{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13509/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13509","id":"gutenberg_13509","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13509","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Drugs/Alcohol/Pharmacology","Category: Health & Medicine","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Temperance"],"text":"Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 13509-h.htm or 13509-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/5/0/13509/13509-h/13509-h.htm)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/5/0/13509/13509-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\nGRAPPLING WITH THE MONSTER\n\nor, The Curse and the Cure of Strong Drink\n\nby\n\nT. S. ARTHUR\n\nAuthor of \"Ten Nights in a Bar-Room,\" \"Three Years in a Man-Trap,\"\n\"Cast Adrift,\" \"Danger,\" etc.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: IN THE MONSTER'S CLUTCHES. Body and Brain on Fire.]\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nIn preparing this, his latest volume, the author found himself\nembarrassed from the beginning, because of the large amount of material\nwhich came into his hands, and the consequent difficulty of selection\nand condensation. There is not a chapter which might not have been\nextended to twice its present length, nor a fact stated, or argument\nused, which might not have been supplemented by many equally pertinent\nand conclusive. The extent to which alcohol curses the whole people\ncannot be shown in a few pages: the sad and terrible history would fill\nhundreds of volumes. And the same may be said of the curse which this\npoisonous substance lays upon the souls and bodies of men. Fearful as is\nthe record which will be found in the chapters devoted to the curse of\ndrink, let the reader bear in mind that a thousandth part has not been\ntold.\n\nIn treating of the means of reformation, prevention and cure, our effort\nhas been to give to each agency the largest possible credit for what it\nis doing. There is no movement, organization or work, however broad or\nlimited in its sphere, which has for its object the cure of drunkenness\nin the individual, or the suppression of the liquor traffic in the\nState, that is not contributing its measure of service to the great\ncause every true temperance advocate has at heart; and what we largely\nneed is, toleration for those who do not see with us, nor act with us in\nour special methods. Let us never forget the Divine admonition--\"Forbid\nhim not: for he that is not against us is for us.\"\n\nPatience, toleration and self-repression are of vital importance in any\ngood cause. If we cannot see with another, let us be careful that, by\nopposition, we do not cripple him in his work. If we can assist him by\nfriendly counsel to clearer seeing, or, by a careful study of his\nmethods, gain a large efficiency for our own, far more good will be done\nthan by hard antagonism, which rarely helps, and too surely blinds and\nhinders.\n\nOur book treats of the curse and cure of drunkenness. How much better\nnot to come under the terrible curse! How much better to run no risks\nwhere the malady is so disastrous, and the cure so difficult!\n\nTo young men who are drifting easily into the dangerous drinking habits\nof society, we earnestly commend the chapters in which will be found the\nmedical testimony against alcohol, and also the one on \"The Growth and\nPower of Appetite.\" They will see that it is impossible for a man to use\nalcoholic drinks regularly without laying the foundation for both\nphysical and mental diseases, and, at the same time, lessening his power\nto make the best of himself in his life-work; while beyond this lies the\nawful risk of acquiring an appetite which may enslave, degrade and ruin\nhim, body and soul, as it is degrading and ruining its tens of thousands\nyearly.\n\nIt is sincerely hoped that many may be led by the facts here presented,\nto grapple with the monster and to thus promote his final overthrow.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n  CHAPTER I.\n  The Monster, Strong Drink\n\n  CHAPTER II.\n  It Curses the Body\n\n  CHAPTER III.\n  It Curses the Body--Continued\n\n  CHAPTER IV.\n  It Curses the Soul\n\n  CHAPTER V.\n  Not a Food, and very Limited in its Range as a Medicine\n\n  CHAPTER VI.\n  The Growth and Power of Appetite\n\n  CHAPTER VII.\n  Means of Cure\n\n  CHAPTER VIII.\n  Inebriate Asylums\n\n  CHAPTER IX.\n  Reformatory Homes\n\n  CHAPTER X.\n  Tobacco as an Incitant to the Use of Alcoholic Stimulants, and an\n  Obstacle in the way of a Permanent Reformation\n\n  CHAPTER XI.\n  The Woman's Crusade\n\n  CHAPTER XII.\n  The Woman's National Christian Temperance Union\n\n  CHAPTER XIII.\n  Reform Clubs\n\n  CHAPTER XIV.\n  Gospel Temperance\n\n  CHAPTER XV.\n  Temperance Coffee-Houses and Friendly Inns\n\n  CHAPTER XVI.\n  Temperance Literature\n\n  CHAPTER XVII.\n  License a Failure and a Disgrace\n\n  CHAPTER XVIII.\n  Prohibition\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\nIN THE MONSTER'S CLUTCHES\n\nGOD'S BEST BEVERAGE, PURE WATER\n\nHEAPING BURDENS UPON POVERTY\n\nAN UTTER WRECK\n\n\"TAKE WARNING BY MY CAREER\"\n\nCRAZED BY DRINK\n\nALCOHOL AND GAMBLING (12 _sequence pictures_)\n\nFOUR STAGES OF THE DOWNWARD COURSE\n\nA VICTIM OF THE DRINKING CLUB\n\nFINANCIAL VIEW OF THE LICENSE SYSTEM\n\n\n\n     _\"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy\n     bottle to him, and makest him drunken also._\"--HABAKKUK ii, 15.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE MONSTER, STRONG DRINK.\n\n\nThere are two remarkable passages in a very old book, known as the\nProverbs of Solomon, which cannot be read too often, nor pondered too\ndeeply. Let us quote them here:\n\n1. \"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived\nthereby is not wise.\"\n\n2. \"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath\nbabblings? who hath wounds without cause? who hath, redness of eyes?\nThey that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look\nnot thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the\ncup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent\nand stingeth like an adder.\"\n\nIt is many thousands of years since this record was made, and to-day, as\nin that far distant age of the world, wine is a mocker, and strong drink\nraging; and still, as then, they who tarry long at the wine; who go to\nseek mixed wine, discover that, \"_at the last_,\" it biteth like a\nserpent and stingeth like an adder.\n\nThis mocking and raging! These bitings and stingings! These woes and\nwoundings! Alas, for the exceeding bitter cry of their pain, which is\nheard above every other cry of sorrow and suffering.\n\n\nALCOHOL AN ENEMY.\n\nThe curse of strong drink! Where shall we begin, where end, or how, in\nthe clear and truthful sentences that wrest conviction from doubt, make\nplain the allegations we shall bring against an enemy that is sowing\ndisease, poverty, crime and sorrow throughout the land?\n\nAmong our most intelligent, respectable and influential people, this\nenemy finds a welcome and a place of honor. Indeed, with many he is\nregarded as a friend and treated as such. Every possible opportunity is\ngiven him to gain favor in the household and with intimate and valued\nfriends. He is given the amplest confidence and the largest freedom; and\nhe always repays this confidence with treachery and spoliation; too\noften blinding and deceiving his victims while his work of robbery goes\non. He is not only a robber, but a cruel master; and his bondsmen and\nabject slaves are to be found in hundreds and thousands, and even tens\nof thousands, of our homes, from the poor dwelling of the day-laborer,\nup to the palace of the merchant-prince.\n\n\nPLACE AND POWER IN THE HOUSEHOLD.\n\nOf this fact no one is ignorant; and yet, strange to tell, large numbers\nof our most intelligent, respectable and influential people continue to\nsmile upon this enemy; to give him place and power in their households,\nand to cherish him as a friend; but with this singular reserve of\nthought and purpose, that he is to be trusted just so far and no\nfarther. He is so pleasant and genial, that, for the sake of his favor,\nthey are ready to encounter the risk of his acquiring, through the\nlicense they afford, the vantage-ground of a pitiless enemy!\n\nBut, it is not only in their social life that the people hold this enemy\nin favorable regard, and give him the opportunity to hurt and destroy.\nOur great Republic has entered into a compact with him, and, for a\nmoney-consideration, given him the\n\n\nFREEDOM OF THE NATION;\n\nso that he can go up and down the land at will. And not only has our\ngreat Republic done this but the States of which it is composed, with\nonly one or two exceptions, accord to him the same freedom. Still more\nsurprising, in almost every town and city, his right to plunder,\ndegrade, enslave and destroy the people has been established under the\nsafe guarantee of law.\n\nLet us give ourselves to the sober consideration of what we are\nsuffering at his hands, and take measures of defense and safety, instead\nof burying our heads in the sand, like the foolish, ostrich, while the\nhuntsmen are sweeping down upon us.\n\n\nENORMOUS CONSUMPTION.\n\nOnly those who have given the subject careful consideration have any\ntrue idea of the enormous annual consumption, in this country, of\nspirits, wines and malt liquors. Dr. Hargreaves, in \"Our Wasted\nResources,\" gives these startling figures: It amounted in 1870 to\n72,425,353 gallons of domestic spirits, 188,527,120 gallons of fermented\nliquors, 1,441,747 gallons of imported spirits, 9,088,894 gallons of\nwines, 34,239 gallons of spirituous compounds, and 1,012,754 gallons of\nale, beer, etc., or a total of 272,530,107 gallons for 1870, with a\ntotal increase of 30,000,000 gallons in 1871, and of 35,000,000 gallons\nin addition in 1872.\n\nAll this in a single year, and at a cost variously estimated at from six\nto seven hundred millions of dollars! Or, a sum, as statistics tell us,\nnearly equal to the cost of all the flour, cotton and woolen goods,\nboots and shoes, clothing, and books and newspapers purchased by the\npeople in the same period of time.\n\nIf this were all the cost? If the people wasted no more than seven\nhundred millions of dollars on these beverages every year, the question\nof their use would be only one of pecuniary loss or gain. But what\nfarther, in connection with this subject, are we told by statistics?\nWhy, that, in consequence of using these beverages, we have six hundred\nthousand drunkards; and that of these, sixty thousand die every year.\nThat we have over three hundred murders and four hundred suicides. That\nover two hundred thousand children are left homeless and friendless. And\nthat at least eighty per cent. of all the crime and pauperism of the\nland arises from the consumption of this enormous quantity of\nintoxicating drinks.\n\nIn this single view, the question of intemperance assumes a most\nappalling aspect. The\n\n\nPOVERTY AND DESTITUTION\n\nfound in so large a portion of our laboring classes, and their\nconsequent restlessness and discontent, come almost entirely from the\nwaste of substance, idleness and physical incapacity for work, which\nattend the free use of alcoholic beverages. Of the six or seven hundred\nmillions of dollars paid annually for these beverages, not less than\ntwo-thirds are taken out of the earnings of our artisans and laborers,\nand those who, like them, work for wages.\n\n\nLOSS TO LABOR.\n\nBut the loss does not, of course, stop here. The consequent waste of\nbodily vigor, and the idleness that is ever the sure accompaniment of\ndrinking, rob this class of at least as much more. Total abstinence\nsocieties, building associations, and the use of banks for savings,\ninstead of the dram-sellers' banks for losings, would do more for the\nwell-being of our working classes than all the trades-unions or labor\ncombinations, that ever have or ever will exist. The laboring man's\nprotective union lies in his own good common sense, united with\ntemperance, self-denial and economy. There are very many in our land who\nknow this way; and their condition, as compared with those who know it\nnot, or knowing, will not walk therein, is found to be in striking\ncontrast.\n\n\nTAXATION.\n\nBesides the wasting drain for drink, and the loss in national wealth,\ngrowing out of the idleness and diminished power for work, that\ninvariably follows the use of alcohol in any of its forms, the people\nare heavily taxed for the repression and punishment of crimes, and the\nsupport of paupers and destitute children. A fact or two will give the\nreader some idea of what this enormous cost must be. In \"The Twentieth\nAnnual Report of the Executive Committee of the Prison Association of\nNew York,\" is this sentence: \"There can be no doubt that, of all the\nproximate sources of crime, the use of intoxicating liquors is the most\nprolific and the most deadly. Of other causes it may be said that they\nslay their thousands; of this it may be acknowledged that it slays its\ntens of thousands. The committee asked for the opinion of the jail\nofficers in nearly every county in the State as to the proportion of\ncommitments due, either directly or indirectly, to strong drink.\"\n\nThe whole number of commitments is given in these words: \"Not less than\n60,000 to 70,000 [or the sixtieth portion of the inhabitants of the\nState of New York] human beings--men, women and children--either guilty,\nor arrested on suspicion of being guilty of crime, pass every year\nthrough these institutions.\" The answers made to the committee by the\njail officers, varied from two-thirds as the lowest, to nine-tenths as\nthe highest; and, on taking the average of their figures, it gave\nseven-eighths as the proportion of commitments for crime directly\nascribed to the use of intoxicating drinks!\n\nTaking this as the proportion of those who are made criminals through\nintemperance, let us get at some estimate of the cost to tax-payers. We\nfind it stated in Tract No. 28, issued by the National Temperance\nSociety, that \"a committee was appointed by the Ulster County Temperance\nSociety, in 1861, for the express purpose of ascertaining, from reliable\nsources, the percentage on every dollar tax paid to the county to\nsupport her paupers and criminal justice. The committee, after due\nexamination, came to the conclusion that upwards of sixty cents on the\ndollar was for the above purpose. This amount was required, _according\nto law_, to be paid by every tax-payer as a _penalty, or rather as a rum\nbill_, for allowing the liquor traffic to be carried on in the above\ncounty. What is said of Ulster County, may, more or less, if a like\nexamination were entered into, be said of every other county, not only\nin the State of New York, but in every county in the United States.\"\n\nFrom the same tract we take this statement: \"In a document published by\nthe Legislature of the State of New York, for 1863, being the report of\nthe Secretary of the State to the Legislature, we have the following\nstatements: 'The whole number of paupers relieved during the same\nperiod, was 261,252. During the year 1862, 257,354.' These numbers would\nbe in the ratio of one pauper annually to every fifteen inhabitants\nthroughout the State. In an examination made into the history of those\npaupers by a competent committee, _seven-eighths of them were reduced_\nto this low and degraded condition, directly or indirectly, through\nintemperance.\"\n\n\nCURSING THE POOR.\n\nLooking at our laboring classes, with the fact before us, that the cost\nof the liquor sold annually by retail dealers is equal to nearly $25 for\nevery man, woman and child in our whole population, and we can readily\nsee why so much destitution is to be found among them. Throwing out\nthose who abstain altogether; the children, and a large proportion of\nwomen, and those who take a glass only now and then, and it will be seen\nthat for the rest the average of cost must be more than treble. Among\nworking men who drink the cheaper beverages, the ratio of cost to each\ncannot fall short of a hundred dollars a year. With many, drink consumes\nfrom a fourth to one-half of their entire earnings. Is it, then, any\nwonder that so much poverty and suffering are to be found among them?\n\n\nCRIME AND PAUPERISM.\n\nThe causes that produce crime and pauperism in our own country, work the\nsame disastrous results in other lands where intoxicants are used. An\nEnglish writer, speaking of the sad effects of intemperance in Great\nBritain, says: \"One hundred million pounds, which is now annually\nwasted, is a sum as great as was spent in seven years upon all the\nrailways of the kingdom--in the very heyday of railway projects; a sum\nso vast, that if saved annually, for seven years, would blot out the\nnational debt!\" Another writer says, \"that in the year 1865, over\n\u00a36,000,000, or a tenth part of the whole national revenue, was required\nto support her paupers.\" Dr. Lees, of London, in speaking of Ireland,\nsays: \"Ireland has been a poor nation from want of capital, and has\nwanted capital chiefly because the people have preferred swallowing it\nto saving it.\" The Rev. G. Holt, chaplain of the Birmingham Workhouse,\nsays: \"From my own experience, I am convinced of the accuracy of a\nstatement made by the late governor, that of every one hundred persons\nadmitted, ninety-nine were reduced to this state of humiliation and\ndependence, either directly or indirectly, through the prevalent and\nruinous drinking usages.\"\n\n[Illustration: HEAPING BURDENS UPON POVERTY.]\n\nMr. Charles Buxton, M.P., in his pamphlet, \"How to Stop Drunkenness,\"\nsays: \"It would not be too much to say that if all drinking of fermented\nliquors could be done away, crime of every kind would fall to a fourth\nof its present amount, and the whole tone of moral feeling in the lower\norder might be indefinitely raised. Not only does this vice produce all\nkinds of wanton mischief, but it has also a negative effect of great\nimportance. It is the mightiest of all the forces that clog the progress\nof good. * * * The struggle of the school, the library and the church,\nall united against the beer-shop and the gin-palace, is but one\ndevelopment of the war between Heaven and hell. It is, in short,\nintoxication that fills our jails; it is intoxication that fills our\nlunatic asylums; it is intoxication that fills our work-houses with\npoor. Were it not for this one cause, pauperism would be nearly\nextinguished in England.\"\n\n\nTHE BLIGHT EVERYWHERE.\n\nWe could go on and fill pages with corroborative facts and figures,\ndrawn from the most reliable sources. But these are amply sufficient to\nshow the extent and magnitude of the curse which the liquor traffic has\nlaid upon our people. Its blight is everywhere--on our industries, on\nour social life; on our politics, and even on our religion.\n\nAnd, now, let us take the individual man himself, and see in what manner\nthis treacherous enemy deals with him when he gets him into his power.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nIT CURSES THE BODY.\n\n\nFirst as to the body. One would suppose, from the marred and scarred,\nand sometimes awfully disfigured forms and faces of men who have\nindulged in intoxicating drinks, which are to be seen everywhere and\namong all classes of society, that there would be no need of other\ntestimony to show that alcohol is an enemy to the body. And yet, strange\nto say, men of good sense, clear judgment and quick perception in all\nmoral questions and in the general affairs of life, are often so blind,\nor infatuated here, as to affirm that this substance, alcohol, which\nthey use under the various forms of wine, brandy, whisky, gin, ale or\nbeer, is not only harmless, when taken in moderation--each being his own\njudge as to what \"moderation\" means--but actually useful and nutritious!\n\nUntil within the last fifteen or twenty years, a large proportion of the\nmedical profession not only favored this view, but made constant\nprescription of alcohol in one form or another, the sad results of which\ntoo often made their appearance in exacerbations of disease, or in the\nformation of intemperate habits among their patients. Since then, the\nchemist and the physiologist have subjected alcohol to the most rigid\ntests, carried on often for years, and with a faithfulness that could\nnot be satisfied with guess work, or inference, or hasty conclusion.\n\n\nALCOHOL NOT A FOOD AND OF DOUBTFUL USE AS A MEDICINE.\n\nAs a result of these carefully-conducted and long-continued examinations\nand experiments, the medical profession stands to-day almost as a unit\nagainst alcohol; and makes solemn public declaration to the people that\nit \"is not shown to have a definite food value by any of the usual\nmethods of chemical analysis or physiological investigations;\" and that\nas a medicine its range is very limited, admitting often of a\nsubstitute, and that it should never be taken unless prescribed by a\nphysician.\n\nReports of these investigations to which we have referred have appeared,\nfrom time to time, in the medical journals of Europe and America, and\ntheir results are now embodied in many of the standard and most reliable\ntreatises and text-books of the medical profession.\n\nIn this chapter we shall endeavor to give our readers a description of\nthe changes and deteriorations which take place in the blood, nerves,\nmembranes, tissues and organs, in consequence of the continued\nintroduction of alcohol into the human body; and in doing so, we shall\nquote freely from medical writers, in order that our readers may have\nthe testimony before them in its directest form, and so be able to judge\nfor themselves as to its value.\n\n\nDIGESTION.\n\nAnd here, in order to give those who are not familiar with, the process\nof digestion, a clear idea of that important operation, and the effect\nproduced when alcohol is taken with food, we quote from the lecture of\nan English physician, Dr. Henry Monroe, on \"The Physiological Action of\nAlcohol.\" He says:\n\n\"Every kind of substance employed by man as food consists of sugar,\nstarch, oil and glutinous matters, mingled together in various\nproportions; these are designed for the support of the animal frame. The\nglutinous principles of food--_fibrine, albumen_ and _casein_--are\nemployed to build up the structure; while the _oil, starch_ and _sugar_\nare chiefly used to generate heat in the body.\n\n\"The first step of the digestive process is the breaking up of the food\nin the mouth by means of the jaws and teeth. On this being done, the\nsaliva, a viscid liquor, is poured into the mouth from the salivary\nglands, and as it mixes with the food, it performs a very important part\nin the operation of digestion, rendering the starch of the food soluble,\nand gradually changing it into a sort of sugar, after which the other\nprinciples become more miscible with it. Nearly a pint of saliva is\nfurnished every twenty-four hours for the use of an adult. When the\nfood has been masticated and mixed with the saliva, it is then passed\ninto the stomach, where it is acted upon by a juice secreted by the\nfilaments of that organ, and poured into the stomach in large quantities\nwhenever food comes in contact with its mucous coats. It consists of a\ndilute acid known to the chemists as hydrochloric acid, composed of\nhydrogen and chlorine, united together in certain definite proportions.\nThe gastric juice contains, also, a peculiar organic-ferment or\ndecomposing substance, containing nitrogen--something of the nature of\nyeast--termed _pepsine_, which is easily soluble in the acid just named.\nThat gastric juice acts as a simple chemical solvent, is proved by the\nfact that, after death, it has been known to dissolve the stomach\nitself.\"\n\n\nALCOHOL RETARDS DIGESTION.\n\n\"It is an error to suppose that, after a good dinner, a glass of spirits\nor beer assists digestion; or that any liquor containing alcohol--even\nbitter beer--can in any way assist digestion. Mix some bread and meat\nwith gastric juice; place them in a phial, and keep that phial in a\nsand-bath at the slow heat of 98 degrees, occasionally shaking briskly\nthe contents to imitate the motion of the stomach; you will find, after\nsix or eight hours, the whole contents blended into one pultaceous mass.\nIf to another phial of food and gastric juice, treated in the same way,\nI add a glass of pale ale or a quantity of alcohol, at the end of seven\nor eight hours, or even some days, the food is scarcely acted upon at\nall. This is a fact; and if you are led to ask why, I answer, because\nalcohol has the peculiar power of chemically affecting or decomposing\nthe gastric juice by precipitating one of its principal constituents,\nviz., pepsine, rendering its solvent properties much less efficacious.\nHence alcohol can not be considered either as food or as a solvent for\nfood. Not as the latter certainly, for it refuses to act with the\ngastric juice.\n\n\"'It is a remarkable fact,' says Dr. Dundas Thompson, 'that alcohol,\nwhen added to the digestive fluid, produces a white precipitate, so that\nthe fluid is no longer capable of digesting animal or vegetable matter.'\n'The use of alcoholic stimulants,' say Drs. Todd and Bowman, 'retards\ndigestion by coagulating the pepsine, an essential element of the\ngastric juice, and thereby interfering with its action. Were it not that\nwine and spirits are rapidly absorbed, the introduction of these into\nthe stomach, in any quantity, would be a complete bar to the digestion\nof food, as the pepsine would be precipitated from the solution as\nquickly as it was formed by the stomach.' Spirit, in any quantity, as a\ndietary adjunct, is pernicious on account of its antiseptic qualities,\nwhich resist the digestion of food by the absorption of water from its\nparticles, in direct antagonism to chemical operation.\"\n\n\nITS EFFECT ON THE BLOOD.\n\nDr. Richardson, in his lectures on alcohol, given both in England and\nAmerica, speaking of the action of this substance on the blood after\npassing from the stomach, says:\n\n\"Suppose, then, a certain measure of alcohol be taken into the stomach,\nit will be absorbed there, but, previous to absorption, it will have to\nundergo a proper degree of dilution with water, for there is this\npeculiarity respecting alcohol when it is separated by an animal\nmembrane from a watery fluid like the blood, that it will not pass\nthrough the membrane until it has become charged, to a given point of\ndilution, with water. It is itself, in fact, _so greedy for water, it\nwill pick it up from watery textures, and deprive them of it until, by\nits saturation, its power of reception is exhausted_, after which it\nwill diffuse into the current of circulating fluid.\"\n\nIt is this power of absorbing water from every texture with which\nalcoholic spirits comes in contact, that creates the burning thirst of\nthose who freely indulge in its use. Its effect, when it reaches the\ncirculation, is thus described by Dr. Richardson:\n\n\"As it passes through the circulation of the lungs it is exposed to the\nair, and some little of it, raised into vapor by the natural heat, is\nthrown off in expiration. If the quantity of it be large, this loss may\nbe considerable, and the odor of the spirit may be detected in the\nexpired breath. If the quantity be small, the loss will be comparatively\nlittle, as the spirit will be held in solution by the water in the\nblood. After it has passed through the lungs, and has been driven by the\nleft heart over the arterial circuit, it passes into what is called the\nminute circulation, or the structural circulation of the organism. The\narteries here extend into very small vessels, which are called\narterioles, and from these infinitely small vessels spring the equally\nminute radicals or roots of the veins, which are ultimately to become\nthe great rivers bearing the blood back to the heart. In its passage\nthrough this minute circulation the alcohol finds its way to every\norgan. To this brain, to these muscles, to these secreting or excreting\norgans, nay, even into this bony structure itself, it moves with the\nblood. In some of these parts which are not excreting, it remains for a\ntime diffused, and in those parts where there is a large percentage of\nwater, it remains longer than in other parts. From some organs which\nhave an open tube for conveying fluids away, as the liver and kidneys,\nit is thrown out or eliminated, and in this way a portion of it is\nultimately removed from the body. The rest passing round and round with\nthe circulation, is probably decomposed and carried off in new forms of\nmatter.\n\n\"When we know the course which the alcohol takes in its passage through\nthe body, from the period of its absorption to that of its elimination,\nwe are the better able to judge what physical changes it induces in the\ndifferent organs and structures with which it comes in contact. It\nfirst reaches the blood; but, as a rule, the quantity of it that enters\nis insufficient to produce any material effect on that fluid. If,\nhowever, the dose taken be poisonous or semi-poisonous, then even the\nblood, rich as it is in water--and it contains seven hundred and ninety\nparts in a thousand--is affected. The alcohol is diffused through this\nwater, and there it comes in contact with the other constituent parts,\nwith the fibrine, that plastic substance which, when blood is drawn,\nclots and coagulates, and which is present in the proportion of from two\nto three parts in a thousand; with the albumen which exists in the\nproportion of seventy parts; with the salts which yield about ten parts;\nwith the fatty matters; and lastly, with those minute, round bodies\nwhich float in myriads in the blood (which were discovered by the Dutch\nphilosopher, Leuwenhock, as one of the first results of microscopical\nobservation, about the middle of the seventeenth century), and which are\ncalled the blood globules or corpuscles. These last-named bodies are, in\nfact, cells; their discs, when natural, have a smooth outline, they are\ndepressed in the centre, and they are red in color; the color of the\nblood being derived from them. We have discovered in recent years that\nthere exist other corpuscles or cells in the blood in much smaller\nquantity, which are called white cells, and these different cells float\nin the blood-stream within the vessels. The red take the centre of the\nstream; the white lie externally near the sides of the vessels, moving\nless quickly. Our business is mainly with the red corpuscles. They\nperform the most important functions in the economy; they absorb, in\ngreat part, the oxygen which we inhale in breathing, and carry it to the\nextreme tissues of the body; they absorb, in great part, the carbonic\nacid gas which is produced in the combustion of the body in the extreme\ntissues, and bring that gas back to the lungs to be exchanged for oxygen\nthere; in short, they are the vital instruments of the circulation.\n\n\"With all these parts of the blood, with the water, fibrine, albumen,\nsalts, fatty matter and corpuscles, the alcohol comes in contact when it\nenters the blood, and, if it be in sufficient quantity, it produces\ndisturbing action. I have watched this disturbance very carefully on the\nblood corpuscles; for, in some animals we can see these floating along\nduring life, and we can also observe them from men who are under the\neffects of alcohol, by removing a speck of blood, and examining it with\nthe microscope. The action of the alcohol, when it is observable, is\nvaried. It may cause the corpuscles to run too closely together, and to\nadhere in rolls; it may modify their outline, making the clear-defined,\nsmooth, outer edge irregular or crenate, or even starlike; it may change\nthe round corpuscle into the oval form, or, in very extreme cases, it\nmay produce what I may call a truncated form of corpuscles, in which the\nchange is so great that if we did not trace it through all its stages,\nwe should be puzzled to know whether the object looked at were indeed a\nblood-cell. All these changes are due to the action of the spirit upon\nthe water contained in the corpuscles; upon the capacity of the spirit\nto extract water from them. During every stage of modification of\ncorpuscles thus described, their function to absorb and fix gases is\nimpaired, and when the aggregation of the cells, in masses, is great,\nother difficulties arise, for the cells, united together, pass less\neasily than they should through the minute vessels of the lungs and of\nthe general circulation, and impede the current, by which local injury\nis produced.\n\n\"A further action upon the blood, instituted by alcohol in excess, is\nupon the fibrine or the plastic colloidal matter. On this the spirit may\nact in two different ways, according to the degree in which it affects\nthe water that holds the fibrine in solution. It may fix the water with\nthe fibrine, and thus destroy the power of coagulation; or it may\nextract the water so determinately as to produce coagulation.\"\n\n\nON THE MINUTE CIRCULATION.\n\nThe doctor then goes on to describe the minute circulation through which\nthe constructive material in the blood is distributed to every part of\nthe body. \"From this distribution of blood in these minute vessels,\" he\nsays, \"the structure of organs derive their constituent parts; through\nthese vessels brain matter, muscle, gland, membrane, are given out from\nthe blood by a refined process of selection of material, which, up to\nthis time, is only so far understood as to enable us to say that it\nexists. The minute and intermediate vessels are more intimately\nconnected than any other part with the construction and with the\nfunction of the living matter of which the body is composed. Think you\nthat this mechanism is left uncontrolled? No; the vessels, small as they\nare, are under distinct control. Infinitely refined in structure, they\nnevertheless have the power of contraction and dilatation, which power\nis governed by nervous action of a special kind.\"\n\nNow, there are certain chemical agents, which, by their action on the\nnerves, have the power to paralyze and relax these minute blood-vessels,\nat their extreme points. \"The whole series of nitrates,\" says Dr.\nRichardson, \"possess this power; ether possesses it; but the great point\nI wish to bring forth is, that the substance we are specially dealing\nwith, alcohol, possesses the self-same power. By this influence it\nproduces all those peculiar effects which in every-day life are so\nfrequently illustrated.\"\n\n\nPARALYZES THE MINUTE BLOOD-VESSELS.\n\nIt paralyzes the minute blood-vessels, and allows them to become dilated\nwith the flowing blood.\n\n\"If you attend a large dinner party, you will observe, after the first\nfew courses, when the wine is beginning to circulate, a progressive\nchange in some of those about you who have taken wine. The face begins\nto get flushed, the eye brightens, and the murmur of conversation\nbecomes loud. What is the reason of that flushing of the countenance? It\nis the same as the flush from blushing, or from the reaction of cold, or\nfrom the nitrite of amyl. It is the dilatation of vessels following upon\nthe reduction of nervous control, which reduction has been induced by\nthe alcohol. In a word, the first stage, the stage of vascular\nexcitement from alcohol, has been established.\"\n\n\nHEART DISTURBANCE.\n\n\"The action of the alcohol extending so far does not stop there. With\nthe disturbance of power in the extreme vessels, more disturbance is set\nup in other organs, and the first organ that shares in it is the heart.\nWith each beat of the heart a certain degree of resistance is offered by\nthe vessels when their nervous supply is perfect, and the stroke of the\nheart is moderated in respect both to tension and to time. But when the\nvessels are rendered relaxed, the resistance is removed, the heart\nbegins to run quicker, like a watch from which the pallets have been\nremoved, and the heart-stroke, losing nothing in force, is greatly\nincreased in frequency, with a weakened recoil stroke. It is easy to\naccount, in this manner, for the quickened heart and pulse which\naccompany the first stage of deranged action from alcohol, and you will\nbe interested to know to what extent this increase of vascular action\nproceeds. The information on this subject is exceedingly curious and\nimportant.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"The stage of primary excitement of the circulation thus induced lasts\nfor a considerable time, but at length the heart flags from its\noveraction, and requires the stimulus of more spirit to carry it on in\nits work. Let us take what we may call a moderate amount of alcohol, say\ntwo ounces by volume, in form of wine, or beer, or spirits. What is\ncalled strong sherry or port may contain as much as twenty-five per\ncent. by volume. Brandy over fifty; gin, thirty-eight; rum, forty-eight;\nwhisky, forty-three; vin ordeinaire, eight; strong ale, fourteen;\nchampagne, ten to eleven; it matters not which, if the quantity of\nalcohol be regulated by the amount present in the liquor imbibed. When\nwe reach the two ounces, a distinct physiological effect follows,\nleading on to that first stage of excitement with which we are now\nconversant. The reception of the spirit arrested at this point, there\nneed be no important mischief done to the organism; but if the quantity\nimbibed be increased, further changes quickly occur. We have seen that\nall the organs of the body are built upon the vascular structures, and\ntherefore it follows that a prolonged paralysis of the minute\ncirculation must of necessity lead to disturbance in other organs than\nthe heart.\"\n\n\nOTHER ORGANS INVOLVED.\n\n\"By common observation, the flush seen on the cheek during the first\nstage of alcoholic excitation, is presumed to extend merely to the parts\nactually exposed to view. It cannot, however, be too forcibly impressed\nthat the condition is universal in the body. If the lungs could be seen,\nthey, too, would be found with their vessels injected; if the brain and\nspinal cord could be laid open to view, they would be discovered in the\nsame condition; if the stomach, the liver, the spleen, the kidneys or\nany other vascular organs or parts could be exposed, the vascular\nengorgement would be equally manifest. In the lower animals, I have been\nable to witness this extreme vascular condition in the lungs, and there\nare here presented to you two drawings from nature, showing, one the\nlungs in a natural state of an animal killed by a sudden blow, the other\nthe lungs of an animal killed equally suddenly, but at a time when it\nwas under the influence of alcohol. You will see, as if you were looking\nat the structures themselves, how different they are in respect to the\nblood which they contained, how intensely charged with blood is the lung\nin which the vessels had been paralyzed by the alcoholic Spirit.\"\n\n\nEFFECT ON THE BRAIN.\n\n\"I once had the unusual, though unhappy, opportunity of observing the\nsame phenomenon in the brain structure of a man, who, in a paroxysm of\nalcoholic excitement, decapitated himself under the wheel of a railway\ncarriage, and whose brain was instantaneously evolved from the skull by\nthe crash. The brain itself, entire, was before me within three minutes\nafter the death. It exhaled the odor of spirit most distinctly, and its\nmembranes and minute structures were vascular in the extreme. It looked\nas if it had been recently injected with vermilion. The white matter of\nthe cerebrum, studded with red points, could scarcely be distinguished,\nwhen it was incised, by its natural whiteness; and the pia-mater, or\ninternal vascular membrane covering the brain, resembled a delicate web\nof coagulated red blood, so tensely were its fine vessels engorged.\n\n\"I should add that this condition extended through both the larger and\nthe smaller brain, the cerebrum and cerebellum, but was not so marked in\nthe medulla or commencing portion of the spinal cord.\"\n\n\nTHE SPINAL CORD AND NERVES.\n\n\"The action of alcohol continued beyond the first stage, the function of\nthe spinal cord is influenced. Through this part of the nervous system\nwe are accustomed, in health, to perform automatic acts of a mechanical\nkind, which proceed systematically even when we are thinking or speaking\non other subjects. Thus a skilled workman will continue his mechanical\nwork perfectly, while his mind is bent on some other subject; and thus\nwe all perform various acts in a purely automatic way, without calling\nin the aid of the higher centres, except something more than ordinary\noccurs to demand their service, upon which we think before we perform.\nUnder alcohol, as the spinal centres become influenced, these pure\nautomatic acts cease to be correctly carried on. That the hand may reach\nany object, or the foot be correctly planted, the higher intellectual\ncentre must be invoked to make the proceeding secure. There follows\nquickly upon this a deficient power of co-ordination of muscular\nmovement. The nervous control of certain of the muscles is lost, and the\nnervous stimulus is more or less enfeebled. The muscles of the lower lip\nin the human subject usually fail first of all, then the muscles of the\nlower limbs, and it is worthy of remark that the extensor muscles give\nway earlier than the flexors. The muscles themselves, by this time, are\nalso failing in power; they respond more feebly than is natural to the\nnervous stimulus; they, too, are coming under the depressing influence\nof the paralyzing agent, their structure is temporarily deranged, and\ntheir contractile power reduced.\n\n\"This modification of the animal functions under alcohol, marks the\nsecond degree of its action. In young subjects, there is now, usually,\nvomiting with faintness, followed by gradual relief from the burden of\nthe poison.\"\n\n[Illustration: AN UTTER WRECK.]\n\n\nEFFECT ON THE BRAIN CENTRES.\n\n\"The alcoholic spirit carried yet a further degree, the cerebral or\nbrain centres become influenced; they are reduced in power, and the\ncontrolling influences of will and of judgment are lost. As these\ncentres are unbalanced and thrown into chaos, the rational part of the\nnature of the man gives way before the emotional, passional or organic\npart. The reason is now off duty, or is fooling with duty, and all the\nmere animal instincts and sentiments are laid atrociously bare. The\ncoward shows up more craven, the braggart more boastful, the cruel more\nmerciless, the untruthful more false, the carnal more degraded. '_In\nvino veritas_' expresses, even, indeed, to physiological accuracy, the\ntrue condition. The reason, the emotions, the instincts, are all in a\nstate of carnival, and in chaotic feebleness.\n\n\"Finally, the action of the alcohol still extending, the superior brain\ncentres are overpowered; the senses are beclouded, the voluntary\nmuscular prostration is perfected, sensibility is lost, and the body\nlies a mere log, dead by all but one-fourth, on which alone its life\nhangs. The heart still remains true to its duty, and while it just lives\nit feeds the breathing power. And so the circulation and the\nrespiration, in the otherwise inert mass, keeps the mass within the bare\ndomain of life until the poison begins to pass away and the nervous\ncentres to revive again. It is happy for the inebriate that, as a rule,\nthe brain fails so long before the heart that he has neither the power\nnor the sense to continue his process of destruction up to the act of\ndeath of his circulation. Therefore he lives to die another day.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Such is an outline of the primary action of alcohol on those who may be\nsaid to be unaccustomed to it, or who have not yet fallen into a fixed\nhabit of taking it: For a long time the organism will bear these\nperversions of its functions without apparent injury, but if the\nexperiment be repeated too often and too long, if it be continued after\nthe term of life when the body is fully developed, when the elasticity\nof the membranes and of the blood-vessels is lessened, and when the tone\nof the muscular fibre is reduced, then organic series of structural\nchanges, so characteristic of the persistent effects of spirit, become\nprominent and permanent. Then the external surface becomes darkened and\ncongested, its vessels, in parts, visibly large; the skin becomes\nblotched, the proverbial red nose is defined, and those other striking\nvascular changes which disfigure many who may probably be called\nmoderate alcoholics, are developed. These changes, belonging, as they\ndo, to external surfaces, come under direct observation; they are\naccompanied with certain other changes in the internal organs, which we\nshall show to be more destructive still.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nIT CURSES THE BODY.--CONTINUED.\n\n\nWe have quoted thus freely in the preceding chapter, in order that the\nintelligent and thoughtful reader, who is really seeking for the truth\nin regard to the physical action of alcohol, may be able to gain clear\nimpressions on the subject. The specific changes wrought by this\nsubstance on the internal organs are of a most serious character, and\nshould be well understood by all who indulge habitually in its use.\n\n\nEFFECT ON THE MEMBRANES.\n\nThe parts which first suffer from alcohol are those expansions of the\nbody which the anatomists call the membranes. \"The skin is a membranous\nenvelope. Through the whole of the alimentary surface, from the lips\ndownward, and through the bronchial passages to their minutest\nramifications, extends the mucous membrane. The lungs, the heart, the\nliver, the kidneys are folded in delicate membranes, which can be\nstripped easily from these parts. If you take a portion of bone, you\nwill find it easy to strip off from it a membranous sheath or covering;\nif you examine a joint, you will find both the head and the socket lined\nwith membranes. The whole of the intestines are enveloped in a fine\nmembrane called _peritoneum_. All the muscles are enveloped in\nmembranes, and the fasciculi, or bundles and fibres of muscles, have\ntheir membranous sheathing. The brain and spinal cord are enveloped in\nthree membranes; one nearest to themselves, a pure vascular structure, a\nnet-work of blood-vessels; another, a thin serous structure; a third, a\nstrong fibrous structure. The eyeball is a structure of colloidal humors\nand membranes, and of nothing else. To complete the description, the\nminute structures of the vital organs are enrolled in membranous\nmatter.\"\n\nThese membranes are the filters of the body. \"In their absence there\ncould be no building of structure, no solidification of tissue, nor\norganic mechanism. Passive themselves, they, nevertheless, separate all\nstructures into their respective positions and adaptations.\"\n\n\nMEMBRANOUS DETERIORATIONS.\n\nIn order to make perfectly clear to the reader's mind the action and use\nof these membranous expansions, and the way in which alcohol\ndeteriorates them, and obstructs their work, we quote again from Dr.\nRichardson:\n\n\"The animal receives from the vegetable world and from the earth the\nfood and drink it requires for its sustenance and motion. It receives\ncolloidal food for its muscles: combustible food for its motion; water\nfor the solution of its various parts; salt for constructive and other\nphysical purposes. These have all to be arranged in the body; and they\nare arranged by means of the membranous envelopes. Through these\nmembranes nothing can pass that is not, for the time, in a state of\naqueous solution, like water or soluble salts. Water passes freely\nthrough them, salts pass freely through them, but the constructive\nmatter of the active parts that is colloidal does not pass; it is\nretained in them until it is chemically decomposed into the soluble type\nof matter. When we take for our food a portion of animal flesh, it is\nfirst resolved, in digestion, into a soluble fluid before it can be\nabsorbed; in the blood it is resolved into the fluid colloidal\ncondition; in the solids it is laid down within the membranes into new\nstructure, and when it has played its part, it is digested again, if I\nmay so say, into a crystalloidal soluble substance, ready to be carried\naway and replaced by addition of new matter, then it is dialysed or\npassed through, the membranes into the blood, and is disposed of in the\nexcretions.