Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1911-01-28
The Truth About Wine Drinking Countries.
By Matthew Woods, M. D.

representatives, and almost the u
UNIVERSAL cry was prohibition"
| From The journal of Mental
Pathology we learn that the
French, Italian, Swiss, Russian
and German nations are keenly
alive to the danger of alcoholic
intemperance.
The marked sensitiveness on
this subject is not the result OF
fanaticism, but of facts brought
to light by clinical observation
These Investigations show that
mental, moral, and physical deter
loration among these people is
due to intemperance more than
amy other cause, alcoholism of the
!. parent producing degeneracy OF
the offspring.
For this reason, the govern
ments of these countries have
been actively concerned in the
propaganda of popular temper
ance. Russia is trying to sup
plant the thirst for alcohol by
opening soup and tea houses for
J the poor. France is fighting her
antiralcohol battles with lectures.
Germany is attempting the same
reform by drastic legal enact
ment. Sweden and Norway, af-
ter years of governmental control
of the sale of liquor, and with
good results, are now agitating
for its complete abolition; and
Finland, by an overwhelming ma
jority, decided to prevent the
manufacture Of alcoholic bever
ages within it's borders, and pro-
hibit it's importation from other
countries. The Socialist party in
Germany, at it's recent National
Congress at Essen, placed itself
on record against the use of al
cOhol in any form.
DR.. Lefebvre f the University
of LonvaDl, and DR.. Alievi of
Italy, have recently published
some startling truths about the
progress of alcoholism on the con
tinent of Europe.
France, especially, has very
disturbing record. In 1851, say
these writer's, with a population
of nearly 100000, it consumed
100000 hectolitres. CA hectolitre
is a hundred litres, and litre is
something less than a quart.)
To-day, with a population of 80,
100000, it consumes ten times
that quantity. In Germany the
married workingman spends be-
tween fourteen and twenty per
cent of his wages ON Rhine wine
and beer; but, strange to say, It.
ally drinks more alcohol than Ger
many, and comes next after
France, Switzerland, and Belgium
OF the insane confined in the
asylum in Rome, says this same
authority, twenty-seven per cent
have been made mad through al
coholism. At Lucca the percent
age is thirty-five. At Genoa, in
1902, of 288 madmen admitted to !
the asylum, 80 were victims of
alcoholism. The alcohol drunk
every year in Italy costs the
drinkers l,760,OOO,OOO francs,
which is more than is spent on
grain, including Indian corn, to-
bacco, and sugar added together.
ut is generally admitted"
says Roma, that most of the
crimes Of blood so frequent i'm
the capital are caused directly or
indirectly by wine-drmking.''
From Giovanni Rockets L'Alc-
oolism in Italia, we make the fol-
lowing summary:
From a careful study of recent
statistics gathered from various
sources, the author concludes that
thirty per cent of the homicides
Of Italy are committed while the
perpetrators are under the influ-
ence of alcohol; sixty per cent of
or of furious rebellion is
committed under the influence of
wine or of liquor. In forty per
cent of delinquents the father or
mother, or both, were alcoholics.
With alcoholism comes aversion
% work and the tendency to idle
less; impulse takes the place of
'eason, characteristic of the
delinquent, when there is no
moving what act of depreciation
nay be done.
Concerning the temperamental
ide of the alcohol question in
tally the author says: !
1.-THE Italian, usually sober,