The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-14
By Samuel McComb, ID. d.

rav,ve his viii power, reeslablIsE MS sell
respect and his nealLh, anu restore MIN 10
the tasks OF daily iile. Here Is a s.ateuaent y
The latest ttudIpSs OF science as " Tue uete-
FERROUS effects Of aIcohol on the system &c
yether with an exposition OF the hethous
used by the Emmanuel Snulch
RosIon IN The treatment vi It's aiconollc
patients. It's IN porlunce cahnot ne oseIes'i
mated, The author, Or. Samuel -MeIono,a
co-jounder with DR.. worcester Oh lnie uiu'H
modern Application vi science anu leii5ioh W
the problem OF human ms, Is Il We'll known
Boston clergyman. whUse researches lhto lnis
aud kindred subjects nave gwen hlnl authoi.
lty anu recognition ahonS TUG n
psychologists VI the uaS.
About a year ago, there shambled into my
study a pathetic rgure. Physically, he was a
wreck, with all the slsno vi uesehelat!oh
written large upon hlm-puHy Seilus,tleinu-
ling hands, LwlLcning muscles, the wnoie
man neryeiess, ineffective, broken. Graoua4-
Nv | drew from him his tragic story. FOL
twenty years he mad been b slave, oouno
hand and loot III the grasp OIL an ID FlncloIe
vice. BON Into y hlsnly Iespecteo anu a.
llgious amily, he assumed great puslpess
responslblllues when "a very young mau'
When tagged out with b hea'y mofuius
work, it was his custom TO drink d cochtSl
that he might have strength 10 noIu up ~
the rest OF the uay. The habit grow Until ne
became q confirmed drunkard. u,a
The inevitable consequences followed. his
mowers AS q business Nan were unuetmlheu'
ulsprace and Illumination overlook his lam-
1ly. ne himself was lncarceraleu LOT d tlme
In an lnebrlates' home, only, however, "
come out with the pathological craving sti,
mightler within him than DelOre. AGAIN unu
again during the past twenty years ne hau
made violent efforts 10 break MS chains' anu
occasionally IL had looked as IL ne uau ~
delyerance; but again anu again MS hopes
were decelS ed, anu as h last Eesofl ue nav
been urged TO try what the Enmshuel clinic
could 90 for him. he was Oh MS last legs,
physically and morally. he saiu ~ me-
You need not tell me lo abstain. 1 have NO
power 10 Keep from alcohol. MY WILLIS Sone'
II you could put h new Will within me; liners
might be suue chance; but as IL 49, uaES
neither hope nor laltn. 1 uou hno" WY 4
nave come mere"
This man has not touched a drop Oh alcohoi
since that first visit. He ID back III business,
able with ease to do eight or nine noufe
work q day: an honorable citizen, a ioHeu
father and husband. Everybody WHO Knows
him looks on him with wonder.
IL Is The problem presented oy the iail anu
rise OF mis- man that is 10 form the SUBJECT vi
our discussion. oo
hol and which Is Il llquld obtained py tne
fermentation OF grape sugar lounu ~ -. 80
products, Is no recent discovery bach as .,
as history goes, We nnd meu Seeking Out
agencies which tend 10 increase u senee ".
organic Well-peing, TO I'LL lnem aoone :.
acnes ana pains 70 which all flesh Is helr.
Alcohol was known 10 the ancient Egyptian
Hinuoo and Babylonlan. lnueeo' 81 Miue.
spread has been it's use that d recent "iitet
calls the desire for alcohol an lnpolu natuia'
instinct. ike love or fear. Hence ALCOHOLISM,
thai is, the state OF POISONING 10 the nervous
system which results from Inc use Oh aieonoi'
is no modern but q very aneienr HrM, - Ss,
ertheless, the evil today Is greater tnan II nae
ever been, because the worst eHects Vi dieonoi
are wrought GA the nervous system, anu, as
the compiexity OF life grows ana Inc s.iahn
upon the nervous system becomes sreatel'
any influence that dimlnishes the reslsti'e
power OF this system has specially grave leia.
ions TO he welfare OF the Individual and OF
society. Hence the question mas recently
haan roicnr- I q o1nnhnI a food or 81 DOlSOu.
FOOD OR POISON?
On this point, the physiological emil
ora dividad into two s~chools-the one school,
insisdne on the fact that, when not taken W
excess, alcohol is a food; the olher scpood de,
sorting that, though alcohol Is q looo ueea = ,e
, also. IN whatever measure it may be taken,
always q poison. There two views 40 not
contradict each other. They mercy 80
Opposite Aspects OF the activity OF aicohoi.
