The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-11
Cool Dressing Sacques

story Is crime the outcropping of
mental defect7 Drink stresses the
weakness OF such defects. Is crime
I the result OF immoral personal rela-
! tons? Drink enters in O. large num-
| Der OF cases as the villain behind the
scenes Is it q question Of Juvenile
delinquency? The drink OF parents
or Of the environment can be dis
closed as sorrowfuI factor IN many
of the causes that bring the child
to the court.
| We need more scientific facts as
to the exact relation OF alcohol to
all these questions So far the pro-
| motors Of various sociological inves-
legations In many instnn oes--nox all
seem deliberately to have ignored
the question Of how far alcohol was
factor IN. or cause of. these social
| disabilities I hope the time is i4v
really careful alcohol sociological
studies made in America which will
enable us 10 speak more positively
than we can do now on the exact
relation of alcohol to these social
questions They ought to be planned
with exceeding care. and thoroughly
carried out with due weighing OF all
the evfience- haif-dozen deeply
intensive surveys OF This kind in va
rteus parts Of the country would be
worth infinitely more to us than 100
superficial studies. suggestive as the
latter may be.
I said at the beginning Of THIS ad-
dress that we needed constantly to
enlarge our vision of the resources
from which practical facts can be
drawn.
In thus linking M the alcohol
question with the appeal to social
welfare we shall not only increase
public intelligence about alcohol and
its effects, but we shall accomplish
two other results. We ourselves will
necessarily gain a wider vision OF the
far-reaching effects of alcohol We
shall enlarge our own knowledge Of
and sympathy with the many needs
| of the human race as II tries to strug-
gle upward to higher social levels.
Secondly. nv linking the physical
effects of alcohol to their social out
come we shall be able to give the
emphasis which Is greatly needed
upon alcohol as one. factor that alb
solutely must be dealt with before
other social problems can be salts
| factorily solved. Our point OF view
| other social questions. Some one
needs to emphasize It. To do this
effectively we must diligently set our
selves to study. not only the direct
effects of alcohol. but also the gen.
eral facts Of physical hygiene. mem
tai hygiene and social hygiene, prob
lems OF housing. recreation, the scale
Of living, wages, infant mortality. nu-
triton. and all their related and inter-
related branches. 1t Ia a large con-
tract. Let us be eager and broad
| minded enough to rise to 1t, and hav-
ing done so, give our alcohol factor
the emphasis which at present is so
often lacking in the efforts to deal
with conditions OF social waste. This
needs to be done with positiveness.
But such emphasis and such positive
rate, sympathetic valuation of The
! other factors involved in lessening
various social wastes
/ The past ten years has witnessed
a swift marshaline of all forces of
society against alcohol as universal
enemy of the human race Every
week brings new voices of authority
to it's condemnation: every year
some new truth as to its nature and
effects. Where ten years ago there
were only few voices Of us CRYING
scientific truths in a wilderness OF
seemingly unresponsive hearers, cvea
among temperance workers, TODAY We
! find great physicians. insurance ,or,-
panies, health boards, joining in de-
nunciation of alcohol and saving
what they never would have allowed
us to say; they would have called us
/ ex.ravagant propaCandisfs
Amid the on-sweep of progress, let
us Keep heads clear, minds opsn y
conviction as 10 The full truth iudg-
ment sure and wellbalanced In
Weighing and selecting what is true.
in discarding what is proven untrue
/ or what is of doubtful authority in
the evidence against alcohol. There
Is evidence enough on which there
can be no question Thus shall we
gain in mower as we try to teach the
| people about alcohol; lay foundations
which no criticism can shake; gain
in flexibilitv and reasonableness and
winsomeness in presenting the facts
which in time are as certain to drive
alcohol permanently from its reign