\n\n\"See, then, what an all-important part these membranous structures play\nin the animal life. Upon their integrity all the silent work of the\nbuilding up of the body depends. If these membranes are rendered too\nporous, and let out the colloidal fluids of the blood--the albumen, for\nexample--the body so circumstanced, dies; dies as if it were slowly bled\nto death. If, on the contrary, they become condensed or thickened, or\nloaded with foreign material, then they fail to allow the natural fluids\nto pass through them. They fail to dialyse, and the result is, either an\naccumulation of the fluid in a closed cavity, or contraction of the\nsubstance inclosed within the membrane, or dryness of membrane in\nsurfaces that ought to be freely lubricated and kept apart. In old age\nwe see the effects of modification of membrane naturally induced; we see\nthe fixed joint, the shrunken and feeble muscle, the dimmed eye, the\ndeaf ear, the enfeebled nervous function.\n\n\"It may possibly seem, at first sight, that I am leading immediately\naway from the subject of the secondary action of alcohol. It is not so.\nI am leading directly to it. Upon all these membranous structures\nalcohol exerts a direct perversion of action. It produces in them a\nthickening, a shrinking and an inactivity that reduces their functional\npower. That they may work rapidly and equally, they require to be at all\ntimes charged with water to saturation. If, into contact with them, any\nagent is brought that deprives them of water, then is their work\ninterfered with; they cease to separate the saline constituents\nproperly; and, if the evil that is thus started, be allowed to continue,\nthey contract upon their contained matter in whatever organ it may be\nsituated, and condense it.\n\n\"In brief, under the prolonged influence of alcohol those changes which\ntake place from it in the blood corpuscles, and which have already been\ndescribed, extend to the other organic parts, involving them in\nstructural deteriorations, which are always dangerous, and are often\nultimately fatal.\"\n\n\nACTION OF ALCOHOL ON THE STOMACH.\n\nPassing from the effect of alcohol upon the membranes, we come to its\naction on the stomach. That it impairs, instead of assisting digestion,\nhas already been shown in the extract from Dr. Monroe, given near the\ncommencement of the preceding chapter. A large amount of medical\ntestimony could be quoted in corroboration, but enough has been educed.\nWe shall only quote Dr. Richardson on \"Alcoholic Dyspepsia:\"\n\n\"The stomach, unable to produce, in proper quantity, the natural\ndigestive fluid, and also unable to absorb the food which it may\nimperfectly digest, is in constant anxiety and irritation. It is\noppressed with the sense of nausea; it is oppressed with the sense of\nemptiness and prostration; it is oppressed with a sense of distention;\nit is oppressed with a loathing for food, and it is teased with a\ncraving for more drink. Thus there is engendered, a permanent disorder\nwhich, for politeness' sake, is called dyspepsia, and for which\ndifferent remedies are often sought but never found. Antibilious\npills--whatever they may mean--Seidlitz powders, effervescing waters,\nand all that pharmacopoeia of aids to further indigestion, in which the\nafflicted who nurse their own diseases so liberally and innocently\nindulge, are tried in vain. I do not strain a syllable when I state\nthat the worst forms of confirmed indigestion originate in the practice\nthat is here explained. By this practice all the functions are vitiated,\nthe skin at one moment is flushed and perspiring, and at the next moment\nit is pale, cold and clammy, while every other secreting structure is\nequally disarranged.\"\n\n\nTIC-DOULOUREUX AND SCIATICA.\n\nNervous derangements follow as a matter of course, for the delicate\nmembranes which envelope and immediately surround the nervous cords, are\naffected by the alcohol more readily than the coarser membranous\ntextures of other parts of the body, and give rise to a series of\ntroublesome conditions, which are too often attributed to other than the\ntrue causes. Some of these are thus described: \"The perverted condition\nof the membranous covering of the nerves gives rise to pressure within\nthe sheath of the nerve, and to pain as a consequence. To the pain thus\nexcited the term neuralgia is commonly applied, or 'tic;' or, if the\nlarge nerve running down the thigh be the seat of the pain, 'sciatica.'\nSometimes this pain is developed as a toothache. It is pain commencing,\nin nearly every instance, at some point where a nerve is inclosed in a\nbony cavity, or where pressure is easily excited, as at the lower\njawbone near the centre of the chin, or at the opening in front of the\nlower part of the ear, or at the opening over the eyeball in the frontal\nbone.\"\n\n\nDEGENERATION OF THE LIVER.\n\nThe organic deteriorations which follow the long-continued use of\nalcoholic drinks are often of a serious and fatal character. The same\nauthor says: \"The organ of the body, that, perhaps, the most frequently\nundergoes structural changes from alcohol, is the _liver_. The capacity\nof this organ for holding active substances in its cellular parts, is\none of its marked physiological distinctions. In instances of poisoning\nby arsenic, antimony, strychnine and other poisonous compounds, we turn\nto the liver, in conducting our analyses, as if it were the central\ndepot of the foreign matter. It is, practically, the same in respect to\nalcohol. The liver of the confirmed alcoholic is, probably, never free\nfrom the influence of the poison; it is too often saturated with it. The\neffect of the alcohol upon the liver is upon the minute membranous or\ncapsular structure of the organ, upon which, it acts to prevent the\nproper dialysis and free secretion. The organ, at first, becomes large\nfrom the distention of its vessels, the surcharge of fluid matter and\nthe thickening of tissue. After a time, there follows contraction of\nmembrane, and slow shrinking of the whole mass of the organ in its\ncellular parts. Then the shrunken, hardened, roughened mass is said to\nbe 'hob-nailed,' a common, but expressive term. By the time this change\noccurs, the body of him in whom it is developed is usually dropsical in\nits lower parts, owing to the obstruction offered to the returning\nblood by the veins, and his fate is sealed.... Again, under an increase\nof fatty substance in the body, the structure of the liver may be\ncharged with, fatty cells, and undergo what is technically designated\nfatty degeneration.\"\n\n\nHOW THE KIDNEYS SUFFER.\n\n\"The kidneys, also, suffer deterioration. Their minute structures\nundergo fatty modification; their vessels lose their due elasticity of\npower of contraction; or their membranes permit to pass through them the\nalbumen from the blood. This last condition reached, the body loses\npower as if it were being gradually drained even of its blood.\"\n\n\nCONGESTION OF THE LUNGS.\n\n\"The vessels of the lungs are easily relaxed by alcohol; and as they, of\nall parts, are most exposed to vicissitudes of heat and cold, they are\nreadily congested when, paralyzed by the spirit, they are subjected to\nthe effects of a sudden fall of atmospheric temperature. Thus, the\nsuddenly fatal congestions of lungs which so easily befall the confirmed\nalcoholic during the severe winter seasons.\"\n\n\nORGANIC DETERIORATIONS OF THE HEART.\n\nThe heart is one of the greatest sufferers from alcohol. Quoting again\nfrom Dr. Richardson:\n\n\"The membranous structures which envelope and line the organ are changed\nin quality, are thickened, rendered cartilaginous and even calcareous or\nbony. Then the valves, which are made up of folds of membrane, lose\ntheir suppleness, and what is called valvular disease is permanently\nestablished. The coats of the great blood-vessel leading from the heart,\nthe aorto, share, not unfrequently, in the same changes of structure, so\nthat the vessel loses its elasticity and its power to feed the heart by\nthe recoil from its distention, after the heart, by its stroke, has\nfilled it with blood.\n\n\"Again, the muscular structure of the heart fails, owing to degenerative\nchanges in its tissue. The elements of the muscular fibre are replaced\nby fatty cells; or, if not so replaced, are themselves transferred into\na modified muscular texture in which the power of contraction is greatly\nreduced.\n\n\"Those who suffer from these organic deteriorations of the central and\ngoverning organ of the circulation of the blood learn the fact so\ninsidiously, it hardly breaks upon them until the mischief is far\nadvanced. They are, for years, conscious of a central failure of power\nfrom slight causes, such as overexertion, trouble, broken rest, or too\nlong abstinence from food. They feel what they call a 'sinking,' but\nthey know that wine or some other stimulant will at once relieve the\nsensation. Thus they seek to relieve it until at last they discover that\nthe remedy fails. The jaded, overworked, faithful heart will bear no\nmore; it has run its course, and, the governor of the blood-streams\nbroken, the current either overflows into the tissues, gradually\ndamming up the courses, or under some slight shock or excess of motion,\nceases wholly at the centre.\"\n\n\nEPILEPSY AND PARALYSIS.\n\nLastly, the brain and spinal cord, and all the nervous matter, become,\nunder the influence of alcohol, subject alike to organic deterioration.\n\"The membranes enveloping the nervous substance undergo thickening; the\nblood-vessels are subjected to change of structure, by which their\nresistance and resiliency is impaired; and the true nervous matter is\nsometimes modified, by softening or shrinking of its texture, by\ndegeneration of its cellular structure or by interposition of fatty\nparticles. These deteriorations of cerebral and spinal matter give rise\nto a series of derangements, which show themselves in the worst forms of\nnervous diseases--epilepsy; paralysis, local or general; insanity.\"\n\nWe have quoted thus largely from Dr. Richardson's valuable lectures, in\norder that our readers may have an intelligent comprehension of this\nmost important subject. It is because the great mass of the people are\nignorant of the real character of the effects produced on the body by\nalcohol that so many indulge in its use, and lay the foundation for\ntroublesome, and often painful and fatal diseases in their later years.\n\nIn corroboration of Dr. Richardson's testimony against alcohol, we will,\nin closing this chapter, make a few quotations from other medical\nauthorities.\n\n\nFARTHER MEDICAL TESTIMONY.\n\nDr. Ezra M. Hunt says: \"The capacity of the alcohols for impairment of\nfunctions and the initiation and promotion of organic lesions in vital\nparts, is unsurpassed by any record in the whole range of medicine. _The\nfacts as to this are so indisputable, and so far granted by the\nprofession, as to be no longer debatable_. Changes in stomach and liver,\nin kidneys and lungs, in the blood-vessels to the minutest capillary,\nand in the blood to the smallest red and white blood disc disturbances\nof secretion, fibroid and fatty degenerations in almost every organ,\nimpairment of muscular power, impressions so profound on both nervous\nsystems as to be often toxic--these, and such as these, are the oft\nmanifested results. And these are not confined to those called\nintemperate.\"\n\nProfessor Youmans says: \"It is evident that, so far from being the\nconservator of health, alcohol is an active and powerful cause of\ndisease, interfering, as it does, with the respiration, the circulation\nand the nutrition; now, is any other result possible?\"\n\nDr. F.R. Lees says: \"That alcohol should contribute to the fattening\nprocess under certain conditions, and produce in drinkers fatty\ndegeneration of the blood, follows, as a matter of course, since, on the\none hand, we have an agent that _retains waste_ matter by lowering the\nnutritive and excretory functions, and on the other, a _direct poisoner_\nof the vesicles of the vital stream.\"\n\nDr. Henry Monroe says: \"There is no kind of tissue, whether healthy or\nmorbid, that may not undergo fatty degeneration; and there is no organic\ndisease so troublesome to the medical man, or so difficult of cure. If,\nby the aid of the microscope, we examine a very fine section of muscle\ntaken from a person in good health, we find the muscles firm, elastic\nand of a bright red color, made up of parallel fibres, with beautiful\ncrossings or striae; but, if we similarly examine the muscle of a man\nwho leads an idle, sedentary life, and indulges in intoxicating drinks,\nwe detect, at once, a pale, flabby, inelastic, oily appearance.\nAlcoholic narcotization appears to produce this peculiar conditions of\nthe tissues _more than any other agent with which we are acquainted._\n'Three-quarters of the chronic illness which the medical man has to\ntreat,' says Dr. Chambers, 'are occasioned by this disease.' The eminent\nFrench analytical chemist, Lecanu, found as much as one hundred and\nseventeen parts of fat in one thousand parts of a drunkard's blood, the\nhighest estimate of the quantity in health being eight and one-quarter\nparts, while the ordinary quantity is not more than two or three parts,\nso that the blood of the drunkard contains forty times in excess of the\nordinary quantity.\"\n\nDr. Hammond, who has written, in partial defense of alcohol as\ncontaining a food power, says: \"When I say that it, of all other causes,\n_is most prolific_ in exciting derangements of the brain, the spinal\ncord and the nerves, I make a statement which my own experience shows\nto be correct.\"\n\nAnother eminent physician says of alcohol: \"It substitutes suppuration\nfor growth. * * It helps time to produce the effects of age; and, in a\nword, is the genius of degeneration.\"\n\nDr. Monroe, from whom we have already quoted, says: \"Alcohol, taken in\nsmall quantities, or largely diluted, as in the form of beer, causes the\nstomach gradually to lose its tone, and makes it dependent upon\nartificial stimulus. Atony, or want of tone of the stomach, gradually\nsupervenes, and incurable disorder of health results. * * * Should a\ndose of alcoholic drink be taken daily, the heart will very often become\nhypertrophied, or enlarged throughout. Indeed, it is painful to witness\nhow _many_ persons are actually laboring under disease of the heart,\nowing chiefly to the use of alcoholic liquors.\"\n\nDr. T.K. Chambers, physician to the Prince of Wales, says: \"Alcohol is\nreally the most ungenerous diet there is. It impoverishes the blood, and\nthere is no surer road to that degeneration of muscular fibre so much to\nbe feared; and in heart disease it is more especially hurtful, by\nquickening the beat, causing capillary congestion and irregular\ncirculation, and thus mechanically inducing dilatation.\"\n\nSir Henry Thompson, a distinguished surgeon, says: \"Don't take your\ndaily wine under any pretext of its doing you good. Take it frankly as a\nluxury--one which must be paid for, by some persons very lightly, by\nsome at a high price, _but always to be paid for_. And, mostly, some\nloss of health, or of mental power, or of calmness of temper, or of\njudgment, is the price.\"\n\nDr. Charles Jewett says: \"The late Prof. Parks, of England, in his great\nwork on Hygiene, has effectually disposed of the notion, long and very\ngenerally entertained, that alcohol is a valuable prophylactic where a\nbad climate, bad water and other conditions unfavorable to health,\nexist; and an unfortunate experiment with the article, in the Union\narmy, on the banks of the Chickahominy, in the year 1863, proved\nconclusively that, instead of guarding the human constitution against\nthe influence of agencies hostile to health, its use gives to them\nadditional force. The medical history of the British army in India\nteaches the same lesson.\"\n\nBut why present farther testimony? Is not the evidence complete? To the\nman who values good health; who would not lay the foundation for disease\nand suffering in his later years, we need not offer a single additional\nargument in favor of entire abstinence from alcoholic drinks. He will\neschew them as poisons.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nIT CURSES THE SOUL.\n\n\nThe physical disasters that follow the continued use of intoxicating\nbeverages are sad enough, and terrible enough; but the surely attendant\nmental, moral and spiritual disasters are sadder and more terrible\nstill. If you disturb the healthy condition of the brain, which is the\nphysical organ through which the mind acts, you disturb the mind. It\nwill not have the same clearness of perception as before; nor have the\nsame rational control over the impulses and passions.\n\nIn what manner alcohol deteriorates the body and brain has been shown in\nthe two preceding chapters. In this one we purpose showing how the curse\ngoes deeper than the body and brain, and involves the whole man--morally\nand spiritually, as well as physically.\n\n\nHEAVENLY ORDER IN THE BODY.\n\nIn order to understand a subject clearly, certain general laws, or\nprinciples, must be seen and admitted. And here we assume, as a general\ntruth, that health in the human body is normal heavenly order on the\nphysical plane of life, and that any disturbance of that order exposes\nthe man to destructive influences, which are evil and infernal in their\ncharacter. Above the natural and physical plane, and resting upon it,\nwhile man lives in this world, is the mental and spiritual plane, or\ndegree of life. This degree is in heavenly order when the reason is\nclear, and the appetites and passions under its wise control. But, if,\nthrough any cause, this fine equipoise is disturbed, or lost, then a way\nis opened for the influx of more subtle evil influences than such as\ninvade the body, because they have power to act upon the reason and the\npassions, obscuring the one and inflaming the others.\n\n\nMENTAL DISTURBANCES.\n\nWe know how surely the loss of bodily health results in mental\ndisturbance. If the seat of disease be remote from the brain, the\ndisturbance is usually slight; but it increases as the trouble comes\nnearer and nearer to that organ, and shows itself in multiform ways\naccording to character, temperament or inherited disposition; but almost\nalways in a predominance of what is evil instead of good. There will be\nfretfulness, or ill-nature, or selfish exactions, or mental obscurity,\nor unreasoning demands, or, it may be, vicious and cruel propensities,\nwhere, when the brain was undisturbed by disease, reason held rule with\npatience and loving kindness. If the disease which has attacked the\nbrain goes on increasing, the mental disease which follows as a\nconsequence of organic disturbance or deterioration, will have\nincreased also, until insanity may be established in some one or more of\nits many sad and varied forms.\n\n\nINSANITY.\n\nIt is, therefore, a very serious thing for a man to take into his body\nany substance which, on reaching that wonderfully delicate organ--the\nbrain, sets up therein a diseased action; for, diseased mental action is\nsure to follow, and there is only one true name for mental disease, and\nthat is _insanity_. A fever is a fever, whether it be light or intensely\nburning; and so any disturbance of the mind's rational equipoise is\ninsanity, whether it be in the simplest form of temporary obscurity, or\nin the midnight of a totally darkened intellect.\n\nWe are not writing in the interest of any special theory, nor in the\nspirit of partisanship; but with an earnest desire to make the truth\nappear. The reader must not accept anything simply because we say it,\nbut because he sees it to be true. Now, as to this matter of insanity,\nlet him think calmly. The word is one that gives us a shock; and, as we\nhear it, we almost involuntarily thank God for the good gift of a\nwell-balanced mind. What, if from any cause this beautiful equipoise\nshould be disturbed and the mind lose its power to think clearly, or to\nhold the lower passions in due control? Shall we exceed the truth if we\nsay that the man in whom this takes place is insane just in the degree\nthat he has lost his rational self-control; and that he is restored\nwhen he regains that control?\n\nIn this view, the question as to the hurtfulness of alcoholic drinks\nassumes a new and graver aspect. Do they disturb the brain when they\ncome in contact with its substance; and deteriorate it if the contact be\nlong continued? Fact, observation, experience and scientific\ninvestigation all emphatically say yes; and we know that if the brain be\ndisordered the mind, will be disordered, likewise; and a disordered mind\nis an insane mind. Clearly, then, in the degree that a man impairs or\nhurts his brain--temporarily or continuously--in that degree his mind is\nunbalanced; in that degree he is not a truly rational and sane man.\n\nWe are holding the reader's thought just here that he may have time to\nthink, and to look at the question in the light of reason and common\nsense. So far as he does this, will he be able to feel the force of such\nevidence as we shall educe in what follows, and to comprehend its true\nmeaning.\n\n\nNO SUBSTANCE AFFECTS THE BRAIN LIKE ALCOHOL.\n\nOther substances besides alcohol act injuriously on the brain; but there\nis none that compares with this in the extent, variety and diabolical\naspect of the mental aberrations which follow its use. We are not\nspeaking thoughtlessly or wildly; but simply uttering a truth well-known\nto every man of observation, and which every man, and especially those\nwho take this substance in any form, should, lay deeply to heart. Why\nit is that such awful and destructive forms of insanity should follow,\nas they do, the use of alcohol it is not for us to say. That they do\nfollow it, we know, and we hold, up the fact in solemn warning.\n\n\nINHERITED LATENT EVIL FORCES.\n\nAnother consideration, which should have weight with every one, is this,\nthat no man can tell what may be the character of the legacy he has\nreceived from his ancestors. He may have an inheritance of latent evil\nforces, transmitted through many generations, which only await some\nfavoring opportunity to spring into life and action. So long as he\nmaintains a rational self-control, and the healthy order of his life be\nnot disturbed, they may continue quiescent; but if his brain loses its\nequipoise, or is hurt or impaired, then a diseased psychical condition\nmay be induced and the latent evil forces be quickened into life.\n\nNo substance in nature, as far as yet known, has, when it reaches the\nbrain, such power to induce\n\n\nMENTAL AND MORAL CHANGES OF A DISASTROUS CHARACTER\n\nas alcohol. Its transforming power is marvelous, and often appalling. It\nseems to open a way of entrance into the soul for all classes of\nfoolish, insane or malignant spirits, who, so long as it remains in\ncontact with the brain, are able to hold possession. Men of the kindest\nnature when sober, act often like fiends when drunk. Crimes and outrages\nare committed, which shock and shame the perpetrators when the\nexcitement of inebriation has passed away. Referring to this subject,\nDr. Henry Munroe says:\n\n\"It appears from the experience of Mr. Fletcher, who has paid much\nattention to the cases of drunkards, from the remarks of Mr. Dunn, in\nhis 'Medical Psychology,' and from observations of my own, that there is\nsome analogy between our physical and psychical natures; for, as the\nphysical part of us, when its power is at a low ebb, becomes susceptible\nof morbid influences which, in full vigor, would pass over it without\neffect, so when the psychical (synonymous with the _moral_) part of the\nbrain has its healthy function disturbed and deranged by the\nintroduction of a morbid poison like alcohol, the individual so\ncircumstanced sinks in depravity, and\n\n\n\"BECOMES THE HELPLESS SUBJECT OF THE FORCES OF EVIL,\n\n\"which are powerless against a nature free from the morbid influences of\nalcohol.\n\n[Illustration: \"TAKE WARNING BY MY CAREER.\"]\n\n\"Different persons are affected in different ways by the same poison.\nIndulgence in alcoholic drinks may act upon one or more of the cerebral\norgans; and, as its necessary consequence, the manifestations of\nfunctional disturbance will follow in such of the mental powers as these\norgans subserve. If the indulgence be continued, then, either from\nderanged nutrition or organic lesion, manifestations formerly\ndeveloped only during a fit of intoxication may become _permanent_,\nand terminate in insanity or dypso-mania. M. Flourens first pointed out\nthe fact that certain morbific agents, when introduced into the current\nof the circulation, tend to act _primarily_ and _specially_ on one\nnervous centre in preference to that of another, by virtue of some\nspecial elective affinity between such morbific agents and certain\nganglia. Thus, in the tottering gait of the tipsy man, we see the\ninfluence of alcohol upon the functions of the _cerebellum_ in the\nimpairment of its power of co-ordinating the muscles.\n\n\"Certain writers on diseases of the mind make especial allusion to that\nform of insanity termed DYPSOMANIA, in which a person has an\nunquenchable thirst for alcoholic drinks--a tendency as decidedly\nmaniacal as that of _homicidal mania_; or the uncontrollable desire to\nburn, termed _pyromania_; or to steal, called _kleptomania_.\"\n\n\nHOMICIDAL MANIA.\n\n\"The different tendencies of homicidal mania in different individuals\nare often only nursed into action when the current of the blood has been\npoisoned with alcohol. I had a case of a person who, whenever his brain\nwas so excited, told me that he experienced a most uncontrollable desire\nto kill or injure some one; so much so, that he could at times hardly\nrestrain himself from the action, and was obliged to refrain from all\nstimulants, lest, in an unlucky moment, he might commit himself.\nTownley, who murdered the young lady of his affections, for which he was\nsentenced to be imprisoned in a lunatic asylum for life, _poisoned his\nbrain with brandy_ and soda-water before he committed the rash act. The\nbrandy stimulated into action certain portions of the brain, which\nacquired such a power as to subjugate his will, and hurry him to the\nperformance of a frightful deed, opposed alike to his better judgment\nand his ordinary desires.\n\n\"As to _pyromania_, some years ago I knew a laboring man in a country\nvillage, who, whenever he had had a few glasses of ale at the\npublic-house, would chuckle with delight at the thought of firing\ncertain gentlemen's stacks. Yet, when his brain was free from the\npoison, a quieter, better-disposed man could not be. Unfortunately, he\nbecame addicted to habits of intoxication; and, one night, under\nalcoholic excitement, fired some stacks belonging to his employers, for\nwhich, he was sentenced for fifteen years to a penal settlement, where\nhis brain would never again be alcoholically excited.\"\n\n\nKLEPTOMANIA.\n\n\"Next, I will give an example of _kleptomania_. I knew, many years ago,\na very clever, industrious and talented young man, who told me that\nwhenever he had been drinking, he could hardly withstand, the temptation\nof stealing anything that came in his way; but that these feelings never\ntroubled him at other times. One afternoon, after he had been indulging\nwith his fellow-workmen in drink, his will, unfortunately, was\noverpowered, and he took from the mansion where he was working some\narticles of worth, for which he was accused, and afterwards sentenced to\na term of imprisonment. When set at liberty he had the good fortune to\nbe placed among some kind-hearted persons, vulgarly called\n_teetotallers_; and, from conscientious motives, signed the PLEDGE, now\nabove twenty years ago. From that time to the present moment he has\nnever experienced the overmastering desire which so often beset him in\nhis drinking days--to take that which was not his own. Moreover, no\npretext on earth could now entice him to taste of any liquor containing\nalcohol, feeling that, under its influence, he might again fall its\nvictim. He holds an influential position in the town where he resides.\n\n\"I have known some ladies of good position in society, who, after a\ndinner or supper-party, and after having taken sundry glasses of wine,\ncould not withstand the temptation of taking home any little article not\ntheir own, when the opportunity offered; and who, in their sober\nmoments, have returned them, as if taken by mistake. We have many\ninstances recorded in our police reports of gentlemen of position, under\nthe influence of drink, committing thefts of the most paltry articles,\nafterwards returned to the owners by their friends, which can only be\naccounted for, psychologically, by the fact that the _will_ had been\nfor the time completely overpowered by the subtle influence of alcohol.\"\n\n\nLOSS OF MENTAL CLEARNESS.\n\n\"That alcohol, whether taken in large or small doses, immediately\ndisturbs the natural functions of the mind and body, is now conceded by\nthe most eminent physiologists. Dr. Brinton says: 'Mental acuteness,\naccuracy of conception, and delicacy of the senses, are all so far\nopposed by the action of alcohol, as that the maximum efforts of each\nare _incompatible_ with the ingestion of any moderate quantity of\nfermented liquid. Indeed, there is scarcely any calling which demands\nskillful and exact effort of mind and body, or which requires the\nbalanced exercise of many faculties, that does not illustrate this rule.\nThe mathematician, the gambler, the metaphysician, the billiard-player,\nthe author, the artist, the physician, would, if they could analyze\ntheir experience aright, generally concur in the statement, that _a\nsingle glass will often suffice to take_, so to speak, _the edge off\nboth mind and body_, and to reduce their capacity to something below\nwhat is relatively their perfection of work.'\n\n\"Not long ago, a railway train was driven carelessly into one of the\nprincipal London stations, running into another train, killing, by the\ncollision, six or seven persons, and injuring many others. From the\nevidence at the inquest, it appeared that the guard was reckoned sober,\n_only he had had two glasses of ale_ with a friend at a previous\nstation. Now, reasoning psychologically, these two glasses of ale had\nprobably been instrumental in _taking off the edge_ from his perceptions\nand prudence, and producing a carelessness or boldness of action which\nwould not have occurred under the cooling, temperate influence of a\nbeverage free from alcohol. Many persons have admitted to me that they\nwere not the same after taking even one glass of ale or wine that they\nwere before, and could not _thoroughly_ trust themselves after they had\ntaken this single glass.\"\n\n\nIMPAIRMENT OF MEMORY.\n\nAn impairment of the memory is among the early symptoms of alcoholic\nderangement.\n\n\"This,\" says Dr. Richardson, \"extends even to forgetfulness of the\ncommonest things; to names of familiar persons, to dates, to duties of\ndaily life. Strangely, too,\" he adds, \"this failure, like that which\nindicates, in the aged, the era of second childishness and mere\noblivion, does not extend to the things of the past, but is confined to\nevents that are passing. On old memories the mind retains its power; on\nnew ones it requires constant prompting and sustainment.\"\n\nIn this failure of memory nature gives a solemn warning that imminent\nperil is at hand. Well for the habitual drinker if he heed the warning.\nShould he not do so, symptoms of a more serious character will, in\ntime, develop themselves, as the brain becomes more and more diseased,\nending, it may be, in permanent insanity.\n\n\nMENTAL AND MORAL DISEASES.\n\nOf the mental and moral diseases which too often follow the regular\ndrinking of alcohol, we have painful records in asylum reports, in\nmedical testimony and in our daily observation and experience. These are\nso full and varied, and thrust so constantly on our attention, that the\nwonder is that men are not afraid to run the terrible risks involved\neven in what is called the moderate use of alcoholic beverages.\n\nIn 1872, a select committee of the House of Commons, appointed \"to\nconsider the best plan for the control and management of habitual\ndrunkards,\" called upon some of the most eminent medical men in Great\nBritain to give their testimony in answer to a large number of\nquestions, embracing every topic within the range of inquiry, from the\npathology of inebriation to the practical usefulness of prohibitory\nlaws. In this testimony much was said about the effect of alcoholic\nstimulation on the mental condition and moral character. One physician,\nDr. James Crichton Brown, who, in ten years' experience as\nsuperintendent of lunatic asylums, has paid special attention to the\nrelations of habitual drunkenness to insanity, having carefully examined\nfive hundred cases, testified that alcohol, taken in excess, produced\ndifferent forms of mental disease, of which he mentioned four classes:\n1. _Mania a potu_, or alcoholic mania. 2. The monomania of suspicion. 3.\nChronic alcoholism, characterized by failure of the memory and power of\njudgment, with partial paralysis--generally ending fatally. 4.\nDypsomania, or an _irresistible_ craving for alcoholic stimulants,\noccuring very frequently, paroxysmally, and with constant liability to\nperiodical exacerbations, when the craving becomes altogether\nuncontrollable. Of this latter form of disease, he says: \"This is\ninvariably associated with a certain _impairment of the intellect, and\nof the affections and the moral powers_.\"\n\nDr. Alexander Peddie, a physician of over thirty-seven years' practice\nin Edinburgh, gave, in his evidence, many remarkable instances of the\nmoral perversions that followed continued drinking.\n\n\nRELATION BETWEEN INSANITY AND DRUNKENNESS.\n\nDr. John Nugent said that his experience of twenty-six years among\nlunatics, led him to believe that there is a very close relation between\nthe results of the abuse of alcohol and insanity. The population of\nIreland had decreased, he said, two millions in twenty-five years, but\nthere was the same amount of insanity now that there was before. He\nattributed this, in a great measure, to indulgence in drink.\n\nDr. Arthur Mitchell, Commissioner of Lunacy for Scotland, testified that\nthe excessive use of alcohol caused a large amount of the lunacy, crime\nand pauperism of that country. In some men, he said, habitual drinking\nleads to other diseases than insanity, because the effect is always in\nthe direction of the proclivity, but it is certain that there are many\nin whom there is a clear proclivity to insanity, _who would escape that\ndreadful consummation but for drinking; excessive drinking in many\npersons determining the insanity to which they are, at any rate,\npredisposed_. The children of drunkards, he further said, are in a\nlarger proportion idiotic than other children, and in a larger\nproportion become themselves drunkards; they are also in a larger\nproportion liable to the ordinary forms of acquired insanity.\n\nDr. Winslow Forbes believed that in the habitual drunkard the whole\nnervous structure, and the brain especially, became poisoned by alcohol.\nAll the mental symptoms which you see accompanying ordinary\nintoxication, he remarks, result from the poisonous effects of alcohol\non the brain. It is the brain which is mainly effected. In temporary\ndrunkenness, the brain becomes in an abnormal state of alimentation, and\nif this habit is persisted in for years, the nervous tissue itself\nbecomes permeated with alcohol, and organic changes take place in the\nnervous tissues of the brain, producing _that frightful and dreadful\nchronic insanity which we see in lunatic asylums, traceable entirely to\nhabits of intoxication_. A large percentage of frightful mental and\nbrain disturbances can, he declared, be traced to the drunkenness of\nparents.\n\nDr. D.G. Dodge, late of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, who, with.\nDr. Joseph Parrish, gave testimony before the committee of the House of\nCommons, said, in one of his answers: \"With the excessive use of\nalcohol, functional disorder will invariably appear, and no organ will\nbe more seriously affected, and possibly impaired, than the brain. _This\nis shown in the inebriate by a weakened intellect, a general debility of\nthe mental faculties_, a partial or total loss of self-respect, and a\ndeparture of the power of self-command; all of which, acting together,\nplace the victim at the mercy of a depraved and morbid appetite, and\nmake him utterly powerless, by his own unaided efforts, to secure his\nrecovery from the disease which is destroying him.\" And he adds: \"I am\nof opinion that there is a\n\n\n\"GREAT SIMILARITY BETWEEN INEBRIETY AND INSANITY.\n\n\"I am decidedly of opinion that the former has taken its place in the\nfamily of diseases as prominently as its twin-brother insanity; and, in\nmy opinion, the day is not far distant when the pathology of the former\nwill be as fully understood and as successfully treated as the latter,\nand even more successfully, since it is more within the reach and bounds\nof human control, which, wisely exercised and scientifically\nadministered, may prevent curable inebriation from verging into possible\nincurable insanity.\"\n\n\nGENERAL IMPAIRMENT OF THE FACULTIES.\n\nIn a more recent lecture than the one from which we have quoted so\nfreely, Dr. Richardson, speaking of the action of alcohol on the mind,\ngives the following sad picture of its ravages:\n\n\"An analysis of the condition of the mind induced and maintained by the\nfree daily use of alcohol as a drink, reveals a singular order of facts.\nThe manifestation fails altogether to reveal the exaltation of any\nreasoning power in a useful or satisfactory direction. I have never met\nwith an instance in which such a claim for alcohol has been made. On the\ncontrary, confirmed alcoholics constantly say that for this or that\nwork, requiring thought and attention, it is necessary to forego some of\nthe usual potations in order to have a cool head for hard work.\n\n\"On the other side, the experience is overwhelmingly in favor of the\nobservation that the use of\n\n\n\"ALCOHOL SELLS THE REASONING POWERS,\n\n\"make weak men and women the easy prey of the wicked and strong, and\nleads men and women who should know better into every grade of misery\nand vice. * * * If, then, alcohol enfeebles the reason, what part of the\nmental constitution does it exalt and excite? It excites and exalts\nthose animal, organic, emotional centres of mind which, in the dual\nnature of man, so often cross and oppose that pure and abstract\nreasoning nature which lifts man above the lower animals, and rightly\nexercised, little lower than the angels.\n\n\nIT EXCITES MAN'S WORST PASSIONS.\n\n\"Exciting these animal centres, it lets loose all the passions, and\ngives them more or less of unlicensed dominion over the man. It excites\nanger, and when it does not lead to this extreme, it keeps the mind\nfretful, irritable, dissatisfied and captious.... And if I were to take\nyou through all the passions, love, hate, lust, envy, avarice and pride,\nI should but show you that alcohol ministers to them all; that,\nparalyzing the reason, it takes from off these passions that fine\nadjustment of reason, which places man above the lower animals. From the\nbeginning to the end of its influence it subdues reason and sets the\npassions free. The analogies, physical and mental, are perfect. That\nwhich loosens the tension of the vessels which feed the body with due\norder and precision, and, thereby, lets loose the heart to violent\nexcess and unbridled motion, loosens, also, the reason and lets loose\nthe passion. In both instances, heart and head are, for a time, out of\nharmony; their balance broken. The man descends closer and closer to the\nlower animals. From the angels he glides farther and farther away.\n\n\nA SAD AND TERRIBLE PICTURE.\n\n\"The _destructive_ effects of alcohol on the human mind present,\nfinally, the saddest picture of its influence. The most \u00e6sthetic artist\ncan find no angel here. All is animal, and animal of the worst type.\nMemory irretrievably lost, words and very elements of speech forgotten\nor words displaced to have no meaning in them. Rage and anger persistent\nand mischievous, or remittent and impotent. Fear at every corner of\nlife, distrust on every side, grief merged into blank despair,\nhopelessness into permanent melancholy. Surely no Pandemonium that ever\npoet dreamt of could equal that which would exist if all the drunkards\nof the world were driven into one mortal sphere.\n\n[Illustration: CRAZED BY DRINK. \"God's rational offspring ... become a\nbrute.\"]\n\n\"As I have moved among those who are physically stricken with alcohol,\nand have detected under the various disguises of name the fatal\ndiseases, the pains and penalties it imposes on the body, the picture\nhas been sufficiently cruel. But even that picture pales, as I conjure\nup, without any stretch of imagination, the devastations which the same\nagent inflicts on the mind. Forty per cent., the learned Superintendent\nof Colney Hatch, Dr. Sheppard, tells us, of those who were brought into\nthat asylum in 1876, were so brought because of the direct or indirect\neffects of alcohol. If the facts of all the asylums were collected with\nequal care, the same tale would, I fear, be told. What need we further\nto show the destructive action on the human mind? The Pandemonium of\ndrunkards; the grand transformation scene of that pantomime of drink\nwhich commences with, moderation! Let it never more be forgotten by\nthose who love their fellow-men until, through their efforts, it is\nclosed forever.\"\n\nWe might go on, adding page after page of evidence, showing how alcohol\ncurses the souls, as well as the bodies, of men; but enough has been\neduced to force conviction on the mind of every reader not already\nsatisfied of its poisonous and destructive quality.\n\nHow light are all evils flowing from intemperance compared with those\nwhich it thus inflicts on man's higher nature. \"What,\" says Dr. W.E.\nChanning, \"is the great essential evil of intemperance? The reply is\ngiven, when I say, that intemperance is the\n\n\n\"VOLUNTARY EXTINCTION OF REASON.\n\n\"The great evil is inward or spiritual. The intemperate man divests\nhimself, for a time, of his rational and moral nature, casts from\nhimself self-consciousness and self-command, brings on frenzy, and by\nrepetition of this insanity, prostrates more and more his rational and\nmoral powers. He sins immediately and directly against the rational\nnature, that Divine principle which, distinguishes between truth and\nfalsehood, between right and wrong action, which, distinguishes man from\nthe brute. This is the essence of the vice, what constitutes its\npeculiar guilt and woe, and what should particularly impress and awaken\nthose who are laboring for its suppression. Other evils of intemperance\nare light compared with this, and almost all flow from this; and it is\nright, it is to be desired that all other evils should be joined with\nand follow this. It is to be desired, when a man lifts a suicidal arm\nagainst his higher life, when he quenches reason and conscience, that he\nand all others should receive solemn, startling warning of the greatness\nof his guilt; that terrible outward calamities should bear witness to\nthe inward ruin which he is working; that the handwriting of judgment\nand woe on his countenance, form and whole condition, should declare\nwhat a fearful thing it is for a man, \"God's rational offspring, to\nrenounce his reason, and become a brute.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nNOT A FOOD, AND VERY LIMITED IN ITS RANGE AS A MEDICINE.\n\n\nThe use of alcohol as a medicine has been very large. If his patient was\nweak and nervous, the physician too often ordered wine or ale; or, not\ntaking the trouble to refer his own case to a physician, the invalid\nprescribed these articles for himself. If there was a failure of\nappetite, its restoration was sought in the use of one or both of the\nabove-named forms of alcohol; or, perhaps, adopting a more heroic\ntreatment, the sufferer poured brandy or whisky into his weak and\nsensitive stomach. Protection from cold was sought in a draught of some\nalcoholic beverage, and relief from fatigue and exhaustion in the use of\nthe same deleterious substance. Indeed, there is scarcely any form of\nbodily ailment or discomfort, or mental disturbance, for the relief of\nwhich a resort was not had to alcohol in some one of its many forms.\n\nIt is fair to say that, as a medicine, its consumption has far exceeded\nthat of any other substance prescribed and taken for physical and mental\nderangements.\n\nThe inquiry, then, as to the true remedial value of alcohol is one of\nthe gravest import; and it is of interest to know that for some years\npast the medical profession has been giving this subject a careful and\nthorough investigation. The result is to be found in the brief\ndeclaration made by the Section on Medicine, of the\n\n\nINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS,\n\nwhich met in Philadelphia in 1876. This body was composed of about six\nhundred delegates, from Europe and America, among them, some of the\nablest men in the profession. Realizing the importance of some\nexpression in relation to the use of alcohol, medical and otherwise,\nfrom this Congress, the National Temperance Society laid before it,\nthrough its President, W.E. Dodge, and Secretary, J.N. Stearns, the\nfollowing memorial:\n\n\"The National Temperance Society sends greeting, and respectfully\ninvites from your distinguished body a public declaration to the effect\nthat alcohol should be classed with other powerful drugs; that, when,\nprescribed medicinally, it should be with conscientious caution and a\nsense of grave responsibility; that it is in no sense food to the human\nsystem; that its improper use is productive of a large amount of\nphysical disease, tending to deteriorate the human race; and to\nrecommend, as representatives of enlightened science, to your several\nnationalities, total abstinence from alcoholic beverages.\"\n\nIn response to this memorial, the president of the society received\nfrom J. Ewing Mears, M.D., Secretary of the Section on Medicine,\nInternational Congress, the following official letter, under date of\nSeptember 9th, 1876:\n\n\"DEAR SIR: I am instructed by the Section on Medicine, International\nMedical Congress, of 1876, to transmit to you, as the action of the\nSection, the following conclusions adopted by it with regard to the use\nof alcohol in medicine, the same being in reply to the communication\nsent by the National Temperance Society.\n\n\"1. Alcohol is not shown to have a definite food value by any of the\nusual methods of chemical analysis or physiological investigation.\n\n\"2. Its use as a medicine is chiefly that of a cardiac stimulant, and\noften admits of substitution.\n\n\"3. As a medicine, it is not well fitted for self-prescription by the\nlaity, and the medical profession is not accountable for such\nadministration, or for the enormous evils arising therefrom.\n\n\"4. The purity of alcoholic liquors is, in general, not as well assured\nas that of articles used for medicine should be. The various mixtures,\nwhen used as medicine, should have definite and known composition, and\nshould not be interchanged promiscuously.\"\n\nThe reader will see in this no hesitating or halfway speech. The\ndeclaration is strong and clear, that, as a food, alcohol is not shown,\nwhen subjected to the usual method of chemical or physiological\ninvestigation, to have any food value; and that, as a medicine, its use\nis chiefly confined to a cardiac stimulant, and often admits of\nsubstitution.\n\nA declaration like this, coming, as it does, from a body of medical men\nrepresenting the most advanced ideas held by the profession, must have\ngreat weight with the people. But we do not propose resting on this\ndeclaration alone. As it was based on the results of chemical and\nphysiological investigations, let us go back of the opinion expressed by\nthe Medical Congress, and examine these results, in order that the\nground of its opinion may become apparent.