Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-04-18
EBERT HUBBARD WRITES
ABOUT DRUNKENNESS

II any man should nave our
friendship it is dhe man who has
failed to be friend 10 himself.
The fact is, tlie victim of strong
drink often has all the virtues
including high intelligence and a
tender, sympathetic heart-and yet
when the Demon Drink clutches
him, his will is paralyzd, and Sa-
tan is in the saddle.
A few weeks ago | visited San
Quentin prison and talked with a
man in the Death Row" who mas
since been hanged.
1T was drink-just drink" he
told me. Il was crazy. | was
jealous. and | shot her Then
shot myself She died quickly.
recovered to be sent here. Next
week | die. She was a beautiful.
| honest, loving wife to me, but
drink had destroyed my reason.
said nOthing-what could ! say?
But ] realized that the slow, ling
ering death Of a drunkard's wife
is no more tragic than the quick
taking off by knife or pistol.
The worst about strong drink
has never been told. 1t cannot be
told-it escapes the limitations of
language. But / think we err in
despising the drunkard. Our hearts
should go out to him in pity.
A part of his hallucinatiOn Of
ten is that he is not a drunkard.
Il can quit any time" he says.
But he who says that seldom quits
until Death stops his mouth with
dust.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink
) raging; and whOsOever is de
ceived thereby is not wise. so
said Solomon, a thousand years
before Christ.
And the drink problem is up
on US today, just as terrible, just
as tragic, as it was then.
In truth, the danger of drink, TO
Americans, is more hazardous than
to any other people. We have an
intensity Of nerves" beyond that
of any other nation that has ev-
er existed.
Americans seem TO be singularly
sensitive to the harm that the use
Of alcoholic drinks inflict.
Alcohol is a poison: and the
stimulation that it produces is one
form of its activity. If continued,
the exhilaration will break down
tissue, and may result in demen-
tia, mania, loss Of speech. paral-
ysis, dissolution disease and
death.
There are human bodies which,
instead of throwing off alcohol
seem to catch and retain it. There
are traps in the tissues that hold
The toxin: and instead of getting
rid of it. these traps set up 1e--
yer. a thirst. a vain unrest, and
a mad desire for more drink.
Nature seems to think that if she
can get enough drink into the man
the organs Of elimination will act.
The drink bill of the world Is
The greatest tax that humanity
suffers. But the worst is not IN
the cost of the stuff originally,
but in the loss of power which its
Use entails.
The chief incentives to indulge
in strong drink arise from imper-
feet nutrition. loss of sleep, and
lack of exercise in the open air.
These things bring about condl-
ton where worry becomes a nab
L.
for relief.
Study your own case and regu-
late Your life so that you will pO-
ssess a high degree of vitality.
Then drink will be to you abhor-
rent.
Good consecutive work, either
mental or physical, and the use OF
alcohol are incompatible.
| am talking especially to young |
men-yOung men who would win
their way in the wOrld-and | ask;
can you afford to run the risk of
ruin by dallying with this arch
enemy that has laid so many low?
We have been led to think that
to drink is manly. and to get IN a
condition where common sense has
fled and the tongue is tangled and
funny. But the business world al
WAYS has the drinking man, no
matter how gifted, under susplc-
ion.
The use Of strong drink is nei-
Their manly nor amusing, and no
one who loves you or IS interest
ed in YOUR welfare would think so.
And the truth is, any man who
deliberately turns his glass down.
md declines to drink anything but
pure water. when the others order
Scotch" will always have the re-
,pect of the others Not only
his. but he viii have the respect
Of himself.
Prize your health; prize your
word: prize your reason. Hold
asst to the resolve, Touch not,
aste not. handle not" and work.
md you will be pointed out as a
distinguished person. You will pos
,ess poise and power; responsible
les will gravitate to you: wealth
will be yours: honor will drift your
way: friendship will be your por-
ion. and love will illumine your
,athway-Elbert Hubbard in The
Cosmopolitan.