The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1914-12-25
A STIMULANT
OR NARCOTIC.

Alcohol slows a fellow down. l nave
nothing to do with a drinker. Connie
Mack.
Wine is a mocker fdeceiver). Sol
ONION.
/ am glad to see that the foremost
physical trainer of the world has dis
covered what some of the doctors have
not yet learned-that alcohol in all its
forms ''slows a fellow down." | won
der if. when Solomon said 'Wine is a
deceiver," he foresaw that this same
| deceiver would fool the doctors of the
Twentieth Century? am also wonder
ing if any of the doctors or others who
believe that alcohol drinks are stimu-
lating, have any real proof that such is
the case. If any reader of this article
has any such proof l shall be delighted
to hear from him, and receive said
proof. Until it is demonstrated in some
way to me that alcoholic liquors are
stimulating l shall agree fully and COM
pletely with Connie Mack, that alcohol
in all its forms, and in any quantity
slows a fellow down. and that al
ways means that it is a NARCOTIC and
not a sTIMULANT. If we can gain this
one point in the demonstrated useless
ness of alcohol as a medicine we will
have made a long stride in the direction
of snatching from the hands of the
liquor traffic one of their strong claims
to justify their existence. So long as
a manufacturer of any alcoholic drinks
can find any one to believe that his pro
duct is a medicine, just so long will
that manufacturer find friends among
humanity. But if alcohol is not a stim-
ulant then it is not a medicine, for
have never known any doctor to admin
lister it that he did not claim that he
was giving it as a ''stimulant." l re-
member very well the last time any
doctor brought whiskey into u home
as a medicine he claimed that he was
giving it to stimulate the child.
frankly told him that l had two serious
objections to his giving the baby whis-
key. The first was that l did not con
slider that a six weeks old baby needed
a stimulant. The second was that if il
did need a stimulant that whiskey would
not fill the bill. At my suggestion this
doctor very readily agreed not to adj
minister whiskey as a stimulant to tn,
child.
Now, as an enemy of John Barley
corn, | think l have 40 prejudice agains,
the use of alcohol as n medicine if il
has any medicinal properties. But hav-
ing demonstrated to my entire satisfac'
ton that it has exactly the opposite eff
feet on the human system from tina,
produced by a stimuiant-that is that
it 'slows a fellow DOWN. shall in
sist on some proof from the doctor who
offers it that it has some medicine
value. My contention is that the Bible
was right thousands of years ago when
it made the declaration that alcohol is
a deceiver, and that it has deceived the
very elect of most of the medical col
leges, even in this enlightened TWEEN
ueth Century.
Allow me to suggest to any reader
who really needs a stimulant, or has .
friend who needs a stimulant, thai
there is nothing more effective as Q
stimulant than a cup of well made cot
fee. But my contention is that before
you administer a stimulant or a marco
tic to yourself, to your child, or to YOU
friend, that you submit the patient t(
a reputable physician, and get his opin'
ion that a stimulant or a narcotic is the
thing the pattern needs; and having
reached the conclusion that a stimulan
or a narcotic is needed be sure that you
make no mistake is selecting the RICH
one. for these drugs or all more or les:
"deceivers." and require very careful
handling that no harm may be done thu
patient. G. T. HOWERTON,
Starkville, Miss.