\n\nThere was presented to this Congress, by a distinguished physician of\nNew Jersey, Dr. Ezra M. Hunt, a paper on \"Alcohol as a Food and\nMedicine,\" in which the whole subject is examined in the light of the\nmost recent and carefully-conducted experiments of English, French,\nGerman and American chemists and physiologists, and their conclusions,\nas well as those of the author of the paper, set forth in the plainest\nmanner. This has since been published by the National Temperance\nSociety, and should be read and carefully studied by every one who is\nseeking for accurate information on the important subject we are now\nconsidering. It is impossible for us to more than glance at the evidence\nbrought forward in proof of the assertion that\n\n\nALCOHOL HAS NO FOOD VALUE,\n\nand is exceedingly limited in its action as a remedial agent; and we,\ntherefore, urge upon all who are interested in this subject, to possess\nthemselves of Dr. Hunt's exhaustive treatise, and to study it carefully.\n\nIf the reader will refer to the quotation made by us in the second\nchapter from Dr. Henry Monroe, where the food value of any article is\ntreated of, he will see it stated that \"every kind of substance employed\nby man as food consists of sugar, starch, oil and glutinous matter,\nmingled together in various proportions; these are designed for the\nsupport of the animal frame. The glutinous principles of food--fibrine,\nalbumen and casein--are employed to build up the structure; while the\noil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to generate heat in the body.\"\n\nNow, it is clear, that if alcohol is a food, it will be found to contain\none or more of these substances. There must be in it either the\nnitrogenous elements found chiefly in meats, eggs, milk, vegetables and\nseeds, out of which animal tissue is built and waste repaired; or the\ncarbonaceous elements found in fat, starch and sugar, in the consumption\nof which heat and force are evolved.\n\n\"The distinctness of these groups of foods,\" says Dr. Hunt, \"and their\nrelations to the tissue-producing and heat-evolving capacities of man,\nare so definite and so confirmed by experiments on animals and by\nmanifold tests of scientific, physiological and clinical experience,\nthat no attempt to discard the classification has prevailed. To draw so\nstraight a line of demarcation as to limit the one entirely to tissue or\ncell production, and the other to heat and force production through\nordinary combustion, and to deny any power of interchangeability under\nspecial demands or amid defective supply of one variety, is, indeed,\nuntenable. This does not in the least invalidate the fact that we are\nable to use these as ascertained landmarks.\"\n\nHow these substances, when taken into the body, are assimilated, and how\nthey generate force, are well known to the chemist and physiologist, who\nis able, in the light of well-ascertained laws, to determine whether\nalcohol does or does not possess a food value. For years, the ablest men\nin the medical profession have given this subject the most careful\nstudy, and have subjected alcohol to every known test and experiment,\nand the result is that it has been, by common consent, excluded from the\nclass of tissue-building foods. \"We have never,\" says Dr. Hunt, \"seen\nbut a single suggestion that it could so act, and this a promiscuous\nguess. One writer (Hammond) thinks it possible that it may 'somehow'\nenter into combination with the products of decay in tissues, and 'under\ncertain circumstances might yield _their_ nitrogen to the construction\nof new tissues.' No parallel in organic chemistry, nor any evidence in\nanimal chemistry, can be found to surround this guess with the areola\nof a possible hypothesis.\"\n\nDr. Richardson says: \"Alcohol contains no nitrogen; it has none of the\nqualities of structure-building foods; it is incapable of being\ntransformed into any of them; it is, therefore, not a food in any sense\nof its being a constructive agent in building up the body.\" Dr. W.B.\nCarpenter says: \"Alcohol cannot supply anything which is essential to\nthe true nutrition of the tissues.\" Dr. Liebig says: \"Beer, wine,\nspirits, etc., furnish no element capable of entering into the\ncomposition of the blood, muscular fibre, or any part which is the seat\nof the principle of life.\" Dr. Hammond, in his Tribune Lectures, in\nwhich he advocates the use of alcohol in certain cases, says: \"It is not\ndemonstrable that alcohol undergoes conversion into tissue.\" Cameron, in\nhis Manuel of Hygiene, says: \"There is nothing in alcohol with which any\npart of the body can be nourished.\" Dr. E. Smith, F.R.S., says: \"Alcohol\nis not a true food. It interferes with alimentation.\" Dr. T.K. Chambers\nsays: \"It is clear that we must cease to regard alcohol, as in any\nsense, a food.\"\n\n\"Not detecting in this substance,\" says Dr. Hunt, \"any tissue-making\ningredients, nor in its breaking up any combinations, such as we are\nable to trace in the cell foods, nor any evidence either in the\nexperience of physiologists or the trials of alimentarians, it is not\nwonderful that in it we should find neither the expectancy nor the\nrealization of constructive power.\"\n\nNot finding in alcohol anything out of which the body can be built up or\nits waste supplied, it is next to be examined as to its heat-producing\nquality.\n\n\nALCOHOL NOT A PRODUCER OF HEAT.\n\n\"The first usual test for a force-producing food,\" says Dr. Hunt, \"and\nthat to which other foods of that class respond, is the production of\nheat in the combination of oxygen therewith. This heat means vital\nforce, and is, in no small degree, a measure of the comparative value of\nthe so-called respiratory foods. * * * If we examine the fats, the\nstarches and the sugars, we can trace and estimate the processes by\nwhich they evolve heat and are changed into vital force, and can weigh\nthe capacities of different foods. We find that the consumption of\ncarbon by union with oxygen is the law, that heat is the product, and\nthat the legitimate result is force, while the result of the union of\nthe hydrogen of the foods with oxygen is water. If alcohol comes at all\nunder this class of foods, we rightly expect to find some of the\nevidences which attach to the hydrocarbons.\"\n\nWhat, then, is the result of experiments in this direction? They have\nbeen conducted through long periods and with the greatest care, by men\nof the highest attainments in chemistry and physiology, and the result\nis given in these few words, by Dr. H.R. Wood, Jr., in his Materia\nMedica. \"No one has been able to detect in the blood any of the ordinary\nresults of its oxidation.\" That is, no one has been able to find that\nalcohol has undergone combustion, like fat, or starch, or sugar, and so\ngiven heat to the body. On the contrary, it is now known and admitted by\nthe medical profession that\n\n\nALCOHOL REDUCES THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BODY,\n\ninstead of increasing it; and it has even been used in fevers as an\nanti-pyretic. So uniform has been the testimony of physicians in Europe\nand this country as to the cooling effects of alcohol, that Dr. Wood\nsays, in his Materia Medica, \"that it does not seem worth while to\noccupy space with a discussion of the subject.\" Liebermeister, one of\nthe most learned contributors to Zeimssen's Cyclop\u00e6dia of the Practice\nof Medicine, 1875, says: \"I long since convinced myself, by direct\nexperiments, that alcohol, even in comparatively large doses, does not\nelevate the temperature of the body in either well or sick people.\" So\nwell had this become known to Arctic voyagers, that, even before\nphysiologists had demonstrated the fact that alcohol reduced, instead of\nincreasing, the temperature of the body, they had learned that spirits\nlessened their power to withstand extreme cold. \"In the Northern\nregions,\" says Edward Smith, \"it was proved that the entire exclusion of\nspirits was necessary, in order to retain heat under these unfavorable\nconditions.\"\n\n\nALCOHOL DOES NOT GIVE STRENGTH.\n\nIf alcohol does not contain tissue-building material, nor give heat to\nthe body, it cannot possibly add to its strength. \"Every kind of power\nan animal can generate,\" says Dr. G. Budd, F.R.S., \"the mechanical power\nof the muscles, the chemical (or digestive) power of the stomach, the\nintellectual power of the brain--accumulates _through the nutrition of\nthe organ_ on which it depends.\" Dr. F.R. Lees, of Edinburgh, after\ndiscussing the question, and educing evidence, remarks: \"From the very\nnature of things, it will now be seen how _impossible_ it is that\nalcohol can be strengthening food of either kind. Since it cannot become\na _part_ of the body, it cannot consequently contribute to its cohesive,\norganic strength, or fixed power; and, since it comes out of the body\njust as it went in, it cannot, by its decomposition, generate\n_heat_-force.\"\n\nSir Benjamin Brodie says: \"Stimulants do not create nervous power; they\nmerely enable you, as it were, to _use up_ that which is left, and then\nthey leave you more in need of rest than before.\"\n\nBaron Liebig, so far back as 1843, in his \"Animal Chemistry,\" pointed\nout the fallacy of alcohol generating power. He says: \"The circulation\nwill appear accelerated at the expense of the force available for\nvoluntary motion, but without the production of a greater amount of\nmechanical force.\" In his later \"Letters,\" he again says: \"Wine is quite\nsuperfluous to man, * * * it is constantly followed by the expenditure\nof power\"--whereas, the real function of food is to give power. He adds:\n\"These drinks promote the change of matter in the body, and are,\nconsequently, attended by an inward loss of power, which ceases to be\nproductive, because it is not employed in overcoming outward\ndifficulties--i.e., in working.\" In other words, this great chemist\nasserts that alcohol abstracts the power of the system from doing useful\nwork in the field or workshop, in order to cleanse the house from the\ndefilement of alcohol itself.\n\nThe late Dr. W. Brinton, Physician to St. Thomas', in his great work on\nDietetics, says: \"Careful observation leaves little doubt that a\nmoderate dose of beer or wine would, in most cases, at once diminish the\nmaximum weight which a healthy person could lift. Mental acuteness,\naccuracy of perception and delicacy of the senses are all so far opposed\nby alcohol, as that the maximum efforts of each are incompatible with\nthe ingestion of any moderate quantity of fermented liquid. A single\nglass will often suffice to take the edge off both mind and body, and to\nreduce their capacity to something below their perfection of work.\"\n\nDr. F.R. Lees, F.S.A., writing on the subject of alcohol as a food,\nmakes the following quotation from an essay on \"Stimulating Drinks,\"\npublished by Dr. H.R. Madden, as long ago as 1847: \"Alcohol is not the\nnatural stimulus to any of our organs, and hence, functions performed in\nconsequence of its application, tend to debilitate the organ acted\nupon.\n\n\"Alcohol is incapable of being assimilated or converted into any organic\nproximate principle, and hence, cannot be considered nutritious.\n\n\"The strength experienced after the use of alcohol is not new strength\nadded to the system, but is manifested by calling into exercise the\nnervous energy pre-existing.\n\n\"The ultimate exhausting effects of alcohol, owing to its stimulant\nproperties, produce an unnatural susceptibility to morbid action in all\nthe organs, and this, with the plethora superinduced, becomes a fertile\nsource of disease.\n\n\"A person who habitually exerts himself to such an extent as to require\nthe daily use of stimulants to ward off exhaustion, may be compared to a\nmachine working under high pressure. He will become much more obnoxious\nto the causes of disease, and will certainly break down sooner than he\nwould have done under more favorable circumstances.\n\n\"The more frequently alcohol is had recourse to for the purpose of\novercoming feelings of debility, the more it will be required, and by\nconstant repetition a period is at length reached when it cannot be\nforegone, unless reaction is simultaneously brought about by a temporary\ntotal change of the habits of life.\n\n\"Owing to the above facts, I conclude that the DAILY USE OF STIMULANTS\nIS INDEFENSIBLE UNDER ANY KNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES.\"\n\n\nDRIVEN TO THE WALL.\n\nNot finding that alcohol possesses any direct alimentary value, the\nmedical advocates of its use have been driven to the assumption that it\nis a kind of secondary food, in that it has the power to delay the\nmetamorphosis of tissue. \"By the metamorphosis of tissue is meant,\" says\nDr. Hunt, \"that change which is constantly going on in the system which\ninvolves a constant disintegration of material; a breaking up and\navoiding of that which is no longer aliment, making room for that new\nsupply which is to sustain life.\" Another medical writer, in referring\nto this metamorphosis, says: \"The importance of this process to the\nmaintenance of life is readily shown by the injurious effects which\nfollow upon its disturbance. If the discharge of the excrementitious\nsubstances be in any way impeded or suspended, these substances\naccumulate either in the blood or tissues, or both. In consequence of\nthis retention and accumulation they become poisonous, and rapidly\nproduce a derangement of the vital functions. Their influence is\nprincipally exerted upon the nervous system, through which they produce\nmost frequent irritability, disturbance of the special senses, delirium,\ninsensibility, coma, and finally, death.\"\n\n\"This description,\" remarks Dr. Hunt, \"seems almost intended for\nalcohol.\" He then says: \"To claim alcohol as a food because it delays\nthe metamorphosis of tissue, is to claim that it in some way suspends\nthe normal conduct of the laws of assimilation and nutrition, of waste\nand repair. A leading advocate of alcohol (Hammond) thus illustrates it:\n'Alcohol retards the destruction of the tissues. By this destruction,\nforce is generated, muscles contract, thoughts are developed, organs\nsecrete and excrete.' In other words, alcohol interferes with all these.\nNo wonder the author 'is not clear' how it does this, and we are not\nclear how such delayed metamorphosis recuperates. To take an agent which\nis\n\n\n\"NOT KNOWN TO BE IN ANY SENSE AN ORIGINATOR OF VITAL FORCE;\n\n\"which is not known to have any of the usual power of foods, and use it\non the double assumption that it delays metamorphosis of tissue, and\nthat such delay is conservative of health, is to pass outside of the\nbounds of science into the land of remote possibilities, and confer the\ntitle of adjuster upon an agent whose agency is itself doubtful. * * * *\n\n\"Having failed to identify alcohol as a nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous\nfood, not having found it amenable to any of the evidences by which the\nfood-force of aliments is generally measured, it will not do for us to\ntalk of benefit by delay of regressive metamorphosis unless such process\nis accompanied with something evidential of the fact--something\nscientifically descriptive of its mode of accomplishment in the case at\nhand, and unless it is shown to be practically desirable for\nalimentation.\n\n\"There can be no doubt that alcohol does cause _defects_ in the\nprocesses of elimination which are natural to the healthy body and which\neven in disease are often conservative of health. In the pent-in evils\nwhich pathology so often shows occurrent in the case of spirit-drinkers,\nin the vascular, fatty and fibroid degenerations which take place, in\nthe accumulations of rheumatic and scrofulous tendencies, there is the\nstrongest evidence that\n\n\n\"ALCOHOL ACTS AS A DISTURBING ELEMENT\n\n\"and is very prone to initiate serious disturbances amid the normal\nconduct both of organ and function.\n\n\"To assert that this interference is conservative in the midst of such a\nfearful accumulation of evidence as to result in quite the other\ndirection, and that this kind of delay in tissue-change accumulates\nvital force, is as unscientific as it is paradoxical.\n\n\"Dickinson, in his able expose of the effects of alcohol, (_Lancet_,\nNov., 1872,) confines himself to pathological facts. After recounting,\nwith accuracy, the structural changes which it initiates, and the\nstructural changes and consequent derangement and suspension of vital\nfunctions which it involves, he aptly terms it the 'genius of\ndegeneration.'\n\n\"With abundant provision of indisputable foods, select that liquid which\nhas failed to command the general assent of experts that it is a food at\nall, and because it is claimed to diminish some of the excretions, call\nthat a delay of metamorphosis of tissue conservative of health! The\nostrich may bury his head in the sand, but science will not close its\neyes before such impalpable dust.\"\n\nSpeaking of this desperate effort to claim alcohol as a food, Dr. N.S.\nDavis well says: \"It seems hardly possible that men of eminent\nattainments in the profession should so far forget one of the most\nfundamental and universally recognized laws of organic life as to\npromulgate the fallacy here stated. The fundamental law to which we\nallude is, that all vital phenomena are accompanied by, and dependent\non, molecular or atomic changes; and whatever retards these retards the\nphenomena of life; whatever suspends these suspends life. Hence, to say\nthat an agent which retards tissue metamorphosis is in any sense a food,\nis simply to pervert and misapply terms.\"\n\nWell may the author of the paper from which we have quoted so freely,\nexclaim: \"Strangest of foods! most impalpable of aliments! defying all\nthe research of animal chemistry, tasking all the ingenuity of experts\nin hypothetical explanations, registering its effects chiefly by\nfunctional disturbance and organic lesions, causing its very defenders\nas a food to stultify themselves when in fealty to facts they are\ncompelled to disclose its destructions, and to find the only defense in\nthat line of demarcation, more imaginary than the equator, more delusive\nthan the mirage, between use and abuse.\"\n\nThat alcohol is not a food in any sense, has been fully shown; and now,\n\n\nWHAT IS ITS VALUE AS A MEDICINE?\n\nOur reply to this question will be brief. The reader has, already, the\ndeclaration of the International Medical Congress, that, as a medicine,\nthe range of alcohol is limited and doubtful, and that its\nself-prescription by the laity should be utterly discountenanced by the\nprofession. No physician who has made himself thoroughly acquainted with\nthe effects of alcohol when introduced into the blood and brought in\ncontact with the membranes, nerves and organs of the human body, would\nnow venture to prescribe its free use to consumptives as was done a very\nfew years ago.\n\n\"In the whole management of lung diseases,\" remarks Dr. Hunt, \"with the\nexception of the few who can always be relied upon to befriend alcohol,\nother remedies have largely superseded all spirituous liquors. Its\nemployment in stomach disease, once so popular, gets no encouragement,\nfrom a careful examination of its local and constitutional effects, as\nseparated from the water, sugar and acids imbibed with it.\"\n\n\nTYPHOID FEVER.\n\nIt is in typhoid fever that alcohol has been used, perhaps, most\nfrequently by the profession; but this use is now restricted, and the\nadministration made with great caution. Prof. A.L. Loomis, of New York\nCity, has published several lectures on the pathology and treatment of\ntyphoid fever. Referring thereto, Dr. Hunt says: \"No one in our country\ncan speak more authoritatively, and as he has no radical views as to the\nexclusion of alcohol, it is worth while to notice the place to which he\nassigns it. In the milder cases he entirely excludes it. As a means of\nreducing temperature, he does not mention it, but relies on cold,\nquinine, and sometimes, digitalis and quinine.\" When, about the third\nweek, signs of failure of heart-power begin to manifest themselves, and\nthe use of some form of stimulant seems to be indicated, Dr. Loomis\ngives the most guarded advice as to their employment. \"Never,\" he says,\n\"give a patient stimulants simply because he has typhoid fever.\" And\nagain, \"Where there is reasonable doubt as to the propriety of giving or\nwithholding stimulants, it is safer to withhold them.\" He then insists\nthat, if stimulants are administered, the patient should be visited\nevery two hours to watch their effects.\n\nIt will thus be seen how guarded has now become the use of alcohol as a\ncardiac stimulant in typhoid fevers, where it was once employed with an\nalmost reckless freedom. Many practitioners have come to exclude it\naltogether, and to rely wholly on ammonia, ether and foods.\n\nIn Cameron's \"Hygiene\" is this sentence: \"In candor, it must be admitted\nthat many eminent physicians deny the efficacy of alcohol in the\ntreatment of any kind of disease, _and some assert that it is worse\nthan useless_.\"\n\n\nACCUMULATIVE TESTIMONY.\n\nDr. Arnold Lees, F.L.S., in a recent paper on the \"Use and Action of\nAlcohol in Disease,\" assumes \"_that the old use of alcohol was not\nscience, but a grave blunder_.\" Prof. C.A. Parks says: \"It is impossible\nnot to feel that, so far, the progress of physiological inquiry renders\nthe use of alcohol (in medicine) more and more doubtful.\" Dr. Anstie\nsays: \"If alcohol is to be administered at all for the _relief_ of\nneuralgia, it should be given with as much precision, as to dose, as we\nshould use in giving an acknowledged _deadly poison_.\" Dr. F.T. Roberts,\nan eminent English physician, in advocating a guarded use of alcohol in\ntyphoid fever, says: \"Alcoholic stimulants are, by no means, always\nrequired, and their indiscriminate use may do a great deal of harm.\" In\nAsiatic cholera, brandy was formerly administered freely to patients\nwhen in the stage of collapse. The effect was injurious, instead of\nbeneficial. \"Again and again,\" says Prof. G. Johnson, \"have I seen a\npatient grow colder, and his pulse diminish in volume and power, after a\ndose of brandy, and, apparently, as a direct result of the brandy.\" And\nDr. Pidduck, of London, who used common salt in cholera treatment, says:\n\"Of eighty-six cases in the stage of collapse, sixteen only proved\nfatal, and scarcely one would have died, _if I had been able to prevent\nthem from taking brandy and laudanum_.\" Dr. Collenette, of Guernsey,\nsays: \"For more than thirty years I have abandoned the use of all kinds\nof alcoholic drinks in my practice, and with such good results, that,\nwere I sick, _nothing_ would induce _me_ to have resource to them--_they\nare but noxious depressants_.\"\n\nAs a non-professional writer, we cannot go beyond the medical testimony\nwhich has been educed, and we now leave it with the reader. We could add\nmany pages to this testimony, but such cumulative evidence would add but\nlittle to its force with the reader. If he is not yet convinced that\nalcohol has no food value, and that, as a medicine, its range is\nexceedingly limited, and always of doubtful administration, nothing\nfurther that we might be able to cite or say could have any influence\nwith him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE GROWTH AND POWER OF APPETITE.\n\n\nOne fact attendant on habitual drinking stands out so prominently that\nnone can call it in question. It is that of the steady growth of\nappetite. There are exceptions, as in the action of nearly every rule;\nbut the almost invariable result of the habit we have mentioned, is, as\nwe have said, a steady growth of appetite for the stimulant imbibed.\nThat this is in consequence of certain morbid changes in the physical\ncondition produced by the alcohol itself, will hardly be questioned by\nany one who has made himself acquainted with the various functional and\norganic derangements which invariably follow the continued introduction\nof this substance into the body.\n\nBut it is to the fact itself, not to its cause, that we now wish to\ndirect the reader's attention. The man who is satisfied at first with a\nsingle glass of wine at dinner, finds, after awhile, that appetite asks\nfor a little more; and, in time, a second glass is conceded. The\nincrease of desire may be very slow, but it goes on surely until, in the\nend, a whole bottle will scarcely suffice, with far too many, to meet\nits imperious demands. It is the same in regard to the use of every\nother form of alcoholic drink.\n\nNow, there are men so constituted that they are able, for a long series\nof years, or even for a whole lifetime, to hold this appetite within a\ncertain limit of indulgence. To say \"So far, and no farther.\" They\nsuffer ultimately from physical ailments, which surely follow the\nprolonged contact of alcoholic poison with the delicate structures of\nthe body, many of a painful character, and shorten the term of their\nnatural lives; but still they are able to drink without an increase of\nappetite so great as to reach an overmastering degree. They do not\nbecome abandoned drunkards.\n\n\nNO MAN SAFE WHO DRINKS.\n\nBut no man who begins the use of alcohol in any form can tell what, in\nthe end, is going to be its effect on his body or mind. Thousands and\ntens of thousands, once wholly unconscious of danger from this source,\ngo down yearly into drunkards' graves. There is no standard by which any\none can measure the latent evil forces in his inherited nature. He may\nhave from ancestors, near or remote, an unhealthy moral tendency, or\nphysical diathesis, to which the peculiarly disturbing influence of\nalcohol will give the morbid condition in which it will find its\ndisastrous life. That such results follow the use of alcohol in a large\nnumber of cases, is now a well-known fact in the history of inebriation.\nDuring the past few years, the subject of alcoholism, with the mental\nand moral causes leading thereto, have attracted a great deal of earnest\nattention. Physicians, superintendents of inebriate and lunatic asylums,\nprison-keepers, legislators and philanthropists have been observing and\nstudying its many sad and terrible phases, and recording results and\nopinions. While differences are held on some points, as, for instance,\nwhether drunkenness is a disease for which, after it has been\nestablished, the individual ceases to be responsible, and should be\nsubject to restraint and treatment, as for lunacy or fever; a crime to\nbe punished; or a sin to be repented of and healed by the Physician of\nsouls, all agree that there is an inherited or acquired mental and\nnervous condition with many, which renders any use of alcohol\nexceedingly dangerous.\n\nThe point we wish to make with the reader is, that no man can possibly\nknow, until he has used alcoholic drinks for a certain period of time,\nwhether he has or has not this hereditary or acquired physical or mental\ncondition; and that, if it should exist, a discovery of the fact may\ncome too late.\n\nDr. D.G. Dodge, late Superintendent of the New York State Inebriate\nAsylum, speaking of the causes leading to intemperance, after stating\nhis belief that it is a transmissible disease, like \"scrofula, gout or\nconsumption,\" says:\n\n\"There are men who have an organization, which may be termed an\nalcoholic idiosyncrasy; with them the latent desire for stimulants, if\nindulged, soon leads to habits of intemperance, and eventually to a\nmorbid appetite, which has all the characteristics of a diseased\ncondition of the system, which the patient, unassisted, is powerless to\nrelieve--since the weakness of the will that led to the disease\nobstructs its removal.\n\n\"Again, we find in another class of persons, those who have had healthy\nparents, and have been educated and accustomed to good social\ninfluences, moral and social, but whose temperament and physical\nconstitution are such, that, when they once indulge in the use of\nstimulants, which they find pleasurable, they continue to habitually\nindulge till they cease to be moderate, and become excessive drinkers. A\ndepraved appetite is established, that leads them on slowly, but surely,\nto destruction.\"\n\n\nA DANGEROUS DELUSION.\n\nIn this chapter, our chief purpose is to show the growth and awful power\nof an appetite which begins striving for the mastery the moment it is\nindulged, and against the encroachments of which no man who gives it any\nindulgence is absolutely safe. He who so regards himself is resting in a\nmost dangerous delusion. So gradually does it increase, that few observe\nits steady accessions of strength until it has acquired the power of a\nmaster. Dr. George M. Burr, in a paper on the pathology of drunkenness,\nread before the \"American Association for the Cure of Inebriates,\"\nsays, in referring to the first indications of an appetite, which he\nconsiders one of the symptoms of a forming disease, says: \"This early\nstage is marked by an occasional desire to drink, which recurs at\nshorter and shorter intervals, and a propensity, likewise, gradually\nincreasing for a greater quantity at each time. This stage has long been\nbelieved to be one of voluntary indulgence, for which the subject of it\nwas morally responsible. The drinker has been held as criminal for his\noccasional indulgence, and his example has been most severely censured.\nThis habit, however, must be regarded as the first intimation of the\napproaching disease--the stage of invasion, precisely as sensations of\n_mal-aise_ and chills usher in a febrile attack.\n\n\"It is by no means claimed that in this stage the subject is free from\nresponsibility as regards the consequences of his acts, or that his case\nis to be looked upon as beyond all attempts at reclamation. Quite to the\ncontrary. This is the stage for active interference. Restraint,\nprohibition, quarantine, anything may be resorted to, to arrest the\nfarther advance of the disease. Instead of being taught that the habit\nof occasional drinking is merely a moral _lapsus_ (not the most powerful\nrestraining motive always), the subject of it should be made to\nunderstand that it is the commencement of a malady, which, if unchecked,\nwill overwhelm him in ruin, and, compared with which, cholera and yellow\nfever are harmless. He should be impressed with the fact that the early\nstage is the one when recuperation is most easy--that the will then has\nnot lost its power of control, and that the fatal propensity is not\nincurable. The duty of prevention, or avoidance, should be enforced with\nas much earnestness and vigor as we are required to carry out sanitary\nmeasures against the spread of small-pox or any infectious disease. The\nsubject of inebriety may be justly held responsible, if he neglects all\nsuch efforts, and allows the disease to progress without a struggle to\narrest it.\n\n\"The formative stage of inebriety continues for a longer or shorter\nperiod, when, as is well known, more frequent repetitions of the\npractice of drinking are to be observed. The impulse to drink grows\nstronger and stronger, the will-power is overthrown and the entire\norganism becomes subject to the fearful demands for stimulus. It is now\nthat the stage of confirmed inebriation is formed, and _dypso-mania_\nfully established. The constant introduction of alcohol into the system,\ncirculating with the fluids and permeating the tissues, adds fuel to the\nalready enkindled flame, and intensifies the propensity to an\nirresistible degree. Nothing now satisfies short of complete\nintoxication, and, until the unhappy subject of the disease falls\nsenseless and completely overcome, will he cease his efforts to gratify\nthis most insatiable desire.\"\n\nDr. Alexander Peddie, of Edinburgh, who has given twenty years of study\nto this subject, remarked, in his testimony before a Committee of the\nHouse of Commons, that there seemed to be \"a peculiar elective affinity\nfor the action of alcohol on the nervous system after it had found its\nway through the circulation into the brain,\" by which the whole organism\nwas disturbed, and the man rendered less able to resist morbid\ninfluences of any kind. He gave many striking instances of the growth\nand power of appetite, which had come under his professional notice, and\nof the ingenious devices and desperate resorts to which dypsomaniacs\nwere driven in their efforts to satisfy their inordinate cravings. No\nconsideration, temporal or spiritual, had any power to restrain their\nappetite, if, by any means, fair or foul, they could obtain alcoholic\nstimulants. To get this, he said, the unhappy subject of this terrible\nthirst \"will tell the most shameful lies--for no truth is ever found in\nconnection with the habitual drunkard's state. He never yet saw truth in\nrelation to drink got out of one who was a dypsomaniac--he has\nsufficient reason left to tell these untruths, and to understand his\nposition, because people in that condition are seldom dead drunk; they\nare seldom in the condition of total stupidity; they have generally an\neye open to their own affairs, and that which is the main business of\ntheir existence, namely, how to get drink. They will resort to the most\ningenious, mean and degrading contrivances and practices to procure and\nconceal liquor, and this, too, while closely watched; and will succeed\nin deception, although fabulous quantities are daily swallowed.\"\n\nDr. John Nugent gives a case which came within his own knowledge, of a\nlady who had been\n\n\nA MOST EXEMPLARY NUN\n\nfor fifteen or twenty years. In consequence of her devotion to the poor,\nattending them in fevers, and like cases, it seemed necessary for her to\ntake stimulants; these stimulants grew to be habitual, and she had been\ncompelled, five or six times, to place herself in a private asylum. In\nthree or four weeks after being let out, she would relapse, although she\nwas believed to be under the strongest influences of religion, and of\nthe most virtuous desires. There had been developed in her that\ndisposition to drink which she was unable to overcome or control.\n\nThe power of this appetite, and the frightful moral perversions that\noften follow its indulgence are vividly portrayed in the following\nextract, from an address by Dr. Elisha Harris, of New York, in which he\ndiscusses the question of the criminality of drunkenness.\n\n\"Let the fact be noticed that such is the lethargy which alcoholism\nproduces upon reason and conscience, that it is sometimes necessary to\nbring the offender to view his drunken indulgence as a crime. We have\nknown a refined and influential citizen to be so startled at the fact\nthat he wished to destroy the lives of all persons, even of his own\nfamily, who manifested unhappiness at his intemperance, that seeing\nthis terrible criminality of his indulgence, instantly formed, and has\nforever kept, his resolutions of abstinence. We have known the\nhereditary dypsomaniac break from his destroyer, and when tempted in\nsecret by the monstrous appetite, so grind his teeth and clinch his jaws\nin keeping his vows to taste not, that blood dripped from his mouth and\ncold sweat bathed his face. That man is a model of temperance and moral\npower to-day. And it was the consciousness of personal criminality that\nstimulated these successful conflicts with the morbid appetite and the\npowers of the alcohol disease that had fastened upon them. Shall we\nhesitate to hold ourselves, or to demand that communities shall hold\nevery drunkard--not yet insane--responsible for every act of inebriety?\nCertainly, it is not cruel or unjust to deal thus with drunkenness. It\nis not the prison we open, but conscience.\"\n\nThe danger in which those stand who have an\n\n\nINHERITED PREDISPOSITION TO DRINK,\n\nis very great. Rev. I. Willett, Superintendent of the Inebriate's Home,\nFort Hamilton, Kings County, New York, thus refers to this class, which\nis larger than many think: \"There are a host of living men and women to\nbe found who never drank, and who dare not drink, intoxicating liquors\nor beverages, because one or both of their parents were inebriates\nbefore they were born into the world; and, besides, a number of these\nhave brothers or sisters who, having given way to the inherited\nappetite, are now passing downward on this descending sliding scale. The\ngreater portion of them have already passed over the bounds of\nself-control, and the varied preliminary symptoms of melancholy, mania,\nparalysis, ideas of persecution, etc., etc., are developing. As to the\nquestion of responsibility, each case is either more or less doubtful,\nand can only be tested on its separate merits. There is, however,\nabundant evidence to prove that this predisposition to inebriety, even\nafter long indulgence, can, by a skillful process of medication,\naccompanied by either voluntary or compulsory restraint, be subdued; and\nthe counterbalancing physical and mental powers can at the same time be\nso strengthened and invigorated as in the future to enable the person to\nresist the temptations by which he may be surrounded. Yea, though the\npowers of reason may, for the time being, be dethroned, and lunacy be\ndeveloped, these cases, in most instances, will yield to medical\ntreatment where the surrounding conditions of restraint and careful\nnursing are supplemental.\n\n\"We have observed that in many instances the fact of the patient being\nconvinced that he is an hereditary inebriate, has produced beneficial\nresults. Summoning to his aid all the latent counterbalancing energies\nwhich he has at command, and clothing himself with this armor, he goes\nforth to war, throws up the fortifications of physical and mental\nrestraint, repairs the breaches and inroads of diseased appetite,\nregains control of the citadel of the brain, and then, with shouts of\ntriumph, he unfurls the banner of 'VICTORY!'\"\n\nDr. Wood, of London, in his work on insanity, speaking on the subject of\nhereditary inebriety, says:\n\n\"Instances are sufficiently familiar, and several have occurred within\nmy own personal knowledge, where the father, having died at any early\nage from the effects of intemperance, has left a son to be brought up by\nthose who have severely suffered from his excesses, and have therefore\nthe strongest motives to prevent, if possible, a repetition of such\nmisery; every pain has been taken to enforce sobriety, and yet,\nnotwithstanding all precautions, the habits of the father have become\nthose of the son, who, never having seen him from infancy, could not\nhave adopted them from imitation. Everything was done to encourage\nhabits of temperance, but all to no purpose; the seeds of the disease\nhad begun to germinate; a blind impulse led the doomed individual, by\nsuccessive and rapid strides, along the same course which was fatal to\nthe father, and which, ere long, terminated in his own destruction.\"\n\nHow great and fearful the power of an appetite which cannot only enslave\nand curse the man over which it gains control, but send its malign\ninfluence down to the second and third and fourth generations,\nsometimes to the absolute\n\n\nEXTINGUISHMENT OF FAMILIES!\n\nMorel, a Frenchman, gives the following as the result of his observation\nof the hereditary effects of drunkenness:\n\n\"_First generation_: Immorality, depravity, excess in the use of\nalcoholic liquors, moral debasement. _Second generation_: Hereditary\ndrunkenness, paroxysms of mania, general paralysis. _Third generation_:\nSobriety, hypochondria, melancholy, systematic ideas of being\npersecuted, homicidal tendencies. _Fourth generation_: Intelligence\nslightly developed, first accessions of mania at sixteen years of age,\nstupidity, subsequent idiocy and probable extinction of family.\"\n\nDr. T.D. Crothers, in an analysis of the hundred cases of inebriety\nreceived at the New York Inebriate Asylum, gives this result: \"Inebriety\ninherited direct from parents was traced in twenty-one cases. In eleven\nof these the father drank alone, in six instances the mother drank, and\nin four cases both parents drank.\n\n\"In thirty-three cases inebriety was traced to ancestors more remote, as\ngrandfather, grandmother, etc., etc., the collateral branches exhibiting\nboth inebriety and insanity. In some instances a whole generation had\nbeen passed over, and the disorders of the grandparents appeared again.\n\n\"In twenty cases various neurosal disorders had been prominent in the\nfamily and its branches, of which neuralgia, chorea, hysteria,\neccentricity, mania, epilepsy and inebriety, were most common.\n\n\"In some cases, a wonderful periodicity in the outbreak of these\ndisorders was manifested.\n\n\"For instance, in one family, for two generations, inebriety appeared in\nseven out of twelve members, after they had passed forty, and ended\nfatally within ten years. In another, hysteria, chorea, epilepsy and\nmania, with drunkenness, came on soon after puberty, and seemed to\ndeflect to other disorders, or exhaust itself before middle life. This\noccurred in eight out of fourteen, extending over two generations. In\nanother instance, the descendants of three generations, and many of the\ncollateral branches, developed inebriety, mental eccentricities, with\nother disorders bordering on mania, at about thirty-five years of age.\nIn some cases this lasted only a few years, in others a lifetime.\"\n\nAnd here let us say that in this matter of an inherited appetite there\nis a difference of views with some who believe that appetite is never\ntransmitted but always acquired. This difference of view is more\napparent than real. It is not the drunkard's appetite that is\ntransmitted, but the bias or proclivity which renders the subject of\nsuch an inherited tendency more susceptible to exciting causes, and\ntherefore in greater danger from the use of alcoholic drinks than\nothers.\n\nDr. N.S. Davis, in an article in the _Washingtonian_, published at\nChicago, presents the opposite view of the case. The following extract\nfrom this article is well worthy to be read and considered:\n\n\"If we should say that man is so constituted that he is capable of\nfeeling weary, restless, despondent and anxious, and that he\ninstinctively desires to be relieved of these unpleasant feelings, we\nshould assert a self-evident fact. And we should thereby assert all the\ninstincts or natural impulse there is in the matter. It is simply a\ndesire to be relieved from unpleasant feelings, and does not, in the\nslightest degree, indicate or suggest any particular remedy. It no more\nactually suggests the idea of alcohol or opium than it does bread and\nwater. But if, by accident, or by the experience of others, the\nindividual has learned that his unpleasant feelings can be relieved, for\nthe time being, by alcohol, opium or any other exhilarant, he not only\nuses the remedy himself, but perpetuates a knowledge of the same to\nothers. It is in this way, and this only, that most of the nations and\ntribes of our race, have, much to their detriment, found a knowledge of\nsome kind of intoxicant. The same explanation is applicable to the\nsupposed 'constitutional susceptibility,' as a primary cause of\nintemperance. That some persons inherit a greater degree of nervous and\norganic susceptibility than others, and are, in consequence of this\ngreater susceptibility, more readily affected by a given quantity of\nnarcotic, an\u00e6sthetic or intoxicant, is undoubtedly true. And that such\nwill\n\n\n\"MORE READILY BECOME DRUNKARDS,\n\n\"if they once commence to use intoxicating drinks, is also true. But that\nsuch persons, or any others, have the slightest inherent or\nconstitutional taste or any longing for intoxicants, until they have\nacquired such taste or longing by actual use, we find no reliable proof.\nIt is true that statistics appear to show that a larger proportion of\nthe children of drunkards become themselves drunkards, than of children\nborn of total abstainers. And hence the conclusion has been drawn that\nsuch children INHERITED the constitutional tendency to inebriation. But\nbefore we are justified in adopting such a conclusion, several other\nimportant facts must be ascertained.\n\n\"1st. We must know whether the mother, while nursing, used more or less\nconstantly some kind of alcoholic beverage, by which the alcohol might\nhave impregnated the milk in her breasts and thereby made its early\nimpression on the tastes and longings of the child.\n\n\"2d. We must know whether the intemperate parents were in the habit of\nfrequently giving alcoholic preparations to the children, either to\nrelieve temporary ailments, or for the same reason that they drank it\nthemselves. I am constrained to say, that from my own observation,\nextending over a period of forty years, and a field by no means limited,\nI am satisfied that nineteen out of every twenty persons who have been\nregarded as HEREDITARY inebriates have simply ACQUIRED the disposition\nto drink by one or both of the methods just mentioned, after birth.\"\n\nThe views here presented in no way lessen but really heighten the perils\nof moderate drinking. It is affirmed that some persons inherit a greater\ndegree of nervous and organic susceptibility than others, and are, in\nconsequence, more readily affected by a given quantity of narcotic,\nan\u00e6sthetic or intoxicant; _and that such \"will more readily become\ndrunkards if they commence to use intoxicating drinks.\"_\n\nBe the cause of this\n\n\nINHERITED NERVOUS SUSCEPTIBILITY\n\nwhat it may, and it is far more general than is to be inferred from the\nadmission just quoted, the fact stands forth as a solemn warning of the\nperil every man encounters in even the most moderate use of alcohol.\nSpeaking of this matter, Dr. George M. Beard, who is not as sound on the\nliquor question as we could wish, says, in an article on the \"Causes of\nthe Recent Increase of Inebriety in America:\" \"As a means of prevention,\nabstinence from the _habit_ of drinking is to be enforced. Such\nabstinence may not have been necessary for our fathers, but it is\nrendered necessary for a large body of the American people on account of\nour greater nervous susceptibility. It is possible to drink without\nbeing an habitual drinker, as it is possible to take chloral or opium\nwithout forming the habit of taking these substances. In certain\ncountries and climates where the nervous system is strong and the\ntemperature more equable than with us, in what I sometimes call the\ntemperate belt of the world, including Spain, Italy, Southern France,\nSyria and Persia, the habitual use of wine rarely leads to drunkenness,\nand never, or almost never, to inebriety; but in the intemperate belt,\nwhere we live, and which includes Northern Europe and the United States,\nwith a cold and violently changeable climate, the habit of drinking\neither wines or stronger liquors is liable to develop in some cases a\nhabit of intemperance. Notably in our country, where nervous\nsensitiveness is seen in its extreme manifestations, the majority of\nbrain-workers are not safe so long as they are in the habit of even\nmoderate drinking. I admit that this was not the case one hundred years\nago--and the reasons I have already given--it is not the case to-day in\nContinental Europe; even in England it is not so markedly the case as in\nthe northern part of the United States. _For those individuals who\ninherit a tendency to inebriety, the only safe course is absolute\nabstinence, especially in early life._\"\n\nIn the same article, Dr. Baird remarks: \"The number of those in this\ncountry who cannot bear tea, coffee or alcoholic liquors of any kind, is\nvery large. There are many, especially in the Northern States, who must\nforego coffee entirely, and use tea only with caution; either, in any\nexcess, cause trembling nerves and sleepless nights. The susceptibility\nto alcohol is so marked, with many persons, that no pledges, and no\nmedical advice, and no moral or legal influences are needed to keep them\nin the paths of temperance. _Such persons are warned by flushing of the\nface, or by headache, that alcohol, whatever it may be to others, or\nwhatever it may have been to their ancestors, is poison to them._\"\n\nBut, in order to give a higher emphasis to precepts, admonition and\nmedical testimony, we offer a single example of the enslaving power of\nappetite, when, to a predisposing hereditary tendency, the excitement of\nindulgence has been added. The facts of this case were communicated to\nus by a professional gentleman connected with one of our largest\ninebriate asylums, and we give them almost in his very words in which\nthey were related.