New Britain herald., 1922-08-25
OPPOSED ID TOTAL
 ABSTINENCE IDEA
Cornell Physician Says People
 Should Drink to Be Healthy

London, Aug. 25.-All American doctors are regarded by foreign med teal men as more or less expert con- corning alcohol, both as regards the consequence of going without 1t alto gether; over-indulgence and the va rious stages Of inebriety.
 Therefore the assembled doctors at the meeting of the British Medical Association at Glasgow listened with great interest to what Dr. John T. MacCurdy, Of Cornell Medical college, l had to say about alcohol in its re- ! lation to human economy" Each one of us In varying degrees, | he said has the same difficulty in meeting the world as the unfortunates who demonstrate their incapacity dra- matically. The "normals" drugged themselves with cheap fiction; the- aters, and moving pictures; above all they forgot themselves in social in tercourse.
 When, however, q man is tired or oppressed with care" Dr. MacCurdy went on, how can he forget his ob- sessing anyieties sufficiently to be-
 
 amount of alcohol will give the neces- sary relaxation. Conviliality is more important for the maintenance of our mental ability and effectiveness than we realize. Innumerable people are happier and therefore healthier be- caues they indulge moderately in alcohol.
 We live in an imperfect world imperfect largely because we have not yet gained the capacity to govern our own instincts. Alcohol is a crutch that man has discovered to help him with this stability"
 Dr. MacCurdy dealt with what he called the 'paranoiac group" In them, he said a drink or two brought out quarrelsome and dangerous ten- dencies. They were apt to imagine sights and insults. Frequently they were women haters, and affected the company of men almost exclusively.
 These men are not well-adapted people, and rebel at discipline or au- thority. Drink brings these anti-so- cial tendencies to the surface. AS marriage makes the most persistent demand for social adaptation that we know of many of these men begin to drink only after marriage.
 The innate rebellion at the bond age of marriage appears when alcohol has liberated their inhibi.ions. They become ouerulous and beat or abuse their wives every Saturday night. Later delusions and infdelity may ap- pear, and eventually become fixed. Then the victim becomes certifable, and is confined
 Sir James Barr. of Liverpool con tinuing the discussion said that the main value Of alcohol was social.
 People like myself said Sir James take it because they like it. A great deal of soioal unrest is due to the high cost of alcohol. I notice that cuthroats in Ireland and Russia are largely teetotalers.
 Dr. C. Sullivan, medical superin tendent of Broadmoor Asylum, said that alcohol, as regards insanity, Is a negligible factor
 Dr. NJ. Hindhede, of Copenha gen, , discussed the effect of the severely | restricted supply of alcohol on nor -ality in Denmark. The surprising | result of the war-rationing system. he | said, which included the restriction of | alcohol, was not the reduction of the rate but the rapidity of the reduction, The most natural explain ation of this seemed to be that the effects of alcohol were not limited to drunkards only The death rate of the whole country dropped from 12 5 to 1o.4 per 1000, which was the lowest mortality figure that had ever been registered in any European at any time