The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1915-02-04

OpiilfOu VI n tftah many pcohto you
know. II has long been the custom
in many places for men 10 take q
good stiff dram before undertaking
10 do certain kinds OF work that re-
quires unusual strength or endur-
ance. n workman goes out on q
cold morning 10 chop load OF wood
his axe seems a little keener II he
has a "swig" just after breakfast
n a teamster goes out for a long
drive in the cold he believes that
the cold will be less severe and the
team will pull better IL he can get a
taste from his bottle before start
ing and can reinforce the effect by
a few more tastes after he is on his
way. No doubt many Of you are
acquainted with good men who be-
lieve and practice this. You must
not censure them for doing IL, be-
cause they believe in the efficacy OF
their remedy just as thousands OF
others have long believed in IL.
But you must not believe a thing
is true because great many people
who have never studied IL carefully
say il is true. am going 10 say
frankly that alcohol does not maks
a man stronger, does not make him
endure cold better, does not enable
him TO have more endurance for Diff
flcult tasks. The exact opposite OF
this widespread opinion is true. II
weakens both his mind and his body,
makes him less able 10 endure hard
ships and greatly lowers his efbci-
ency for performing his daily tasks.
Now hundreds Of people may tell
you that I am wrong, but they will
gather their opinions from other
hundreds who have not put this
thing 10 the actual test; I go TO the
experimental laboratory for my an
swer because the laboratory is the
place where correct answers are al
ways reached. There studies are
made by men who have every de-
vice at hand for arriving at correct
conclusions and who will be promp-
tly called TO task by their fellow
scientists IL their conclusions are
wrong.
II has been shown that one glass
of beer a day will lower the Ell
cheney OF the drinker as much az
8 per cent on the same day; that
three glasses daily for twelve days
will lower his efficiency from Is u
40 per cent. II he is doing mathe-
NAUTICAL work where a clear mind is
needed, the loss OF efficiency is Of.
ten greater than 40 per cent.
The man who drinks cannot
memorize a piece OF poetry or d
column Of figures as quickly as the
man Of equally strong memory who
does not drink. A certain professor
Of Greek undertook to memorize q
lines Of the Odyssey each morning
before breakfast for ten successive
days. He used no alcohol during
this test. He discovered that IL re
CURED an average time OF IS minu-
les and two seconds TO memorize the
rs lines. Then he took a drink o.
alcohol before breakfast each morn
ing for 8 days and continued o.
the rs lines as usual. He
lined himself again and discovered
hat il required an average time OF
20 minutes and IS seconds 10 d.
what he had previously done in lit 4,
lie more than half that time.
The man who drinks cannot con-
his mind so well as the !
nan who does not drink. Neither |
ian the drinker be as trustworthy |
where human life or valuable pro-
)oi ~ is at stake as the man who |
Keeps sober. No railroad company
will allow an engineer who drinks
o drive an engine that draws =
pullman train, nor will the company
Employ a drinking man TO stand IN
he signal station and pull the levers
hat shift switches and give right a.
way TO the trains. About forty oi
he great railroad systems in the !
United States will not employ u |
nan for any kind OF important SER
rice II he drinks. They have learned
~ long and costly experience that
men who use alcohol even in small
Quantities are less trustworthy both !
n mind and body than the men who |
ire abstainers.
When we add together the loss OF
efficiency for all the laborers m
he United States who drink AMI
attempt TO express its value in terms
" dollars and cents we are astound.
II 10 discover that II amounts 10
learly Si5,000.0O0.OO0. The Liquor
Traffic pays a big revenue 10 the
government OF the United States
md some people are afraid that il
I were abolished il would impOver-
sh the government and raise taxes.