\n\n\nA REMARKABLE CASE.\n\nA clever, but dissipated actor married clandestinely a farmer's daughter\nin the State of New York. The parents of the girl would not recognize\nhim as the husband of their child; rejecting him so utterly that he\nfinally left the neighborhood. A son born of this marriage gave early\nevidence of great mental activity, and was regarded, in the college\nwhere he graduated, as almost a prodigy of learning. He carried off\nmany prizes, and distinguished himself as a brilliant orator. Afterwards\nhe went to Princeton and studied for the ministry. While there, it was\ndiscovered that he was secretly drinking. The faculty did everything in\ntheir power to help and restrain him; and his co-operation with them was\nearnest as to purpose, but not permanently availing. The nervous\nsusceptibility inherited from his father responded with a morbid\nquickness to every exciting cause, and the moment wine or spirits\ntouched the sense of smell or taste, he was seized with an almost\nirresistible desire to drink to excess, and too often yielded to its\ndemands. For months he would abstain entirely; and then drink to\nintoxication in secret.\n\nAfter graduating from Princeton he became pastor of a church in one of\nthe largest cities of Western New York, where he remained for two years,\ndistinguishing himself for his earnest work and fervid eloquence. But\nthe appetite he had formed was imperious in its demands, and\nperiodically became so strong that he lost the power of resistance. When\nthese periodic assaults of appetite came, he would\n\n\nLOCK HIMSELF IN HIS ROOM FOR DAYS\n\nand satiate the fierce thirst, coming out sick and exhausted. It was\nimpossible to conceal from his congregation the dreadful habit into\nwhich he had fallen, and ere two years had elapsed he was dismissed for\ndrunkenness. He then went to one of the chief cities of the West, where\nhe received a call, and was, for a time, distinguished as a preacher;\nbut again he fell into disgrace and had to leave his charge. Two other\nchurches called him to fill the office of pastor, but the same sad\ndefections from sobriety followed. For a considerable time after this\nhis friends lost sight of him. Then he was found in the streets of New\nYork City by the president of the college from which he had first\ngraduated, wretched and debased from drink, coatless and hatless. His\nold friend took him to a hotel, and then brought his case to the notice\nof the people at a prayer-meeting held in the evening at one of the\nchurches. His case was immediately taken in hand and money raised to\nsend him to the State Inebriate Asylum. After he had remained there for\na year, he began to preach as a supply in a church a few miles distant,\ngoing on Saturday evening and returning on Monday morning; but always\nhaving an attendant with him, not daring to trust himself alone. This\nwent on for nearly a whole year, when a revival sprang up in the church,\nwhich he conducted with great eloquence and fervor. After the second\nweek of this new excitement, he began to lock himself up in his room\nafter returning from the service, and could not be seen until the next\nmorning. In the third week of the revival, the excitement of the\nmeetings grew intense. After this he was only seen in the pulpit, where\nhis air and manner were wild and thrilling. His friends at the asylum\nknew that he must be drinking, and while hesitating as to their wisest\ncourse, waited anxiously for the result. One day he was grandly\neloquent. Such power in the pulpit had never been witnessed there\nbefore--his appeals were unequalled; but so wild and impassioned that\nsome began to fear for his reason. At the close of this day's services,\nthe chaplain of the institution of which he was an inmate, returned with\nhim to the asylum, and on the way, told him frankly that he was\ndeceiving the people--that his eloquent appeals came not from the power\nof the Holy Spirit, but from the excitement of drink; and that all\nfarther conduct of the meetings must be left in other hands. On reaching\nthe asylum he retired, greatly agitated, and soon after died from a\nstroke of apoplexy. In his room many empty bottles, which had contained\nbrandy, were found; but the people outside remained in ignorance of the\ntrue cause of the marvelous eloquence which had so charmed and moved\nthem.\n\nWe have already extended this chapter beyond the limit at first\nproposed. Our object has not only been to show the thoughtful and\nintelligent reader who uses alcoholic beverages, the great peril in\nwhich he stands, but to make apparent to every one, how insidious is the\ngrowth and how terrible the power of this appetite for intoxicants; an\nappetite which, if once established, is almost sure to rob its victim of\nhonor, pity, tenderness and love; an appetite, whose indulgence too\noften transforms the man into a selfish demon. Think of it, all ye who\ndally with the treacherous cup; are not the risks you are running too\ngreat? Nay, considering your duties and your obligations, have you any\nright to run these risks?\n\nAnd now that we have shown the curse of strong drink, let us see what\nagencies are at work in the abatement, prevention and cure of a disease\nthat is undermining the health of whole nations, shortening the natural\nterm of human life, and in our own country alone, sending over sixty\nthousand men and women annually into untimely graves.\n\n[Illustration: Satan sends his trusted servants, Alcohol and Gambling,\nout upon a mission.]\n\n[Illustration: Alcohol meets a bright young man and cultivates his\nacquaintance.]\n\n[Illustration: Alcohol introduces the youth to his old-time friend,\nGambling.]\n\n[Illustration: The mutual friends relieve the youth of his cash.]\n\n[Illustration: Alcohol and his victim have a jolly time.]\n\n[Illustration: The young man comes to grief, but Alcohol sticks by him.]\n\n[Illustration: They suggest an easy method for replenishing his\nexchequer.]\n\n[Illustration: The mutual friends determine to follow him to the inmost\ncell of the prison.]\n\n[Illustration: Alcohol and Gambling incite their victim to murder.]\n\n[Illustration: They mock him when upon the scaffold.]\n\n[Illustration: Alcohol and Gambling bury their victim in an untimely\nand dishonored grave.]\n\n[Illustration: They report their success to Satan and receive his\ncongratulations.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nMEANS OF CURE.\n\n\nIs this disease, or vice, or sin, or crime of intemperance--call it by\nwhat name you will--increasing or diminishing? Has any impression been\nmade upon it during the half-century in which there have been such\nearnest and untiring efforts to limit its encroachments on the health,\nprosperity, happiness and life of the people? What are the agencies of\nrepression at work; how effective are they, and what is each doing?\n\nThese are questions full of momentous interest. Diseases of the body, if\nnot cured, work a steady impairment of health, and bring pains and\nphysical disabilities. If their assaults be upon nervous centres, or\nvital organs, the danger of paralysis or death becomes imminent. Now, as\nto this disease of intemperance, which is a social and moral as well as\na physical disease, it is not to be concealed that it has invaded the\ncommon body of the people to an alarming degree, until, using the words\nof Holy Writ, \"the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint.\" Nay,\nuntil, using a still stronger form of Scriptural illustration, \"From the\nsole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it; but\nwounds and bruises and putrifying sores.\"\n\nIn this view, the inquiry as to increase or diminution, assumes the\ngravest importance. If, under all the agencies of cure and reform which\nhave been in active operation during the past fifty years, no impression\nhas been made upon this great evil which is so cursing the people, then\nis the case indeed desperate, if not hopeless. But if it appears that,\nunder these varied agencies, there has been an arrest of the disease\nhere, a limitation of its aggressive force there, its almost entire\nextirpation in certain cases, and a better public sentiment everywhere;\nthen, indeed, may we take heart and say \"God speed temperance work!\" in\nall of its varied aspects.\n\n\nHOPEFUL SIGNS.\n\nAnd here, at the outset of our presentation of some of the leading\nagencies of reform and cure, let us say, that the evidence going to show\nthat an impression has been made upon the disease is clear and\nindisputable; and that this impression is so marked as to give the\nstrongest hope and assurance. In the face of prejudice, opposition,\nridicule, persecution, obloquy and all manner of discouragements, the\nadvocates of temperance have held steadily to their work these many\nyears, and now the good results are seen on every hand. Contrast the\npublic sentiment of to-day with that of twenty, thirty and forty years\nago, and the progress becomes at once apparent. In few things is this\nso marked as in the changed attitude of the medical profession towards\nalcohol. One of the most dangerous, and, at the same time, one of the\nmost securely intrenched of all our enemies, was the family doctor.\nAmong his remedies and restoratives, wine, brandy, whisky and tonic ale\nall held a high place, and were administered more frequently, perhaps,\nthan any other articles in the Materia Medica. The disease of his\npatients arrested by special remedies or broken by an effort of nature,\nhe too often commenced the administration of alcohol in some one or more\nof its disguised and attractive forms, in order to give tone and\nstimulus to the stomach and nerves, and as a general vitalizer and\nrestorative. The evil consequences growing out of this almost universal\nprescription of alcohol, were of the most lamentable character, and\nthousands and tens of thousands of men and women were betrayed into\ndrunkenness. But to-day, you will not find a physician of any high\nrepute in America or Europe who will give it to his patients, except in\nthe most guarded manner and under the closest limitations; and he will\nnot consent to any self-prescription whatever.\n\n\nFRUITS OF TEMPERANCE WORK.\n\nIs not this a great gain? And it has come as the result of temperance\nwork and agitation, as Dr. Henry Monroe frankly admits in his lecture on\nthe Physiological Action of Alcohol, where, after stating that his\nremarks would not partake of the character of a total abstinence\nlecture, but rather of a scientific inquiry into the mode of action of\nalcohol when introduced into the tissues of the body, he adds:\n\"Nevertheless, I would not have it understood that I, in any way,\ndisparage the moral efforts made by total abstainers who, years ago,\namid good report and evil report, stood in the front of the battle to\nwar against the multitude of evils occasioned by strong drink;--all\npraise be due to them for their noble and self-denying exertions! Had it\nnot been for the successful labors of these moral giants in the great\ncause of temperance, presenting to the world in their own personal\nexperiences many new and astounding physiological facts, _men of science\nwould, probably, never have had their attention drawn to the topic._\"\n\nThen, as a result of temperance work, we have a more restrictive\nlegislation in many States, and prohibitory laws in New Hampshire,\nVermont and Maine. In the State of Maine, a prohibitory law has been in\noperation for over twenty-six years; and so salutary has been the effect\nas seen in the\n\n\nREDUCTION OF POVERTY, PAUPERISM AND CRIME,\n\nthat the Legislature, in January, 1877, added new and heavier penalties\nto the law, both Houses passing on the amendment without a dissenting\nvoice. In all that State there is not, now, a single distillery or\nbrewery in operation, nor a single open bar-room.\n\nForty years ago the pulpit was almost silent on the subject of\nintemperance and the liquor traffic; now, the church is fast arraying\nitself on the side of total abstinence and prohibition, and among its\nministers are to be found many of our most active temperance workers.\n\nForty or fifty years ago, the etiquette of hospitality was violated if\nwine, or cordial, or brandy were not tendered. Nearly every sideboard\nhad its display of decanters, well filled, and it was almost as much an\noffense for the guest to decline as for the host to omit the proffered\nglass. Even boys and girls were included in the custom; and tastes were\nacquired which led to drunkenness in after life. All this is changed\nnow.\n\nThe curse of the liquor traffic is attracting, as never before, the\nattention of all civilized people; and national, State and local\nlegislatures and governments are appointing commissions of inquiry, and\ngathering data and facts, with a view to its restriction.\n\nAnd, more hopeful than all, signs are becoming more and more apparent\nthat the people are everywhere awakening to a sense of the dangers that\nattend this traffic. Enlightenment is steadily progressing. Reason and\njudgment; common sense and prudence, are all coming to the aid of\nrepression. Men see, as they never saw before, how utterly evil and\ndestructive are the drinking habits of this and other nations; how they\nweaken the judgment and deprave the moral sense; how they not only take\nfrom every man who falls into them his ability to do his best in any\npursuit or calling, but sow in his body the germs of diseases which will\ncurse him in his later years and abridge their term.\n\nOther evidences of the steady growth among the people of a sentiment\nadverse to drinking might be given. We see it in the almost feverish\nresponse that everywhere meets the strong appeals of temperance\nspeakers, and in the more pronounced attitude taken by public and\nprofessional men.\n\n\nJUDGES ON THE BENCH\n\nand preachers from the pulpit alike lift their voices in condemnation.\nGrand juries repeat and repeat their presentations of liquor selling and\nliquor drinking as the fruitful source of more than two-thirds of the\ncrimes and miseries that afflict the community; and prison reports add\ntheir painful emphasis to the warning of the inquest.\n\nThe people learn slowly, but they are learning. Until they _will_ that\nthis accursed traffic shall cease, it must go on with its sad and awful\nconsequences. But the old will of the people has been debased by sensual\nindulgence. It is too weak to set itself against the appetite by which\nit has become enslaved. There must be a new will formed in the ground of\nenlightenment and intelligence; and then, out of knowing what is right\nand duty in regard to this great question of temperance and\nrestriction, will come the will to do. And when we have this new will\nresting in the true enlightenment of the people, we shall have no\nimpeded action. Whatever sets itself in opposition thereto must go down.\n\nAnd for this the time is coming, though it may still be far off. Of its\nsteady approach, the evidences are many and cheering. Meanwhile, we must\nwork and wait. If we are not yet strong enough to drive out the enemy,\nwe may limit his power, and do\n\n\nTHE WORK OF HEALING AND SAVING.\n\nWhat, then, is being done in this work of healing and saving? Is there,\nin fact, any cure for the dreadful malady of drunkenness? Are men ever\nreally saved from its curse? and, if so, how is it done, and what are\nthe agencies employed?\n\nAmong the first of these to which we shall refer, is the pledge. As a\nmeans of reform and restriction, it has been used by temperance workers\nfrom the beginning, and still holds a prominent place. Seeing that only\nin a complete abstinence from intoxicating drinks was there any hope of\nrescue for the drunkard, or any security for the moderate drinker, it\nwas felt that under a solemn pledge to wholly abstain from their use,\nlarge numbers of men would, from a sense of honor, self-respect or\nconscience, hold themselves free from touch or taste. In the case of\nmoderate drinkers, with whom appetite is yet under control, the pledge\nhas been of great value; but almost useless after appetite has gained\nthe mastery.\n\nIn a simple pledge there is no element of self-control. If honor,\nself-respect or conscience, rallying to its support in the hour of\ntemptation, be not stronger than appetite, it will be of no avail. And\nit too often happens that, with the poor inebriate, these have become\nblunted, or well-nigh extinguished. The consequence has been that where\nthe pledge has been solely relied upon, the percentage of reform has\nbeen very small. As a first means of rescue, it is invaluable; because\nit is, on the part of him who takes it, a complete removal of himself\nfrom the sphere of temptation, and so long as he holds himself away from\nthe touch and taste of liquor, he is safe. If the pledge will enable him\nto do this, then the pledge will save him. But it is well known, from\nsad experience, that only a few are saved by the pledge. The strength\nthat saves must be something more than the external bond of a promise;\nit must come from within, and be grounded in a new and changed life,\ninternally as well as externally. If the reformed man, after he takes\nhis pledge, does not endeavor to lead a better moral life--does not keep\nhimself away from old debasing associations--does not try, earnestly and\npersistently, to become, in all things,\n\n\nA TRUER, PURER, NOBLER MAN,\n\nthen his pledge is only as a hoop, that any overstrain may break, and\nnot an internal bond, holding in integrity all things from the centre\nto the circumference of his life.\n\nSo well is this now understood, that little reliance is had on the\npledge in itself, though its use is still general. It is regarded as a\nfirst and most important step in the right direction. As the beginning\nof a true and earnest effort on the part of some unhappy soul to break\nthe bonds of a fearful slavery. But few would think of leaving such a\nsoul to the saving power of the pledge alone. If other help came not,\nthe effort would be, except in rare cases, too surely, all in vain.\n\nThe need of something more reliable than a simple pledge has led to\nother means of reform and cure, each taking character and shape from the\npeculiar views of those who have adopted them. Inebriate Asylums and\nReformatory Homes have been established in various parts of the country,\nand through their agency many who were once enslaved by drink are being\nrestored to society and good citizenship. In what is popularly known as\nthe \"Gospel Temperance\" movement, the weakness of the pledge, in itself,\nis recognized, and, \"God being my helper,\" is declared to be the\nultimate and only sure dependence.\n\nIt is through this abandonment of all trust in the pledge, beyond a few\nexceptional cases, that reformatory work rises to its true sphere and\nlevel of success. And we shall now endeavor to show what is being done\nin the work of curing drunkards, as well in asylums and Reformatory\nHomes, as by the so-called \"Gospel\" methods. In this we shall, as far as\npossible, let each of these important agencies speak for itself,\nexplaining its own methods and giving its own results. All are\naccomplishing good in their special line of action; all are saving men\nfrom the curse of drink, and the public needs to be more generally\nadvised of what they are doing.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nINEBRIATE ASYLUMS.\n\n\nThe careful observation and study of inebriety by medical men, during\nthe past twenty-five or thirty years, as well in private practice as in\nhospitals and prisons, has led them to regard it as, in many of its\nphases, a disease needing wise and careful treatment. To secure such\ntreatment was seen to be almost impossible unless the subject of\nintemperance could be removed from old associations and influences, and\nplaced under new conditions, in which there would be no enticement to\ndrink, and where the means of moral and physical recovery could be\njudiciously applied. It was felt that, as a disease, the treatment of\ndrunkenness, while its subject remained in the old atmosphere of\ntemptation, was as difficult, if not impossible, as the treatment of a\nmalarious fever in a miasmatic district. The result of this view was the\nestablishment of Inebriate Asylums for voluntary or enforced seclusion,\nfirst in the United States, and afterwards in England and some of her\ndependencies.\n\nIn the beginning, these institutions did not have much favor with the\npublic; and, as the earlier methods of treatment pursued therein were,\nfor the most part, experimental, and based on a limited knowledge of\nthe pathology of drunkenness, the beneficial results were not large.\nStill, the work went on, and the reports of cures made by the New York\nState Asylum, at Binghampton, the pioneer of these institutions, were\nsufficiently encouraging to lead to their establishment in other places;\nand there are now in this country as many as from twelve to fifteen\npublic and private institutions for the treatment of drunkenness. Of\nthese, the New York State Inebriate Asylum, at Binghampton; the\nInebriate Home, at Fort Hamilton, Long Island; and the Home for\nIncurables, San Francisco, Cal., are the most prominent. At Hartford,\nConn., the Walnut Hill Asylum has recently been opened for the treatment\nof inebriate and opium cases, under the care of Dr. T.D. Crothers. The\nPinel Hospital, at Richmond, Va., chartered by the State, in 1876, is\nfor the treatment of nervous and mental diseases, and for the\nreclamation of inebriates and opium-eaters. In Needham, Mass., is the\nAppleton Temporary Home, where a considerable number of inebriates are\nreceived every year.\n\nBesides these, there are private institutions, in which dypsomaniac\npatients are received. The methods of treatment differ according to the\nviews and experience of those having charge of these institutions. Up to\nthis time a great deal of the treatment has been experimental; and there\nis still much difference of opinion among physicians and superintendents\nin regard to the best means of cure. But, on two important points, all\nare nearly in agreement. The first is in the necessity for an immediate\nand\n\n\nABSOLUTE WITHDRAWAL OF ALL INTOXICANTS FROM THE PATIENT,\n\nno matter how long he may have used them; and the second in the\nnecessity of his entire abstinence therefrom after leaving the\ninstitution. _The cure never places a man back where he was before he\nbecame subject to the disease; and he can never, after his recovery,\ntaste even the milder forms of alcoholic beverage without being exposed\nto the most imminent danger of relapse._\n\nThe great value of an asylum where the victim of intemperance can be\nplaced for a time beyond the reach of alcohol is thus stated by Dr.\nCarpenter: \"Vain is it to recall the motives for a better course of\nconduct, to one who is already familiar with them all, but is destitute\nof the will to act upon them; the seclusion of such persons from the\nreach of alcoholic liquors, for a sufficient length of time to _free the\nblood from its contamination, to restore the healthful nutrition of the\nbrain and to enable the recovered mental vigor to be wisely directed,\nseems to afford the only prospect of reformation:_ and this cannot be\nexpected to be permanent, unless the patient determinately adopts and\nsteadily acts on the resolution to abstain from that which, _if again\nindulged in, will be poison, alike to his body and to his mind_.\"\n\nIn the study of inebriety and the causes leading thereto, much\nimportant information has been gathered by the superintendents and\nphysicians connected with these establishments. Dr. D.G. Dodge, late\nSuperintendent of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, read a paper\nbefore the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates, in 1876, on\n\"Inebriate Asylums and their Management,\" in which are given the results\nof many years of study, observation and experience. Speaking of the\ncauses leading to drunkenness, he says:\n\n\"Occupation has a powerful controlling influence in developing or\nwarding off the disease. In-door life in all kinds of business, is a\npredisposing cause, from the fact that nearly the whole force of the\nstimulant is concentrated and expended upon the brain and nervous\nsystem. A proper amount of out-door exercise, or labor, tends to throw\noff the stimulus more rapidly through the various functional operations\nof the system. Occupation of all kinds, mental or muscular, assist the\nnervous system to retard or resist the action of stimulants--other\nconditions being equal. Want of employment, or voluntary idleness is the\ngreat nursery of this disease.\"\n\n\nTOBACCO.\n\n\"_The use of tobacco predisposes the system to alcoholism,_ and it has\nan effect upon the brain and nervous system similar to that of alcohol.\nThe use of tobacco, if not prohibited, should be discouraged. The\ntreatment of inebriates can never be wholly successful until the use of\ntobacco in all forms is absolutely dispensed with.\n\n\"Statistics show that inebriety oftenest prevails between the _ages of\nthirty and forty-five. The habit seldom culminates until thirty_, the\nsubject to this age generally being a _moderate drinker; later in life\nthe system is unable to endure the strain of a continued course of\ndissipation._\n\n\"Like all hereditary diseases, intemperance is transmitted from parent\nto child as much as scrofula, gout or consumption. It observes all the\nlaws in transmitting disease. It sometimes overleaps one generation and\nappears in the succeeding, or it will miss even the third generation,\nand then reappear in all its former activity and violence. Hereditary\ninebriety, like all transmissible diseases, gives the least hope of\npermanent cure, and temporary relief is all that can generally be\nreasonably expected.\n\n\"Another class possesses an organization which may be termed an\nalcoholic idiosyncrasy; with them the latent desire for stimulants, if\nindulged, soon leads to habits of intemperance, and eventually to a\nmorbid appetite, which has all the characteristics of a diseased\ncondition of the system, which the patient, unassisted, is powerless to\nrelieve, since the weakness of will that led to the disease obstructs\nits removal.\n\n\"The second class may be subdivided as follows: First, those who have\nhad healthy and temperate parents, and have been educated and accustomed\nto good influences, moral and social, but whose temperament and\nphysical constitution are such _that when they once indulge in the use\nof stimulants, which they find pleasurable, they continue to habitually\nindulge till they cease to be moderate, and become excessive drinkers. A\ndepraved appetite is established that leads them on slowly, but surely,\nto destruction._\n\n\"Temperaments have much to do with the formation of the habit of\nexcessive drinking. Those of a nervous temperament are less likely to\ncontract the habit, from the fact that they are acutely sensitive to\ndanger, and avoid it while they have the power of self-control. On the\nother hand, those of a bilious, sanguine and lymphatic temperament, rush\non, unmindful of the present, and soon become slaves to a depraved and\nmorbid appetite, powerless to stay, or even to check their downward\ncourse.\"\n\nAs we cannot speak of the treatment pursued in inebriate asylums from\npersonal observation, we know of no better way to give our readers\ncorrect impressions on the subject, than to quote still farther from Dr.\nDodge. \"For a better understanding,\" he says, \"of the requisite\ndiscipline demanded in the way of remedial restraint of inebriates, we\nnotice some of the results of chronic inebriation affecting more\nparticularly the brain and nervous system--which, in addition to the\nnecessary medical treatment, necessitates strict discipline to the\nsuccessful management of these cases.\"\n\n\nRESULTS OF CHRONIC INEBRIATION.\n\n\"We have _alcoholic epilepsy, alcoholic mania, delirium tremens,\ntremors, hallucinations, insomnia, vertigo, mental and muscular\ndebility, impairment of vision, mental depression, paralysis, a partial\nor total loss of self-respect and a departure of the power of\nself-control._ Many minor difficulties arise from mere functional\nderangement of the brain and nervous system, which surely and rapidly\ndisappear when the cause is removed.\"\n\nThe general rule, on the reception of a patient, is to cut off at once\nand altogether the use of alcohol in every form. \"More,\" says the\ndoctor, \"can be done by diet and medicine, than can be obtained by a\ncompromise in the moderate use of stimulants for a limited period.\" It\nis a mistake, he adds, to suppose \"that any special danger arises from\nstopping the accustomed stimulus. Alcohol is a poison, and we should\ndiscontinue its use at once, as it can be done with safety and perfect\nimpunity, except in rare cases.\"\n\nTo secure all the benefits to be derived from medical treatment, \"we\nshould have,\" says Dr. Dodge, \"institutions for the reception of\ninebriates, where total abstinence can be rigidly, but judiciously\nenforced for a sufficient length of time, to test the curative powers of\nabsolute restraint from all intoxicating drinks. When the craving for\nstimulants is irresistible, it is useless to make an attempt to reclaim\nand cure the drunkard, _unless the detention is compulsory_, and\nthere is complete restraint from all spirituous or alcoholic\nstimulants.\"\n\n\nREMOVAL FROM TEMPTATION.\n\nIn regard to the compulsory power that should inhere in asylums for the\ncure of drunkenness, there is little difference of opinion among those\nwho have had experience in their management. They have more faith in\ntime than in medicine, and think it as much the duty of the State to\nestablish asylums for the treatment of drunkenness as for the treatment\nof insanity. \"The length of time necessary to cure inebriation,\" says\nDr. Dodge, \"is a very important consideration. A habit covering five,\nten, fifteen or twenty years, cannot be expected to be permanently\neradicated in a week or a month. The fact that the excessive use of\nstimulants for a long period of time has caused a radical change,\nphysically, mentally and morally, is not only the strongest possible\nproof that its entire absence is necessary, but, also, that it requires\na liberal allowance of time to effect a return to a normal condition.\nThe shortest period of continuous restraint and treatment, as a general\nrule, should not be less than six months in the most hopeful cases, and\nextending from one to two years with the less hopeful, and more\nespecially for the class of periodical drinkers, and those with an\nhereditary tendency.\"\n\nA well-directed inebriate asylum not only affords, says the same\nauthority, \"effectual removal of the patient from temptations and\nassociations which surrounded him in the outer world, but by precept and\nexample it teaches him that he can gain by his reformation, not the\nability to drink moderately and with the least safety, _but the power to\nabstain altogether_. With the restraint imposed by the institution, and\nthe self-restraint accepted on the part of the patient, are remedial\nagents from the moment he enters the asylum, growing stronger and more\neffective day by day, until finally he finds _total abstinence not only\npossible, but permanent_. With this much gained in the beginning, the\nasylum is prepared to assist in the cure by all the means and appliances\nat its command. With the co-operation of the patient, and such medicinal\nremedies and hygienic and sanitary measures as may be required, the most\nhopeful results may be confidently looked for.\n\n\n\"THE HYGIENIC AND SANITARY MEASURES\n\n\"consist in total abstinence from all alcoholic beverages; good\nnourishing diet; well ventilated rooms; pure, bracing air; mental rest,\nand proper bodily exercise. * * * Every patient should be required to\nconform to all rules and regulations which have for their object the\nimprovement of his social, moral and religious condition. He must begin\na different mode of life, by breaking up former habits and associations;\ndriving from the mind the old companions of an intemperate life; forming\nnew thoughts, new ideas and new and better habits, which necessitates a\nnew life in every respect. This is the aim and object of the rules for\nthe control and government of inebriates. To assist in this work,\ninebriate institutions should have stated religious services, and all\nthe patients and officers should be required to attend them, unless\nexcused by the medical officer in charge, for sickness, or other\nsufficient cause.\"\n\n\nTHE BINGHAMPTON ASYLUM.\n\nOf all the inebriate asylums yet established, the one at Binghampton,\nNew York, has been, so far, the most prominent. It is here that a large\npart of the experimental work has been done; and here, we believe, that\nthe best results have been obtained. This asylum is a State Institution,\nand will accommodate one hundred and twenty patients. In all cases\npreference must be given to \"indigent inebriates,\" who may be sent to\nthe asylum by county officers, who are required to pay seven dollars a\nweek for the medical attendance, board and washing, of each patient so\nsent. Whenever there are vacancies in the asylum, the superintendent can\nadmit, under special agreement, such private patients as may seek\nadmission, and who, in his opinion, promise reformation.\n\nThe building is situated on an eminence two hundred and fifty feet above\nthe Susquehanna River, the scenery stretching far up and down the\nvalley, having features of uncommon beauty and grandeur. Each patient\nhas a thoroughly warmed and ventilated room, which, from the peculiar\nsituation of the house, commands a wide view of the adjoining country.\nThe tables are supplied with a variety and abundance of good food,\nsuitable in every respect to the wants of the patients, whose tastes and\nneeds are carefully considered. Amusements of various kinds, including\nbilliards, etc., are provided within the building, which afford pleasure\nand profit to the patients. Out-door pastimes, such as games of ball and\ncroquet, and other invigorating sports, are encouraged and practised.\nThe asylum grounds embrace over four hundred acres, part of which are in\na state of cultivation. The remainder diversified in character, and\npartly consisting of forest.\n\nGentlemen who desire to place themselves under the care of the asylum,\nmay enter it without any other formality than a compliance with such\nconditions as may be agreed upon between themselves and the\nsuperintendent. The price of admission varies according to location of\nrooms and attention required. Persons differ so widely in their\ncircumstances and desires, that the scale of prices has been fixed at\nfrom ten to twenty-five dollars per week, which includes board, medical\nattendance, washing, etc. In all cases the price of board for three\nmonths must be paid in advance.\n\nFrom one of the annual reports of this institution now before us, we\nlearn that the number of patients treated during the year was three\nhundred and thirty-six, of whom one hundred and ninety-eight \"were\ndischarged with great hopes of permanent reformation.\" Fifty-eight were\ndischarged unimproved. The largest number of patients in the asylum at\none time was a hundred and five.\n\n\nSAVING AND REFORMING INFLUENCES.\n\nOf those discharged--two hundred and fifty-six in number--eighty-six\nwere of a nervous temperament, ninety-eight sanguine and seventy-two\nbilious. In their habits, two hundred and thirty-four were social and\ntwenty-two solitary. Out of the whole number, two hundred and forty-four\nused tobacco--only twelve being free from its use. Of these, one hundred\nand sixty had been constant and ninety-six periodical drinkers. Serious\naffliction, being unfortunate in business, love matters, prosperity,\netc., were given as reasons for drinking by one hundred and two of the\npatients. One hundred and twenty-two had intemperate parents or\nancestors. One hundred and forty were married men and one hundred and\nsixteen single. Their occupations were varied. Merchants, fifty-eight;\nclerks, thirty-five; lawyers, seventeen; book-keepers, sixteen;\nmanufacturers, eight; bankers and brokers, eight; machinists, seven;\nmechanics, six; farmers, six; clergymen, five; editors and reporters,\nfive, etc.\n\nIn regard to some of the special influences brought to bear upon the\npatients in this institution, we have the following. It is from a\ncommunication (in answer to a letter of inquiry) received by us from Dr.\nT.D. Crothers, formerly of Binghampton, but now superintendent of the\nnew Walnut Hill Asylum, at Hartford, Connecticut: \"You have failed to do\nus credit,\" he says, \"in supposing that we do not use the spiritual\nforces in our treatment. We depend largely upon them. We have a\nregularly-appointed chaplain who lives in the building;, and gives his\nentire time to the religious culture of the patients. Rev. Dr. Bush was\nwith us eight years. He died a few months ago. He was very devoted to\nhis work, and the good he did, both apparent to us and unknown, was\nbeyond estimate. His correspondence was very extensive, and continued\nfor years with patients and their families. He was the counselor and\nadviser of many persons who did not know him personally, but through\npatients. I have seen letters to him from patients in all conditions\nasking counsel, both on secular and spiritual matters; also the most\nheart-rending appeals and statements of fathers, mothers, wives and\nchildren, all of which he religiously answered. He urged that the great\nduty and obligation of every drunkard was to take care of his body; to\nbuild up all the physical, to avoid all danger, and take no risks or\nperils; that his only help and reliance were on _God and good health_;\nthat with regular living and healthy surroundings, and a mind full of\nfaith and hope in spiritual realities, the disorder would die out. Our\nnew chaplain holds daily service, as usual, and spends much of his time\namong the patients. He lives in the building, pronounces grace at the\ntable and is personally identified as a power to help men towards\nrecovery. Quite a large number of patients become religious men here.\nOur work and its influences have a strong tendency this way. I believe\nin the force of a chaplain whose daily walk is with us; who, by example\nand precept, can win men to higher thoughts. He is the receptacle of\nsecrets and much of the inner life of patients that physicians do not\nreach.\"\n\nIn another letter to us, Dr. Crothers says: \"Every asylum that I know of\nis doing good work, and should be aided and encouraged by all means. The\ntime has not come yet, nor the experience or study to any one man or\nasylum, necessary to build up a system of treatment to the exclusion of\nall others. We want many years of study by competent men, and the\naccumulated experience of many asylums before we can understand the\nfirst principles of that moral and physical disorder we call\ndrunkenness.\"\n\n\nTREATMENT.\n\n\"As to the treatment and the agents governing it, we recognize in every\ndrunkard general debility and conditions of nerve and brain exhaustion,\nand a certain train of exciting causes which always end in drinking.\nNow, if we can teach these men the 'sources of danger,' and pledge them\nand point them to a higher power for help, we combine both spiritual\nand physical means. We believe that little can be expected from\nspiritual aids, or pledges, or resolves, unless the patient can so build\nup his physical as to sustain them. Give a man a healthy body and\nbrainpower, and you can build up his spiritual life; but all attempts to\ncultivate a power that is crushed by diseased forces will be practically\nuseless. Call it a vice or a disease, it matters not, the return to\nhealth must be along _the line of natural laws and means_. Some men will\nnot feel any longing for drink unless they get in the centre of\nexcitement, or violate some natural law, or neglect the common means of\nhealth. Now, teach them these exciting causes, and build up their\nhealth, and the pledge will not be difficult to keep. This asylum is a\nmarvel. It is, to-day, successful. Other asylums are the same, and we\nfeel that we are working in the line of laws that are fixed, though\nobscure.\"\n\n\nDEEPLY INTERESTING CASES.\n\nThe records of this institution furnish cases of reform of the most\ndeeply interesting character. Here are a few of them:\n\nCASE No. 1. A Southern planter who had become a drunkard was brought to\nthis asylum by his faithful colored man. In his fits of intoxication he\nfell into the extraordinary delusion that his devoted wife was\nunfaithful; and so exasperated did he become when seized by this insane\ndelusion, that he often attempted her life. She was at last obliged to\nkeep out of his way whenever he came under the influence of liquor. When\nsober, his memory of these hallucinations was sufficiently distinct to\nfill him with sorrow, shame and fear; for he sincerely loved his wife\nand knew her to be above reproach. After the war, during which he held\nthe position of a general in the Southern army, he became very much\nreduced in his circumstances, lost heart and gave himself up to drink.\nThe friends of his wife tried to prevail on her to abandon him; but she\nstill clung to her husband, though her life was often in danger from his\ninsane passion. Four years of this dreadful experience, in which she\nthree times received serious personal injuries from his hands, and then\nthe old home was broken up, and he went drifting from place to place, a\nhuman ship without a rudder on temptation's stormy sea; his unhappy wife\nfollowing him, more or less, in secret, and often doing him service and\nsecuring his protection. In the spring of 1874, his faithful colored man\nbrought him to the asylum at Binghampton, a perfect wreck. His wife\ncame, also, and for three months boarded near the institution, and,\nwithout his knowledge, watched and prayed for him. After a few weeks'\nresidence, the chaplain was able to lead his mind to the consideration\nof spiritual subjects, and to impress him with the value of religious\nfaith and the power of prayer. He became, at length, deeply interested;\nread many religious books, and particularly the Bible. At the end of\nthree months his wife came to see him, and their meeting was of a most\naffecting character. A year later, he left the asylum and went to a\nWestern city, where he now resides--a prosperous and happy man.\n\nCASE NO. 2. A clergyman of fortune, position and education lost his\ndaughter, and began to drink in order to drown his sorrow. It was in\nvain that his wife and friends opposed, remonstrated, implored and\npersuaded; he drank on, the appetite steadily increasing, until he\nbecame its slave. His congregation dismissed him; his wife died of a\nbroken heart; he squandered his fortune; lost his friends, and, at last,\nbecame a street reporter for some of the New York papers, through means\nof which he picked up a scanty living. From bad to worse, he swept down\nrapidly, and, for some offense committed while drunk, was, at last, sent\nfor three months to the State prison. On coming out, and returning to\nthe city, he became a fish-peddler, but continued to drink desperately.\nOne day he was picked up in the street in a state of dead intoxication\nand taken to the hospital, where he was recognized by the doctor, who\nhad him sent to Binghampton as a county patient. Here he remained for\nover a year, submitting himself to the regime, and coming under the\nsalutary influences of the institution, and making an earnest, prayerful\nand determined effort at reform. At the end of this period he left the\nasylum to enter upon the duties of a minister in the far West; and\nto-day he is the president of a new college, and a devout and earnest\nman! He attributes his cure to the influence of the late chaplain, Rev.\nMr. Bush, and to the new life he was able to lead under the protecting\ninfluences and sanitary regulations of the asylum. This is a meagre\noutline of a very remarkable case.\n\nCASE NO. 3. A poor farmer's boy acquired, while in the army, an\ninordinate appetite for drink. He was sent to the New York Inebriate\nAsylum, but was expelled because he made no effort to reform. Six months\nafterwards he joined a temperance society, and kept sober for a year;\nbut fell, and was again sent to the asylum. This time he made an earnest\neffort, and remained at the asylum for seven months, when he was offered\na situation in Chicago, which he accepted. For a year he held this\nplace, then relapsed and came back to the asylum, where he stayed for\nover twelve months. At the end of that time he returned to Chicago and\ninto his old situation. He is now a member of the firm, and an active\ntemperance man, with every prospect of remaining so to the end of his\nlife.\n\n\nTHE CARE AND TREATMENT OF DRUNKARDS.\n\nThe subject of the care and treatment of habitual drunkards is\nattracting more and more attention. They form so large a non-producing,\nand often vicious and dangerous class of half-insane men, that\nconsiderations of public and private weal demand the institution of\nsome effective means for their reformation, control or restraint.\nLegislative aid has been invoked, and laws submitted and discussed; but,\nso far, beyond sentences of brief imprisonment in jails, asylums and\nhouses of correction, but little has really been done for the prevention\nor cure of the worst evil that inflicts our own and other civilized\nnations. On the subject of every man's \"liberty to get drunk,\" and waste\nhis substance and abuse and beggar his family, the public mind is\npeculiarly sensitive and singularly averse to restrictive legislation.\nBut a public sentiment favorable to such legislation is steadily gaining\nground; and to the formation and growth of this sentiment, many leading\nand intelligent physicians, both in this country and Great Britain, who\nhave given the subject of drunkenness as a disease long and careful\nattention, are lending all their influence. It is seen that a man who\nhabitually gets drunk is dangerous to society, and needs control and\nrestraint as much as if he were insane.\n\n\nLEGISLATIVE CONTROL.\n\nIn 1875, a deputation, principally representative of the medical\nprofession, urged upon the British Government the desirability of\nmeasures for the control and management of habitual drunkards. On\npresenting the memorial to the Secretary of State for the Home\nDepartment, Sir Thomas Watson, M.D., observed: \"That during his very\nlong professional life he had been incredulous respecting the\nreclamation of habitual drunkards; but his late experience had made him\nsanguine as to their cure, with a very considerable number of whom\nexcessive drinking indulged in as a vice, developed itself into a most\nformidable bodily and mental disease.\"\n\nIn the early part of February, 1877, \"A Bill to Facilitate the Control\nand Care of Habitual Drunkards,\" was introduced into the House of\nCommons. It is supposed to embody the latest and most practical methods\nof dealing legally with that class, and is of unusual interest from the\nfact that it was prepared under the direction of a society for the\npromotion of legislation for the cure of habitual drunkards, recently\norganized in London, in which are included some of the most learned,\ninfluential and scientific men of the Kingdom.\n\nThis bill provides for the establishment of retreats or asylums, public\nor private, into which drunkards may be admitted on their own\napplication, or to which they may be sent by their friends, and where\nthey can be held by law for a term not exceeding twelve months.