The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-09-22

DRUG HABIT IS SPREADING
Vice on Increase in EngIand-Inere-
clients Vary From Choral
to Alcohol.

English society is becoming serious
ly exercised about the habit of taking
drugs, which appears to be spreading
more rapidly than ever, Judging from
some of the correspondence which IS
appearing on the subject. What was
at one time the vice of the few is de-
clared now to be the practise Of
many-worried business men. profess
sional men. cursed with brain fag,"
Jaded society women and all the
other victims of the killing rush of
modern life.
case is narrated in NJ. A P. of
hospital nurse who recently applied
for relief at an inebriates' home. con-
Tossing that she had not been really
sober-that is to say, more or less un-
der the influence of stimulant-for six
years. A spell of unusually heavy
work had driven her to cocaine. Her
holiday, which ought to have fol.
lowed Immediately, had to be post
poned for some reason connected with
the hospital work. and she continued
taking cocaine until when relic. came
at last she found herself unable to
give up her daily allowance of the
drug Sometimes she took brandy to
relieve her craving for the drug, but
always she returned. AS in every
other case. the gradual sapping away
of the will power weakened her eff,
forts to break the habit and in the
END her friends had to take the most
drastic measures to force her into an
inebriates' home. Here the habit was
successfully broken after an agoniz-
ing painful cure"
One woman who led a very busy so
cial life used to take regularly mix
true of choral, sal-volatile, brandy
and soda, while another dosed herself
with mixture of sal-volatile and red
lavender.
Another extraordinary case was
heard of recently. Three specialists
had been called in to examine a wOm-
an. and though all three agreed that
sho was suffering from overstimula-
ton they We're utterly unable to dis
cover the cause of her symptoms. The
mystery was not sovled until some
one happened to mention that the
woman kept a bottle of sulphate of
quinine in her boudoir She then con
fessed that she was simply suffering
from excessive doses of quinine.
The stage, literature and art each
contribute a large number to the vic
tins of the drug and alcohol habits.
Recently a once famous artist was
| .ound sleeping on the embankment,
having falle nthrough every stage OF
iepravity from occasional indulgence
n mhorphia to sheer mania for alco-
| lol
Many men and women connected
with the stage have fallen victims
20 the craving for stilnulants. always
| with disastrous results to their pro
! 'essiOnal regulations. One actress,
,or whom the critics had prophecied
l brilliant career, commenced taking
nOrphia during a nervous crisis. She
was delighted with the immediate ben
| it she derived from the drug, and used
Il again and again. Before she or any
one else had realized what was hap
Dening, the unfortunate woman had
become a morphine-maniac. She not
only made no progress in her art, but
1er acting was deteriorating rapidly.
Before the end came it had become
impossible for her to obtain an en-
gagement No manager could de-
pend on her coming to the theater.
and when she did put in an appear
ance II was only charitable to de-
scribe her acting as erratic. She be-
came so reckless in her craving for
stimulants that she drank eau de CO.
logne, Florida water or anything else
of an alcoholic nature. In this casae.
at any rate, death came as a merciful
release.