In the light of our present knowledge, II
would seem that we are sale IN asseltips tna.
alcohol in very small quantities. say a gaass VI
two of wine, II taken only AZ inleFTa"s W
several days, is q poison which does, III tue
vast majority OF cases. no great na.m. ~ W
the Other hand, 1t has been proved mat Tue
smallest dose of alcohol, II taken regularly
over a long period, has bad ELECTS.
Two great German Investigators, hraepellh
and Kurz, published, in 1900. the results OF d
series of careful experiments In lllustration
OF the perslslipg influence nee Sdt sl,G an,e enf n} 81.
cohol decided on was eight grams (equlVelenl
to two liters OF BEER and this was taken De
fore coins 10 bed. The subjects OF the eAPeII'
ment were two medical men, one OF whom
had been a teetotaler for years, whlIe lhe
other seldom took alcohol. The tests were
the learning OF figures, the adding up OF sums:
etc. The influence OF these moderate doses OF
alcohol was found TO be decidedly unfavora-
BILE. Mental aptitude slowly and then, alter
some days, more markedly decreased Inc
loss beng In one case equa. 10 t%seennxEss- in
one case at least, The untavorable influence
did not cease with the discontinuance OF lne
alcohol. II was proved that even a very
moderate dose OF alcohol exerts It's ehects 1or
more than twenty-four hours.
Even these psychologists who MAINTAIN
that alcohol has food qualities. are agreed
that It is a very expensive food, and that the
same quantity Of nutrition cam be obtained
In much safer and less costly ways.
But, Indeed, the question Is largely aca-
demic. for men do not take alcohol ior tne
sake OF its power to build up tissue, but for
the sake OF its effects on the emotional tone
OF the mind. Alcoholic drinks are seldom
tsken for their taste alone. Alcohoi Is al
once q kind OF pseudo-stimulant and a de-
pressant. Hence some men, when In q merry
mood. drink in order to check their shyness
and other worries and thus raise their sense
o fhappiness TO a higher pitch; but the major
ity drink because OF the narcotizing inhu-
ences of the drug. The troubled business
man, the woman left alone 10 face the petty
QetallS OF domestic OruuReTy, Tue OVeTuTuNcu
professional man, the Individual on whom
some terrible calamity has fallen and who
can see no way OF escape from ruln-ailt hese
betake themselves TO drink in order TO drown
their sorrows, 10 lose their personality for d
brief period in oblivion.
Alcohol is taken at first as q means OF re-
lief. The reason why this happens Is that. In
common with other agencies, such as NOR
phia, cocaine, and other kindred drugs. II can
Danish fear, worry, care; it can create q world
peopled with the illusions OF happiness. But
OF Uhof q lrQaA nlnnlfyf Enr alcohol QUQk.
ems q morbid appetite, a pathological deslle.
After a time this desire becomes dominant,
the forces of the will 60 down before II, and
the drinker Is then the victim OF a disease.
WHY SCIENCE CONDEMNS ALCOHOL.
From all sides, a chorus of scientific voices
joins in condemning the use OF alcohol be-
You'd those minimal doses which are theo-
retically allowable but 10 which few people
have the power SO limit themselves. and De
yond its therapeutic employment in certain
diseases. The bacteriologist assures US that
alcohol paraiyZes the protecting powers OF
the blood, which act as a sort OF sanitary
guard, removing dead matter and destroying
the heterogeneous that produce disease.
The pathologist, or student of the morbid
states OF the body, proves that 1t is Il great
factor in the degeneration OF muscles, nerves,
and other cells; that II interieres with immu
nifty against specific Infectious diseases; that
1t predisposes 10 tine production of both acute
and chronic pulmonary tuberculosis and
other diseases.
The neurologist warns against 1t on the
ground that II poisons the brain and the
nervous system, and, when long continued,
leads to paralysis, %neuritis, and other dis
turbances. The Psychologist has proved that
all skillful and accurate motions Of the hands
Or OF other highly trained muscles become
awkward and unreliable and slow after even
small doses Of alcohol. The psychiatrist
charges alcohol with being directly RESPONSE
BILE for about twenty per cent of insanity in
men, and, directly or Indirectly, a factor In
producing about forty per cent OF all insani-
lies. thai Ii creates distinct types Of mental