\n\nIn the State of Connecticut, there is a law which may be regarded as\nembodying the most advanced legislation on this important subject. The\nfirst section is as follows:\n\n\"Whenever any person shall have become an habitual drunkard, a\ndypsomaniac, or so far addicted to the intemperate use of narcotics or\nstimulants as to have lost the power of self-control, the Court of\nProbate for the district in which such person resides, or has a legal\ndomicil, shall, on application of a majority of the selectmen of the\ntown where such person resides, or has a legal domicil, or of any\nrelative of such person, make due inquiry, and if it shall find such\nperson to have become an habitual drunkard, or so far addicted to the\nintemperate use of narcotics or stimulants as to have lost the power of\nself-control, then said court shall order such person to be taken to\nsome inebriate asylum within this State, for treatment, care and\ncustody, for a term not less than four months, and not more than twelve\nmonths; but if said person shall be found to be a dypsomaniac, said term\nof commitment shall be for the period of three years: _provided,\nhowever_, that the Court of Probate shall not in either case make such\norder without the certificate of at least two respectable practising\nphysicians, after a personal examination, made within one week before\nthe time of said application or said commitment, which certificate shall\ncontain the opinion of said physicians that such person has become, as\nthe case may be, a dypsomaniac, an habitual drunkard, or has, by reason\nof the intemperate use of narcotics or stimulants, lost the power of\nself-control, and requires the treatment, care and custody of some\ninebriate asylum, and shall be subscribed and sworn to by said\nphysicians before an authority empowered to administer oaths.\"\n\n\nLOSS TO THE STATE IN NOT ESTABLISHING ASYLUMS\n\nIn a brief article in the _Quarterly Journal of Inebriety_, for 1877,\nDr. Dodge thus emphasizes his views of the importance to the State of\nestablishing asylums to which drunkards may be sent for treatment:\n\"Every insane man who is sent to an asylum, is simply removed from doing\nharm, and well cared for, and rarely comes back to be a producer again.\nBut inebriates (the hopeful class) promise immeasurably more in their\nrecovery. They are, as inebriates, non-producers and centres of disease,\nbad sanitary and worse moral surroundings. All their career leads down\nto crime and poverty. The more drunkards, the more courts of law, and\nalmshouses, and insane asylums, and greater the taxes. Statistics show\nthat from fifty to sixty per cent. of crime is due to drunkenness; and\nwe all know how large poverty is due to this cause. Drunkenness is alone\nresponsible for from twenty to twenty-five per cent. of all our insane.\n\n\"We assert, and believe it can be proved, that reclaiming the drunkard\nis a greater gain to the State, practical and immediate, than any other\ncharity.\n\n\"It is a low estimate to say it costs every county in the State three\nhundred dollars yearly to support a drunkard; that is, this amount, and\nmore, is diverted from healthy channels of commerce, and is,\npractically, lost to the State. At an inebriate asylum, but little over\nthat amount would, in a large majority of cases, restore them as active\nproducers again.\n\n\"Figures cannot represent the actual loss to society, nor can we compute\nthe gain from a single case cured and returned to normal life and\nusefulness. Inebriety is sapping the foundation of our Government, both\nState and National, and unless we can provide means adequate to check\nit, we shall leave a legacy of physical, moral and political disease to\nour descendants, that will ultimately wreck this country. Inebriate\nasylums will do much to check and relieve this evil.\"\n\nWe conclude this chapter, which is but an imperfect presentation of the\nwork of our inebriate asylums, by a quotation from the _Quarterly\nJournal of Inebriety_, for September, 1877. This periodical is published\nunder the auspices of \"The American Association for the Cure of\nInebriates.\" The editor, Dr. Crothers, says: \"We publish in this number,\nreports of a large number of asylums from all parts of the country,\nindicating great prosperity and success, notwithstanding the depression\nof the times. Among the patients received at these asylums, broken-down\nmerchants, bankers, business men, who are inebriates of recent date, and\nchronic cases that have been moderate drinkers for many years, seem to\nbe more numerous. The explanation is found in the peculiar times in\nwhich so many of the business men are ruined, and the discharge of a\nclass of employees whose uncertain habits and want of special fitness\nfor their work make them less valuable. Both of these classes drift to\nthe inebriate asylum, and, if not able to pay, finally go to insane\nhospitals and disappear.\n\n\"Another class of patients seem more prominent this year, namely, the\nhard-working professional and business men, who formerly went away to\nEurope, or some watering-place, with a retinue of servants; now they\nappear at our retreats, spend a few months, and go away much restored.\nThe outlook was never more cheery than at present, the advent of several\nnew asylums, and the increased usefulness of those in existence, with\nthe constant agitation of the subject among medical men at home and\nabroad, are evidence of great promise for the future. Of the Journal we\ncan only say that, as the organ of the American Association for the Cure\nof Inebriates, it will represent the broadest principles and studies\nwhich the experience of all asylums confirm, and independent of any\npersonal interest, strive to present the subject of inebriety and its\ntreatment in its most comprehensive sense.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nREFORMATORY HOMES.\n\n\nDiffering in some essential particulars from inebriate asylums or\nhospitals for the cure of drunkenness as a disease, are the institutions\ncalled \"Homes.\" Their name indicates their character. It is now about\ntwenty years since the first of these was established. It is located at\n41 Waltham Street, Boston, in an elegant and commodious building\nrecently erected, and is called the \"Washingtonian Home.\" The\nsuperintendent is Dr. Albert Day. In 1863, another institution of this\ncharacter came into existence in the city of Chicago. This is also\ncalled the \"Washingtonian Home.\" It is situated in West Madison Street,\nopposite Union Park. The building is large and handsomely fitted up, and\nhas accommodations for over one hundred inmates. Prof. D. Wilkins is the\nsuperintendent. In 1872 \"The Franklin Reformatory Home,\" of\nPhiladelphia, was established. It is located at Nos. 911, 913 and 915\nLocust Street, in a well-arranged and thoroughly-furnished building, in\nwhich all the comforts of a home may be found, and can accommodate over\nseventy persons. Mr. John Graff is the superintendent.\n\nAs we have said, the name of these institutions indicates their\ncharacter. They are not so much hospitals for the cure of a disease, as\nhomes of refuge and safety, into which the poor inebriate, who has lost\nor destroyed his own home, with all its good and saving influences, may\ncome and make a new effort, under the most favoring influences, to\nrecover himself.\n\nThe success which, has attended the work of the three institutions named\nabove, has been of the most gratifying character. In the\n\n\nWASHINGTONIAN HOME AT BOSTON,\n\ndrunkenness has been regarded as a malady, which may be cured through\nthe application of remedial agencies that can be successfully employed\nonly under certain conditions; and these are sought to be secured for\nthe patient. The home and the hospital are, in a certain sense, united.\n\"While we are treating inebriety as a disease, or a pathological\ncondition,\" says the superintendent, in his last report, \"there are\nthose who regard it as a species of wickedness or diabolism, to be\nremoved only by moral agencies. Both of these propositions are true in a\ncertain sense. There is a difference between sin and evil, but the line\nof demarkation is, as yet, obscure, as much so as the line between the\nresponsibility and irresponsibility of the inebriate.\"\n\nDoubtless, the good work done in this excellent institution is due, in a\nlarge measure, to the moral and religious influences under which the\ninmates are brought. Nature is quick to repair physical waste and\ndeterioration, when the exciting causes of disease are removed. The\ndiseased body of the drunkard, as soon as it is relieved from the\npoisoning influence of alcohol, is restored, in a measure, to health.\nThe brain is clear once more, and the moral faculties again able to act\nwith reason and conscience. And here comes in the true work of the Home,\nwhich is the restoration of the man to a state of rational self-control;\nthe quickening in his heart of old affections, and the revival of old\nand better desires and principles.\n\n\nBENEFICIAL RESULTS.\n\n\"Among the beneficial results of our labor,\" says Dr. Day, \"we see our\npatients developing a higher principle of respect for themselves and\ntheir friends. This, to us, is of great interest. We see indications\nconvincing us that the mind, under our treatment, awakens to a\nconsciousness of what it is, and what it is made for. We see man\nbecoming to himself a higher object, and attaining to the conviction of\nthe equal and indestructible of every being. In them, we see the dawning\nof the great principle advocated by us continually, viz., That the\nindividual is not made to be the instrument of others, but to govern\nhimself by an inward law, and to advance towards his proper perfections;\nthat he belongs to himself and to God, and to no human superior. In all\nour teachings we aim to purify and ennoble the character of our\npatients by promoting in them true virtue, strong temperance\nproclivities and a true piety; and to accomplish these ends we endeavor\nto stimulate their own exertions for a better knowledge of God, and for\na determined self-control.\"\n\nAnd again he says: \"Almost every day we hear from some one who has been\nwith us under treatment, who has been cured. Their struggles had been\nfierce, and the battle sometimes would seem to be against them; but, at\nlast, they have claimed the victory. In my experience, I have found that\nso long as the victim of strong drink has the will, feeble as it may be,\nto put forth his efforts for a better life, an 4 his constant struggle\nis in the right direction, he is almost sure to regain his will power,\nand succeed in overcoming the habit. By exercise, the will gains\nstrength. The thorns in the flesh of our spiritual nature will be\nplucked out, the spiritual life will be developed, and our peace shall\nflow as the river. This condition we constantly invoke, and by all the\nmeans within our reach we try to stimulate the desire for a better life.\nI am pleased to say our efforts in this direction have not been in vain.\nFor nearly twenty years we have been engaged in this work, and we have\nnow more confidence in the means employed than at any other period.\nSituated, as we are, in the midst of a great city, with a Christian\nsympathy constantly active and co-operating with us, no one can remain\nin the institution without being the recipient of beneficial\ninfluences, the effect of which is salutary in the extreme. I am fully\nsatisfied that the 'Washingtonian Home' is greatly indebted to these\nmoral agencies for its success.\"\n\nThe following letter, received by us, from Otis Clapp, who has been for\nsixteen years president of the \"Washingtonian Home,\" will give the\nreader a still clearer impression of the workings of that institution.\nIt is in answer to one we wrote, asking for information about the\ninstitution in which he had been interested for so many years:\n\n     \"BOSTON, August 9th, 1877.\n\n     \"DEAR SIR:--Your letter is received, and I am glad to learn that\n     your mind is directed to the subject of the curse and cure of\n     drunkenness. This is one of the largest of human fields to work in.\n     The 'Washingtonian Home' was commenced in a very humble way, in\n     November, 1857. An act of incorporation was obtained from the\n     State, March 26th, 1859.\n\n     \"The institution has, therefore, been in existence nearly twenty\n     years. My connection with it has been for eighteen years--sixteen\n     years as president. During the period of its existence the whole\n     number of patients has been five thousand three hundred and\n     forty-eight. Of this number, the superintendent, Dr. Day, estimates\n     the cured at one-half. Of the remainder, it is estimated that\n     one-half, making one-quarter of the whole, are greatly improved.\n\n     \"You say, 'I take the general ground, and urge it strongly upon the\n     reader that, _without spiritual help--regeneration, in a,\n     word--there is, for the confirmed inebriate, but little hope, and\n     no true safety._'\n\n     \"In this I fully concur. I believe in using all the\n     agencies--medical, social, moral and religious--to bear upon the\n     patient, and to encourage him to follow the 'straight and narrow\n     way.' With this view, a morning service is held each day; a Sunday\n     evening service at six o'clock, and every Friday evening a meeting,\n     where patients relate their experience, and encourage each other in\n     gaining power over the enemy. I have had much experience and\n     abundant evidence that these meetings are of great value, for the\n     reason that the patients are the principal speakers, and can do\n     more to encourage each other than those outside of their own ranks.\n     These meetings are usually attended by about equal numbers of both\n     sexes, and, with fine music, can be kept up with interest\n     indefinitely.\n\n     \"It would be, in my judgment, a matter of wide economy for the\n     intelligent citizens of every city, with twenty thousand or more\n     inhabitants, to establish a home, or asylum for inebriates. Let\n     those who favor sobriety in the community, take a part in it, and\n     they will soon learn how to reach the class who needs assistance. A\n     large, old-fashioned house can be leased at small expense, and the\n     means raised by contributions of money and other necessary articles\n     to start. The act of doing this will soon enable those engaged in\n     the work to learn what the wants are, and how to meet them. It is\n     only obeying the command, 'Go out into the highways and hedges and\n     compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.' This is the\n     Master's work, and those who hear this invitation, as well as those\n     who accept it, will share in its blessings.\n\n     \"Those who cultivate the spirit of 'love to God, and good-will to\n     their fellow-men,' will be surprised to see how much easier it is\n     to _do_ these things when they _try_, than when they only _think_\n     about them.\n\n     \"Much, of course, depends upon the superintendent, who needs to\n     possess those genial qualities which readily win the confidence and\n     good-will of patients, and which he readily turns to account, by\n     encouraging them to use the means which the Creator has given them\n     to co-operate in curing themselves. The means of cure are in the\n     patient's own hands, and it is quite a gift to be able to make him\n     see it.\"\n\n\nTHE WASHINGTONIAN HOME AT CHICAGO\n\nis on the same plan, in all essential respects, with that of Boston; and\nthe reports show about the same average of cures and beneficial results.\nHow the patient is treated in this Home may be inferred from the\nfollowing extract from an article on \"The Cause, Effect and Cure of\nInebriety,\" from the pen of Prof. D. Wilkins, the superintendent, which\nappeared in a late number of _The Quarterly Journal of Inebriety_. In\nanswer to the question, How can we best save the poor drunkard, and\nrestore him to his manhood, his family and society, he says:\n\n\"Money, friends, relatives and all have forsaken him, his hope blasted,\nhis ambition gone, and he feels that no one has confidence in him, no\none cares for him. In this condition he wends his way to an institution\nof reform, a penniless, homeless, degraded, lost and hopeless drunkard.\nHere is our subject, how shall we save him? He has come from the squalid\ndens, and lanes of filth, of misery, of want, of debauchery and death;\nno home, no sympathy and no kind words have greeted him, perhaps, for\nyears. He is taken to the hospital. A few days pass, and he awakes from\nthe stupidity of drink, and as he opens his eyes, what a change! He\nlooks around, kind and gentle voices welcome him, his bed is clean and\nsoft, the room beautiful, tasteful and pleasant in its arrangements, the\nsuperintendent, the physician, the steward and the inmates meet him with\na smile and treat him as a brother. He is silent, lost in meditation.\nThoughts of other days, of other years, pass through his mind in quick\nsuccession as the tears steal gently down his cheeks. He talks thus to\nhimself: 'I am mistaken. _Somebody does care_ for the drunkard. And if\nsomebody cares for me, _I ought to care for myself_.' Here reform first\ncommences. In a few days, when free, to some extent, from alcohol, he is\nadmitted to the freedom of the institution. As he enters the\nreading-room, the library, the amusement, the gymnasium, dining-room and\nspacious halls, the conviction becomes stronger and stronger that\nsomebody is interested in the inebriate, and he should be interested in\nhimself. Then comes the lessons of the superintendent. He is taught that\nhe cannot be reformed, but that he can reform himself. That God helps\nthose only who help themselves. That he must ignore all boon companions\nof the cup as associates, all places where liquor is kept and sold,\nthat, in order to reform himself, he must become a reformer, labor for\nthe good of his brother; in short, he must shun every rivulet that leads\nhim into the stream of intemperance, and as a cap-stone which completes\nthe arch, that he must look to Him from whence cometh all grace and\npower to help in time of need.\n\n\"As he converses with those that are strong in experience, listens to\nthe reading of the Holy Scriptures in the morning devotions, joins in\nthe sweet songs of Zion and unites in unison with his brother inmates in\nsaying the Lord's Prayer, as he hears the strong experiences in the\npublic meetings and secret associations of those who have remained firm\nfor one, two, three, and up to ten or fifteen years, little by little\nhis confidence is strengthened, and almost before he is aware, the firm\ndetermination is formed and the resolve made, _I will drink no more_. As\nweek after week, and month after month, glides pleasantly away, these\nresolutions become stronger and stronger, and by thus educating his\nintellect and strengthening his moral power, the once hopeless,\ndisheartened and helpless one regains his former manhood and lost\nconfidence, and becomes a, moral, independent, reformed man. Perhaps the\nmost difficult thing in this work of reform, is to convince our inmates\nthat resolving to stop drinking, or even stopping drinking for the time\nbeing, is not reforming. Those admitted, generally, in about two weeks,\nunder the direction of a skillful physician, and the nursing of a\nfaithful steward, recover so as to sleep well and eat heartily, and\ntheir wills, seemingly, are as strong as ever. Feeling thus, they often\nleave the institution, sobered up, not reformed, and when the periodical\ntime arrives, or temptation comes, they have no moral power to resist,\nand they rush back to habits of intoxication. They forget that the will\nis like a door on its hinges, with the animal desires, appetites, evil\ninclinations and passions attached to one side, leading them into\ntrouble and making them unhappy, unless they are held by the strong\npower of the sense of moral right attached to the other side, and that\nfor years they have been stifling and weakening this power, until its\nstrength is almost, if not entirely, gone, and that the only way they\ncan possibly strengthen it, independent of the grace of God, is by\neducation, moral light and testing it under circumstances so favorable\nthat it will not yield. It took years of disobedience to destroy the\nmoral power, and it will take years of obedience to restore it again.\nThe inebriate must be taught that he can refrain from drink only as he\nstrengthens this moral power, and this requires time and trial. Here is\njust where we, as superintendents, or reformers, assume great\nresponsibility. To understand just when to test, and how much temptation\ncan be resisted by those under our charge, requires much wisdom and\ngreat experience.\"\n\nFrom this extract the reader will learn something of the influences\nwhich are brought to bear upon the inmates of a home for the reformation\nof inebriates; and he will see how much reliance is placed on moral and\nreligious agencies.\n\n\nTESTIMONY OF THE REFORMED.\n\nFrom the Chicago Home is issued a monthly paper called _The\nWashingtonian_, devoted to the interest of the institution and to\ntemperance. In this appear many communications from those who are, or\nhave been, inmates. We make a few selections from some of these, which\nwill be read with interest:\n\n\"When I came into the Home, mind, memory, hope and energy were\nshattered. The only animating thought remaining to me was a misty\nspeculation as to where the next drink was to come from. I had a kind of\nfeeble perception that a few days more of the life I was leading must\nend my earthly career, but I didn't care. As to the 'hereafter'--that\nmight take care of itself; I had no energy to make any provision for it.\n\n\"To-day, how different! A new man, utterly defiant of the devil and all\n'his works and pomps,' I am ready and eager to take my place once more\nin the battle of life; atone for the miserable time gone by; to take\nagain the place in the world I had forfeited, bearing ever in my breast\nthe beautiful maxims of the German poet and philosopher, Schiller: 'Look\nnot sorrowfully into the past; it comes not back again. Wisely improve\nthe present; it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without\nfear, and with a manly heart.'\"\n\nAnother writes: \"I have been true and faithful to my promise, and have\nnot touched or tampered with the curse since the first morning I entered\nthe Home, ten months ago to-day, and, Mr. Superintendent, I shall never\ndrink again as long as I live. My whole trust and hope is in God, who\nmade me live, move and have my being; and as long as I trust in Him--and\nwhich I am thoroughly satisfied I always shall--I will be crowned with\nsuccess in each and every good effort I make. * * * The day I reached\nhere, my little ones were out of town, but were telegraphed for at once.\nThey came in the next morning, and, oh! how my heart rejoiced to see\nthey knew and loved me. They came to my arms and threw their little arms\naround my neck, and hugged and kissed me until I wept with joy. They\nbegged of me never to leave them again, and I never shall. My dear\nfather, mother and all now wish me to stay with them, for they feel I\ncan now be as great a comfort as I once, I might say, was a terror to\nthem. Thank God, I can prove a comfort to them, and my daily life shall\nbe such that they never can do without me. Praises be to God for His\ngoodness and mercy to me, and for showing and guiding me in the straight\npath, that which leadeth, at last, to an everlasting life with. Him and\nHis redeemed in that great and glorious kingdom above.\"\n\nAnother writes, two years after leaving the Home: \"In different places\nwhere I lived, I was generally a moving spirit in everything of a\nliterary character, and, from a naturally social, convivial disposition,\nenjoyed the conversation and society of literary men over a glass of\nbeer more than any other attraction that could have been presented. For\nyears, this continued, I, all the time, an active spirit in whatever\nchurch I was a member of, and an active worker in whatever I engaged in,\nthereby always commanding a prominent position wherever I was. Thus\nmatters progressed till I was about twenty-seven, and then I began to\nrealize my position; but, alas, when it was too late. The kindly\nadmonition of friends and my own intelligence began to tell me the\nstory, and then how I struggled for months and months--a naturally\nsensitive nature only making me worse--till, at last, the conviction\nforced itself upon me that, for me there was no redemption, that I was\nbound, hand and foot, perfectly powerless, and then I was forced to\naccept the fact. My only desire then was to save those dear to me from\nany knowledge of the truth; for this reason I chose Chicago for my home.\nNot wishing to take my own life in my hands, I was simply waiting for\nthe moment when, having gone lower and lower, it would, at last, please\nGod to relieve me of my earthly sufferings. Oh! the mental agonies I\nendured! Too true is it that the drunkard carries his hell around with\nhim. At any moment I was perfectly willing to die, perfectly willing to\ntrust whatever might be before me in the other world, feeling it could\nbe no worse. At last, by God's grace, I was directed to the\n'Washingtonian Home,' and there, for the first time, I learned that I\ncould be free; and in this knowledge lies the power of the Home. The\nHome took hold of me and bade me be a man, and directed me to God for\nhelp; and, at the same time, told me to work out my own salvation. Its\nteachings were not in vain; and to-day I can look up and ask God's\nblessing on you all for your kind labors. But for that Home, I should,\nto-day, have been filling a dishonored grave.\"\n\nAnd another says: \"It is now over five years since I applied to Mr.\nDrake for admission to the Home. I was then prostrated, both physically\nand mentally, to that degree that I had scarcely strength to drag myself\nalong, or moral courage enough to look any decent man in the face. I was\noften assured that to quit whisky would kill me. I thought there was a\nprobability of that; but, on the other hand, there was a certainty that\nto continue it would kill me. I resolved to make one more effort and die\nsober, for I never expected to live; had no hope of that. From the day I\nentered the Home I have been a changed man. The encouragement and\ncounsel I received there, gave me strength, to keep the resolution I had\nformed, and which I have kept to the present moment, viz: TO DRINK NO\nMORE! Ever since I left Chicago, I have held a respectable position; and\nnow hold the principal position in a house of business, the doors of\nwhich I was forbidden to enter six years ago. I do not write this in any\nspirit of self-laudation, but simply to lay the honor where it\nbelongs--at the door of the 'Washingtonian Home.'\"\n\nThe following from the \"experience\" of one of the inmates of the Chicago\n\"Home,\" will give the reader an idea of the true character of this and\nsimilar institutions, and of the way in which those who become inmates\nare treated. A lady who took an interest in the writer, had said to him,\n\"You had better go to the Washingtonian Home.\" What followed is thus\nrelated:\n\n\nHOW I WAS TREATED IN THE HOME.\n\n\"I looked at her in surprise. Send me to a reformatory? I told her that\nI did not think that I was sunk so low, or bound so fast in the coils of\nthe 'worm of the still,' that it was necessary for me, a young man not\nyet entered into the prime of manhood, to be confined in a place\ndesigned for the cure of habitual drunkards. I had heard vague stories,\nbut nothing definite concerning the Home, and thought that the question\nwas an insult, but I did not reply to the question. All that night my\nthoughts would revert to the above question. My life past since I had\nbecome a devotee of the 'demon of strong drink,' passed in review before\nmy mind. What had I gained? How improved? What had I obtained by it? And\nthe answer was nothing. Then I asked myself, What had I lost by it? And\nthe answer came to me with crushing force, everything that maketh life\ndesirable. Starting out young in years into the busy highways of the\nworld, with a good fortune, bright prospects and a host of friends to\naid and cheer me on, I had lost ALL in my love for strong drink, and at\ntimes I thought and felt that I was a modern Ishmael.\n\n\"The lady, the next morning, again returned to the attack, and then, not\nthinking it an insult, but a benefit, to be conferred on me, I yielded a\nwilling acquiescence. That same evening, with a slow step and aching\nhead, I walked up Madison Street towards the Washingtonian Home, with\nthoughts that I would be considered by the officers of the institution\nas a sort of a felon, or, if not that, at least something very near akin\nto the brute, and it was with a sinking heart that I pushed open the\nmain door and ascended the broad, easy stairs to the office. I asked if\nthe superintendent was in, and the gentlemanly clerk at the desk told me\nthat he was, and would be down immediately, meanwhile telling me to be\nseated. After the lapse of a few minutes, the superintendent, Mr.\nWilkins, came into the office, his countenance beaming with benevolence.\nHe took the card that I had brought with me, read it, and, turning round\nto where I sat, with a genial smile lighting up his countenance, with\noutstretched hand, greeted me most kindly and introduced me to the\ngentlemen present. I was dumbfounded, and it was with great difficulty\nthat I restrained myself from shedding tears. It was the very opposite\nof the reception that I had pictured that I would receive, and I found\nthat I was to be treated as a human being and not as a brute. With a\nsmile, the superintendent addressed me again, and told me to follow him;\nand it was with a lighter heart and spirits that I ascended the second\nflight of stairs than the first, I can assure you. I was brought to the\nsteward, who also greeted me most kindly, conversed with me a short\ntime, fixed up some medicine for me and then took me into the hospital.\nBy the word 'hospital,' dear reader, you must not take the usual\ndefinition of all that word implies, but in this case, take it as a\nmoderate-sized room with eight or nine beds, covered with snow-white\nsheets and coverlids, and filled with air of the purest; no sickly\nsmells or suffering pain to offend the most delicate.\n\n\"After a most refreshing night's rest--the first that I had had in three\nor four long, weary months--I arose, and for a few moments could not\nrealize where I was, but memory came back, and I fell on my knees and\ngave thanks to God that I had fallen into the hands of the 'Good\nSamaritans.' After breakfast, I went with great diffidence into the\ncommon sitting-room, where there was about ten of the inmates sitting\nsmoking, playing checkers, etc. I did not know how I would be received\nhere, but as soon as I entered I was greeted most kindly and told to\nmake myself at home. It seemed as if my cup was full and running over,\nand for a few moments I could scarcely speak, and I thought that the\ninstitution's motto must be founded on the Saviour's command to 'Love\none another.'\n\n\"The first day I was not allowed to go down to the dining-room, I still\nbeing under the care of the hospital steward. The second day I was\ndischarged from the hospital, assigned a most comfortable and cheerful\nfurnished bed-room, and allowed the liberty of the whole building, and\nthe day passed pleasantly. The next morning, at about six, I was\nawakened by the clangor of a bell shaken by a vigorous arm. Hurriedly\ndressing, I descended to the wash-room and performed my ablutions, and\nthen waited for the next step. Half an hour having elapsed, the bell was\nrung a second time, and we all entered what is called the service-room.\nShortly after Mr. Wilkins and his family entered; the superintendent\nread a chapter of the Bible, the inmates sung a hymn, accompanied on the\norgan by Miss Clara Wilkins; after a short prayer, the inmates marched\nin single file to the head of the room, where Mr. Wilkins stood, his\nkind face actually beaming, and with extended hand greeted every\nindividual inmate. After leaving him we marched to the other side of the\nroom, where we also received a cheery 'good morning,' and cordial grasp\nof the hand from the estimable and motherly wife of the superintendent.\nTo describe one day is sufficient to picture the manner in which the\ninmates of the Home (and I sincerely believe that 'home' is the right\ndesignation for it) pass their time. I have never felt happier or more\ncontented even in my most prosperous days than I have in these few short\ndays that I have been an inmate of the Washingtonian Home.\"\n\nIn this institution, according to the last annual report, two thousand\ntwo hundred and fifty-two persons have been treated since it was opened.\nOf these, one thousand one hundred and eighteen, or over sixty per\ncent., are said to have remained sober, or nearly so, up to this time.\nDuring the last year two hundred and fifty-eight patients were under\ntreatment (one-third free patients). Of these only thirty had relapsed,\nthe others giving great promise of recovery.\n\nThe Philadelphia institution, known as the \"FRANKLIN REFORMATORY HOME\nFOR INEBRIATES,\" has been in existence over five years. It was organized\nin April, 1872. In this institution intemperance is not regarded as a\ndisease, which may be cured through hygienic or medical treatment, but\nas _a sin, which must be repented of, resisted and overcome through the\nhelp of God_. In order to place the inebriate, who honestly desires to\nreform and lead a better life, under conditions most favorable to this\nwork of inner reformation and true recovery, all the external\nassociations and comforts of a pleasant home are provided, as with the\ntwo institutions whose record of good results has just been made. Its\nadministrative work and home-life vary but little from that of the Homes\nin Boston and Chicago. But it is differenced from them and other\ninstitutions which have for their aim the cure of inebriety, in its\nrejection of the disease theory, and sole reliance on moral and\nspiritual agencies in the work of saving men from the curse of drink. It\nsays to its inmates, this appetite for drink is not a disease that\nmedicine can cure, or change, or eradicate. New sanitary conditions,\nremoval from temptations, more favorable surroundings, congenial\noccupation, improved health, a higher self-respect, a sense of honor\nand responsibility, and the tenderness and strength of love for wife and\nchildren, may be powerful enough as motives to hold you always in the\nfuture above its enticements. But, trusting in these alone, you can\nnever dwell in complete safety. You need a deeper work of cure than it\nis possible for you to obtain from any earthly physician. Only God can\nheal you of this infirmity.\n\n\nA RELIGIOUS HOME.\n\nWhile never undervaluing external influences, and always using the best\nmeans in their power to make their institution a home in all that the\nword implies, the managers have sought to make it distinctively\nsomething more--_a religious home_. They rely for restoration chiefly on\nthe reforming and regenerating power of Divine grace. Until a man is\nbrought under spiritual influences, they do not regard him as in safety;\nand the result of their work so far only confirms them in this view.\nThey say, that in almost every case where an inmate has shown himself\nindifferent, or opposed to the religious influences of the Home, he has,\non leaving it, relapsed, after a short period, into intemperance, while\nthe men who have stood firm are those who have sought help from God, and\ngiven their lives to His service.\n\nUnder this view, which has never been lost sight of from the beginning,\nin the work of the \"Franklin Home,\" and which is always urged upon those\nwho seek its aid in their efforts to reform their lives, there has come\nto be in the institution a pervading sentiment favorable to a religious\nlife as the only safe life, and all who are brought within, the sphere\nof its influence soon become impressed with the fact. And it is regarded\nas one of the most hopeful of signs when the new inmate is drawn into\naccord with this sentiment, and as a most discouraging one if he sets\nhimself in opposition thereto.\n\n\nWHO ARE RECEIVED INTO \"THE FRANKLIN HOME.\"\n\nAs in other institutions, the managers of this one have had to gain\nwisdom from experience. They have learned that there is a class of\ndrinking men for whom efforts at recovery are almost useless; and from\nthis class they rarely now take any one into the Home. Men of known\nvicious or criminal lives are not received. Nor are the friends of such\nas indulge in an occasional drunken debauch permitted to send them there\nfor temporary seclusion. None are admitted but men of good character, in\nall but intemperance; and these must be sincere and earnest in their\npurpose to reform. The capacity of an institution in which the care, and\nservice, and protection of a home can be given, is too small for mere\nexperiment or waste of effort. There are too many who are anxious,\nthrough the means offered in a place like this, to break the chains of a\ndebasing habit, and get back their lost manhood once more, to waste\neffort on the evil-minded and morally depraved, who only seek a\ntemporary asylum and the opportunity for partial recovery, but with no\npurpose of becoming better men and better citizens. Apart from the\nfruitlessness of all attempts to permanently restore such men to\nsobriety, it has been found that their presence in the Home has had an\ninjurious effect; some having been retarded in recovery through their\ninfluence, and others led away into vicious courses.\n\nThere is a chapel in the building, capable of holding over two hundred\npersons. In this, Divine worship is held every Sunday afternoon. A\nminister from some one of the churches is usually in attendance to\npreach and conduct the services. It rarely happens that the chapel is\nnot well filled with present and former inmates of the Home, their\nwives, children and friends. Every evening, at half-past nine o'clock,\nthere is family prayer in the chapel, and every Sunday afternoon the\npresident, Mr. S.P. Godwin, has a class for Bible study and instruction\nin the same place. On Tuesday evenings there is a conversational\ntemperance meeting; and on Thursday evening of each week the Godwin\nAssociation, organized for mutual help and encouragement, holds a\nmeeting in the chapel.\n\n\nUSE OF TOBACCO DISCOURAGED.\n\nThe attending physician, Dr. Robert P. Harris, having given much thought\nand observation to the effects of tobacco on the physical system, and\nits connection with inebriety, discourages its use among the inmates,\ndoing all in his power, by advice and admonition, to lead them to\nabandon a habit that not only disturbs and weakens the nervous forces,\nbut too often produces that very condition of nervous exhaustion which\nleads the sufferer to resort to stimulation. In many cases where men,\nafter leaving the \"Home,\" have stood firm for a longer or shorter period\nof time, and then, relapsing into intemperance, have again sought its\nhelp in a new effort at reformation, he has been able to find the cause\nof their fall in an excessive use of tobacco.\n\nDr. Harris is well assured, from a long study of the connection between\nthe use of tobacco and alcohol, that, in a very large number of cases\ntobacco has produced the nervous condition which led to inebriety. And\nhe is satisfied that, if men who are seeking to break away from the\nslavery of drink, will give up their tobacco and their whisky at the\nsame time, they will find the work easier, and their ability to stand by\ntheir good resolutions, far greater. See the next chapter for a clear\nand concise statement, from the pen of Dr. Harris, of the effects of\ntobacco, and the obstacles its use throws in the way of men who are\ntrying to reform.\n\n\nWHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.\n\nThe results of the work done in this \"Home\" are of the most satisfactory\nkind. From the fifth annual report, we learn that there have been\nreceived into the Home, since its commencement, seven hundred and\nforty-one persons. Of these, the report gives three hundred and\nfifty-four as reformed, and one hundred and three as benefited. Two\nhundred and ninety-seven were free patients.\n\n\nWOMAN'S WORK IN THE HOME.\n\nIn the management of this Home there is, beside the board of directors,\nan auxiliary board of twenty-six lady managers, who supervise the work\nof the Home, and see to its orderly condition and the comfort of the\ninmates. Through visiting and relief committees the families of such of\nthe inmates as need temporary care and assistance are seen, and such\nhelp and counsel given as may be required. An extract or two from the\nreports of this auxiliary board will not only give an idea of the\nreligious influences of the institution, but of what is being done by\nthe woman's branch of the work. Says the secretary, Mrs. E.M. Gregory,\nin her last annual report:\n\n\"The religious influence exerted by this institution by means of its\nSunday evening services, its Bible class and its frequent temperance\nmeetings, which are cordially open to all, is silently, but, we think,\nsurely making itself felt among those brought within its reach, and\nestablishing the highest and strongest bond among those whose natural\nties are often unhappily severed by intemperance. We find whole\nfamilies, long unused to any religious observance, now _regularly, for\nyears_, accompanying the husband and father to this place of worship,\nand joining devoutly in the exercises.\n\n\"Especial emphasis is laid upon the doctrine that the only foundation\nfor a thorough, enduring reformation is found in a radical change of\nheart, a preparation for the future life by a conscientious, persistent\neffort to lead a Christ-like life here.\n\n\"One result of this teaching is found in the fact that several of the\ninmates, not in the first pleasant excitement of their rescue from the\nimmediate horrors of their condition, but after long and faithful\nobservance of their pledge and constant attendance upon the religious\ninstruction of the Home, have voluntarily and with solemn resolve united\nthemselves to some Christian church, and are devoting a large share of\ntheir time and means to the work of bringing in their old companions to\nshare this great salvation. When, in our visits among their families, we\nhear of those who formerly spent all their earnings at the saloon,\nbringing nothing but distress and terror into their homes, now walking\nthe streets all day in search of work, without dinner themselves,\nbecause the 'wife and children need what little there is in the house;'\nand another, not only denying himself a reasonable share of the scanty\nfood, but nursing a sick wife and taking entire care of the children and\nhouse, hastening out, when relieved awhile by a kindly neighbor, to do\n'_anything_ to bring in a little money'--when we see changes like these,\naccompanied by patience and cheerfulness, and a growing sense of\npersonal responsibility, we thankfully accept them as proofs of the\ngenuineness of the work and hopefully look for its continuance.\"\n\n\nTOUCHING INCIDENTS.\n\nIn a previous report, speaking of the visits made to the families of\ninmates, she says: \"In no case has a visit ever been received without\nexpression of absolute pleasure, and especially gratitude, for 'what the\nHome has done for me and mine.'\n\n\"Although, unhappily, there are instances of men having, through stress\nof temptation, violated their pledges, it is believed that not one case\nhas occurred of a family, once brought together through the influence of\nthe Home, again being separated by the return to intemperance of the\nhusband and father, and the results of their faithfulness are to be seen\nin the growing comfort and happiness of those dependent on them.\n\n\"An aged mother, not only bowed down with the weight of seventy years,\nbut heart-sick with the 'hope deferred' of ever finding her intemperate\nson, heard of him at last, as rescued by the Home; and, being brought to\nthe Sunday and evening services, met him there, 'clothed and in his\nright mind.' The tears streamed down her face, as she said: 'That man is\nforty years old, and I've been a widow ever since he was a baby, and\nI've wept over him often and often, and _to-day_ I've shed tears enough\nto bathe him from head to foot, but, oh! thank the Lord! _these_ are\nsuch _happy_ tears!'\n\n\"Said one wife: 'Some days, these hard times, we have enough to eat, and\nsome days we don't; but _all_ the time I'm just as happy as I can be!\n\n\"'I wish you could see my children run, laughing, to the door when their\nfather comes home. Oh! he is _another_ man from what he was a year ago;\nhe is so happy at home with us now, and always so patient and kind!\n\n\"'Do tell us if there isn't something;--if it is ever so little--that we\nwomen can do for the Home; we _never_ can forget what it has done for\nus!'\n\n\"Such words, heard again and again with every variety of expression,\nattests the sincerity of those who, in widely differing circumstances,\nperhaps, have yet this common bond, that through this instrumentality,\nthey are rejoicing over a husband, a father, a son, 'which was dead, and\nis alive--was lost, and is found.'\n\n\"Surely, such proof of the intrinsic worth of a work like this, is\nbeyond all expression--full of comfort and encouragement to persevere.\"\n\nAgain: \"Through their instrumentality families long alienated and\nseparated have been happily brought together. This branch of the ladies'\nwork has been peculiarly blest; and their reward is rich in witnessing\nnot only homes made happier through their labors, but hearts so melted\nby their personal kindness, and by the Gospel message which they carry,\nthat husbands and wives, convicted of the sinfulness of their neglect of\nthe great salvation, come forward to declare themselves soldiers of the\ncross, and unite with the Christian church.\"\n\n\nTHE TESTIMONY OF INMATES.\n\nAs the value of this and similar institutions is best seen in what they\nhave done and are doing, we give two extracts from letters received from\nmen who have been reformed through the agency of the \"Home\" in\nPhiladelphia. In the first, the writer says:\n\n\"It has now been nearly two years since I left the Franklin Home. I had\nbeen a drinking man ten years, and it got such a hold on me that I could\nnot resist taking it. I had tried a number of times to reform, and at\none time, was in the Dashaway's Home, in California, where they steep\neverything in liquor, but when I came out I still had the desire to\ndrink, and only kept from it for nine months. I again commenced, and\nkept sinking lower and lower, till I lost my friends, and felt there was\nno hope for me. On the 31st day of May, 1873, I came to the Franklin\nHome, and have never tasted intoxicating liquor since, which is the\nlongest time I was ever without it since I commenced to drink. I feel\nnow that I will never drink again, as I do not associate with drinking\nmen, or go to places where liquor is sold. It was so different at the\nHome from anything I had ever met or heard of, that I went away with\nmore strength to resist than ever before. When I came to the Home I\ncould not get a position in Philadelphia, nobody having confidence in\nme. Since then I have been engaged as foreman in a manufacturing\nestablishment, by the very man that had discharged me several times for\ndrinking, and have been with him a year. I feel more happy and contented\nnow than any time in ten years past, and if I had a friend who I found\nthis was taking hold of, I would bring him to the Home, for I believe\nany one that is sincere can be reformed, and I would recommend any man\nthat needs and desires to reform to go to the Home, as I did.\"\n\n\nAFTER FIVE YEARS.\n\nWriting to Mr. Samuel P. Godwin, President of the Franklin Home, an old\ninmate, five years after his reformation, says: \"I received your kind\nletter and recognized in it the challenge of the ever-watchful sentinel,\n'How goes the night, brother?' I answer back, 'All is well.' I am\ndelighted to hear of the continued success of 'my second mother,' the\nHome, and the Association, my brothers; and I thank God, who is\nencouraging you all in your efforts for fallen men, by showing you the\nripening fruits of your labor--efforts and labors that are inspired by a\nlove of God that enables you to see in every fallen man the soul made\nlike unto _His_ own image. The Home and all its workers, its principles,\nthe endless and untiring efforts made, challenge the wonder and\nadmiration of every Christian heart. Its grand results will admit of but\none explanation, that 'It is God's work.' We, the reclaimed, can never\ngive expression to the grateful emotions of our hearts. We can only let\nour lives be its best eulogy. We hope to vindicate in the future, as we\nhave in the past, (by adhering to its principles) the great Christian\ntruth, the grace of God is all-powerful, all-saving. _Oh! what has not\nthe Home done for us all!