The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-07-23


thirty years of age. the average in
sured absta liner may expect to live
3S.s years longer. while the average
insured drinker may expect TO live
only thirty-fiv years longer. AT for
ty years OF age. the abstainer may ex-
pect to live 303 years longer. while
the dr!nker may expect TO live only
2T3 years longer II must be re-
membered that the insurance COM
panies do not insure any immoder-
ate drinkers
More Accidents.
The accident Insurance companies
say that drink makes a man much
more liable to accident The Fidelity
and Casualty company declares: "a
man whose nerves have been made
unsteady by a recent debaach. or by
the habitual use of alcohol. should
not be permitted To operate danger
GUS machinery or carry on danger
Gus work He endangers not only
his own life. but the lives of others"
Warren G.. Stone. grand chief OF the
T i've Effsi-
neers, says, I'm these days of fast
time, corgested traffic and heavy
trains. the engineer and the locomo-
tive need all the brains he has and
he cannot AFFORD to have them mud
uIeu by AttoHpl HIS CfltcI tUkiuSeT
is not a surgeon, but he has the sci
entiffc spirit because he bases his
conclusions upon observed facts. He
does not agree with DIR. MeGuire. that
alcohol can be used ito raise the
condition OF the physical and mental
activity" Of locomotive engineers.
Produces Insanity.
The resolutions passed by the con-
vention of alienists and neurolog!sts.
mentioned above. indicates the atti-
tude OF these specialists toward al
cohof The very lowest estimate that
has been made is that % per cent of
all insanity Is directly chargeable to
alcohol. and very many alienists place
the percentage at a much higher
figure.
Produces Suicides.
Closely akin to the feebleminded
ness and insanity brought on by al
cohol are the suicides. There were
62,660 suicides in the United States
in ten years. from 1901 to 1910. In
elusive. and alcohol was responsible
for 4,411 Of these cases of suicide;
or % per cent
Increases sickness.
Records of the sick benefit clubs of
Berlin show that the drinking mem
bers OF the clubs average two and
three -fourths times rs many days Of
sickness as the ahstainer. and that
the sickness OF the drinkers lasted
from two to three times as long as
that Of the abstainers. So that not
only did not stimulants raise the
condition OF physical and mental ac-
tivity," but it greatly increased the
frequency of sickness and also the
duration OF the sickness.
The above facts. taken from scien-
tific Investigations. are offered as tes-
timony In opposition to that OF DIR.
Mcclure. and they will probably be
conclusive to most OF our readers
that alcohol is not beneficial to the
health. but on the contrary is ex-
ceedingly damaging to the health.
(S) Effect Of Alcohol Upon Efficiency.
DR.. Mcclure. as stated above. tes-
tilted that in all nations and that in
al, ages, people have used stimulants
as an artificial means to raise the
condition of their physical and men
tai activity" II this means anything,
1t means that these stimulants will
increase efficiency. What do scien-
tific investigations disclose?
Impairs Scholarship.
Investigations made in the schools
in Vienna, Austria, showed very clear
ly that the drinking Of wine and beer
by the school children impaired schot-
arship. The sustaining children Sc
cured the highest marks; those who
drank occasionally the next highest;
those who drank once a day tho next
highest. and those who drank twice
a day the lowest; that Is to say. as
the use Of alcohol increased, scholar
ship steadily decreased
similar study Of school children
in Brescia. Italy. showed the same
results, the only difference being that
in Italy the children drama only
wine. and wine and beer. as in Aus
tria.
Impairs Skill.
Tests made in the Swedish army
demonstrated that skill and endur-
unce are both impaired by alcohol.
On the alcohol days the men took
about two-thirds of glass of brandy
from twenty to thirty minutes before
tho airing and equal amount OF alco-
mol In punch the day before. They
showed less precision and made fewer
points Ut target shooting on the al
cohol days. Each man fired round
Of thirty shots In thirty seconds. In
two sets Of tests on abstinSRce days,
they hit the target twenty-f6ur times
out OF thirty shots on the average: on
tho alcohol days the average was only
three hits out u thirty shotA.
Inmeanas AOG1dsn1A
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