The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-08-09
Tobacco and Heredity
BY D. H. Kress, in The No-Tobacco Journal

years ago, IN defense OF the sale OF the
milder alcoholic beverages as beer and wine,
"the desire for something more stimulating
than anything found in brook or cistern is
natural one" | admit it is almost
universal desire, but it is far from being
natural desire There is no desire for
anything more stimulating than what is
found in brooks or cisterns among horses
or other animals. Even the monkey. most
nearly resembling man in structure has no
craving for anything stronger than the
liquid which floats the mighty steamships.
The craving is confined to the human race
and chiefly to the children of parents who
use narcotics.
Girls possess the same craving that boys
do. The only thing that saves them from
smoking cigarettes is public predjudice Let
public predjudice be removed, and the
millions of nervous women in America will
****** take to them as naturally as the
duckling takes to the water
But woe be to America when her women
take up with this habit. Woman has thus
far been conservor of racial vigor in this
respect. We are all thankful that our
mothers were not smokers. Conditions are
bad enough in America as it is, with men
and boys smoking, but when women and
girls take up with the practice the nation
is practically doomed
The North American Indians among
whom smoke inhalation had its origin are
practically eliminated because both women
and men among them smoked.
The natives of New Zealand, pronounced
by Captain Cook the finest people civiliza-
ton had ever encountered and perfect in
physique and still young at 90. are now
race of degenerates. Out of 10000 less
than 10000 of them are left. Civilized man
introduced to them alcohol and tobacco.
They regarded them as gifts from the gods.
Men and women, young and old, began to
use them. AS a result this noble race has
about disappeared
One hundred and fifty years ago, there
were, it is estimated, $4,000 Hawaiians.
The white man entered their domain and
with him the twin evil alcohol and tobacco.
Their women smoke as do the men, They
reasoned, and reasoned logically, if tobacco
is good for men it is equally good for
women, and so both men and women took
up with the habit. The latest census re-
port shows that less than 10000 of them are
left. The death of the last full blooded
Hawaiian is not far in the future
Fortunately in America cigarette smok-
ing among women is confined practically to
harlots and the SO termed upper class.
Should Americas existence depend upon
these she too would meet with the fate of
the Hawaiian Islanders, for smoking women
soon become sterile.
France has been, up to the time of the
war, the greatest consumer of alcoholic bev-
erages of any country in the world 1t is
true, men and women, dead drunk, are
not often seen on her streets They drink
the milder alcoholic beverages which keeps
them in continuous state of mild intoxica-
ton. This is really more injurious to the
germ plasm and offspring than an occasional
spree. The women of France are given
more to cigarette smoking than are Ameri-
can women France is following fast in
the trail of the Hawaiian Before the war
her death exceeded her births The six
months preceding the war the number of
deaths exceeded the births by over $4,000.
In other words France was being depopu-
lated at the rate of over $4,000 annually
The decline in births greatly increased, and
also the mortality, during the period of war.
Among the civilian population alone the
death rate during the year 1917 exceeded
he birth rate by three quarters of million.
We know the war has been largely respon-
sible for this tremendous falling off in the
civilian population. After war conditions
will show no improvement, over pre-war
conditions for the use of cigarettes has
greatly increased both among men and
women. France may win in the war with
Germany, but she is in great danger of being
defeated by the little white slaver," and
other associated evils.
America has made some tremendous
strides downward the past few years, and
bids fair to be Frances close second in race
decline. Through the ingenious advertis-
ing schemes of tobacco concerns innocent
men and women and benevolent and relig-
lous organizations, have been enlisted in
boosting the tobacco trade The increase
in the sale of cigarettes has been phenom-
inal.
Nothing like it has probably ever been
witnessed on this earth before Almost
everybody among the male population now
smokes. Among women the habit is great
ly increasing The experiences of nations
and laboratory experiments fully harmonic
in revealing that degeneracy always follows
in the wake of tobacco smoking.
This degeneracy is witnessed by the great
army of defective children of school age.
America alone has over nine millions of
them. America is becoming more and more
degenerate and degenerate tree will bear
degenerate fruit. In time it will cease to
bear.
The Emperor Louis Napoleon of France