his quiekness OF eye ana
fst a prize fighter has need of very
short time reaction. He must see oF
he motion of his adversary tst gust
INK 10