The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1911-03-02
Temperance I 81 e
ALCOHOL is SUBTLE POISON
Its Action at First Fills Person With
Serene Self-CompIacency,
Ending Fatally.

| A quart of Madeira wine consists of
two pounds and a little over four
ounces of water, two ounces Of gum
my and tartareOuS matter, a 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
nauseous mess, which no one would
out of beer, and it is a sour slop.
| which no sane man would dream Of
! taking into his stomach, says the To-
ledo Blade. Whisky consists Of near
| ~ equal parts Of water and impure
alcohol, the latter containing fusil oil
and some essential oils derived from
the grain, which give it flavor. 1t is
the alcohol which produces intoxica-
ton, if imbibed 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 It's 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 yivacity, and a tendency
to talk much more than is usual
As intoXication progresses, the
senses gradually become hazy, a soft
humming seems to fill the pauses in
the conversation, q filmy haze OBJ
scures the vision, the victim finds it
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 insensibIe
that is, he is dead drunk"
From this state, after period of
deep slumber, he awakes exhausted
feverish, sick and giddy with throb-
bling head, ringing ears and bloodshot
eyes.
The poison first affects the lobes Of
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
can be taken, however, to paralyze
these. in which case the deep sleep of
! drunkenness becomes q 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. Elk
! 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 irritdted
and long indulgence in the drinking
habit leads to incurable diseases i'll
| them. The skin is also affected. and
does its part in eXpelling the alcoGol
| from the system. In point of fact ali
the eXcretory 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 it is absolutely and
entirely poison. 1t is in no sense a
food. 1t Injuries the brain, the nerves
over-excites the heart, irritates the
stomach, liver and kidneys; ne-er
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 the
real nature and effect of this potent
poison. When the masses of the PEG
pie understand its true nature. a ire
mendous impulse will be given to the