The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-06-07
AN AWFUL INDICTMENT

"A wave of degeneracy is sweeping
the land, and its development threat !!
ems the physical vitality of the nation"
declared DR.. T. Alexander MacNicholl
of New York. before the American
Medical Association, in session in At
lantic City, the other day. DR.. Nc
Nichon is a former surgeon of the New
York Red Cross Hospital, and was
sent abroad by President Roosevelt to
investigate the subject Of alcoholism
and narcotics.
within a period of fifty years the
population Of the United States in
creased $50 per cent. while the number
of insane and feeble minded increased
$50 per cent. according to the recent
census. practically all of which is due
to the chronic and excessive use of al
cohol in one form or another, and
narcotics" he said
"Degeneracy is shown in the lessen
ed fertility of the nation. In five years
the birth rate in the United States fell
off thirty-three and one-third per
cent" Back of all the causes for this
harming condition, asserted the sur
geon. who was addressing the Amer
lean Medical Society, the study of al
cohol and narcotics show that alcohol
is the chief degenerative factor
Threatens Republic
"A degeneracy so appalling in mag
nitude," DR.. McNicholl continued" that
It staggers the mind and threatens to
destroy this republic, numbering more
victims than have been slain in all the
wars and in all the epidemcs of acute
diseases that have swept the country
within two hundred years.
During the past five years the birth
rate in the United States has fallen off
thirty-three and one-third per cent.
This means the loss of a million babies
a year. Let this degeneracy continue
at the same rate for one hundred years
and there will not be a native born
child five years old in the United
States.
What is the cause of this degen-
eracy? \ hundred different interme-
diate agencies may contribute to the
undoing of the race, but back of them
all stands alcohol as the chief degen-
eratfve factor. Statistics compiled by
the leading insurance companies. and
presented by Sir T P Whitaker in a
report to the British Parliament, show
that out of every 1000 deaths among
the population at large, 40 are due to
alcohol This would mean a mortality
from alcohol in the United States of
$4,000 year.
Drnkers' Children Bear Burden
The great burden of drink is not
borne by the drinker but by the drink
ers' children. The germ cell that is
to be evolved into another being is the
most highly organized of all the cells
in the body In its protoplasm lies the
material and pattern of the perfected
organism.
Should such poison as alcohol les
sen the nutrition of the cell or impair
the quality of the protoplasmic ma
terial and deface the pattern, these
shortcomings and defects would be
manifested in the subsequent stages of
development 4 defective germ cell
cannot evolve a normal body. this is
the reason that we find large per-
centage of functional and organic
diseases among the children OF drink
ing parents.
I'm our studies among the school
children in New York City we find that
60 per cent are the children of drink
ing parents. and that 81 per cent Of
these children of drinking parents
suffer from some functional or organic
disease. In one Institution for the
treatment of physical detectives a re
cent study SHOWS tnal every patient Is
the child of drinking parents.
Our studies of school children show
that one in every three is mentally de-
fcient. II this percentage holds good
over the entire country there are
100000 of children Of a school age
that are mentally deficient. and less
than $1,000 of these are free from
hereditary alcohol faint.
Three out OF five school children are
afflicted with some functional or or
ganic disease If this percentage holds
good over the entire country there are
100000 of children of school age
that are afflicted with functional and
organic diseases. and less than two
and a half millions of these are free
from hereditary alcohol faint ma
ton half diseased and half well can