_ It sought us amid temptations, misery and\nsorrow, and took us into its warm and fond embrace, clearing away the\ndebris that intemperance and misfortune had piled up, tearing down all\nfalse theories of disease and seizing our convictions. It reached down\ninto our hearts by its admirable practical mode of imparting its\nprinciples, impressing all its lessons with the examples of living,\nactive men, who, through its aid, accepting its teachings and practicing\nthem, have become reformed men--in a word, conquerors of self. By its\nlove, fostering care and ever-watchful solicitude for us, it has\nawakened the lessons of love and faith learned at a dear mother's knee\nin childhood, which, if forgotten for a time, were never entirely dead,\nand required but just such an influence to warm them into life. It\nenables me to say to you now, at the end of five years, I have been a\ntotal abstinence man for that time, and by and with the help of God, I\nwill die that.\"\n\nBut enough has been educed to show the importance of this and other\n\"Homes\" for the recovery of inebriates, and to direct public attention\nto their great value. Those already established should be liberally\nsustained by the communities in which they are located, and similar\ninstitutions should be organised and put in operation in all the larger\ncities of the Union. Thousands of outcast, helpless, perishing men, who,\nbut for the fatal habits they have acquired, would be good and useful\ncitizens, might, if this were done, be every year restored to\nthemselves, their families and to society. If we cannot, as yet, stay\nthe curse that is upon our land, let us do all in our power to heal what\nhas been hurt, and to restore what has been lost.\n\nIn every truly reformed man, the temperance cause gains a new and\nvaluable recruit. The great army that is to do successful battle with\nthe destroying enemy that is abroad in the land, will come chiefly from\nthe ranks of those who have felt the crush of his iron heel. So we gain\nstrength with every prisoner that is rescued from the enemy; for every\nsuch rescued man will hate this enemy with an undying hatred, and so\nlong as he maintains his integrity, stand fronting him in the field.\n\nDr. Harris, the attending physician of the \"Franklin Reformatory Home,\"\nwhose long experience and careful observation enable him to speak\nintelligently as to the causes which lead to relapses among reformed\nmen, has kindly furnished us with the following suggestions as to the\ndangers that beset their way. The doctor has done a good service in\nthis. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. We are also indebted to him\nfor the chapter on \"Tobacco as an Incitant to the Use of Alcoholic\nStimulant,\" which immediately follows this one, and which was especially\nprepared by him for the present volume.\n\n\nDANGERS THAT BESET THE REFORMED INEBRIATE.\n\nBY DR. R.P. HARRIS.\n\n_\"Come, take a drink.\"_--How pernicious is this treating generosity of\nthe inebriate, and how important to the reformed to be firm in declining\nhis invitation. To hesitate, is, in most cases, to yield.\n\n_Old companions._--These should be avoided, and made to understand that\ntheir company is not congenial; and new and safe ones should be\nselected.\n\n_Attacks of sickness._--A quondam inebriate should never employ a\nphysician who drinks, and should always tell his medical attendant that\nhe cannot take any medicine containing alcohol. It is very unsafe to\nresort to essence of ginger, paregoric, spirits of lavender or burnt\nbrandy, and friends very injudiciously, sometimes, recommend remedies\nthat are dangerous in the extreme. We saw one man driven into insanity\nby his employer recommending him a preparation of rhubarb, in Jamaica\nspirits, which he took with many misgivings, because, six years before\nhe had been a drunkard. The old appetite was revived in full force at\nonce. Diarrhoea can be much better treated without tinctures and\nessences than with them, as proved by the large experience of the\nFranklin Home, where they are never prescribed.\n\n_Bad company of either sex._--Remember what is said of the strange woman\nin Proverbs v., 3-12; and the advice given in the first Psalm. Lust has\ndriven to drunkenness and death many a promising case of reform.\n\n_Entering a tavern._--It is never safe to buy a cigar, take a glass of\nlemonade, eat a plate of oysters or even drink water at a bar where\nliquors are sold. The temptation, and revival of old associations, are\ntoo much for weak human nature to withstand.\n\n_Politics, military organizations, etc._--Many a man has been made a\ndrunkard by the war, or by becoming an active politician. Associations\nof men leading to excitement of any kind stimulate them to invite each\nother to drink as a social custom. Former inebriates should avoid all\nforms of excitement. Said a former politician, who has not drank for\nfive years: \"If I was to go back to politics, and allow matters to take\ntheir natural course, I should soon drift again into drunkenness.\"\n\n\"_Idleness_,\" says the French proverb, \"is the mother of all vices;\"\nhence the advantage and importance of being actively employed.\n\n_Working in communities._--There are no men more inclined to drunkenness\nthan shoemakers, hatters and those in machine shops. Shoemakers are\nespecially difficult to reform, as they incite each other to drink, and\nclub together and send out for beer or whisky.\n\n_Use of excessive quantities of pepper, mustard and horse-radish._--No\nperson can use biting condiments to the same degree as drunkards; and\nreformed men must largely moderate their allowance, if they expect to\nkeep their appetite under for something stronger. Tavern-keepers\nunderstand that salt and peppery articles, furnished gratis for lunch,\nwill pay back principal and profit in the amount they induce men to\ndrink.\n\n_Loss of money or death in the family._--These are among the most severe\nof all the trials to be encountered by the reformed drunkard. Hazardous\nventures in stocks or business are dangerous in the extreme. Without the\ngrace of God in the heart, and the strength that it gives in times of\ndepression of spirits under severe trial, there are few reformed men who\ncan bear, with any safety, the loss of a wife or very dear child.\nThousands who have, for the time, abandoned the habit have returned to\nit to drown, in unconsciousness, their feeling of loss; hence the great\nand vital importance of an entire change of heart to enable a man to go\nto his faith for consolation, and to look to God for help in times of\ntrial and temptation.\n\n[Illustration: BOYHOOD.\n\nThe first Step.]\n\n[Illustration: YOUTH.\n\nThe Second Step.]\n\n[Illustration: MANHOOD.\n\nA Confirmed Drunkard.]\n\n[Illustration: OLD AGE.\n\nA Total Wreck.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTOBACCO AS AN INCITANT TO THE USE OF ALCOHOLIC STIMULANTS, AND AN\nOBSTACLE IN THE WAY OF A PERMANENT REFORMATION.\n\nBY DR. R.P. HARRIS, PHYSICIAN OF THE \"FRANKLIN REFORMATORY HOME.\"\n\n\nWhen we consider the almost universal use of tobacco, especially in the\nform of smoking, among our male population, it is not to be wondered at\nthat this powerful poison has come to be regarded as an innocent and\nalmost necessary vegetable production, not to be used as food exactly,\nbut greatly allied to it as an article of daily consumption. Few stop to\nreason about its properties or effects; they remember, perhaps, how sick\nthey were made by the first chew or smoke, but this having long passed,\nbelieve that as their systems have become accustomed, _apparently_, to\nthe poison, it cannot be doing them any real injury. When we reflect\nthat tobacco contains from one to nearly seven per cent, of\n_nicotine_--one of the most powerful vegetable poisons known--a few\ndrops of which are sufficient to destroy life, it is not difficult to\nperceive that this faith in the _innocence_ begotten of use must be\nfallacious. We have met with instances where the poisonous effects of\ntobacco were manifest after every smoke, even where the attempt to\naccustom the system to its use had been persevered in for many years;\nand yet the men never realized what was the matter with them, until they\nhad, under medical advice, ceased to use the drug.\n\nBefore the discovery of an\u00e6sthetics, tobacco was used as a remedy to\nproduce relaxation in cases of strangulated hernia; and although very\ncautiously administered in the form of tea, or smoke per rectum, proved\nfatal in many instances. As little as twelve grains in six ounces of\nwater having thus acted; and from half a drachm to two drachms in a\nnumber of instances. When men chew as high as a pound and a quarter of\nstrong navy tobacco a week, or three packages of fine-cut in a day, it\nmust certainly tell upon them sooner or later; or even in much less\nquantity.\n\nIf men used tobacco in moderation, there would be much less objection to\nit, if it was not so intimately\n\n\nASSOCIATED WITH THE HABIT OF DRINKING.\n\nThis is recognized by the trade, in the fact that we see many tobacco\nstores as the entrance to drinking saloons. Ninety-three per cent. of\nthe men who have been admitted to the Franklin Reformatory Home used\ntobacco, and eighty per cent. of them chewed it. There may be possibly\nas high as ninety-three per cent. of male adults who smoke, but eighty\nper cent. of chewers is undoubtedly a large proportion as compared with\nthose in the same ranks of society who do not drink.\n\nAlthough the poisonous symptoms of tobacco are, in a great degree, the\nsame in different persons at the inception of the habit, the effects\nvary materially in after years according to the quantity and variety\nused, the form employed and the habits and temperament of the user. One\nman will chew a paper a week, another four, many use one a day, and a\nfew from one and a half to three a day, besides smoking. Occasionally,\nbut very rarely, we find a man who limits himself to one cigar a day, a\nnumber allow themselves but three, but of later years even these are\nmoderate compared with those who use eight, ten or more.\n\nThere are many men who, for years, preserve a robust, hale appearance\nunder both tobacco and whisky, who are, notwithstanding their apparent\nhealth, steadily laying the foundation of diseased heart, or\n\n\nDERANGEMENT OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS\n\nor nervous system from the former, or an organic fatal disease of the\nliver or kidneys from the latter.\n\nHealthy-looking men are often rejected by examiners of life insurance\ncompanies because of irregular and intermittent action of the heart from\ntobacco; and equally robust subjects are forced to abandon the habit\nbecause of tremors, vertigo or a peculiar form of dyspepsia. We have\nknown men who died from the use of tobacco, and others who met a like\nfate from whisky, who were never fully in the state denominated drunk.\nMen may earn a hobnail liver and dropsy by the constant, steady use of\nalcoholic drink taken systematically, so as always to keep within the\nlimits of intoxication; or they may, in the same way, get a diabetes or\nBright's disease.\n\nAbundant testimony in regard to the effects of tobacco in creating an\nappetite for strong drink has been given by the inmates of the Franklin\nHome. In a few exceptional cases the use of tobacco does not appear to\ncreate any sense of thirst; and this is specially the case with the\nsmokers who do not spit when smoking. Some men seem to be free from any\nalcoholic craving when using tobacco, and say that when they commence to\ndrink they give up the drug for the time being. These are exceptional\ncases, for excess in drinking generally leads to an excess in the use of\ntobacco, often to double the amount ordinarily employed. We have often\nbeen told by moderate drinkers, that they frequently\n\n\nFELT A DESIRE FOR A LITTLE WHISKY AFTER A SMOKE,\n\nand they have confessed that they were only saved from a habit of\ndrinking to excess by the fact that they had no innate fondness for\nalcoholic stimulation. Unfortunately, there is a large and increasing\nclass of men who, finding that water does not, but that alcohol does,\nrelieve the dryness of throat and diseased thirst resulting from\ntobacco, are led, little by little, into the habit of using whisky to\nexcess. Such men, after, it may be, a long abstinence, are not\nunfrequently led back into their old habits by an attack of nervousness,\nresulting from a temporary excessive use of tobacco, and a feeling that\nall that is wanting to relieve this is a glass of whisky, which being\ntaken, at once determines a debauch of long or short duration, according\nto the habits and character of the party. Many a _so-called periodical\ndrinker_ fixes the return of his period by an act of this kind, and with\nsuch cases it is all-important to their permanent reformation, that they\nshould cease entirely and forever from the use of tobacco. We have, in a\nfew instances, prevailed upon men to do this, but in a large majority of\ncases, where they have admitted the connection between the two habits,\nin their own person, or volunteered to tell how much tobacco had acted\nin forming and keeping up their appetite for whisky, they have failed in\nbeing able to sum up sufficient resolution to abandon the use of the\ndrug, saying that they felt the importance of the step, and would be\nglad to be able to give it up, but that the habit was\n\n\nTEN TIMES AS DIFFICULT TO CONQUER AS THAT OF WHISKY-DRINKING.\n\nAll that we have been able to accomplish in such cases has been to check\nthe excessive use. We have repeatedly assured men, after a careful\nexamination of their peculiar cases, that they would certainly drink\nagain unless they gave up their tobacco, and have seen this opinion\nverified, because they took no heed to the warning. We have also been\ngratified in a few instances by hearing a man say that he felt confident\nthat he could never have accomplished his reformation as he had done, if\nhe had not taken the advice given him about abandoning his tobacco. In\ncontrast with the men of weak purpose, we have to admire one who had\nresolution enough to break off the three habits of opium-eating,\nwhisky-drinking and tobacco-chewing--no trifling matter--when the first\nwas of ten and the last of more than thirty years' duration.\n\nWe have been repeatedly asked which was the most injurious, smoking or\nchewing, and have replied, that everything depended upon the amount of\nnicotine absorbed in the process, and the loss to the system in the\nsaliva spit out. Men have died from the direct effect of excessive\nsmoking, and quite recently a death in a child was reported from the\nresult of blowing soap-bubbles with an old wooden pipe. We have known a\nlittle boy to vomit from drawing air a few times through the empty\nmeerschaum pipe of his German teacher. The smoking of two pipes as the\nfirst essay, very nearly caused the death of a young man, whose case was\nreported by Dr. Marshall Hall.\n\nThe least poisonous tobaccos are those of Syria and Turkey, but the\ncigarettes made of them in the East and imported into this country are\nsaid to be impregnated with opium. Virginia tobacco, for the pipe or\nchewing, contains a large percentage of nicotine, and the former is\noften impregnated with foreign matters, recognizable by the choking\neffect of the smoke when inhaled, or by the removal of the epithelium\n(outer skin) of the tongue at the point under the end of the pipe-stem.\n\nIf we fail in our efforts to reform the tobacco habit, the next best\nthing to do, is to show men what the nature and capabilities of the\npoison are, and endeavor to persuade them to use the milder varieties\nand in a moderate quantity.\n\n\nONE OF THE GREAT CURSES OF THE RISING GENERATION\n\nis the passion for imitating and acquiring the evil habits of men, under\nan impression that it hastens their approach to manhood. Weak, frail,\ndelicate boys, with inherited tendencies to disease, who should, by all\nmeans, never use tobacco, or anything injurious, are often as\nobstinately bent upon learning to smoke, in spite of medical advice, as\nthose in whom a moderate use would be far less objectionable. A recent\nobserver, in examining into the cases of thirty-eight boys who had\nformed the habit of using tobacco, found that twenty-seven of them had\nalso a fondness for alcoholic stimulants. A large proportion of the\nFranklin Home inmates attribute their habit of drinking to the effects\nof company; many commenced in the army, and many were induced to drink\nat first by invitation. If smoking was a solitary habit, it would be\nless likely to lead to drinking; but the same companionship, and habits\nof treating prevail, as in the saloon, and the step from the _estaminet_\nto the bar-room under invitation, is an easy one, where the diseased\nthirst, so often induced by tobacco, favors the movement to treat.\n\nWe have no prejudice against tobacco, other than what would naturally\narise in the mind from a careful examination of the effects of the\npoison in hundreds of cases. We have seen large, hale-looking men forced\nin time to abandon, although very reluctantly, the use of tobacco in\nevery form; and the most bitter enemy we have ever met to the _vile\nweed_ as he termed it, was a physician, who had been forced to give up\nchewing on account of the state of his heart, after years of indulgence.\nWe have seen many such instances, and, in one case, the abandonment of\nthe habit entirely cured a dyspepsia of twenty-eight years' standing.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE WOMAN'S CRUSADE.\n\n\nFor every one saved through the agency of inebriate asylums and\nreformatory homes, hundreds are lost and hundreds added yearly to the\ngreat army of drunkards. Good and useful as such institutions are, they\ndo not meet the desperate exigencies of the case. Something of wider\nreach and quicker application is demanded. What shall it be? In\nprohibition many look for the means by which the curse of drunkenness is\nto be abated. But, while we wait for a public sentiment strong enough to\ndetermine legislation, sixty thousand unhappy beings are yearly\nconsigned to drunkards' graves.\n\nWhat have temperance men accomplished in the fifty years during which\nthey have so earnestly opposed the drinking usages of society and the\ntraffic in alcoholic drinks? And what have they done for the prevention\nand cure of drunkenness? In limiting the use of intoxicants, in\nrestricting the liquor traffic and in giving a right direction to public\nsentiment, they have done a great and good work; but their efforts to\nreclaim the fallen drunkard have met with sad discouragements. In the\nwork of prevention, much has been accomplished; in the work of cure,\nalas! how little. The appetite once formed, and the unhappy victim finds\nhimself under the control of a power from which he can rarely get free.\nPledges, new associations, better and more favorable surroundings, all\nare tried, and many are saved; but the number of the saved are few in\ncomparison with those who, after a season of sobriety, fall back into\ntheir old ways.\n\nIn all these many years of untiring efforts to lift up and save the\nfallen, what sad disappointments have met our earnest and devoted\ntemperance workers. From how many fields, which seemed full of a rich\npromise, have they gathered only a meagre harvest. But still they have\nworked on, gaining strength from defeat and disappointment; for they\nknew that the cause in which they were engaged was the cause of God and\nhumanity, and that in the end it must prevail.\n\nMeantime, the bitter, half-despairing cry, \"O Lord, how long!\" was going\nup from the lips of brokenhearted wives and mothers all over the land,\nand year by year this cry grew deeper and more desperate. All hope in\nman was failing from their hearts. They saw restrictive legislation here\nand there, and even prohibition; but, except in a few cases, no removal\nof the curse; for behind law, usage, prejudice, interest and appetite\nthe traffic stood intrenched and held its seat of power.\n\nAt last, in the waning years of the first century of our nation's\nexistence, their failing hope in man died utterly, and with another and\ndeeper and more despairing cry, the women of our land sent up their\nvoices to God. Not now saying \"O Lord, how long!\" but \"Lord, come to our\nhelp against the mighty!\"\n\nWhat followed is history. The first result of this utter abandonment of\nall hope in moral suasion or legal force, and of a turning to God in\nprayer and faith, was that strange, intense, impulsive movement known as\nthe \"Woman's Crusade.\"\n\n\nBEGINNING OF THE CRUSADE.\n\nLet us briefly give the story of its initiation late in the month of\nDecember, 1873. Dr. Dio Lewis, in a lecture which he had been engaged to\ndeliver at Hillsboro, Ohio, related how, forty years before, his pious\nmother, the wife of a drunkard, who was struggling to feed, clothe and\neducate her five helpless children, went, with other women who had a\nsimilar sorrow with her own, to the tavern-keeper who sold their\nhusbands drink, and, kneeling down in his bar-room, prayed with and for\nhim, and besought him to abandon a business that was cursing his\nneighbors and bringing want and suffering into their homes. Their\nprayers and entreaties prevailed. After telling this story of his\nmother, the lecturer asked all the women present who were willing to\nfollow her example to rise, and in response, nearly the entire audience\narose. A meeting was then called for the next morning, to be held in the\nPresbyterian church.\n\nDr. Lewis was a guest at the old mansion of Ex-Governor Trimble, father\nof Mrs. E.J. Thompson, a most cultivated, devoted Christian woman,\nmother of eight children. She was not present at the lecture, but\n\"prepared,\" as she writes, \"as those who watch for the morning, for the\nfirst gray light upon this dark night of sorrow. Few comments were made\nin our house,\" she continues, \"upon this new line of policy until after\nbreakfast the next morning, when, just as we gathered about the\nhearth-stone, my daughter Mary said, very gently: 'Mother, will you go\nthe meeting this morning?' Hesitatingly I replied: 'I don't know yet\nwhat I shall do.' My husband, fully appreciating the responsibility of\nthe moment, said: 'Children, let us leave your mother alone; for you\nknow where she goes with all vexed questions;' and pointing to the old\nfamily Bible, left the room. The awful responsibility of the step that I\nmust needs next take was wonderfully relieved by thought of the 'cloudy\npillar' and 'parted waters' of the past; hence, with confidence, I was\nabout turning my eye of faith 'up to the hills,' from whence had come\nmy help, when, in response to a gentle tap at my door, I met my dear\nMary, who, with her Bible in hand and tearful eyes, said: 'Mother, I\nopened to Psalm cxlvi., and I believe it is for you.' She withdrew and I\nsat down to read the wonderful message from God. As I read what I had so\noften read before, the Spirit so strangely 'took of the things of God,'\nand showed me new meanings, I no longer hesitated, but, in the strength\nthus imparted, started to the scene of action.\n\n\"Upon entering the church, I was startled to find myself chosen as\nleader. The old Bible was taken down from the desk, and Psalm cxlvi.\nread. Mrs. General McDowell, by request, led in prayer, and, although\nshe had never before heard her own voice in a public prayer, on this\noccasion 'the tongue of fire' sat upon her, and all were deeply\naffected. Mrs. Cowden, our Methodist minister's wife, was then requested\nto sing to a familiar air--\n\n  \"'Give to the winds thy fears!\n      Hope, and be undismayed;\n    God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears:\n      He will lift up thy head.'\n\n\"And while thus engaged, the women (seventy-five in number) fell in line,\ntwo and two, and proceeded first to the drug stores and then to the\nhotels and saloons.\"\n\nThus began this memorable Crusade, which was maintained in Hillsboro for\nover six months, during which time the saloons were visited almost\ndaily.\n\nWithin two days, the women of Washington Court-House, a neighboring\ntown, felt the inspiration of their sisters, and inaugurated the\nmovement there. A description of what was done at this place will afford\nthe reader a clear impression of the way in which the \"Crusaders\"\nworked, and the results that followed their efforts. We quote from the\naccount given by Mrs. M.V. Ustick:\n\n\"After an hour of prayer, forty-four women filed slowly and solemnly\ndown the aisle and started forth upon their strange mission, with fear\nand trembling, while the male portion of the audience remained at church\nto pray from the success of this new undertaking; the tolling of the\nchurch-bell keeping time to the solemn march of the women, as they\nwended their way to the first drug store on the list (the number of\nplaces within the city limits where intoxicating drinks were sold was\nfourteen--eleven saloons and three drug stores). Here, as in every\nplace, they entered singing, every woman taking up the sacred strain as\nshe crossed the threshold. This was followed by the reading of the\nappeal and prayer, and then earnest pleading to desist from their\nsoul-destroying traffic and to sign the dealers' pledge. Thus, all the\nday long, going from place to place, without stopping even for dinner or\nlunch, till five o'clock, meeting with no marked success; but invariably\ncourtesy was extended to them.\n\n\"The next day an increased number of women went forth, leaving the men\nin the church to pray all day long. On this day the contest really\nbegan, and at the first place the doors were found locked. With hearts\nfull of compassion, the women knelt in the snow upon the pavement to\nplead for the Divine influence upon the heart of the liquor-dealer, and\nthere held their first street prayer-meeting. The Sabbath was devoted to\na union mass-meeting. Monday, December 29th, is one long to be\nremembered in Washington as the day on which occurred the first\nsurrender ever made by a liquor-dealer of his stock of liquors of every\nkind and variety to the women, in answer to their prayers and\nentreaties, and by them poured into the street. Nearly a thousand men,\nwomen and children witnessed the mingling of beer, ale, wine and whisky,\nas they filled the gutters and were drunk up by the earth, while bells\nwere ringing, men and boys shouting, and women singing and praying to\nGod, who had given the victory.\n\n\"On the fourth day, the campaign reached its height; the town being\nfilled with visitors from all parts of the country and adjoining\nvillages. Another public surrender and another pouring into the street\nof a larger stock of liquors than on the day before, and more intense\nexcitement and enthusiasm. In eight days all the saloons, eleven in\nnumber, had been closed, and the three drug stores pledged to sell only\non prescription.\n\n\"Early in the third week the discouraging intelligence came that a new\nman had taken out license to sell liquor in one of the deserted saloons,\nand that he was backed by a whisky house in Cincinnati to the amount of\nfive thousand dollars to break down this movement. On Wednesday, 14th of\nJanuary, the whisky was unloaded at his room. About forty women were on\nthe ground and followed the liquor in, and remained holding an\nuninterrupted prayer-meeting all day and until eleven o'clock at night.\nThe next day--bitterly cold--was spent in the same place and manner,\nwithout fire or chairs, two hours of that time the women being locked\nin, while the proprietor was off attending a trial. On the following\nday, the coldest of the winter of 1874, the women were locked out, and\nremained on the street holding religious services all day long. Next\nmorning a tabernacle was built in the street just in front of the house,\nand was occupied for the double purpose of watching and praying through\nthe day; but before night the sheriff closed the saloon, and the\nproprietor surrendered. A short time afterwards, on a dying bed, this\nfour-day's liquor-dealer sent for some of these women, telling them\ntheir songs and prayers had never ceased to ring in his ears, and urging\nthem to pray again in his behalf; so he passed away.\"\n\nFrom this beginning the new temperance movement increased and spread\nwith a marvelous rapidity. The incidents attendant on the progress of\nthe \"Crusade\" were often of a novel and exciting character. Such an\ninterference with their business was not to be tolerated by the liquor\nmen; and they soon began to organize for defense and retaliation. They\nnot only had the law on their side, but in many cases, the\nadministrators of the law. Yet it often happened, in consequence of\ntheir reckless violations of statutes made to limit and regulate the\ntraffic, that dealers found themselves without standing in the courts,\nor entangled in the meshes of the very laws they had invoked for\nprotection.\n\nIn the smaller towns the movement was, for a time, almost irresistible;\nand in many of them the drink traffic ceased altogether. But when it\nstruck the larger cities, it met with impediments, against which it beat\nviolently for awhile, but without the force to bear them down. Our space\nwill not permit us to more than glance at some of the incidents\nattendant on this singular crusade. The excitement that followed its\ninauguration in the large city of Cleveland was intense. It is thus\ndescribed by Mrs. Sarah K. Bolton in her history of the Woman's Crusade,\nto which we have already referred:\n\n\nHOW THE CRUSADERS WERE TREATED.\n\n\"The question was constantly asked: 'Will the women of a conservative\ncity of one hundred and fifty thousand go upon the street as a\npraying-band?' The liquor-dealers said: 'Send committees of two or three\nand we will talk with them; but coming in a body to pray with us brands\nour business as disreputable.' The time came when the Master seemed to\ncall for a mightier power to bear upon the liquor traffic, and a company\nof heroic women, many of them the wives of prominent clergymen, led by\nMrs. W.A. Ingham, said: 'Here am I; the Lord's will be done.'\n\n\"On the third day of the street work, the whisky and beer interest\nseemed to have awakened to a full consciousness of the situation.\nDrinkers, dealers and roughs gathered in large numbers on the street to\nwait for the praying women. A mob, headed by an organization of brewers,\nrushed upon them, kicking them, striking them with their fists and\nhitting them with brickbats. The women were locked in a store away from\nthe infuriated mob, who, on the arrival of a stronger body of police,\nwere dispersed, cursing and yelling as they went. The next day, taking\ntheir lives in their hands, a larger company of women went out, and\nsomewhat similar scenes were enacted. Meantime, public meetings, called\nin the churches, were so crowded that standing room could not be found.\nThe clergy, as one man, came to the front. Business men left their\nstores and shops, ministers their studies, and a thousand manly men went\nout to defend the praying women. The military companies were ordered to\nbe in readiness, resting on their arms; the police force was increased,\nand the liquor interest soon made to feel that the city was not under\nits control. The mob never again tried its power. For three months, with\nscarcely a day's exception, the praying-bands, sometimes with twenty in\neach, working in various parts of the city; sometimes with five hundred,\nquietly and silently, two by two, forming a procession over a quarter of\na mile in length, followed by scores in carriages, who could not bear\nthe long walks, went from saloon to saloon, holding services where the\nproprietors were willing, and in warehouses which were thrown open to\nthem, or in vacant lots near by, when they were unwilling. Men took off\ntheir hats, and often wept as the long procession went by. Little\nchildren gathered close to the singers, and catching the words, sang\nthem months afterwards in their dingy hovels. Haggard women bent their\nheads as they murmured with unutterable sadness, 'You've come too late\nto save my boy or my husband.' Many saloon-keepers gave up their\nbusiness and never resumed it. Many who had lost all hope because of the\nappetite which bound them, heard from woman's lips the glad tidings of\nfreedom in Christ, and accepted the liberty of the Gospel.\"\n\nIn many other places the crusaders met with violence from exasperated\nliquor-dealers and their brutish associates. A pail of cold water was\nthrown into the face of a woman in Clyde, Ohio, as she knelt praying in\nfront of a saloon. Dirty water was thrown by pailfuls over the women at\nNorwalk. At Columbus, a saloon-keeper assaulted one of the praying-band,\ninjuring her seriously. In Cincinnati, forty-three women were arrested\nby the authorities for praying in the street and lodged in jail. In\nBellefontaine, a large liquor-dealer declared that if the praying-band\nvisited him he would use powder and lead; but the women, undeterred by\nhis threat, sang and prayed in front of his saloon every day for a week,\nin spite of the insults and noisy interferences of himself and\ncustomers. At the end of that time the man made his appearance at a\nmass-meeting and signed the pledge; and on the following Sunday\nattended church for the first time in five years.\n\n\nDECLINE OF THE CRUSADING SPIRIT.\n\nFrom Ohio the excitement soon spread to other Western States, and then\npassed east and south, until it was felt in nearly every State in the\nUnion; but it did not gain force by extension. To the sober,\nsecond-thought of those who had, in singleness of heart,\nself-consecration and trust in God, thrown themselves into this work\nbecause they believed that they were drawn of the Spirit, came the\nperception of other, better and more orderly ways of accomplishing the\ngood they sought. If God were, indeed, with them--if it was His Divine\nwork of saving human souls upon which they had entered, He would lead\nthem into the right ways, if they were but willing to walk therein. Of\nthis there came to them a deep assurance; and in the great calm that\nfell after the rush and excitement and wild confusion of that first\nmovement against the enemy, they heard the voice of God calling to them\nstill. And, as they hearkened, waiting to be led, and willing to obey,\nlight came, and they saw more clearly. Not by swift, impetuous impulse,\nbut through organization and slow progression was the victory to be won.\n\nIn the language of Frances E. Willard, in her history of \"The Woman's\nNational Christian Temperance Union,\" to be found in the Centennial\ntemperance volume: \"The women who went forth by an impulse sudden,\nirresistible, divine, to pray in the saloons, became convinced, as weeks\nand months passed by, that theirs was to be no easily-won victory. The\nenemy was rich beyond their power to comprehend. He had upon his side\nthe majesty of the law, the trickery of politics and the leagued\nstrength of that almost invincible pair--appetite, avarice. He was\npersistent, too, as fate; determined to fight it out on that line to the\nlast dollar of his enormous treasure-house and the last ounce of his\npower. But these women of the Crusade believed in God, and in themselves\nas among His appointed instruments to destroy the rum-power in America.\nThey loved Christ's cause; they loved the native land that had been so\nmindful of them; they loved their sweet and sacred homes; and so it came\nabout that, though, they had gone forth only as skirmishers, they soon\nfell into line of battle; though they had ignorantly hoped to take the\nenemy by a sudden assault, they buckled on the armor for the long\ncampaign. The woman's praying-bands, earnest, impetuous, inspired,\nbecame the woman's temperance unions, firm, patient, persevering. The\npraying-bands were without leadership, save that which inevitably\nresults from 'the survival of the fittest;' the woman's unions are\nregularly officered in the usual way. They first wrought their grand\npioneer work in sublime indifference to prescribed forms of\nprocedure--'so say we all of us' being the spirit of 'motions' often\nmade, seconded and carried by the chair, while the assembled women\nnodded their earnest acquiescence; the second are possessed of good,\nstrong constitutions (with by-laws annexed), and follow the order of\nbusiness with a dutiful regard to parliamentary usage. In the first,\nwomen who had never lifted up their voices in their own church\nprayer-meetings stood before thousands and 'spoke as they were moved;'\nin the second, these same women with added experience, and a host of\nothers who have since enlisted, impress the public thought and\nconscience by utterances carefully considered. The praying-bands, hoping\nfor immediate victory, pressed their members into incessant service; the\nwoman's unions, aware that the battle is to be a long one, ask only for\nsuch help as can be given consistently with other duties.\"\n\nAs the result of this intelligent effort at effective organization by\nthe women who inaugurated and were prominent in the \"Crusade,\" we have\n\"The Woman's National Christian Temperance Union,\" with its auxiliary\nand local unions in nearly every State; one of the most efficient\nagencies in the practical work of temperance reform which the country\nhas yet seen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nTHE WOMAN'S NATIONAL CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION.\n\n\nDuring the summer of 1874, when the reaction which had checked the\n\"Crusade\" was recognized as something permanent by the more thoughtful\nand observant of the women who had been engaged in it, they paused for\ndeliberation, and took counsel together. Great victories had been won in\nthe brief season during which they were masters of the field; and now\nthat the enemy had rallied his forces, and intrenched himself behind\nlaw, public opinion, politics and the State, should they weakly give up\nthe contest? Not so. They had discovered wherein the weakness, as well\nas the strength, of their enemy lay, and had come into a new perception\nof their own powers and resources.\n\n\nORGANIZATION.\n\nThe first step taken was to call conventions in the various States where\nthe Crusade had been active. These were attended by delegates chosen by\nthe local praying-bands. The result was the organization, in some of the\nStates, of what were known as \"Temperance Leagues.\" Afterwards the word\n\"Unions\" was substituted for Leagues. Having organized by States, the\nnext thing was to have a National Union. In August of that year, the\nfirst National Sunday-School Assembly was held at Chautauqua Lake, near\nBuffalo, New York. Many of the most earnest workers in the temperance\nCrusade, from different parts of the United States, and from the various\ndenominations of Christians, were present, and the conviction was\ngeneral that steps should at once be taken towards forming a National\nLeague, in order to make permanent the work that had already been done.\nAfter much deliberation, a committee of organization was appointed,\nconsisting of a woman from each State. This committee issued a circular\nletter, asking the various Woman's Temperance Leagues to hold meetings,\nfor the purpose of electing one woman from each Congressional district\nas a delegate to a National Convention, to be held in November, at\nCleveland, Ohio. A single paragraph from this circular will show the\nspirit that animated the call.\n\n\"It is hardly necessary to remind those who have worked so nobly in the\ngrand temperance uprising that in union and organization are its success\nand permanence, and the consequent redemption of this land from the\ncurse of intemperance. In the name of our Master--in behalf of the\nthousands of women who suffer from this terrible evil, we call upon all\nto unite in an earnest, continued effort to hold the ground already\nwon, and move onward together to a complete victory over the foes we\nfight.\"\n\nDelegates representing sixteen States were present at the convention,\nwhich held its first session in Cleveland, commencing on the 18th of\nNovember, 1874, and lasting for three days. Prominent among its members\nwere active leaders of the Crusade, but, besides these, says Miss\nWillard, \"there were present many thoughtful and gifted women, whose\nhearts had been stirred by the great movement, though until now they had\nlacked the opportunity to identify themselves with it. Mrs. Jennie F.\nWilling presided over the convention, which was one of the most earnest\nand enthusiastic ever held. A constitution was adopted, also a plan of\norganization intended to reach every hamlet, town and city in the land.\nThere was a declaration of principles, of which Christianity alone could\nhave furnished the animus. An appeal to the women of our country was\nprovided for; another to the girls of America; a third to lands beyond\nthe sea; a memorial to Congress was ordered, and a deputation to carry\nit appointed; a National temperance paper, to be edited and published by\nwomen, was agreed upon, also a financial plan, asking for a cent a week\nfrom members; and last, not least, was appointed a special committee on\ntemperance work among the children. Four large mass-meetings were held\nduring the convention, all of them addressed by women. Mrs. Annie\nWittenmyer, of Philadelphia, was elected president; Miss Frances E.\nWillard, of Chicago, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Mary C. Johnson, of\nBrooklyn, recording secretary; Mrs. Mary A. Ingham, of Cleveland,\ntreasurer, with one vice-president from each State represented in the\nconvention.\"\n\nThe spirit of this assembly of workers is shown in the closing\nresolution, which it adopted unanimously:\n\n     \"_Resolved_, That, recognizing the fact that our cause is, and is\n     to be, combated by mighty, determined and relentless forces, we\n     will, trusting in Him who is the Prince of Peace, meet argument\n     with argument, misjudgment with patience, denunciation with\n     kindness, and all our difficulties and dangers with prayer.\"\n\n\nFIRST YEAR'S WORK.\n\nDuring the first year six State organizations were added to the number\nrepresented in the beginning, including scores of local unions. A\nmonthly paper was established; a deputation of women sent to Congress\nwith a memorial, to which hundreds of thousands of signatures had been\nobtained, asking for inquiry and legislation in regard to the liquor\ntraffic; a manual of \"Hints and Helps,\" concerning methods of temperance\nwork, prepared and issued; and other agencies of reform, and for the\nextermination of the liquor traffic, set in motion.\n\nThe reports from State Unions, made to the first annual meeting, held in\nCincinnati, November, 1875, were, in most cases, highly encouraging. In\nOhio, a large number of local unions were formed, nearly two hundred\nfriendly inns established, while reading-rooms, juvenile societies and\nyoung people's leagues were reported as multiplying all over the State.\nIndiana showed effective work in the same direction; so did Illinois. In\nboth of these States many local unions, reform clubs and juvenile\norganizations came into existence, while the work of temperance\nagitation was carried on with untiring vigor. Iowa reported fifty local\nunions, eleven juvenile societies, seven reform clubs and six\ncoffee-houses and reading-rooms. But, how better can we sum up the\nresults of this year's work, and how better give a clear idea of the new\nforces which were coming into the field under the leadership of women,\nthan by giving an extract from the first annual report of the\ncorresponding secretary, Miss Frances E. Willard:\n\n\"Briefly to recapitulate, bringing out salient features, Maine has\ngiven, since the Crusade, the idea of the temperance camp-meeting,\nwhich, though not original with us, has been rendered effective largely\nthrough the efforts of our own workers. Connecticut influences\nelections, has availed itself of petitions and given us the best form on\nrecord. New York has kept alive the visitation of saloons, and proved,\nwhat may we never forget, that this is always practicable, if conducted\nwisely. In the relief and rescue branches of our work, the Empire State\nis perhaps without a rival. The women of Pennsylvania have bearded the\ngubernatorial lion in his den, and the Hartranft veto had the added sin\nof women's prayers and tears denied. Maryland and the District of\nColumbia prove that the North must look to her laurels when the South is\nfree to enter on our work. As for Ohio, as Daniel Webster said of the\nold Bay State, 'There she stands; look at her!'--foremost among leaders\nin the new Crusade. Michigan is working bravely amid discouragements.\nIllinois has given us the most promising phase of our juvenile work, and\nleads off in reform clubs. Our best organized States are Ohio, Indiana,\nNew York, Pennsylvania and Iowa. By reason of their multiplied\nconventions of State, district and county, their numerous auxiliaries,\ntheir petitions and their juvenile work, Ohio and Indiana bear off the\npalm, and stand as the banner States of our Union up to this time, each\nof them having as many as two hundred and fifty auxiliaries.\n\n\"Our review develops the fact that of the forty-seven States and\nTerritories forming the United States, twenty-two States have formed\ntemperance unions auxiliary to the Woman's National Union. Of the\ntwenty-five not yet organized, twelve are Southern States and eight are\nTerritories; while of the remaining five, three are about to organize\nState unions, and have already flourishing local unions. So, that,\nwithout exaggeration, we may say we have fairly entered into the land to\npossess it. To bring about this vast result of organization, and to\nmaintain it, there have been held (not to mention conventions of\ndistricts and counties, the name of which is legion,) forty-five State\nconventions of women, almost all within the last year.\n\n\"The number of written communications sent out during the year from our\nWestern office to women in every State in the Union, is nearly five\nthousand. This is exclusive of 'documents,' which have gone by the\nbushel from the Eastern and Western offices, and also of the incessant\ncorrespondence of our president. Either president or secretary has\nspoken in nearly every State in which our organization exists. During\nthe summer months, conventions, camp-meetings and local auxiliaries in\nlarge numbers have been addressed by officers of our National and State\nUnions in all of the Eastern and Middle and in many of the Western\nStates. Noteworthy in our history for the year, is the monster petition\ncirculated in nearly every State, presented to Congress on our behalf by\nSenator Morton, of Indiana, and defended in an eloquent speech before\nthe Finance Committee by our president.\"\n\n\nTHE SECOND YEAR'S WORK.\n\nThe second annual meeting of the \"Woman's National Christian Temperance\nUnion\" was held in Newark, N.J., in October, 1876. From the reports made\nto this meeting, we take the following interesting statements, showing\nhow actively the work, for which this great National Association was\norganized, has been prosecuted.\n\nTwenty-two State unions were represented at this meeting, and local\nunions were reported as having been formed for the first time in\nTennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas, preparatory to State organizations.\nAn International Temperance Convention of women had been held in the\nAcademy of Music, Philadelphia, from which resulted an International\nWoman's Temperance Union. A summary of the work of the year says:\n\n\"In almost every organized State, the request of our National Committee\nthat ministerial, medical and educational associations be asked to\ndeclare their position in relation to temperance reform has been\ncomplied with. In every instance, the ladies have been courteously\nreceived, and in no case has the declaration of opinion been adverse,\nand in many, most hopeful to our cause. The letter of Mrs. Wittenmyer to\nthe International Medical Convention recently held in Philadelphia,\nsecured the important declaration against alcohol made by that body.