The Cairo bulletin., 1909-11-08
PRESENTED AT TWELFTH INTER
NATIONAL CONGRESS ON
ALCOHOLISM.
TEMPERANCE EDUCATION
Combating The EviI--Differ-
ence Of Opinion As To e.
feet # Moderate Use.

alcoholism are two of tie real and
substantial enemies ct moral. artistic
and commercial progress Of the bu-
man race, according TO the report ot
the United States delegates to the
Twelfth International Congress on
Alcoholism, made public b. the State
Department today. The delegates
were appointed by Secretary Knox .as
one of his first official acts The COR
gress was held last July in London,
and twenty-five governments were
represented, the delegates of each
concurring in the general finding that
alcohol not only was unnecessary to
human life and comfort but was In,
imcal to both.
Three departments of the United
states government were represented
by delegates, the State, Navy, and
Treasury. Twelve delegates went
abroad and all of them unanimously
signed the report made public today,
the finding of which Is to condemn
the drinking habit as dangerous II
public health and morals and subve.
sive of national, moral. commercial
and military greatness.
Temperance Education Urged.
While the congress urged the ns
cessity Of imposing the most rlgoE
ous restrictions on the sale and trae
tc In alcoholic liquors, ii regarded
as equally important the need of edu
eating the younger generation to
true knowledge Of what alcohol u
aud the effects upon the human sys
item are, The delegates believe that
the numerous recent discoveries as tJ
the harmfulness of drunkenness and
even q "moderetaa drinking, also
| should be set before children in order
that they may see the danger of the
practice. The American delegates
sum up this phase OF their report by
saying:
Increased teaching as to its char
acter and influence should be provid,
ed, to conserve industrial efficiency
in the commercial competition of IA
tions as well as to promote two OF
the chief objections of government:
the public health and morals
The value of this method of com
batting the growth of the liquor habit
is emphasized in the report, While
elfuoxuta,I o,,apf "a, vxoJn - bot fho ,.v
ganization of associations OF juvenile
ahstainers is useful it Is declared, the
chief reliance should be placed on
scientific temperance education in
the public schools as means of rid
ding the public mind Of errors about
the effects of alcohol and substitu-
ting the facts that science is declared
to have evolved about the use of tho
beverage, even when taken in small
doses.
Drunkenness and Crime.
THE relations of drunkenness to
crime was a subject that received
much attention at the Congress. The
chief Justice of England, Lord Alver.
stone, announced that in his belief %
per cent of the crimes passing under
his observation were due to drink.
Judge w. F. Pollard, OF st. Louis
Mo., who presides at the Second Dis.
trict police court in that city, declared
that Of the cases passed upon by him
fully s. per cent OF those convicted
could charge their degradation to the
use of alcohol. Lieut. Col McFIardy,
| Of Edinburg, Scotland, coincided with
Judge Pollard as to the per ceutage OF
crimes occurring in the former Scotch
capital.
Judge Pollard won the support oi
the delegates from twenty-three coun'
tries for the adoption OF his plan to
suspend sentence in the case Of every
offender who is brought into court
charged with drunkenness This In
wolves such first offenders signing a
pledge to abstain for one year II tho
probationers fail to live up to their
pledge they may be arrested and sum.
marily sentenced The knowledge
that one drink may mean a prison
sentence, Judge Pollard argued. kept
many man straight until he had
time to collect himself The penalty
for failure to keep faith with the
court was not settled. several of the
delegates arguing in favor of various
degrees Of punishment. The principle
however was regarded as admirable
and 400 delegates urged its adoption
by the various governments of the
world
There was considerable debate on
the effects OF the use of small guam.
titles of alcohol. Certain of the new
delegates, according TO the report, in.
sisted that the nse of alcohol. In what.
ever quantity was Of the greatest dan
ger to the human Others coutended