The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-08-20
low Business Fights Alcohol

! furnace would die II he did not have
/ frequent potations. After every heat
! the men regularly adjourned to the
nearest saloon and reinforced them-
selves for the next one. Twenty years
ago the doctors regarded water as
sure death for typhoid patient, and,
/ similarly, employers actually believed
/ that water would almost instantly kill
a workman who had Just left q blaz-
/ ing furnace Even in those days how
ever. the industry noted that alcohol
/ had certain disadvantages. Foremen
always dreaded Mondays and the day
! following payday. for the men were
/ invariably listless and accidents were
/ then most frequent
/ II seems incredible that. thirty years
aRo. drunkenness seemed to be al
most an indispensable adjunct OF rail-
roading. The neatly clothed, freshly
/ shaven conductors we know today are
modern developments. even tho en-
eineer, In the old days, commonly
/ spent the time between runs In a sa-
loon and did not hesitate TO take a
bottle Of whiskev into his cab The
/ brakeman the train-hand, and the
/ worker in the roundhouse were not
/ infreQuently jovial, care-free souls, In
1888, William II Baldwin. then re
Gently graduated from Harvard, start
cd his noteworthy railroad career on
the Union Pacific. There are about
one hundred and thirty men living
here" he wrote from one Of his sta
lions. They are shopmen, engineers.
Aremen. and section hands Their
church. town hall. dance-hail and
eafinR room are three saloons II
a man wishes to write a letter. meet
friends read. eat drink and be mer-
nv he goes 10 the only places which
will give him the opportunIfv-the
saloons. Some of the engineers have
educated themselves far better than
half the graduates Of Harvard have
been educated. There IRE many who
have seen better DAYS. hut have been
knocked out with bad rum. One Of
them is q hleary, bloodshot- eyed old
chap. who looks as II he had been
drunk all his Nfc aud had slept al
ternatrly in the gutter or on tho floor
Of some saloon Constant duarrelS,
fs, fights, blunders. and elovenIy work
Nelr Nhe tneNitaS,c consequence Of
these conditions Terrible accidents
were much more common than now
and tho oficial report not infrcducrt-
nv contained tho abatement that some
one had hern drinking"
Put times have changed What OK
EtaiIG mo improve fllpDfS thaf n re IA X
Iue- place every dave The Last ten
wars have Witnessed trnportant de.
ve}oprgontz in the study of alcohol
Tho .sri.,ta- 1ahorator,, has tested
and ia to.tfna All INC suporstittons
which have dovaIoned in tho course or
several eorfIrfcs Ava y,a cannot
study his titnfatura yithon. reachinp
ope deentt. ronclusion A few on-
poslnr voicea SIN UNFOLD tho ca,ae
! Of alcohol: the weight Of scientific an.
j thority bowevor has rendared a nro+
| ~ sweentn0 verdlc, against I, we
all know ~ course-no sciep,iAc ox.
neriments ore ner"ssary 70 ,narb Ne
/ that excessive indulgence ia intnrtous.
the sfrn;rcance ~ ,boae rnodarn stus
/ los however ia maj thov conden,n al.
cohoi In moderate amounts rr,haae
/ conclusions have tho ut,roa+ tr,rnr+
ance for aver,. Cute, b,,. tbo,, bayf
a pnr+icular rncaninr for foborip @
mon For aIcohoI offecta ,,rfavorahf,
all the nhysical and mental onara,ion,
most essential to WORKING efficiency
The Increasing combinations Of Toe
tory life. the extensive uen ~ ma
chinery. and the Intricate organiza
ton needed to turn mt tho nodosl
product make unusual demands uno,
, the workman. Above all the lahore
must have speed, physical and mcnta
qu!ckness, attention and endura
Now. the alcohol moIecule. freely cir
culatine in the body and the brain af
fects adversely all these qualities I
enfcebles attention. dulls he intellect
/ prevents ready coordination between
mental and muscular action. decrease
the powers Of attention and percep
ton. and generally enfeehles the sys
tenn, Elaborate experimentation
shows that vino and whiskey, even il
moderate" amounts. lower resistanc
10 Infection a regular drinker, ever
though he is not an inebrlate, is es
pecially subject 10 colds and even NOR
serious disorders: this, merely from
tho industrial side. means loss OF tim
and ineficiency The la boratorv work
ers have DESTROYED another Illusion
dear 20 the moderate drinker"; tina
is, that alcohol puts now life into
man" Increases his energy and en-
thusiasm The physiological chemis
colby tells us that alcohol Is not
stimulant, but a dcpressant. An
1 mental and physical elation we foe
Is simply it's effect as narcotic; It
merely temporary and, when 1t passo
away Il leaves the mind and bod
more exhausted than before.
In the last few years n great scotia