\n\n\"In February, our president, accompanied by Mrs. Mary R. Denman,\nPresident of New Jersey W.T.U., made a trip to Kentucky, Tennessee and\nLouisiana, in the endeavor to enlist our Southern sisters in the\ntemperance work. Large meetings were addressed and several local unions\norganized.\n\n\"In the month, of May thirty-six temperance meetings were held in the\nState of Ohio, by the corresponding secretary, who has also made a trip\nthrough Michigan, and spoken in all the Eastern, Middle and several of\nthe Western States since the last meeting.\n\n\"Our recording secretary, Mrs. Mary C. Johnson, has visited Great\nBritain, by invitation of Christian women there, for the purpose of\nintroducing our Gospel work. Going in the spirit of the Crusade, Mrs.\nJohnson's labors have awakened an earnest spirit of inquiry and activity\namong the thoughtful and comparatively leisure class. During her six\nmonths' absence in England and Ireland, she addressed one hundred and\ntwenty-one audiences and conducted forty prayer-meetings.\n\n\"'Mother Stewart,' of Ohio, has also visited England and Scotland this\nyear, under the auspices of the Good Templars, and much good has\nresulted from her labors.\n\n\"Our union has circulated the petition to Congress for a Commission of\nInquiry into the costs and results of the liquor traffic in America, and\nto the Centennial Commissioners praying them not to allow the sale of\nintoxicants on the Exposition grounds. The desired Commission of Inquiry\nhas been ordered by the Senate in response to the wish of the united\ntemperance societies of the land, but the subject did not come before\nthe House at the last session.\n\n\"Our paper has constantly increased in its hold upon the local unions,\nwhose devotion to its interests augurs well for its future success.\n\n\"The number of documents scattered among our auxiliaries cannot be\naccurately stated, but is not less than twelve or fifteen thousand, and\nthe correspondence of the officers by letter and postal-card, will not\nfall short of the same estimate. To correct misapprehensions, it should,\nperhaps, be stated that no officer of the National Union has received a\ndollar for services or traveling expenses during the year.\"\n\n\nA WORKING ORGANIZATION.\n\nTo meet annually in convention and pass resolutions and make promises is\none thing; to do practical and effective work all through the year is\nquite another. And it is just here that this new temperance organization\nexhibits its power. The women whom it represents are very much in\nearnest and mean work. What they resolve to do, if clearly seen to be in\nthe right direction, will hardly fail for lack of effort. In their plan\nof work, one branch particularly embraces the children. If the rising\ngeneration can not only be pledged to abstinence; but so carefully\ninstructed in regard to the sin and evil of intemperance, and their\nduty, when they become men and women, to make war upon the liquor\ntraffic, and to discountenance all form of social drinking, then an\nimmense gain will be had for the cause in the next generation, when the\nboys and girls of to-day will hold the ballots, make the laws, give\ndirection to public sentiment and determine the usages of society.\n\n\nLOOKING AFTER THE CHILDREN.\n\nTo what extent, then, are the State and local unions looking after the\nchildren? Writing, as we now are, before the third annual meeting of the\nNational Union, and, therefore, without a general report of the year's\nwork before us, we are unable to give a statement in full of the\nimportant temperance work which has been done with and for the rising\ngeneration. But, from official and other reliable sources of\ninformation, we are in possession of facts of a most gratifying\ncharacter. In the State of Minnesota, as the result of woman's efforts,\nthey have had for several years a \"Sunday-School Temperance League,\" and\ntheir last annual report gives seventeen thousand as the number of\nchildren already \"pledged to abstain from all intoxicants as a\nbeverage.\" Says their report for 1877, \"We have carried the work into\nsixty-one new schools, held sixty-three anniversary meetings and\ntemperance concerts, instigated about one thousand addresses in the\nSunday-schools, secured six thousand six hundred and seventy-four\nsigners to our pledges, and one thousand and fifteen to our\nconstitution.\"\n\nIn most of the larger towns throughout the United States where active\nlocal unions exist, juvenile unions, bands of hope or temperance\nassociations by some other name, have been formed among the children.\nThese have, in many cases, a large membership; often as high as from\nfive to six hundred. In Rockford, Ill., the juvenile union numbers over\neight hundred boys and as many girls. The pledge taken by these children\nincludes, in some localities, tobacco and profanity as well as\nintoxicants.\n\n\nTHE WORK OF REFORM AND RESCUE.\n\nIn the work of reform and rescue, the State and local unions are very\nactive, especially in the larger towns and cities. In the smaller towns,\nreligious temperance meetings are held weekly, and in the larger cities,\ndaily, and sometimes twice a day. Chicago has as many as eighteen\nmeetings every week. In Chapters XIX. and XX. of the first part of this\nvolume, we have described at length, and from personal observation, the\nway in which these temperance prayer-meetings are generally conducted,\nand the means used for lifting up and saving the poor drunkard.\n\nWhat are known as \"Reform Clubs,\" have grown out of the efforts made of\nthese praying women, to hold in safety the men whom they have been able\nto rescue. These clubs are numerous in New England and the Western\nStates, and have a large membership, which is composed exclusively of\nreformed men. The common platform upon which they all stand is: 1. Total\nabstinence. 2. Reliance upon God's help in all things. 3. Missionary\nwork to induce others to sign the pledge. In Newark, N.J., there is a\nclub with a membership of over six hundred reformed men, nearly all of\nwhom have been rescued in the past three years, through the efforts of\nthe Woman's Christian Temperance Union of that city.\n\nIn an interview with Mrs. Wittenmyer, President of the National Union,\nwho had received reports of the third year's work from the various\nunions, we learned that, after deducting from the returns all who were\nknown to have broken the pledge, ten thousand remained as the number\nreported to have been saved during the year, and who were still standing\nin the strength which God had given them. The larger part of these\nrescued men had united themselves with the church, and were earnestly\nendeavoring to lead Christian lives.\n\n\nKEEPING ALIVE A SENTIMENT ADVERSE TO THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.\n\nAnother and most important branch of the work of the \"Woman's Christian\nTemperance Union,\" is that of arousing, keeping alive and intensifying a\nsentiment adverse to the liquor traffic. So long as the State and\nNational Governments give the sanction of law to this traffic, they find\ntheir efforts to save the fallen, utterly unavailing in far too many\ninstances. In an appeal made by the women of the State Union to the\nvoters of Massachusetts, under date of August 15th, 1877, the curse of\nthis traffic is exhibited in words of solemn earnestness. The document\nis strong and convincing, yet temperate and respectful. We copy it\nentire as presenting arguments and considerations which every humane and\nChristian voter in the land should lay deeply to heart:\n\n\"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union comes to you with a solemn and\nearnest appeal.\n\n\"Our mission is the redemption of the Commonwealth from the curse of\nintemperance. During the past year we have labored incessantly for this\nend, and have expended nearly twenty thousand dollars in efforts to\nrescue the perishing, and to educate public sentiment in favor of total\nabstinence.\n\n\"In this work we have met numerous obstacles--the apathy of the people,\nthe inherited and depraved appetites of drunkards, and the perilous\nsocial customs of the day, which are indorsed by the practice of many\notherwise excellent people. Worse than all these combined is the\ninfluence of the licensed dram-shop. We can arouse the indifferent to\naction; we can enkindle in the drunkard aspirations for a better life\nthan that of debauchery; we hope, in time, by constant agitation, to\nchange the social customs of the day. But against the influence of the\nlicensed dram-shop we are powerless. We have no ability to cope with\nthis most formidable enemy of virtue, prosperity and good order.\n\n\"A long and bitter experience compels us to say that the most untiring\nefforts to reclaim the drunkard have, in many instances, proved\nunavailing, because his demoralized will has been powerless to resist\nthe temptations placed in his path by the sanction of the State.\n\n\"Worse, if possible, even than this--the licensed dram-shop is\ninstrumental in creating a new generation of drunkards. For thither\nresort our young men, the future hope of the country, who speedily fall\nbefore the seductions of the place, their habits of sobriety are\nsubverted, their moral sense is blunted, their will palsied, and they\ndrift rapidly into the appalling condition of habitual drunkenness. The\nlicensed dram-shops are recruiting offices, where another army of\ndrunkards is enlisted, to fill the ranks depleted by dishonored\ndeaths--and the great Commonwealth extends over them the \u00e6gis of its\nprotection, indorsing them by the sanction of law. The people of\nMassachusetts drink annually twenty-five million dollars' worth of\nintoxicating liquors. _Only God can furnish the statistics of sorrow,\npoverty, disease, vice and crime, begotten by this fearful consumption\nof strong drink._\n\n\"Under these discouraging circumstances, men of Massachusetts, we appeal\nto you! The licensed dram-shop is the creature of political action. We\nare wholly destitute of political power, by which it must be overthrown.\nAnguished by the peril of fathers and brothers, husbands and sons, we\nappeal to you to make good the oft-repeated assertion that the men of\nthe State represent and protect the women of the State at the\nballot-box. We beseech you to make earnest efforts to secure the repeal\nof the license law at the next election, and the enactment of a law\nprohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage.\n\n\"We are sure we speak the sentiment of the Christian people of this\nState, and of all who stand for morality, thrift, virtue and good order,\nwhen we say that the great State of Massachusetts should not take sides\nwith the drunkard-maker against his victim. If either is to be protected\nby law, it should be the drunkard, since he is the weaker, rather than\nthe rumseller, who persistently blocks the pathway of reform.\n\n\"We know that we utter the voice of the majority of the women of the\nState when we plead the cause of prohibition--and the women of\nMassachusetts outnumbers its men by more than sixty thousand. It is\nwomen who are the greatest sufferers from the licensed dram-shops of the\ncommunity--and we pray you, therefore, voters of Massachusetts, to take\nsuch action that the law which protects these drinking shops may be\nblotted from the statute book at the next election.\"\n\nThis appeal from the Christian women of Massachusetts is signed by Mrs.\nMary A. Livermore, President, and Mrs. L.B. Barrett, Secretary of the\nState branch of the Woman's National Temperance Union, and shows the\nanimating spirit of that body. No one can read it without a new\nimpression of the wickedness of a traffic that curses everything it\ntouches.\n\nBut not alone in Massachusetts are the women of the \"Union\" using their\nefforts to shape public opinion and influence the ballot. In all the\nStates where unions exist, this part of the work is steadily prosecuted;\nand it cannot be long ere its good results will become manifest at the\npolls in a steadily increasing anti-license vote, and, ultimately in the\nranging of State after State with Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire on\nthe side of prohibition.\n\n\nINFLUENCE ON THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.\n\nIn still another direction important gains have been realized. But for\nthe efforts of the Woman's National and State Temperance Unions we\nshould scarcely have had the declaration of the International Medical\nCongress of 1876, adverse to the use of alcohol as food or medicine.\nEarly in their work, the women of the \"Union,\" seeing how largely the\nmedical prescription of alcohol was hurting the cause of temperance, and\nbeing in possession of the latest results of chemical and physiological\ninvestigation in regard to its specific action on the body, sent\ndelegations to various State medical associations at their annual\nmeetings, urging them to pass resolutions defining its true status as a\nfood or a medicine and discouraging its use in the profession. With most\nof these medical associations they found a respectful hearing; and their\npresentation of the matter had the effect of drawing to the subject the\nattention of a large number of medical men who had not, from old\nprejudices, or in consequence of their absorption in professional\nduties, given careful attention to the later results of scientific\ninvestigation. As a consequence, many physicians who had been in the\nhabit of ordering alcoholic stimulants for weak or convalescent\npatients, gave up the practice entirely; while those who still resorted\nto their use, deemed it safest to be more guarded in their\nadministration than heretofore.\n\n\nACTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS.\n\nBut the crowning result of this effort to induce the medical profession\nto limit or abandon the prescription of alcohol, came when the\nInternational Congress, one of the largest and ablest medical bodies\never convened, made, through its \"Section on Medicine,\" the brief, but\nclear and unequivocal declaration already given in a previous chapter,\nand at once and forever laid upon alcohol the ban of the profession.\n\nOfficial communications were addressed to this body by the National\nTemperance Society, through its president, Hon. Wm. E. Dodge, by the\nWoman's Christian Temperance Union, through its president, Mrs. Annie\nWittenmyer, and by the New York Friends' Temperance Union, asking from\nit a declaration as to the true character of alcohol and its value in\nmedicine.\n\nThe following is the full text of the memorial of the Woman's Christian\nTemperance Union:\n\n_To the Chairman and Members of the International Medical Congress_:\n\n\"HONORED SIRS:--I take the liberty, as a representative of the Woman's\nNational Christian Temperance Union of the United States, to call your\nattention to the relation of the medical use of alcohol to the\nprevalence of that fearful scourge, _intemperance_.\n\n\"The distinguished Dr. Mussey said, many years ago: 'So long as alcohol\nretains a place among sick patients, so long there will be drunkards.'\n\n\"Dr. Rush wrote strongly against its use as early as 1790. And at one\ntime the College of Physicians at Philadelphia memorialized Congress in\nfavor of restraining the use of distilled liquors, because, as they\nclaimed, they were 'destructive of life, health and the faculties of the\nmind.'\n\n\"'A Medical Declaration,' published in London, December, 1872, asserts\nthat 'it is believed that the inconsiderate prescription of alcoholic\nliquids by medical men for their patients has given rise, in many\ninstances, to the formation of intemperate habits.' This manifesto was\nsigned by over two hundred and fifty of the leading medical men of the\nUnited Kingdom. When the nature and effects of alcohol were little\nknown, ft was thought to be invaluable as a medicine. But in the light\nof recent scientific investigations, its claims have been challenged and\nits value denied.\n\n\"We are aware that the question of the medical use of alcohol has not\nbeen fully decided, and that there is a difference of opinion among the\nablest medical writers. But we notice that as the discussion and\ninvestigation goes on, and the new facts are brought out, its value as a\nremedial agent is depreciated.\n\n\"A great many claims have been brought forward in its favor, but one by\none they have gone down under the severe scrutiny of scientific\nresearch, until only a few points are left in doubt. In view of this,\nand the _startling fact_ that tens of thousands die annually from its\nbaneful effects, we earnestly urge you to give the subject a careful\nexamination.\n\n\"You have made the study of the physical nature of man your life-work,\nand you are the trusted advisers of the people in all matters pertaining\nto the treatment of diseases and the preservation of life and health.\n\n\"You are, therefore, in a position to instruct and warn the masses in\nregard to its indiscriminate use, either as a medicine or a beverage.\n\n\"We feel sure that, true to your professional honor, and the grave\nresponsibilities of your distinguished position, you will search out and\ngive us the facts, whatever they may be.\n\n[Illustration: A VICTIM OF THE DRINKING CLUB.]\n\n\"If you should appoint a standing committee from your own number, of\npractical scientific men, who would give time and thought to this\nquestion, it would be very gratifying to the _one hundred thousand_\nwomen I represent, and most acceptable to the general public.\n\n  \"I am, with high considerations of respect,\n  \"Your obed't servant,\n  \"ANNIE WITTENMYER,\n  \"_Pres't W. Nat. Chris. Temp. Union.\n  \"Philadelphia, Sept. 6th, 1876._\"\n\nHow was this memorial received? Scarcely had it been presented ere a\nmember moved that it be laid on the table without reading; but ere the\nvote could be taken the voice of another member rose clear and strong in\nthe question whether that body could afford to treat a hundred thousand\nAmerican women with such a discourtesy! And the motion to lay on the\ntable was lost.\n\nA vote to refer to the \"Section on Medicine\" was largely carried; and to\nthat section the petitioners took their case, and were not only accorded\na gracious and respectful hearing, but, after a full discussion of the\nsubject, a declaration against the use of alcohol, as a substance both\nhurtful and dangerous--possessing no food value whatever, and as a\nmedicine, being exceedingly limited in its range. All the points in\nreply were passed upon unanimously by the section to which the matter\nwas referred, and afterwards by the Congress in full session, with but a\nsingle dissenting vote, and the result officially communicated to the\npresident of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. An official\nnotification of the action of the Congress was also sent to Hon. Wm. E.\nDodge, president of the National Temperance Society.\n\nOther aspects of the work of this young and vigorous organization might\nbe given; but enough has been presented to show that its agency in\ntemperance reform is already far-reaching and powerful; and to give\nassurance that if the spirit which has influenced and directed its\ncounsels so wisely from the beginning, can be maintained, it will\nachieve still greater and more important victories for the cause of\ntemperance.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nREFORM CLUBS.\n\n\nThese differ in some aspects from most of the associations which, prior\nto their organization, had for their object the reformation of men who\nhad fallen into habits of drunkenness. The distinguishing\ncharacteristics of the reform club is its religious spirit, its\ndependence upon God and its reliance upon prayer.\n\nThe first movement in this direction was made in Gardiner, Maine, in\nJanuary, 1872, by Mr. I.K. Osgood. He says of himself that in fifteen\nyears he had run down from a moderate and fashionable drinker of wine,\nto a constant and immoderate drinker of the vilest spirits; and from the\ncondition of a respectable business man to one of misery and\ndestitution. Coming back to his wretched home late one night, he saw\nthrough the window his poor wife sitting lonely and sorrowful, waiting\nfor his return. The sight touched his heart and caused him to reflect,\nand then to resolve, that God being his helper he would never drink\nagain. That resolution he found himself able, by God's help, to keep. A\nfew months later he began the work of trying to reform others. His\nfirst effort was with a lawyer, an old friend, who was as much reduced\nby drink as he had been. After much entreaty, this man consented to\nbreak off drinking and sign the pledge. Mr. Osgood then drew up the\nfollowing call for a meeting which both signed: \"REFORMERS'\nMEETING.--There will be a meeting of reformed drinkers at City Hall,\nGardiner, on Friday evening, January 19th, at seven o'clock. A cordial\ninvitation is extended to all occasional drinkers, constant drinkers,\nhard drinkers and young men who are tempted to drink. Come and hear what\nrum has done for us.\"\n\nA crowd came to the City Hall. The two men addressed the meeting with\ngreat earnestness, and then offered the pledge, which was signed by\neight of their old drinking companions. These organized themselves into\na reform club, which soon reached a hundred members, all of whom had\nbeen men of intemperate habits. The movement soon attracted attention in\nother places, especially among drinking men, and clubs multiplied\nrapidly throughout the State. In a few months, the aggregate membership\nreached nearly twenty thousand. In June of the following year, Mr.\nOsgood began his work in Massachusetts, under the auspices of the\nMassachusetts Temperance Alliance, organizing about forty clubs, one of\nwhich, in Haverill, numbered over three thousand members. In New\nHampshire and Vermont, many clubs were organized by Mr. Osgood and some\nof his converts.\n\n\nDR. HENRY A. REYNOLDS.\n\nAnother effective worker in the field is Dr. Henry A. Reynolds, of\nBangor, Maine, where he was born in 1839. In 1863, he graduated from the\nMedical College of Harvard University, and was assistant surgeon in the\nFirst Maine Regiment, heavy artillery, during two years of the war,\nreceiving an honorable discharge. He then entered upon the practice of\nmedicine in his native city, and continued therein until 1874. But he\nhad inherited a taste for strong drink, through the indulgence of which\nhe became its abject slave. After many efforts at reform which proved of\nno avail, he resolved to look to Almighty God, and ask for strength to\novercome his dreadful appetite. About this time there was, in the city\nof Bangor, a band of Christian women who met frequently to pray for the\nsalvation of the intemperate. At one of their meetings, the doctor\npresented himself--it was two days after he had knelt alone in his\noffice and prayed to God for help--and publicly signed the pledge.\n\nSympathy for those who were in the dreadful slough from which he had\nbeen lifted, soon began stirring in his heart, and he sought, by various\nmethods, to influence and save them. After working for several months,\nwith only partial success, it became evident, that for sure and\npermanent work, there must be organization, and he conceived the plan of\na reform club made up exclusively of those who had been drinking men;\nbelieving, as he did, that there must exist between two men who had\nonce been intemperate, a sympathy which could not exist between a man\nwho has, and one who has never, drank to excess. As soon as this matter\nbecame clear to him, Dr. Reynolds, by notice in a daily paper, invited\nthe drinking men of the city to meet him at a certain place. Eleven men\nresponded to the call, and the Bangor Reform Club, the first of its\nkind, was organized, September 10th, 1874, with Dr. Henry A. Reynolds as\npresident. The motto of the new organization was, \"Dare to do Right.\"\nFilled with the true missionary spirit, this little band held other\nmeetings, and did their utmost to bring in new members, and so\nsuccessful were their efforts, that in a few weeks their membership\nswelled to hundreds, and the whole city was in a state of excitement\nover the new and strange work which had been inaugurated.\n\nFrom Bangor, the excitement soon spread through the State. Dr. Reynolds,\nbelieving that God had called him to the work of saving men from\nintemperance and leading them to Christ, gave up his profession and\nthrew himself into the work of preaching temperance and organizing\nreform clubs. Within a year forty-five thousand reformed men were\ngathered into clubs in the State of Maine. In August, 1875, at a meeting\nof the National Christian Temperance Camp-Meeting Association, held at\nOld Orchard, Maine, where temperance workers from all parts of the\ncountry had congregated, the president of the Woman's Christian\nTemperance Union of Salem, Massachusetts, learned of the great work of\nreform progressing in Maine under the leadership of Dr. Reynolds, and\ninvited him to introduce his work in Massachusetts by holding a series\nof meetings in Salem during the month of September. So the work began in\nthe Old Bay State, and within a year, forty thousand men of that\nCommonwealth, who had been habitual drinkers, were organized into reform\nclubs.\n\n\nFORMATION OF CLUBS.\n\nThe method pursued by Dr. Reynolds in the formation of these clubs is\nvery simple. There is a constitution with by-laws, to which the\nfollowing pledge is prefixed: \"Having seen and felt the evils of\nintemperance, therefore, Resolved, That we, the undersigned, for our own\ngood, and the good of the world in which we live, do hereby promise and\nengage, with the help of Almighty God, to abstain from buying, selling\nor using alcoholic or malt beverages, wine and cider included.\" Article\nIII. of the constitution gives the qualification for membership: \"All\nmale persons of the age of eighteen or upwards, who have been in the\nhabit of using intoxicating liquor to a greater or less extent, are\neligible to membership in this club.\" After organizing a club of persons\nwho have been addicted to drink, Dr. Reynolds appeals to the Christian\nwomen of the locality to throw around them the shield of their care and\nsympathy, and urges upon the people at large the necessity of upholding\nand encouraging them in every possible way.\n\nThe meetings of the clubs are held at least once during the week, in the\nevenings; and on Sunday afternoons or evenings, the clubs, with the\nWoman's Christian Temperance Unions, hold public religious temperance\nmeetings, which are often crowded to overflowing. The order of exercises\nat these public meetings consist of prayer, reading of Scripture and\nbrief addresses by reformed men, interspersed with the singing of such\nhymns as \"Rock of Ages,\" \"Hold the Fort,\" \"I Need Thee Every Hour,\" etc.\nBrief addresses are the rule, and a hymn is usually sung between each\naddress.\n\nThe badge worn by members of these reformed clubs is a red ribbon. Their\nmotto is \"Dare to do Right.\"\n\nOne of the first fruits of the establishment of a reform club in any\nlocality, is an increase in church attendance, and a decrease in the tax\nrate. In many towns where they exist, liquor-selling has become\nunprofitable, and liquor-drinking a custom that hurts a man's social\nstanding.\n\nFrom the East, Dr. Reynolds extended his labors into the West, where his\nwork has been chiefly confined to the State of Michigan. In a letter to\nthe _Union_, the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, under\ndate of July, 1877, the aspect and results of Dr. Reynolds's work in\nthat State are thus referred to by a correspondent from Evanston: \"His\nplan is to take a State and settle down in it 'to stay' until it\ncapitulates to the red-ribbon pledge. None but men over eighteen years\nof age are allowed to sign this pledge. Eighty thousand men in Michigan,\nto-day, wear the ribbon, which is a token of their signature--all of\nthem have been drinking men. 'None others need apply' as members of Dr.\nReynolds's Reform Clubs. His method is to speak in a general way to the\npublic on the evening of his arrival--his meetings being held in a hall\nand thoroughly announced. The next afternoon, the doctor addresses\nwomen, chiefly from the medical point of view. If they have not a W.T.U.\nhe organizes one. The second night he talks to the public generally\nagain, and organizes his club, then goes on his way, and leaves the town\nrejoicing. The doctor is thoroughly business-like and methodical. There\nis no doubt about his securing, in every State he visits, the same\nresults as in Michigan, for his ability is marked, his experience\ngrowing, his sincerity complete and all his work is 'begun, continued\nand ended' in a firm reliance upon God.\"\n\nTo give an idea of the excitement created by the presence of Dr.\nReynolds in any community, and of the results of his efforts to reclaim\nintemperate men, we copy the following brief reference to his work in\nthe spring of 1877:\n\n\"It is impossible to give figures, for there are additions every day of\nhundreds in the State, and the climax of enthusiasm is by no means\nreached in any town while Dr. Reynolds is there.\n\n\"In Jackson, Sabbath evening, February 11th, two months after the\norganization of the club, Union Hall was so packed that the galleries\nsettled and were cleared, and hundreds could not gain admittance.\n\n\"As the result of ten days' work in Saginaw Valley--at the three\ncities--(Bay City, Saginaw City and East Saginaw), the clubs number\nabout three thousand men.\n\n\"From there, Dr. Reynolds went to Lansing, our capital, and at the first\nsigning, two hundred and forty-five joined the club, which is far up in\nthe hundreds now.\n\n\"The last and greatest victory is Detroit. Slow, critical, conservative,\nstaid, not-any-shams-for-me Detroit.\n\n\"Friday and Saturday nights there were crowded houses. Sabbath\nafternoon, two thousand five hundred _men_ together, and a club of three\nhundred and forty-five formed. Sabbath evening, no room could hold the\npeople, and the club reached nearly nine hundred. It is safe to say\nto-day that a thousand men in the city of Detroit are wearing the red\nribbon.\n\n\"Dr. Reynolds has done another grand work, and that is in bringing up\nthe W.C.T. Unions. Everywhere this follows, churches are packed with\nwomen. Dr. Reynolds tells them how they can help the men and their\nfamilies, and they fall into line by the hundreds. Three hundred have\nenlisted in Bay City, four hundred in Lansing, two hundred in East\nSaginaw, and so on, all over the State.\"\n\nThe establishment of reform clubs has been more general in New England\nand the Western States than in other parts of the country, though their\norganization in some of the Middle States has been attended with marked\nsuccess. Vermont has a large number of clubs, the membership ranging\nfrom one hundred to fifteen hundred.\n\n\nFRANCIS MURPHY.\n\nThe work of Francis Murphy, which, has been attended with such\nremarkable fervors of excitement in nearly every community where he has\nlabored, is not so definite in its purpose, nor so closely organized,\nnor so permanent in its results as that of Dr. Reynolds. He draws vast\nassemblies, and obtains large numbers of signers to his pledge, which,\nreads:\n\n\"With malice towards none and charity for all, I, the undersigned, do\npledge my word and honor, God helping me, to abstain from all\nintoxicating liquors as a beverage, and that I will, by all honorable\nmeans, encourage others to abstain.\"\n\nAn Irishman by birth, and full of the warm impulse and quick enthusiasm\nof his people, he has thrown himself into the work of temperance reform\nwith an earnestness that commands a hearing, and with an ardor of\nappeal and solicitation that is, for the time, almost irresistible.\n\nIn the fall of 1869, Francis Murphy found himself in the cell of a\nprison in the city of Portland, Maine, to which he had been committed\nfor drunkenness. He had been a liquor-seller, commencing the work as a\nsober man with a good character, and ending it in ruin to himself and\nfamily, and with the curse of the drunkard's appetite upon him. A\nChristian gentleman, Captain Cyrus Sturdevant, had obtained permission\nof the authorities to visit the jail and talk and pray with the\nprisoners. This brought him into personal contact with Mr. Murphy, who\nwas not only deeply humiliated at the disgrace into which his\nintemperate life had brought him, but almost in despair. He tells the\nstory of this part of his life with a moving eloquence. Capt.\nSturdevant, after some solicitation, induced him to leave his cell one\nSunday morning and attend religious services with the prisoners. He was\nin a state of mind to be deeply impressed by these services, and the\nresult was a solemn resolution to walk, with God's help, in a new and\nbetter way. While yet a prisoner, he began his work of trying to save\nmen from the curse of drink, and to lead them to enter upon a religious\nlife; and his influence with his fellow-prisoners was very marked and\nfor good. On leaving the jail, he began at once his efforts to rescue\nothers from the slavery from which he had escaped. His first appearance\nas a lecturer was in the city of Portland. The effort was well received\nby the audience, and at its close he found himself an object of special\ninterest. From this time, he gave himself almost wholly to the cause of\ntemperance. After working for a time in Portland, and assisting in the\norganization of a reform club, he extended his efforts to other parts of\nthe State of Maine, and afterwards to New Hampshire and the adjoining\nStates, in which, he labored for nearly three years with marked and\noften extraordinary success. From New England, Mr. Murphy went, on\ninvitation, to the West, and was very active there, especially in Iowa\nand Illinois, in which States he aroused the people, and was\ninstrumental in the organization of large numbers of local societies and\nreform clubs.\n\nIn the winter of 1876-7, his work in Pittsburgh was attended with\nremarkable results; over sixty thousand signatures were obtained to his\npledge, and over five hundred saloons in Allegheny and neighboring\ncounties closed their doors for want of patronage. The succeeding spring\nand summer Mr. Murphy spent in Philadelphia, where the excitement was\nalmost as great as it had been in Pittsburgh. But, as in the last-named\ncity, too large a portion of the harvest which had been reaped was left\nto perish on the ground for lack of the means, or the will, to gather\nand garner it. The real substantial and enduring work here has been that\nof the Woman's Christian Temperance Union; which not only held its\nmeetings daily during the exciting time of the Murphy meetings, but has\nheld them daily ever since, keeping, all the while, hand and heart upon\nthe men who are trying in earnest to reform, and helping, encouraging\nand protecting them by all the means in their power.\n\nMr. Murphy continues to work in various parts of the country, attracting\nlarge audiences wherever he appears, and leading thousands to sign his\npledge. He has done and is still doing good service in the cause to\nwhich he is so earnestly devoting himself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nGOSPEL TEMPERANCE.\n\n\nAs we have seen in the chapters on the \"Crusade,\" the \"Woman's Christian\nTemperance Union,\" and the \"Reform Clubs,\" this new temperance movement,\nwhich has attained in the last few years such large dimensions, has in\nit many of the features of a religious revival. On this account, and to\ndistinguish it from all preceding efforts to break down the liquor\ntraffic and save the drunkard, it has been called a Gospel temperance\nmovement. Its chief reliance with many has been on prayer and faith, as\nagencies by which the mighty power of God could be so determined as not\nonly to save the drunkard from the curse of his debasing appetite, but\nto so move and act upon the liquor-seller as to lead him to abandon his\naccursed traffic.\n\n\nTHE VALUE OF PRAYER AND FAITH ALONE.\n\nAt the commencement of this movement, which took the form of what is\nknown as the \"Woman's Crusade,\" the power of prayer seemed for awhile to\nbe an almost irresistible force. Thousands and tens of thousands of men\nwere, as they felt assured in their hearts, freed in an instant of time\nfrom an appetite which had been growing and strengthening for years,\nuntil it held complete mastery over them; and this in answer to the\nprayer of faith. And hundreds of saloon and tavern-keepers abandoned\ntheir evil work, because, as was believed, God, in answer to the prayers\nof pious men and women, had turned upon them the influences of His Holy\nSpirit, and constrained them to this abandonment.\n\nFor awhile this power of prayer was regarded as the force that was to\nbreak down the liquor traffic, and rescue the people from the curse of\nappetite. If prayer were persistent enough, and faith strong enough, God\nwould come to the rescue, overthrow the enemy, and redeem and save the\nwretched victims he was holding in such cruel bondage. But, as time\nmoved on, and the enemy, whose ranks were at first thrown into\nconfusion, rallied his forces and held himself secure against renewed\nattack, there came a doubt in the minds of many as to the value of\nprayer and faith, as the sole agency by which the rule of the demon of\nintemperance was to be overthrown; and the same doubt came as to the\npower of prayer and faith alone to work the removal of an appetite for\ndrink, when it was found by sad experience that of the thousands of men\nwho signed the pledge under religious excitement, and made public\ndeclaration that, through faith in Christ, they had been healed of their\ninfirmity, only a few were able to stand in the hour of temptation; and\nthese stood fast because they rested in no vain security. They knew,\nfrom an inner conviction, that appetite had not been destroyed; and\nthat, in some unguarded moment, it would spring upon and endeavor to\nenslave them again. But, with God's help, they had resolved to hold it\nin check. Humbly they looked to Him for strength--meantime watching, as\nwell as praying--to fight and overcome when their hour of trial and\ndarkness came. So they stood ever on guard; and God gave them the\nstrength they asked for, and victory after victory, until their enemy\nwas under their feet; not dead, but held there by the power which is\ngiven to every one who will use it against the enemies of his soul.\n\n\nPRAYER SUPPLEMENTED BY ORGANIZED WORK.\n\nNot so much dependence on prayer and faith now as on organized work in\nthe natural plane of means and forces. This came as an orderly sequence,\nand gave to the cause of Gospel temperance a surer foundation to rest\nupon, and a larger promise of success. There was no turning away from\nGod; no weakness of faith in His Divine power and readiness to save; but\nclearer light as to His ways with man, and as to how He is able to save,\nto the uttermost, all who come unto Him. The instances going to show\nthat men were not cured of the appetite for strong drink in a moment of\ntime by prayer and faith, were too many and too sorrowful not to force\nthis conviction upon the mind of every thoughtful and observant\nChristian man and woman. And, so, even while many sincere and\nself-devoted workers in this cause still hold to the view that God can,\nand will, if the faith be strong enough, change a man in an instant of\ntime, and with no co-operation of his own beyond this act of faith, from\nvileness to purity--from a love of evil to a love of good--the sounder,\nsafer and more Scriptural doctrine that, if a man would be saved from\nthe enemies of his soul, he must fight and overcome them in the strength\nwhich God gives to all who will ask and receive, is the one now more\ngenerally preached to reformed men; and, as a result, the number of\nthose who stand fast in the new life to which they have attained, is\nsteadily increasing.\n\n\nTHE APPETITE FOR DRINK NOT TAKEN AWAY IN A MOMENT.\n\nStill, far too widely in this Gospel work of saving fallen men from the\npower of appetite, is the delusive idea held out that if a man will\n\"give his heart to Christ,\" as it is called; that is, pray humbly,\nsincerely and in faith to have his sins forgiven, and his soul purified\nfrom all evil by an application of Divine grace; God will, in answer to\nthis prayer alone, and in an instant of time, take away the appetite for\ndrink which has been for years gradually gaining the mastery over him.\nWe have heard a man declare, in the presence of an assemblage of men who\nhad been slaves to drink, and who were seeking for a way of escape, that\nGod had, in answer to his prayers, destroyed in a moment the appetite\nwhich had long held him in a close bondage; and that, if they would come\nto Him and give Him their hearts, He would work in them the same miracle\nof spiritual healing. As we listened to his confident speech, we felt\nhow great was the danger in which he himself stood, and how much better\nit would have been for his hearers if he had kept silent.\n\n\nHOW MANY ARE REALLY SAVED.\n\nFacts are solid things, and weigh heavily in the scale of argument. They\nare not always pleasant to look at; but it is weakness to ignore them.\nLet us take a few facts in connection with this Gospel temperance work.\nThe first of these came to our knowledge while we were revolving the\ncontents of this chapter, and before we had commenced writing it. A\nleading temperance worker, who was an active participant in the Murphy\nmovement, and who holds that there is for the confirmed drunkard no hope\nor safety but in the power of religion, stated to us that during the\nMoody and Sankey revival in Philadelphia, something over two hundred\ndrunken men were reclaimed and converted; changed in heart, as it was\ndeclared, and \"_saved_\" by the power of God. These were gathered\ntogether on a certain evening in one of the churches, and the gentleman\nto whom we have referred was among those who addressed them. The poor,\nweak, and in too many instances, friendless and homeless men were\ntalked to, and then committed to God in prayer. They had His grace in\ntheir hearts--had been \"saved\" through prayer and faith--and would He\nnot care for, protect and defend them?\n\nAlas, for the sequel! Of all these two hundred converted and \"saved\"\nmen, who had, in a moment of time, been changed from servants of\nsensuality and sin into children of God, their souls made \"whiter than\nsnow,\" not over five or six can to-day be found in the ranks of sober\nmen!\n\nIn and around Pittsburgh, during the religious temperance revival which,\nunder Francis Murphy, wrought such marvels in that city and\nneighborhood, over fifty thousand signatures were obtained to the\npledge, the signers, in a large number of cases, professing faith in\nChrist, and having an inner assurance, as they believed, that He would\nkeep them, by the power of His grace, from again falling into the sin\nand misery of intemperance. But, to-day, only a small proportionate\nnumber can be found out of this great multitude who are standing fast by\ntheir profession. A like result has followed the great Gospel work of\nMr. Murphy in Philadelphia. Of the thirty or forty thousand who signed\nthe pledge and professed to be saved through faith in Christ, the number\nof men who have been rescued from drunkenness can scarcely be counted by\nhundreds; and of these the large proportion owe their salvation to the\nnatural safeguards and orderly external conditions which were brought\nto the aid of spiritual resolve and spiritual forces.\n\nWhen the excitement of these great revivals was over, and the contagious\nenthusiasm had died away, and men fell back into their old ways, amid\nold surroundings and temptations, each alone in the house of his own\nreal life, then came\n\n\nTHE TRIAL AND THE TEST,\n\nand it was found that to depend on grace alone, and the inner change it\nhad effected in answer to prayer, was to rest, too often, in a vain\nsecurity. The new convert was the same as to the essential evil quality\nof his life as before his conversion--or turning round to go the other\nway--and if he stood still where he had turned, and did not, in a new\nlife of practical obedience to Divine laws, walk forward in the Heavenly\nroad, his conversion would avail him nothing. Not that he was left alone\nby God to stand or fall as he might. No human heart ever felt even the\nfaintest motions of that Divine pity, and compassion, and yearning to\nsave his lost and perishing children, which is felt by our Heavenly\nFather, who is very love itself. But He cannot save humanity by\ndestroying it, and this destruction would take place the moment he\ntouched man's freedom to choose between good and evil. Of his own will,\nman has turned away from God; and of his own will he must return to Him\nif ever he return at all. The way of return has been opened and made\nplain, and God is forever calling and entreating His poor, wandering\nones to come back, and offering them strength to walk, and weapons to\nfight, and armor for defense. But He cannot walk for them, nor fight for\nthem, nor defend them unless they put on the armor His mercy supplies.\nThey must, of themselves, using the strength He gives them, walk in the\nHeavenly way; and with the sword of Divine truth He places in their\nhands, do battle with the enemies of their souls. There is no other\nmeans of attaining Heaven. This strength to walk and fight and overcome,\nis the Divine grace that saves. It is the free gift of our Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ; the very power of God unto salvation.\n\n\nTHE DIVINE GRACE THAT SAVES.\n\nIt is by the application of this Divine grace that men are saved from\ntheir sins and from the power of hell. But they can never receive it as\npassive subjects. They must take it and apply it in and of themselves,\nand use it as if it were their own; yet never forgetting that it is the\ngift of God, and never ceasing to acknowledge and thank Him for His\ninfinite goodness and mercy in teaching their \"hands to war;\" in\n\"girding\" them \"with strength unto the battle,\" and in giving them a\n\"lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path,\" so that they may\nwalk in safety.\n\nIf salvation were of grace alone, as so many teach in this Gospel\ntemperance work, what need of \"sword,\" or \"armor,\" or a \"lamp unto the\nfeet?\" for if, in answer to prayer and faith, a man's evil nature is\ninstantly changed, he is no longer subject to temptation, and cannot,\ntherefore, enter into combat with evil; and if God lift him out of the\ndarkness of his carnal nature into the light of regeneration solely in\nanswer to prayer, what need of any lamp unto his feet or light unto his\npath? He is no longer a pilgrim and a wayfarer, journeying heavenward\nthrough an enemy's land.\n\nWe press this subject on the reader's attention, because so much of\nsuccess or failure in this great Gospel temperance work depends on a\nright understanding of spiritual laws and a true comprehension of the\nmeans of salvation. Holding, as we do, that, for the thousands and\nhundreds of thousands of unhappy and wretched men and women in our land\nwho have become the almost helpless slaves of an appetite which is\nrarely, if ever, wholly destroyed, no true succor lies in anything but\nDivine grace and help, we feel that a great responsibility rests with\nall who, in the providence of God, have been drawn into this work.\n\nReferring to the loose, and we cannot help saying hurtful teachings of\ntoo many temperance revivalists, Rev. Charles I. Warren, writing in the\nNew York _Christian Advocate_, says:\n\n\"Religious conversion, all are agreed, is the first necessity for all\nmen, and especially for inebriates, as the surest hope of a real and\npermanent reformation of life. And intemperate men, especially those\nwho become demented rather than demonized, it is well known, are always\neasily moved by religious influences, even when so drunk that they would\nwisely be deemed incompetent to execute a will for the disposal of\nearthly property, and incapable of giving testimony in a court of law.