The Washington herald., 1915-06-09

| IN this crusade for temperance or for
national prohibition. great stress is
laid on the cure-we won't use the
word reforminE-of the individual who
| is suffering from acute alcoholism and
| of so educating the young that they
will never touch alcohol. We neglect.
think, a class that needs intelligent
helping and that is the occupied busi-
ness or professional man. who is a
long way from being a drunkard. but
who is still addicted to the more or
less habitual use of intoxicants.
Many a man of this type Is con-
vinced that alcohol is bad for him, but
he breads the discomfort of leaving 1t
off. He is not sufficiently frightened
about himself to make the necessary
effort to do so. but. at the same time.
would probably welcome the prospect
of being free from this habit.
The best help to a man in this situ-
alton is the Intelligent cooperation of
his wife. NagginS. scoldinS. refusing
to have any alcohol in the house are
not good methods with which to meet
this claim. What is needed are re-
form diet, intelligent amusement and
stimulation of the mind.
noticed in a recently published re-
port that the moving picture shows had
proved to be a great aid to the cause
of temperance. In certain nelghbor-
hoods in New York the saloons de-
creased as the number of movies" in
creased and the saloon keepers them
selves have become aware OF this fall
ing off in their business and are no
friends to these small theaters.
Many a man takes alcohol because
he is bored. He has discovered that a
certain amount of alcohol makes life
appear correspondingly more interest
ing and amusing. That he is going to
pay for this the next day he has also
discovered. But he is willing to pay
the price for the pleasure. If you take
away his alcohol see that he has plenty
Cf amusement to make up for the
slight torpidity of brain that may fol-
low the first withdrawal of the stimu-
liant.
The physical effect Of alcohol upon the
human body is now so thoroughly well
known by dieticians that there Is little
difficulty in formulating few rules that
will relieve. or at least largely heip'
the Individual in withstandins the al
coholic desire. Alcohol produces GER
tain amount of heat and energy, Tor
which. of course the body pays dearly.
But in decreasing the alcoholic intake 1t
is wise to increase the heat and energy
producing foods. Add more starcn ana
Experience shows that people who take
alcohol habitually rarely care for sugar
and the moment that alcoho! Is cut out
of the diet there is-generaliy a great
craving for It. See that man has
sweeter desserts than he has been accus-
toned to and have an open box OF
wholesome candy convenient
Meat dishes and highly seasoned foods
are prone to increase the craving for
alcoholic beverages Reduce the season-
ing of all foods and put meat on the
table but once a day. Increase the
amount OF vegetables: see that they are
cooked in a new and attractive fashion
and serve fruit abundantly. Many peo-
pie have found that an apple would ar
rest a craving for alcohol and the laxa-
tive effect Of fruit Is also valuable In
eliminating the poison from the system.
Alcohol is absorbed by the blood d.
rectly from the stomach. that IL. very
shortly after It has been swallowed and
It IL very quickly eliminated from the
system. more quickly than are most
poisons- Doctors. experienced with pa
tients of this class say that after two
weeks. treatment there is no more al
cohol in the system. This does not mean
that the bad effects of alcohol are not
present after that period. but that the