Evening star., 1951-10-28
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Fight Against Him
Is Defense Move
By RondoIph Leiqh

JOilil odTleycOTn Is coming Dack as
a major issue. This time, however,
he is being handled with gloves. The
red-nosed old fellow has so many
friends that no one dares either
shove him around or imply that he
needs support. This touchy issue
is being handled as a defense meas
ure.
The shortage of workers is more
acute than at any time in our his
tory. The military and industry are
scraping the bottom of the man.
power barrel and the bottom, say
the experts, smells of alcohol. To be
precise, about million persons,
\ mostly men, are in such an advanced
stage of alcoholism that they are
military and industrial, and probably
social, problems.
They are young men. or maturing
at the height Of their technical skill.
The erratic paths begin at about 80
years. That is why industry gets in
the picture. The movement has the
aid Of many State and educational
institutions. with Yale's Center of
Alcoholic Studies in the lead.
intolerance Is Out
Two things stand out in the new
approach. First, the cold proof of
the increase in drunkenness in the
last 10 years. Next. avoidance of any
hint Of intolerance" in the new
crusade. A corporation which pio-
neered in this work felt constrained
to state: Those who drink 'juSt-to-
be-sociable' form the great majority
of those who use alcoholic beverages.
We are not interested in this type of
drinking because it does not interfere
with life at work or at home"
Having made that concession to
tolerance. the study then goes on to
show that drinking not only cripples
war output but ruins thousands Of
homes. The real emphasis, however.
is on industry. The issue of the
transition from social to anti-social
drinking is entirely disregarded.
Perhaps the campaign will be all
the more successful because of its
new approach. Certainly the figures
are startling enough. 1t also looks as
if the problem will get worse, if more
is not done about it soon.
Relotion to lnflotion
One fact that stands out is that
drunkenness increases with (or has
been contemporaneous With the ri;e
in wages, and imitation in general.
Court records as collected by these
experts show that drunkenness. and
drunkenness with disorder decreased
with the coming of the depression and
only began to rise above the Prohibi-
tion-day level when wages and profits
began to climb. Since Pearl Harbor.
drunkenness has kept well ahead Of
imitation in upward swing.
1t is also shown that John Bar
leycorn has equal success in nearly all
classes. One trade skeleton proved
to be myth. The drunken printer
label is totally unjust, doubtless the
invention Of tipSy editor.
In the Barleycorn graphs, there
is one curve which runs an independ-
ent course and is puzzling at first.
Arrests for drunken driving, which,
just before Pearl Harbor, shot far
above the other curves for drunken
ness. turn sharply downward soon
thereafter. Only recently has this
curve started timidly upward behind
the others. The explanation is in the
heavy campaigns against such offen-
ders by courts and police, beginning
about 1912.
Three Stoees on the Skids
Far more significant than court
records. however, are the case his
tories buried in the files of the cor
porations and now under study. Tnty
tell the same story as the court rec
ords as to alcoholics, but in differ
ent way. There the man who is slip-
ping goes rather swiftly through three
stages. He can take it or leave it, but
when in doubt takes it. Next he is
listed as problem case. Soon there
after he is on his family or the State.
The almost unvarying nature Of
this cycle, coupled with the fact that
many of these men were technicians
Just coming to the height of their
usefulness. prompted the first rehabil-
itation efforts. The movement has
spread rapidly, especially in organi-
cations where team work counts and
there is possible danger to others
in the case of man unSteadied by
drink.
Success in Rehabilitation
The success of the work has been
substantial. For instance. absen-
teeism for problem men has dropped
on working days to around per
cent. Nevert ''oeless sponsors of the
system are .lot willing to make
strong claims. They are impressed
by the fact that while nearly half
the men involved have improved
to the point where there is no OBJ
servable interference with their
work, a good many have quit rather
than be regarded as problems.
Most disturbing of all, perhaps, IS
the fact that such large numbers
have to be turned over as problem
cases to their specialists by the
companies and so few go in for
treatment of their own volition.
Alcoholics Anonymous is playing an
important part in this work.
Treated as Disease
The system is based on treating
alcoholism as a disease and trying
to take away the stigma attached
to it. The friends and family of
an alcoholic must not draw away
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