Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-05-09
SECOND PRIZE ESSAY
The Value of Total Abstinence
to a Life
to a Life

100000 ooooooooooooooo
Any man, woman. or child who wishes
for himself or herself strong healthy
body. must abstain from the use of
alcoholic liquors. A man may say that
he did not know what alcohol would do for
his body. and continue to drink 1t, but
ignorance does not save anyone.
Perhaps he does not know that every
swallow of it he takes eats away a small
portion of the delicate lining of his stom-
ach, until little by little. all of the Innings
are eaten away. the nerves are deadened
and he cannot assimila.e good food.
But, while all of this is going on, other
dire effects are taking place. He is get
ting fatty degeneration of the heart, com
monty known as~fatty heart" The liver
the important factor of the body, is slow
ly swelling and Jumps soon appear. which
gives it the nickname ''hobnailed liver"
Many of the red oorpuscles are utterly
destroyed, and the white corpuscles. those
useful little bits of iellylike substance
that help the body to resist disease mic
robes which are taken into the body
through food and drink, are weakened
Therefore the non-abstainer is more sus-
ceptble to tuberculosis than the total =
abstainer.
How can mind be sound and healthy
when it is undergoing constant injury?
After a drunka:d's stomach has been
ruined he begins to have d elirium m
| A.
cells, accompanied with weakness.
trembling and great fear. The victim
imagines he sees snakes, animals, and
insects.
A constant drinker is troubled with
deafness and impaired vision, He may
even fall IN fire and not make any effort
to get out because his nerves are SO
deadened that he has no feeling.
The pity of it is that drink is not con-
fined TO men alone, but women also in
dulge in this dlsgraceful habit. Many a
mother in the slums will go home to her
little ones. beat them and give them little
if any food to eat. They see SO much
crime and wickedness that it is stamped
upon their intellect for life. They are
given beer instead of good nourishing food
that growing bodies need.
Total abstinence builds character The
more a man drinks the more is his will
power weakened, and the more his will
power is weakened, the more dangerous
or more like brute he is. How many
weak willed men can pass saloon with
their weeks wages in their pocket?
Imagine a young man who takes a
social drink occasionally obtaining a pos
lition as cashier in bank!
Often the craving for alcohol begins at
home. The mother or sister will place
the choicest wines before the Young son
or brother. If he drinks it he wishes for
something stronger. and so in time be
will become a drunkard wallowing in the
gutter. One wishing to obtain grea,
emminence dare not indulge in alcoholic
drink. President Taft says. He who
drinks is deliberately disqualifying him.
self for advancement" All honor tc
Postmaster General Hitchcock for pro-
hibiting the sending CT alcohol through
parcels post.
Many engineers can start on their rur
knowing that if anything happens to then
engine. they will not be to blame.
A man who wishes for long life must
follow the laws of abstinence, He who
follows this law will make happy home
have healthy children and be loving
husband and father. A drunkard viii
ruin his home. have insane, crippled oil
diseased children, and will be cruel to hi:
family. The drunkard can have nothing
stainer may see everlasting life and light
MAY GosHERT
Liberty building,