The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1913-10-30
The Saloon IL Ashamed
of Its Best Gus
toners.
the MODERATE ORlNKeR.
No 10 . Msoses Not Only 70 himssss.
but 10 Others.

D. L. o. MASON. N. o.
A prevalent aud popular fsIiacy n
that the moderate drinker may always
remain as such. that moderate drink.
ing is always under control and the
habit can be left OF at any time aod
always kept within the limitations 81
safety and sobriety. This fshSe doc
trine has ruined more lives than any
other argument brought forward 70
sustain the habltuai and moderate uss
Of alcoholic beverages.
The drink hnbit Ii accretivc and pro
grcssive. Tolerance Ii easily estsb-
lished. and hrger quantities. are 70
qnired TO meet the daily growing do
mapd. II Is exceptional for the MOD
ernte drinker to remain as such. A. .
rule all immodrrnte. habituai drunk-
ards were once moderate drinkers HS-
ccption to this does not prove the rule.
and no amount OF specious sophistry
can alter the natural sequence In tho
particular. The accustomed dore uu-
der normal conditions viii not be saf-
6cient under abnormal conditions.
The term moderate or temperate uao
Of alcoholic beverages In not definite.
There Is not any established or dso-
uiteiy ascertained quastity that We
can use daily or habituaily within tie
bounds Of safety and exclude any
possibility OF mental or mornl or phys
icaI degeneration. This In especially
true Of the reformed man or the man
with hereditary tendencies OF diss~-ss
or injuries affecting the cerebTo spinal
axis-that II. the brain or spinal cord
or chronic painful conditions In whscs
the aicohol IN some form h ns~d ~
its anaesihctic or narcotic eject.
The constant. hsbituai uss Of afco-
holic beverage even In 40 called mod
eration Ia more dangerous than Its
occasional excessive use. Prrsonaily.
moral considerations excepted. the oc-
cas,onai excessive drink~r h safer
physically than the everyday habifusi
moderate drinker. for the latter keeps
his blood up To q certain percentages
constantly aicohollzed. while the for
mer. at least during the interval b.
tween his debsuches. has q chance Of
recovering Q normal blood curr~nt.
In the great majority Of cRSes 81
ha bituai drunkards the parents -
era ndpar euts used alcohol In mod~ra.
ton habituaily or in eIcexa In
study OF no cases that came under my
supervision. In which ! made Q study
Of the family history. none r's~aped the
various forms Of narcomsnts. nervous
disease. consumption and other roodi.
lions Of nicobolic degeneration. there
being evidence enough To dcnon~trHte
the relative sequence between drink
ing parents aud q drunken postrrity.
! believe that the starting point Of
the alcoholic degenerate can N. traced
not infr,'quentiy to the So raiIcd mod
crate habituaI use OF nlcobua IN some
form by a respectable. temp..rste. I'm
mediate progenitor who was never
drunk and WHO prided himself on bis
self restraint and yet this paraeoa Of
virtue and resp,rta bility war giving
20 the world. through his poisoned
blood ALTHOUGH moderately aicohoiixed.
u 10 trueI. n posterity Of physical and
mental weaklings aud ignornntly and
unconsciously starting a race of nee
.otics. idiots aud lunstics and beget,
ting a long line % alcoholic d-gruer.
ates. And how many families In this
land Of ours arr free from the aLr0-
nolic faint 10 the direct or collateral
branches extending even to one gense
alton backl