South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-09-17
COCKTAIL" LURES +
ADDICT TO MISERY
British Aristocrat is Venomous
in Denunciation of Mod
ern Drink.

LONDON. Sept 16-"The cock
tail is poisonous; worse than that.
iJ Is an insidious drink which lures
IS addicts 70 worse misery than
any real drugs have ever done"
That - he latest pronouncement
OF Sir Claude Champion de Cres-
p.gny. the last Of the old Corinth-
fans in London and whose ances-
tors came over with William the
ConquerOr.
Sir Claude represents the last OF
the old feudal knights. Every Mon
day night in season or out Of sea
son. he hlis-and very well fills at
ths.-the same seat at the National
Sporting club. when that institu-
ton puts on its usual boxing pro-
gramme.
But It Il to some other age that
Sir Claude belongs A few months
ago a cousin Of his whose name
end armorial bearings are writ
large In Burke's and Debbre.t's
Feerages, offended the old gentle
man on some matter OF family dis
Pute, and a law case was threat
cred Sir Claude startled London
society and the aristrocracy by de-
clinfng TO join issue with his aristo-
cratic relative in cour. and chal-
lenged him instead TO a duel
DenOunces Law Courts.
The law courts" he said. ARE
the refuge OF the proletariat. No
blemen and gentlemen must settle
their disputes on the field Of honor,
with rapiers in their hands. and not
have the family secrets argued over
by middle-class lawyers and de-
cided by low-class jurymen."
so serious was Re that the king
| had TO intervene, but the affair had
/ to be settled outside the law courts.
1t was in the National Sporting
/ club that the International News
/ Service correspondent ordered a
double Martini for his friend from
Texas. and by good fortune our
seats were next to the one occupied
by the bold bs.ronet aforemen-
toned.
He splu+tered over his half pint
OF fruity port when he heard the
order and gave vent 70 his indigna-
I ton. That's the curse of the
agei" he doomed Concentrated
drinking. You merely drink cock
fails because you achieve the feel
ings of drunkenness without any Of
The pleasure OF appeasing your
trirst. Go on drinking these COCK
tails. with their wild. hilarious re-
suits, and you will have this coun-
try as dry as America.
Good, wholesome drink never
harmed anybody. Damn! A man
is a man who can drink his stoup
/ Of ale or his pint of port. but what
is there - those f1ddling thimble-
fUls of concentrated alcohol? That
is a mystery 20 ne.
Drink For Effect"
Look at all you young men. You
merely take a drink for the after
sensations-not TO quench an hon
est thirst That is why you scorn
wholesome home brewed ale or
| health giving port and AXE TO those
poisonous connections invented by
some devil in a hurry. Bah!
And, ike all gentlemen OF his
1 class. Sir Claude wrote TO the
/ Times about 1t. That raised the in
teresting question OF the origin Of
| the cocktail. and very soon the dis
! CT ssion in the newspapers became
academic and historical
/ One historian Ga gourmet. as
welD traced the origin of the cock
tail to the old cockfghting days at
| Hampton Court. when the owner of
| the victorious gamecock stood
drinks TO the number Of feathers
I his bird had plucked from the tail
/ OF its opponent.
One day the owner OF the victori-
I Gus gamecock was so poor that he
/ could only afford two fashions Of
( old Tom Gin. so to exc II out they
\ had to pour II out by the thimble-
/ full. and Inadvertently the bartender
/ dropped a portion OF Anyostura BIT
/ ter into the potion. The drink pro-
vogue. and the cocktail was the
/ Americanized outcome OF the
aperitif.