The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1911-02-16
ALCOHOL IS SUBTLE POISON
It's Action at First Fills Person With
Serene self-complacency,
Ending Fatally.

my and tartareous matter, little
over two ounces OF an oily, resinous
substance, and a little over two ounces
Of alcohol. Take out the alcohol, and
the remainder Of the Madeira wine Is
a nauseous mess, which no one would
think OF drinking. Take the alcohol
out Of beer, and 1t is a sour slop,
which no sane man would dream OF
taking into his stomach, says the To
ledo Blade. Whisky consists of near
ly equal parts Of water and impure
alcohol, the latter containing fusll oil
and some essential oils derived from
the grain. which give it flavor 1t is
the alcohol which produces intoxlca.
tion, II imblbed in sufficient quantity
There is nothing else in any intoxi-
cant which would commend It to the
palate of any man.
Now, the scientific verdict as to al
cohol is that It is a poison-no more,
no less-and, as a poison, its action is
first upon the nerve centers. Its action
is generally at first to fill the person
with a serene and perfect self-com.
placency His feelings and faculties
are rendered more intense from the
stimulation Of the nerves by the poi.
son. With most persons this is shown
by increased vivacity, and tendency
to talk much more than is usual
AS intoxication progresses, the
senses gradually become hazy, soft
humming seems to fill the pauses in
the conversation, a filmy haze OBJ
scures the vision, the victim finds 1t
difficult TO preserve his equilibrium;
next, objects appear double, or fit
confused before the eyes; the drunk
ard becomes boisterous, ridiculous;
articulation becomes difficult, and he
finally falls to the ground insensible
that is, he is dead drunk"
From this state, after a period OF
deep slumber, he awakes exhausted.
feyerish, sick and giddy, with throb,
blng head, ringing ears and bloodshot
eyes
hN PbAoOAl III ~ dlltAN0 tue lOUth vi
the brain. and the other nerve centers
OF the cerebro.spinal system are sue
cessfully brought under the influence
Of the poison, until. in the state com.
monty known as dead drunk" the on.
ly ones that are not paralyzed are
those known as the automatic centers,
which regulate and keep up breathing
and the circulation. Enough alcohol
can be taken, however, to paralyze
these, in which case the deep sleep of
drunkenness becomes a stupor which
passes into death
There is a parallel between apop.
lexy and intoxication. To be drunk is
simply apoplectic. Such is the action
OF alcohol upon the nervous system,
and its action upon other parts of the
body is no less injurious.
When an alcoholic drink is taken
Into the stomach the alcohol is rap.
idly absorbed through the coats of
that organ, passes directly into the
circulation, and is carried with the
blood to every part of the system.
That which goes to the brain pro-
duces successfully the symptoms emu.
merated above: that carried to the
lungs begins to be expelled with the
expired breath of these organs. Tx.
periments have been tried in which
wine was administered in capsules. so
that not one particle touched the in.
terror Of the mouth or throat; yet In
two or three minutes the odor Of al.
cohol was noted on the breath. show
ing that In that short time it had
been absorbed, passed into the blood
and was being expelled by the lungs
The blood loaded with alcohol. IN
passing through the liver, sets up an
irritation which frequently causes an
incurable disease to that very impor
tant organ-cirrhosis Of the liver. bet
ter known as "hobnail liver" The
kidneys are stimulated and irritateG
and long indulgence in the drinking
habit leads to incurable diseases IA
them. The skin is also affected. and
does its part in eXpelling the alcohol
from the system. In point Of fact all
the eNcretory organs set at work as
soon as the alcohol gets into the sys.
TEN, in the endeavor to rid the body
Of the poison The liver, kidneys
lungs and skin are all over-stimulated
in this effort.
We hope we may have made It clear
in this brief statement Of the action
of alcohol that 1t is absolutely ard
entirely a poison It is in no sense a
food. 1t Injuries the brain, the nerves.
oyer-excites the heart irritates the
stomach, liver and kidneys; never
does any good, but always harm
There is a vast amount of ignor.
ance among the people as to the real
nature of alcohol. 1t is the fewer
number Of our people, even at this
date, who are convinced that alcohol
is a poison; and this ignorance of
the masses is one of the bulwarks of
the traffic, We need more education.
especially in the family, in the church.
and in the common schools. as TO me
real nature and effect of this potent
poison. When the masses of the peo.
pie understand its true nature. a ire.
mendous impulse will be given to the
effort to pulverize the rum power
A Coroner's Comment on Drink" Evil
dence.