Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-02-17
leY LEILA NEWRERRY.y

! Nerve disease is more frequently
caused by the use of poisonous drugs,
such as wine. alcohol and tobacco, than
by any other way.
| When any poisonous drug is taken
into the body, it enters the nlood and
! flows through the body, but it does not
become part of the blood as food
does. A large part of it flows to the
brain and nerves, where it soaks
through the walls of the blood vessels
onto the brain and nerves. AS soon as
| the poison touches the nerves and
brain, they become deadened or par
alyzed according to the amount of poi
son which has reached them.
Poisonous drugs also cause the heart
to beat faster. This is because the
nerve which should check it's beat is
paralyzed. and in this way the heart
!sends more blood to the brain than it
should.
| A very important part of the brain
is to tell whether the things which we
are doing are right or wrong. This
we call judgment. This judgment is
diminished in strength according to
the quantity of liquor which reach
es it.
After a person has taken liquor, his
imaginations come to him more rapid
ly: but this is likely to make him say
things which are not true. He also
makes foolish remarks. He is often
quick TO take offense. Besides these,
he often makes himself and those
about him very disagreeable This is
because his power of self-control is
diminished. H. lxfVa
The power which the mind has, to
/ decide and to guide our actions, is
called the will. One of the worst ef-
fects of alcohol upon the mind is its
power to weaken and finally destroy
the will
| The drunkard, who is for time So
Der, sees for himself the ruin he has
brought over himself and his family.
and often says that he will not drink
any more. But because he is under
the power of the appetite for drink,
his will, which has been weakened by
| the continual use of alcoholic drinks,
VIII Sltlu W 10 NC
| cause he is not strong enough to carry
out his good resolution.
He then stops to think of the time
when he could stop drinking if he
would
The reason he cannot now stop
! drinking is because it is the nature of
the alcohol to weaken the will that
should control the appetite; but at the
same time it is increasing the appetite,
making it more compelling and thus
make it more difficult to control
When any alcoholic liquor is taken
into the body il causes the drinker to
lose control of his limbs and stagger
as he walks. 1t is because that part
of the brain which has controlover the
| action of walking is deadened.
All changes in the brain caused by
alcoholic drinks become more perma-
nent with each continued drink of H.
quor.
| There is thickening and hardening
of the substance of the brain which
! greatly Injuries the mind of the drink
err" The hurtful influence of alcohol
on the brain is not less marked than
on the physical powers. The senses
are blunted until at length the mind
has but one object in life, and that is
to crafty the craving for alcohol.
Tobacco contains among the many
other things nicotine, and nicotine is
a very powerful poison which acts
chiefly on the heart, nerves and brain.
Nicotine is narcotic poison that dulls
the brain and deadens the nerves.
There are many ways in which to-
bacco can be used. If it is by smok-
ing. chewing or snuffing, part of the
nicotine is taken into the blood and
is carried to the brain and nerves
The boy who begins smoking tobac-
co soon loses his interest in his stud
les and play, and in this way powers
of enjoying the pleasure that belongs
to this period of life are taken away
and he becomes Indifferent to good in
fluences
Tobacco also leads boy to talk
boastingly, but when brought up and
TRIED, he shows a lack of courage by
mot standing for the right. He also
finds it difficult to satisfy his employ
lers. He often loses his sense of honor
and sometimes his regard for the
truth All the time the thirst which
is produced by the strong nerve-poison-
} ing tobacco cannot be satisfied long
with water, but will soon crave beer or
! other liquors.
how ShOnl1 hrinl. 1innnrc f,r
smoke tobacco when young for he is
smoking away the possibilities of his
manhood.
Books of reference are Physiology
and Health and Graded Lessons in
: Hygiene
s.rums. two Gets of tympani and two