Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1912-11-29
Alcoholic Liquor Destroys Body
And Mind.

an able address by Col. L. Mervin Maus
Medical Corps, U. S. Army, Chief Surgeon
Eastern Division. son of the late |. r. Maus
of this town. entitled Does the Moderate
Use of Alcohol Lower Health and Efficiency
and Should 1t Be Prohibited Among Officer:
and Officials of the Military, Naval and Civi
ServicesH" and delivered before the Asso.
citation of Military Surgeons at Washing
ton. D. c., October 2. 1912:
Educated people throughout the civilized
world are beginning to realize the ruinou.
results of alcoholic beverages on the hu.
man system, and the preconceived ideas
and opinions as to their effects are beinl
entirely upset in view of modern scientific
laboratory investigation and sociological
and institutional study.
For many years enthusiastic advocates
OF temperance have called the attention
OF the public to the effects of alcohol from
moral and religious point of view, but il
has only been of recent date that scientific
investigators have shown the startling re-
suits OF this great narcotic from psychology
&c and pathologic standpoint. The alcoholic
question has clearly been for ages the most
serious and battling obstacle to mans pro-
gress and higher evolution.
DR.. II. S. Williams says that its use has
so long been intertwined with the social
customs of life that it has been the subject
OF poetry and song, the most welcome guest
at feast and festival, the entering wedge
of friendship and the arch-enemy to every
one. Through its paralyzing effects on the
mind the world has been held from time
immemorial in bondage of delightful be-
wilderment and fascination.
Those who have attacked moderate drink
ing on ethical and religious grounds have
had the prejudices and traditions of ages
to contend against. While every one rec
ogniZed that drunkenness is disgraceful and
that hard drinking endangers the system, il
is extremely difficult to convince the aver
age man that moderate drinking is harmful
and that he must forego his cocktail and
bottle Of wine in order to preserve normal
health. Many men who drink several times
daily would be shocked If told they exceeded
the safety limit to body and mind.
In the great battle now being waged
against its supremacy, long established
social customs, strong prejudices, ignorance
and the powerful monied whiskey interests
have to be reckoned with, and even more,
because this great hydra-headed octopus
has entwined his Shiny arms around Off
Gals and powerful politicians, holding COM
missions as mayors, aldermen, State legis-
lators, congressman, senator's and even
members Of the bench.
Started more than generation ago by
a band of outraged American men and
women, the campaign of temperance has
called to its aid some of the greatest schol-
ars and scientists of the age. whose SPLEEN
did work has shed a light on alcohol, hidden
since the beginning of time. These great
discoveries are worthy of especial consid-
Grafton from the standpoint of eugenics,
and are destined to confer upon suffering
humanity greater boon than the brilliant
work already achieved in the field of mi
crobic diseases and their prevention.
Fifty years ago, before the development
of the microscope and biological laborato-
ries, many experiments which have laid
bare to the world the true role of alcohol
would have been impossible. Until re-
Gently even physicians and scientists did
not understand the true nature of alcohol,
many Of whom believed II to be a stimu-
liant, food and general panacea for all ills,
instead of a devitalizing and demoralizing
narcotic. anesthetic and depressant.
The scientific information regarding the
action of alcohol now at hand may be di-
vided into two classes
|. Its effects on functional and structural
changes in the human organism.
2. Its effects on the economics of life and
the community at large.
Alcohol belongs to that class of narcotics,
including such drugs as ether and chloro-
form. which have two-fOld action: first. a
temporary stage Of exhilaration, and second,
stage of depression. While ether and
chl0roform in small quantities produce a
sensation of warmth and vigOr, If pushed,
are followed by a short stage of exhilara-
ton, earrulity, loss of mental control, mo-
ton and sensation, with lowering Of tenn
perature and profound sleep. These results
correspond exactly to those of alcohol when
taken in full narcotic doses.
Personal idiOsyncracy enters largely into
its varied effects on individuals Some are
very susceptible to small quantities, while
others are able to absorb double the amount
with apparent less effect. Individuals en-
lowed with a nervous temperament, and
especially the "erratic" class, suffer more
from disturbed mental balance than the
phlegmatic. Alcohol should be especially
avoided by cratic individuals. who fire.
quently develop paranoa from its moderate
use. From personal experience, have
observed this effect on several army officers
with whom | served.
Naturally the strong and robust are far
more able to resist the depre ssing and de-
teriOratins effects of an alcoholic debauch
than their less favored comrades. Even
with strong men the immunity from drink
ind Ia nuIxf TO- ri
serious illness. such as pneumonia, typhoid
fever, and other diseases Of an infectious
nature, they fall early victims. Doctors
Mcleod and Miles claimed years ago that
Europeans in Shanghai who used alcohol
showed increased susceptibility to Asiatic
cholera and suffered with more severe
type of the disease.
Like vice and other immoral practices,
alcohol creates a craving or soul demand"
which is rarely recognized by society until
1t has reached the stage Of dipsomania
When taken for the first time it produces
nausea and vomiting like mOrphia. the re-
suit Of irritation to the delicate membrane
Of the stomach. Persisted in, like other
narcotics, II establishes liberation to the
stomach and nervous system, and finally
an urgent demand.
II has been found especially injurious to
young children because In injuring Gel
lular structure II stunts both body and
mind and perverts morality through its
degenerating effects. Nor Is II regarded
longer as the milk Of the aged" because
it tends TO produce cardiac weakness, mus
cular and neuralgia pains, and deteriOra-
ton Of the blood vessels Its effect on the
little ones is expressed by stunted growth,
feeble mind, immoral and criminal tenden-
cy epilepsy, general impaired vitality and
degeneration.
The health Of the cellular structure de-
ponds upon the condition OF the nuclei and
prot0plasm. The effect Of drugs on cell
life. recently brought to light through ex-
perimental work, constitutes our knowledge
of "protoplasmic poisons," which is leading
to discoveries Of the utmost importance TO
mankind. II is for this reason that every
thing affecting cell life unfavorably, such
as alcohol and other narcotics, should be
excluded from the dietary.
We have learned that weak dilutions Of
alcohol and water injure cell life by depriv-
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