\n\n\"Yet, this idea of a spiritual renovation of the heart, while the head\nis too intoxicated to apprehend a moral obligation, is almost beyond\nrational belief. It is difficult to conceive that any man, in such a\nstate of voluntarily-induced imbecility, too drunk to hold intelligent\nconverse with men, can be competent to transact business with God, to\nreceive and answer those calls from the Holy Spirit that decide the\neternal destinies of the soul.\"\n\nAnd he adds: \"We judge instinctively that all men, intemperate or sober,\nmust work out their own salvation with fear, while God works in them to\nwill and to do.\"\n\nThis is the key-note to the whole subject of spiritual regeneration. It\nis active co-operation; work, conflict, victory; and this down on the\nsphere of common life, and in the midst of temptation--not out of the\nworld, but \"in the world;\" not something done in and for a man while he\nwaits in prayer on God, but after he has fought his battle with some\nenemy of his soul, and overcome in the strength which God has given him\nin answer to prayer. Only they who have fought and conquered can possess\nthe land and dwell there in safety.\n\n\nAN UNSOUND AND DANGEROUS DOCTRINE.\n\nIn a meeting at which we were present, and where from one to two hundred\nreformed men were gathered for religious worship, and for help and\ncounsel, the hymn commencing\n\n  \"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,\"\n\nwas sung. At its close, a man rose from his seat and entered his protest\nagainst the singing of that hymn any more. It is not true, he said, that\nthe man whom God has converted feels any proneness to wander. He had had\nthe grace of God in his soul for--we don't remember how many years--and\nhe could testify that the desire to wander from God's commandments had\nbeen wholly removed. He, therefore, repeated his protest against the use\nof a hymn containing a sentiment so dishonorable to a truly saved\nChristian. As he sat down, a very young man arose and added the weight\nof his testimony to the assertion of his older Christian brother. He\nalso, in answer to prayer, as he confidently asserted, had attained unto\nthat higher life which is not only free from sin, but from even the\ndesire to wander from the ways of holiness.\n\nAs we looked into and read the faces of these two men, we sighed for\nwhat we saw therein, and pitied them for the peril in which they stood.\nBut our greater concern was for the poor, weak, almost helpless ones we\nsaw around us, and for the effect of this delusive error which had been\nso needlessly thrown into their minds. If any of them should rest in\nthe belief that they, too, had, by the grace of God, been wholly set\nfree from the bondage of sin; that the appetite for drink and the lust\nof all evil had been extinguished, and their proneness to wander from\nGod taken away in simple answer to prayer, then would their danger, we\nfelt, be so imminent as to leave but little room for hope of their\nstanding in the new life. A stumbling-block had been laid in their way\nover which they must almost surely fall.\n\nWe are writing for the help and safety of men for whom there is but\nlittle or no hope of rescue from the depths of evil and sensuality into\nwhich they have fallen, except in a truly religious life; not a life of\nmere faith, and sentiment and fancied holiness, but of earnest conflict\nand daily right living. A life in which not only intemperance is to be\nshunned, as a sin against God, but every impure and evil desire of the\nheart, and every thought and purpose of wrong to the neighbor. And,\nbelieving as we do, that God's grace and power can only be given to\nthose who will take it as active subjects--not mere passive\nrecipients--and by using it as if it were their own, avail themselves of\nits purifying and regenerating influence, we can do no less than\nquestion and reject any doctrine that even seems to give a different\nimpression, as delusive and exceedingly dangerous.\n\nTo make Gospel temperance the true power of God unto the salvation of\nintemperate men, we must have in it, and with it, the Gospel of\nconflict with evil, the Gospel of daily right living, the Gospel of love\nto the neighbor and the Gospel of common sense. And these are coming\nmore and more into the work, which is widening and increasing, and every\nyear adding thousands upon thousands to the number of those who are\nsaved from the curse of drink.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nTEMPERANCE COFFEE-HOUSES AND FRIENDLY INNS.\n\n\nThe cure of a drunkard is always attended with peculiar difficulties.\nThe cost is often great. Sometimes cure is found to be impossible. A\nhundred may be protected from the ravages of intemperance at the cost of\nsaving one who has fallen a victim to the terrible malady. \"An ounce of\nprevention is worth a pound of cure.\"\n\nWhile so much is being done to reform and save the drunkard, the work of\nprevention has not been forgotten. Great good has been accomplished in\nthis direction through the spread of total-abstinence principles. In\nthis the various temperance organizations have done much, and especially\nwith the rising generation. But, so long as men are licensed by the\nState to sell intoxicating drinks, the net of the tempter is spread on\nevery hand, and thousands of the weak and unwary are yearly drawn\ntherein and betrayed to their ruin. In our great cities large number of\nmen who have to do business at points remote from their dwellings, are\nexposed to special temptations. The down-town lunch-room and dining-room\nhave, in most cases, their drinking bars; or, if no bar is visible, the\nbill of fare offers in too many cases, any kind of intoxicating\nbeverage that may be desired. Thousands of men are, in consequence,\nyearly led away from sobriety.\n\nSeeing this, efforts have been made during the past few years to\nestablish, cheap temperance coffee-houses, where workingmen and others\nmay get a good noonday lunch, or a morning and evening meal at a\ntrifling cost. In all cases, these have been found of great service to\nthe cause of temperance. A pint mug of excellent coffee, with sugar and\nmilk, and a large, sweet roll, costing five cents, are found to make a\nfar better and healthier lunch than the highly-seasoned hashes and\nscraps called \"free lunches,\" which must be washed down by a, five or\nten-cent glass of liquor.\n\n\nTHE EXPERIMENT IN PHILADELPHIA.\n\nThe success which has attended the establishment of cheap temperance\ncoffee-houses in this city (Philadelphia), is quite remarkable. In the\nfall of 1874, Joshua L. Baily, one of our active, clear-headed\nmerchants, who had been for many years an earnest temperance man,\ndetermined to give the cheap coffee-house experiment a fair trial, cost\nwhat it might; for he saw that if it could be made successful, it would\nbe a powerful agency in the work of prevention. He began in a modest\nway, taking a small store at the corner of Market and Fifteenth Streets,\nand fitting it up in a neat and attractive manner. With a few pounds of\ncoffee, and a few dozens of rolls, the place was opened, the single\nattendant, a woman, acting the double part of cook and waiter. For five\ncents a pint mug of the best Java coffee, with milk and sugar, and a\ngood-sized roll, were furnished.\n\nFrom the very start \"The Workingmen's Central Coffee-House,\" as Mr.\nBaily called it, was successful. In the immediate neighborhood five\nhundred workmen were employed on the city buildings, and opposite stood\nthe Pennsylvania Railroad freight depot, to which came daily about the\nsame number of men--draymen, teamsters and others. It took but a few\ndays to so crowd the new coffee-room at the usual lunching time as to\nrequire an additional assistant. From day to day the business went on\nincreasing, until more help and larger accommodations became necessary.\nSoon a complete kitchen had to be built in the basement, and the\nadjoining store added, in order to meet the steadily-enlarging demands\nupon the new establishment. The fame of the good coffee, which was\nbetter than most people found at home, spread far and near, and larger\nand larger numbers of clerks, workingmen and others, turned their steps\ndaily, at lunch time, towards the Central Coffee-House. It was so much\nbetter than the poor stuff served in most of the eating-houses; and,\nwith the sweet roll added, so much better than the free lunch and glass\nof beer or whisky with which too many had been accustomed to regale\nthemselves.\n\n\nSIGNAL SUCCESS.\n\nSteadily swelled the tide of custom. Within a year a third store,\nadjoining, was added. But the enlarged premises soon proved inadequate\nto the accommodation of the still-increasing crowd.\n\nAt this writing \"The Central\" is from six to seven times larger than\nwhen first opened; and there lunch in its rooms, daily, nearly two\nthousand persons. One room has been fitted up for ladies exclusively, in\nwhich from forty to fifty can lunch at one time.\n\nBut Mr. Baily looked beyond the cheap coffee and rolls by which he was\nable to keep so many away from bar-rooms and restaurants where liquor\nwas sold. He believed in other influences and safeguards. And to this\nend, and at his own cost, he fitted up the various rooms over the seven\nstores extending along Market Street from Fifteenth to Broad, in which\nthe coffee-rooms are located, and set them apart for various uses. Here\nis a lecture-hall, capable of seating four hundred persons; a free\nreading-room, well warmed and lighted and supplied with the best daily\nnewspapers, American and English illustrated publications, and the\nstandard periodicals; besides four other rooms that will hold from\nseventy to one hundred persons, which are used for various meeting\npurposes, all in connection with temperance. Five regular services are\nheld in the lecture-room every week, viz.: \"Bible Reading,\" on Sunday\nafternoon; \"Temperance Experience meeting,\" on Monday evening; \"Prayer\nand Praise meeting,\" Tuesday evening; \"Gospel Temperance meeting,\" on\nThursday evening; and \"Youths' Temperance meeting,\" Friday evening.\nThese meetings are often crowded, and, like the coffee-rooms below,\nattract audiences made up from every rank in society. At many of these\nmeetings, Mr. Baily presides in person.\n\nEncouraged by the success of this first effort, Mr. Baily opened another\ncheap coffee-house in the very centre of the wholesale trade of the\ncity, where thousands of clerks, workingmen and merchants were in the\nhabit of resorting for lunch or dinner to the restaurants and bar-rooms\nin the neighborhood. This, located at No. 31 South Fourth Street, he\ncalled \"The Model Coffee-House.\"\n\n\nCROWDED FROM THE FIRST.\n\nFrom the first it was crowded even to an uncomfortable extent. The\ndemands of its patrons soon rendered larger quarters a necessity. A new\nbuilding was erected specially adapted to the purpose, many novel\nfeatures being introduced which a twelve-month's experience had\nsuggested.\n\nThe _new_ \"Model\" opened June 1st, 1876. Many persons thought it was too\nlarge, and that it would never be filled. But it was thronged on the day\nof opening, and on every day since the demands upon it have been fully\nup to its capacity. The number lunching here daily is about three\nthousand.\n\nIn the establishment of the coffee-houses there were, of course, many\nmistakes, the results of inexperience. Many things had to be unlearned\nas well as many learned. But mistakes were promptly corrected. With the\ngrowth of the work, ability to provide for it seemed to keep pace, and\nmodifications in the management were adopted as necessity dictated. Not\nmuch was anticipated at the commencement beyond furnishing a mug of\ncoffee and a roll of bread, but it soon became apparent that something\nmore than this was needed. To meet this necessity, the coffee-house bill\nof fare was greatly extended, and now quite a variety of nutritious and\nsubstantial dishes are provided, and each at the uniform price of _five\ncents_. The main feature--the coffee--is, however, preserved. A full\npint mug of the best Java (equal to two ordinary cups) with pure, rich\nmilk and white sugar, and two ounces of either wheat or brown bread, all\nfor _five cents_, is the every-day lunch of many a man who, but for this\nprovision, would be found in the dram shop.\n\nNo dish, as we have said, costs over five cents, which is the standard\nprice the year round, whatever the fluctuations of markets may be. In\naddition to the bread and coffee already mentioned for five cents, the\nbill of fare comprises puddings of rice, tapioca and corn starch, baked\napples dressed with sugar and milk, all sorts of pies (half a pie being\ngiven for a portion), mushes of cracked wheat, corn and oatmeal,\ndumplings, eggs, potatoes, beans, ham, corned beef, liver, \"scrapple,\"\nsausage, custards, soups, pickles and, in season, fresh fruits. Of\nbread, there are Boston and Philadelphia brown, wheat, Philadelphia and\nVienna rolls. A pint glass of milk with a roll, costs five cents; butter\nthree cents, and extra rolls one cent each; so that for ten or fifteen\ncents a man gets a full luncheon, as every portion of food is equal to a\nlarge saucer heaped.\n\nThese establishments require, of course, the most methodical, orderly\nand careful management, with capable matrons at the head of each, and a\nsteward or superintendent to make intelligent purchases. At the \"Model\nCoffee-House,\" there are nearly fifty employees, and, excepting three or\nfour men, they are girls and women. The upper rooms of the building are\nfor the lodgings, offices, laundry and drawing-room, for the use of the\nemployees. The girls, who are mostly of country birth and training, are\nthus furnished with a good and safe home, where they have books and\nmusic, large and well-furnished chambers, a good table--they dine at one\nfamily table in their own dining-room--and have their washing and\nironing done in the house. They are required to be neat and tidy in\nappearance, respectable and discreet in character and manner.\n\n\nTHE GOOD DONE.\n\nThe good that is done through an instrumentality like this can never be\nfully known. Of those who are drawn into paths of safety, we do not so\noften hear as of those who are led astray. But enough is already known\nof the good done by these two coffee-houses to give large encouragement\nfor their establishment in other localities and other cities. Hundreds\nof young men who had fallen into the dangerous habit of taking a glass\nof beer every day with their lunch, now take a fragrant cup of coffee\ninstead, and find themselves better for the change; hundreds more who\nhad begun to feel the insidious encroachments of appetite, have been\nable to get out of the way of temptation.\n\nThe question that naturally arises with all who look practically at this\nmatter is, whether there is any profit in the business of keeping a\ncheap temperance coffee-house? Can a pint of coffee, with sugar, milk\nand a two-ounce roll of bread, be furnished for five cents and leave any\nmargin for profit? Mr. Baily's experiment has proved that it can.\n\n\nFRIENDLY INNS.\n\nBut not alone in Philadelphia is the cheap coffee-house to be found.\nThere are hundreds of them in our various towns and cities, though none\non so large a scale as here; and they are rapidly multiplying and doing\ngood. \"The Friendly Inn,\" and \"The Holly-Tree Inn,\" are places somewhat\nsimilar in character, but partaking more of the nature of an \"inn\" than\na simple eating-house. These have, usually, a pleasant parlor, with\nlight, and warmth, and books, into which, any one may come and pass the\nevening, instead of drifting into a saloon, and where cheap meals and\nlodgings can be had if needed. In Cleveland, Ohio, Christian temperance\nwork, which is very large and effective, is carried on almost entirely\nin connection with \"Friendly Inns,\" of which there are five. A chapel,\nreading-room, sleeping apartments and a cheap restaurant are maintained\nin connection with each of these inns. The women engaged in the cause of\nGospel temperance in that city regard them as most valuable auxiliaries\nto the spiritual work in which they are engaged. In a large number of\ncases, they have been the direct means of bringing men in whom few\ntraces of goodness could at first be discerned in such contact with\nreligious influences as to win them over to a better life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTEMPERANCE LITERATURE.\n\n\nThe greatest and most effective agency in any work of enlightenment and\nreform is the press. By it the advanced thinker and Christian\nphilanthropist is able to speak to the whole people, and to instruct,\npersuade and influence them. He can address the reason and conscience of\nthousands, and even of hundreds of thousands of people to whom he could\nnever find access in any other way, and so turn their minds to the right\nconsideration of questions of social interest in regard to which they\nhad been, from old prejudices or habits of thinking, in doubt or\ngrievous error.\n\nNo cause has been more largely indebted to the press than that of\ntemperance reform. From the very beginning of agitation on the subject\nof this reform, the press has been used with great efficiency; and\nto-day, the literature of temperance is a force of such magnitude and\npower, that it is moving whole nations, and compelling Parliaments,\nChambers of Deputies and Houses of Congress to consider the claims of a\nquestion which, if presented fifty years ago, would have been treated,\nin these grave assemblages, with levity or contempt.\n\nFor many years after the reform movement began in this country, the\npress was used with marked effect. But as most of the books, pamphlets\nand tracts which were issued came through individual enterprise, the\neditions were often small and the prices high; and as the sale of such\npublications was limited, and the profit, if any, light, the efforts to\ncreate a broad and comprehensive temperance literature met with but\nfeeble encouragement. But in 1865, a convention was called to meet at\nSaratoga to consider the subject of a national organization so\ncomprehensive and practical that all the friends of temperance in\nreligious denominations and temperance organizations could unite therein\nfor common work. Out of this convention grew the\n\n\nNATIONAL TEMPERANCE SOCIETY AND PUBLICATION HOUSE,\n\nwhich began, at once, the creation of a temperance literature worthy of\nthe great cause it represented. The president of this society is Hon.\nWilliam E. Dodge, of New York. The vice-presidents are ninety-two in\nnumber, and include some of the most distinguished men in the country;\nclergymen, jurists, statesmen, and private citizens eminent for their\npublic spirit and philanthropy. It has now been in existence some twelve\nyears. Let us see what it has done in that time for temperance\nliterature and the direction and growth of a public sentiment adverse to\nthe liquor traffic. We let the efficient corresponding secretary and\npublishing agent, J.N. Stearns, speak for the association he so ably\nrepresents. Its rooms are at No. 58 Reade Street, New York. Referring to\nthe initial work of the society, \"It was resolved,\" says Mr. Stearns,\n\"that the publishing agent should keep 'all the temperance literature of\nthe day.' This was found to consist of less than a dozen different\npublications in print, and these of no special value. All the plates of\nvaluable works before in existence were either shipped across the water\nor melted up and destroyed. The society commenced at once to create a\nliterature of its own, but found it was not the work of a moment. The\nfirst publication outside of its monthly paper, was a four-page tract by\nRev. T.L. Cuyler, D.D., in February, 1866, entitled 'A Shot at the\nDecanter,' of which about two hundred thousand copies have been\npublished.\"\n\n\nFIRST BOOK PUBLISHED.\n\n\"The first book was published in May of the same year, entitled,\n'Scripture Testimony against Intoxicating Wine.' Prizes were offered for\nthe best tracts and books, and the best talent in the land sought and\nsolicited to aid in giving light upon every phase of the question. The\nresult has been that an immense mass of manuscripts have been received,\nexamined, assorted, some approved and many rejected, and the list of\npublications has gone on steadily increasing, until in the eleven years\nit amounts to four hundred and fifty varieties upon every branch, of\nthe temperance question. There were over twenty separate so-called\nsecret temperance societies, each with a different ritual and\nconstitution, with subordinate organizations scattered all over the\nland. These contained probably about one million of members. Then there\nwere churches, open societies, State temperance unions, etc., each\noperating independently and with no common bond of union. Some were for\nmoral suasion alone, others for political action, while others were for\nboth united. The great need for some national organization which should\nbe a common centre and ground of union, a medium of communication\nbetween all, and to aid, strengthen and benefit every existing\norganization and denomination, was felt all over the land.\n\n\"This society was organized to supply such a need. It is both a society\nand a publication house. The need and demand came from every quarter for\nfacts, statistics, arguments and appeals upon every phase of the\nquestion, in neat, cheap and compact form, which, could be sent\neverywhere and used by everybody. Public opinion had settled down\nagainst us, and light was needed to arouse it to right action. The\npulpit and the platform were to be supplemented by the press, which,\nhenceforth, was to be used in this great and rapidly strengthening\ncause, as in every other, to reach the individuals and homes of every\nportion of the land.\"\n\n\nAFTER TWELVE YEARS.\n\n\"Twelve years have passed--years of anxious preparation and toil, of\nseed-planting and sowing, and they have been improved. This society now\npublishes books and tracts upon the moral, economical, physiological,\npolitical, financial, religious, medical and social phases of the\nreform. We have the writings of over two hundred different persons in\nalmost every walk and station in life. We already have a literature of\nno mean character. Its influence is not only felt in every State and\nTerritory in the land, but in every country on the globe.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Among the early publications of the society were those printed upon\n'The Adulteration of Liquors,' 'The Physiological Action of Alcohol,'\n'Alcohol: Its Nature and Effects,' 'Alcohol: Its Place and Power,' 'Is\nAlcohol Food?' Text-Book of Temperance,' etc., followed later by\n'Bacchus Dethroned,' 'The Medical Use of Alcohol,' 'Is Alcohol a\nNecessary of Life?' 'Our Wasted Resources,' 'On Alcohol,' 'Prohibition\ndoes Prohibit,' 'Fruits of the Liquor Traffic,' 'The Throne of\nIniquity,' 'Suppression of the Liquor Traffic,' 'Alcohol as a Food and\nMedicine,' etc.\n\n\"The truths of these books and pamphlets, which have been reproduced in\na thousand ways in sermons, addresses, newspapers, etc., have already\npermeated the community to such an extent as to bear much fruit.\"\n\nIn the creation of a literature for children, the society early issued\n_The Youths' Temperance Banner_, a paper for Sunday-schools. This has\nattained a circulation of nearly one hundred and fifty thousand copies\nmonthly. It has also created a Sunday-school temperance library, which\nnumbers already as many as seventy bound, volumes; editions of which\nreaching in the aggregate to one hundred and eighty-three thousand five\nhundred and seventy-six volumes have already been sold. The society also\npublishes a monthly paper called the _National Temperance Advocate_,\nwhich has a wide circulation.\n\n\nREMARKABLE GROWTH OF TEMPERANCE LITERATURE.\n\nThe number of books, pamphlets and tracts which have been issued by the\nNational Temperance Society during the twelve years of its existence, is\nfour hundred and sixty, some of them large and important volumes.\n\nTo this extraordinary production and growth of temperance literature in\nthe past twelve years are the people indebted for that advanced public\nsentiment which is to-day gathering such force and will.\n\nAnd here, let us say, in behalf of a society which has done such grand\nand noble work, that from the very outset it has had to struggle with\npecuniary difficulties.\n\nReferring to the difficulties and embarrassments with which the society\nhas had to contend from the beginning, the secretary says:\n\n\"The early financial struggles of the society are known only to a very\nfew persons. It was deemed best by the majority of the board not to let\nthe public know our poverty. Looking back over the eleven years of\nsevere struggles, pecuniary embarrassments, unexpected difficulties,\nanxious days, toiling, wearisome nights, with hopes of relief dashed at\nalmost every turn, surrounded by the indifference of friends, and with\nthe violent opposition of enemies, we can only wonder that the society\nhas breasted the storm and is saved from a complete and total wreck. * * *\nThis society never was endowed, never had a working capital, never has\nbeen the recipient of contributions from churches or of systematic\ndonations from individuals. It never has had a day of relief from\nfinancial embarrassment since its organization; and yet there never has\nbeen a day but that the sum of ten thousand dollars would have lifted it\nout of its embarrassments and started it with a buoyant heart on towards\nthe accomplishment of its mission.\"\n\nAnd he adds: \"Notwithstanding all these constant and ever-pressing\nfinancial embarrassments, the society has never faltered for one moment,\nbut has gone steadily on doing its appointed work, exploring new fields,\nand developing both old and new truths and documents and principles, and\nit stands to-day the strongest and most solid and substantial bulwark\nagainst intemperance in the land.\"\n\n\nA MOST IMPORTANT AGENCY.\n\nAs the most important of all the agencies now used for the suppression\nof the liquor traffic, and as the efficient ally of all let us rally to\nthe support of our great publication house and see that it has ampler\nmeans for the work in which it is engaged. There are hundreds of\nthousands of men and women in our land who are happy and prosperous\nto-day because of what this society has done in the last twelve years to\ncreate a sentiment adverse to the traffic and to the drinking usages of\nsociety. Its work is so silent and unobtrusive in comparison, with that\nof many other efficient, but more limited instrumentalities, that we are\napt to lose sight of its claims, and to fail in giving an adequate\nsupport to the very power, which is, in a large measure, the source of\npower to all the rest.\n\nIf we would war successfully with our strong and defiant enemy, we must\nlook to it that the literature of temperance does not languish. We are\nnot making it half as efficient as it might be. Here we have a\nthoroughly organized publication house, with capable and active agents,\nwhich, if the means were placed at its disposal, could flood the country\nwith books, pamphlets and tracts by millions every year; and we leave it\nto struggle with embarrassments, and to halting and crippled work. This\nis not well. Our literature is our right arm in this great conflict, and\nonly in the degree that we strengthen this arm will we be successful in\nour pursuit of victory.\n\n[Illustration: FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE LICENSE SYSTEM.\n\n\"Whatever revenue license pays the State is fully counterbalanced by the\nincreased cost of jails, poorhouses and police, for which the patient\npublic pays immense taxation. The moral burdens from the infamous\ntraffic are all additional to the financial.\"]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nLICENSE A FAILURE AND A DISGRACE.\n\n\nFor over two hundred years in this country, and for a much longer period\nof time in Great Britain and some of the countries of Continental\nEurope, attempts have been made to protect the people against the evils\nof intemperance by restrictive liquor laws. But as these laws were\npermissive and not prohibitory, the evil was not restrained. Nay, its\nlarger growth came as the natural consequence of such laws, for they not\nonly gave to a few men in every community the right to live and grow\nrich by doing all in their power to increase the evil, but threw around\nthem the protection of the State; so leaving the people powerless in\ntheir hands.\n\n\nHISTORY OF LICENSE IN MASSACHUSETTS.\n\nThe history of all restrictive laws which have stopped short of absolute\nprohibition, is a history of the saddest of failures, and shows that to\nlicense an evil is to increase its power.\n\nJudge Robert C. Pitman, in his \"Alcohol and the State,\" an exceedingly\nvaluable discussion of the \"Problem of Law as Applied to the Liquor\nTraffic,\" gives an instructive history of the license laws of\nMassachusetts from early colonial times down to the year 1877. The\nexperience of Massachusetts is that of every other community, State or\nnation, which has sought to repress drunkenness and its attendant evils\nby the enactment of license laws; and we ask the reader's earnest and\ncandid consideration of the facts we shall here present.\n\nAs early as 1636, an effort was made in the Old Colony to lessen\nintemperance by the passage of a restrictive law, declaring \"That none\nbe suffered to retail wine, strong water or beer, either within doors or\nwithout, except in inns or victualing-houses allowed.\" That this law did\nnot lessen the evil of drunkenness is plain from the fact that, in 1646,\nin the preamble to a new liquor law it was declared by the Massachusetts\ncolony that, \"Forasmuch as drunkenness is a vice to be abhorred of all\nnations, especially of those who hold out and profess the Gospel of\nChrist, and seeing _any strict law will not prevail unless the cause be\ntaken away_, it is, therefore, ordered by this Court,\"--What? Entire\nprohibition of the sale of intoxicating drinks? No. Only, \"That no\nmerchant, cooper or any other person whatever, shall, after the first\nday of the first month, sell any wine under one-quarter of a cask,\nneither by quart, gallon or any other measure, _but only such taverners\nas are licensed to sell by the gallon_.\" And in order still further to\nprotect and encourage the publican in his Tested and exclusive right, it\nwas further enacted that, \"Any _taverners_ or other persons who shall\ninform against any transgressor, shall have one-half of the fines for\nhis _encouragement_.\" This law contained a section which forbids any\nperson licensed \"to sell strong waters, or any private housekeeper to\npermit any person to sit drinking or tippling strong waters, wine or\nstrong beer in their houses.\"\n\n\nTHE EVIL STILL INCREASING.\n\nStill the evil of drunkenness went on increasing under the license\nsystem, until in 1692, we find in a preamble to certain more stringent\nlaws for the regulation of the traffic, this sad confession: \"And\nforasmuch as the ancient, true and principal use of inns, taverns,\nale-houses, victualing-houses and other houses for common entertainment\nis for receipt, relief and lodging of travelers and strangers, and the\nrefreshment of persons on lawful business. * * * And not for\nentertainment and harboring of lewd or idle people to spend or consume\ntheir time or money there; therefore, _to prevent the mischief and great\ndisorders happening daily by abuse of such houses_, It is further\nenacted,\" etc.--not prohibition of the sale; but further restrictions\nand penalties. How far these restrictions and penalties were effective,\nappears from the statue of 1695, in the preamble of which is a complaint\nthat divers persons who had obtained license to sell liquor to be taken\naway and not drunk in their houses, did, notwithstanding, \"give\nentertainment to persons to sit drinking and tippling there,\" while\nothers who \"_have no license at all_ are yet so hardy as to run upon the\nlaw,\" to the \"great increase of drunkenness and other debaucheries.\"\n\nThese colonial fathers, in their efforts to lessen the evil of drinking\nby restrictive license, for which a fee to the State was required,\nopened a door for the unlicensed dram-shop, which was then, as it is\nnow, one of the worst forms of the liquor traffic, because it is in the\nhands of more unscrupulous persons, too many of whom are of the lowest\nand vilest class, and whose tippling-houses are dens of crime and infamy\nas well as drunkenness.\n\nHow this was in the colony of Massachusetts under license in 1695 is\nseen above, and further appears in this recital taken from the statute\nto further limit the spread of drunkenness, wherein it refers to \"divers\n_ill-disposed and indigent persons, the pains and penalties in the laws\nalready made not regarding,_ who are so hardy _as to presume to sell and\nretail_ strong beer, ale, cider, sherry wine, rum or other strong\nliquors or mixed drinks, and _to keep common tippling-houses_, thereby\nharboring and entertaining apprentices, Indians, negroes and other idle\nand dissolute persons, tending to the ruin and impoverishment of\nfamilies, and all impieties and debaucheries, and _if detected are\nunable to pay their fine_.\" All such were sentenced to the\nwhipping-post.\n\nThree years later, the curse of the licensed traffic had so augmented\nthat another effort was made for its regulation by the enactment of a\nnew and more comprehensive law entitled, \"An Act for the Inspecting and\n_Suppressing of Disorders_ in Licensed Houses.\"\n\n\nWORSE AND WORSE.\n\nHow successful the good people of Massachusetts were in holding in check\nand regulating the evil which they had clothed with power by license,\nappears in the preamble to a new Act passed in 1711, \"For reclaiming the\nover great number of licensed houses, many of which are chiefly used for\nrevelling and tippling, and become _nurseries of intemperance and\ndebauchery_, indulged by the masters and keepers of the same for the\nsake of gain.\"\n\nSo it went on, from bad to worse, under the Colonial Government, until\n1787, when the State constitution was adopted. To what a frightful\nmagnitude the evil of drunkenness, provided for and fostered by license,\nhad grown, appears from an entry in the diary of John Adams, under date\nof February 29th, 1760, in which he says that few things were \"so\nfruitful of destructive evils\" as \"licensed houses.\" They had become, he\ndeclares, \"the eternal haunts of loose, disorderly people of the town,\nwhich renders them offensive and unfit for the entertainment of any\ntraveler of the least delicacy.\" * * * \"Young people are tempted to\nwaste their time and money, and to acquire habits of intemperance and\nidleness, that we often see reduce many to beggary and vice, and lead\nsome of them, at least, to prison and the gallows.\"\n\nIn entering upon her career as a State, Massachusetts continued the\nlicense system, laying upon it many prudent restrictions, all of which\nwere of no avail, for the testimony is complete as to the steady\nincrease of drunkenness, crime and debauchery.\n\n\nTESTIMONY OF JOHN ADAMS.\n\nWriting to Mr. Rush, in 1811, John Adams says: \"Fifty-three years ago I\nwas fired with a zeal, amounting to enthusiasm, against ardent spirits,\nthe multiplication of taverns, retailers, dram-shops and\ntippling-houses. Grieved to the heart to see the number of idlers,\nthieves, sots and consumptive patients made for the physicians in these\ninfamous seminaries, I applied to the Court of Sessions, procured a\nCommittee of Inspection and Inquiry, reduced the number of licensed\nhouses, etc., _but I only acquired the reputation of a hypocrite and an\nambitious demagogue by it_. The number of licensed houses was soon\nreinstated; drams, grog and sotting were not diminished, _and remain to\nthis day as deplorable as ever_.\"\n\n\nOPENING A WIDER DOOR.\n\nIn 1816, so demoralized had the sentiment of the people become, and so\nstrong the liquor interest of the State, that the saving provision in\nthe license laws, which limited the sale of liquor to inns and taverns,\nwas repealed, and licenses were granted to common victualers, \"who shall\nnot be required to furnish accommodations\" for travelers; and also to\nconfectioners on the same terms as to inn-keepers; that is, to sell and\nto be drunk on the premises. This change in the license laws of\nMassachusetts was declared, by Judge Aldrich, in 1867, to be \"one of the\nmost fruitful sources of crime and vice that ever existed in this\nCommonwealth.\"\n\nUp to as late as 1832, attempts were continued to patch up and amend the\nlicense laws of the State; after that they were left, for a time, to do\ntheir evil work, all efforts to make them anything but promoters of\ndrunkenness, crime and poverty being regarded as fruitless.\n\n\"Miserable in principle,\" says Judge Pitman, \"license laws were found no\nless inefficient in practice.\" Meantime, the battle against the liquor\ntraffic had been going on in various parts of the State. In 1835, a law\nwas secured by which the office of county commissioner (the licensing\nauthority) was made an elective office; heretofore it had been held by\nappointment. This gave the people of each county a local control over\nthe liquor question, and in the very first year the counties of Plymouth\nand Bristol elected boards committed to the policy of no license. Other\ncounties followed this good example; and to bar all questions of the\nright to refuse every license by a county, the power was expressly\nconferred by a law passed in 1837.\n\n\nA CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.\n\nThe good results were immediately apparent in all places where license\nto sell intoxicating drinks was refused. After a thorough investigation\nof the matter, the Judiciary Committee of the Legislature reported the\nevidence to be \"perfectly incontrovertable, that the good order and the\nphysical and moral welfare of the community had been promoted by\nrefusing to license the sale of ardent spirits; and that although the\nlaws have been and are violated to some extent in different places, the\npractice soon becomes disreputable and hides itself from the public eye\nby shrinking into obscure and dark places; that noisy and tumultuous\nassemblies in the streets and public quarrels cease where license is\nrefused; _and that pauperism has very rapidly diminished from the same\ncause_.\"\n\nAn attempt to prohibit entirely the retail liquor traffic was made in\n1838, by the passage of what was known as the \"Fifteen-Gallon Law,\"\nwhich forbade the sale of spirituous liquors in a less quantity than\nfifteen gallons, which had to be \"carried away all at one time;\" except\nby apothecaries and practicing physicians, who might sell for use in the\narts and for medicinal purposes.\n\nBut this law remained in operation only a year and a half; when, in\nconcession to the liquor interest of the State, which had been strong\nenough to precipitate a political revolution and get its own men in the\nlegislature, it was repealed.\n\n\"But the State,\" says Judge Pitman, \"while the memory of license was\nfresh, was not to fall again under its sway. The struggle for local\nprohibition was at once renewed, and in a few years license had ceased\nthroughout the Commonwealth. The statement may surprise many; but I have\nthe authority of the city clerk of Boston for saying, that 'no licenses\nfor the sale of intoxicating liquors were granted in Boston between 1841\nand 1852.' * * * And so the chapter of license was apparently closed. It\nhad not only had its 'day,' but its centuries in court; and the\nwell-nigh unanimous verdict was: '_disgrace_--_failure_'\"\n\nSo strong was this conviction in the minds of the people of\nMassachusetts, that Governor Bullock, in 1861, while acting as chairman\nof the Judiciary Committee of the House, gave it expression in these\nnotable words: \"It may be taken as the solemnly declared, judgment of\nthe people of the Commonwealth, that the principle of licensing the\ntraffic in intoxicating drinks as a beverage, _and thus giving legal\nsanction to that which is regarded in itself as an evil, is no longer\nadmissible in morals or in legislation_\"\n\n\nTHE LIQUOR POWER IN THE ASCENDANT AGAIN.\n\nBut in 1868, adverse influences prevailed, and after all her sad and\ndisgraceful experience, Massachusetts abandoned her prohibition of the\ntraffic and went back to license again; but the evil consequences began\nto show themselves so quickly that the law was repealed in less than a\nyear.\n\nGovernor Claflin, in his message to the legislature in January, 1869,\nthus speaks of the effect of the new license law: \"The increase of\ndrunkenness and crime during the last six months, as compared with the\nsame period of 1867, is very marked and decisive as to the operation of\nthe law. _The State prisons, jails and houses of correction are being\nrapidly filled_, and will soon require enlarged accommodation if the\ncommitments continue to increase as they have since the present law went\nin force.\"\n\nWhile the chaplain of the State prison in his annual report for 1868,\nsays: \"The prison never was so full as at the present time. If the\nrapidly increasing tide of intemperance, so greatly swollen by the\npresent wretched license law, is suffered to rush on unchecked, there\nwill be a fearful increase of crime, and the State must soon extend the\nlimits of the prison, or create another.\"\n\nThis law was repealed, as we have seen. A year of its bitter fruit was\nenough for the people.\n\n\nSUBMITTING AGAIN TO THE YOKE.\n\nBut, strange to say, after all she has suffered from license laws, the\nold Bay State has again submitted to the yoke, and is once more in the\nhands of the great liquor interest. In 1874, she drifted out from the\nsafe harbor of prohibition, and we find her, to-day, on the stormy and\nstorm-wrecked sea of license. A miserable attempt has been made by the\nfriends of this law to show that its action has been salutory in Boston,\nthe headquarters of the liquor power, in the diminution of dram-shops\nand arrests for drunkenness. Water may run up hill in Boston; but it\nobeys the law of gravitation in other places. We leave the reader to\ndraw his own conclusions from this extract from the report of the\nLicense Commissioners of that city, made February 1st, 1877: \"It must be\nadmitted that the business of liquor-selling in this city is, to a very\nlarge extent, in the hands of _irresponsible men and women_, whose idea\nof a license law ends with the simple matter of paying a certain sum,\nthe amount making but little difference to them, _provided they are left\nto do as they please after payment_. Besides the saloons and bar-rooms,\nwhich are open publicly, the traffic in small grocery stores, in cellars\nand in dwelling-houses, in some parts of the city, _is almost\nastounding. The Sunday trade is enormous, and it seems as if there were\nnot hours enough in the whole round of twenty-four, or days enough in\nthe entire week to satisfy the dealers_.\"\n\nThe experience of Massachusetts is, as we have already said, the\nexperience of every community, State or nation in which an effort has\nbeen made to abridge the evils of intemperance by licensing the\ndram-shop.\n\nAnd to whom and to what class of citizens does the State accord, under\nlicense, the privilege of making gain out of the people's loss? For\nwhom is every interest in the nation taxed and every industry hurt? For\nwhom are the houses of the poor made poorer; and the supply of bread\ndiminished? For whom are a crime-assaulted and pauper-ridden people\ndriven to build jails and poor-houses, and insane asylums, and maintain\ncourts and juries and a vast army of police, at the cost of millions of\ndollars every year?\n\nFor great benefactors to whom the nation owes a debt of gratitude? For\nmen who are engaged in great industrial or commercial enterprises?\nPromoters of education? leaders in the great march of civilization? Even\nif this were so, better not to have accepted the service than pay for it\nat so fearful a cost.\n\nWho and what are these men?--this great privileged class? Let us see. In\nBoston, we have the testimony of the License Commissioners that\nliquor-selling is in the hands of \"irresponsible men and women,\" who pay\na license for the privilege of doing \"as they please after payment.\" And\nfor the maintenance of these \"irresponsible\" men and women in their\nright to corrupt and degrade the people, a forced tax is laid on every\nbit of property and every interest in the great city of Boston! What was\nthe tax on tea to this? And yet, Boston patiently submits!\n\nIs it better in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago\nor any other of our large cities? Not a whit! In some it is worse,\neven, than in the capital of the old Bay State. In one of these\nlast-mentioned cities, where, under the license system so dear to\npoliticians, and for which they are chiefly responsible, between seven\nand eight thousand places in which liquor is sold at retail exist, an\neffort was made in 1876 to ascertain the character and antecedents of\nevery person engaged in dram-selling. We are not able to say how\ncarefully or thoroughly the investigation was pursued, but it was in the\nhands of those who meant that it should be complete and accurate. One\nfact elicited was, that the proportion of native-born citizens to the\nwhole number engaged in the business was less than one-sixth. Another\nwas, that over six thousand of these dram-sellers belonged to the\ncriminal class, and had suffered imprisonment, some for extended terms\nin the State prison. And another was, that nearly four thousand of the\ndrinking-places which had been established under the fostering care of\nState license laws were houses of ill-fame as well! Comment is\nunnecessary.\n\nWe cannot lessen the evil nor abate the curse of drunkenness so long as\nwe license a traffic, which, from its essential hostility to all the\nbest interests of society, naturally falls into the hands of our worst\ncitizens, who persistently violate every salutory and restrictive\nfeature in the laws which give their trade a recognized existence.\n\nWhat then? Is there any remedy short of Prohibition? We believe not.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nPROHIBITION.\n\n\nIt has taken nearly half a century to convince the people that only in\ntotal abstinence lies any hope of cure for the drunkard. When this\ndoctrine was first announced, its advocates met with opposition,\nridicule and even insult. Now it has almost universal acceptance. The\neffort to hold an inebriate's appetite in check by any restriction that\nincluded license, has, in all cases, proved so signal a failure, that\nthe \"letting down,\" or \"tapering off\" process has been wholly abandoned\nin inebriate asylums. There is no hope, as we have said, but in complete\nabstinence.\n\n\nNO REMEDY BUT PROHIBITION.\n\nIs there any other means of cure for national drunkenness? The remedy of\nlicense has been found as valueless for the whole people as restriction\nfor the individual. Appetite, when once depraved, becomes, in the\nindividual, lawless, exacting and unscrupulous; not hesitating to\ntrample on duty, justice, humanity and every public and private virtue.\nIt will keep no faith; it will hold to no pledge, however solemnly\ntaken. It must be wholly denied or it will be wholly master.\n\nAs in the individual, so in the nation, State or community. Appetite\nloses nothing by aggregation; nor are the laws of its action changed. If\nnot denied by prohibition in the State, as by total abstinence in the\nindividual, it will continue to entail upon the people loss and ruin and\nunutterable woes. License, restrictive permission, tax, all will be vain\nin the future as they have been in the past. There is no hope, no help,\nno refuge in anything but _Prohibition_!\n\nAnd here we art met by two questions, fairly and honestly asked. First.\nIs prohibition right in the abstract as a legislative measure? Second.\nCan prohibitory laws be enforced, and will they cure the evil of\ndrunkenness?\n\nFirst, as to the question of legislative action. Can the State forbid\nthe sale of intoxicating drinks as a beverage without violating the\nnatural right of certain citizens, engaged in the manufacture and sale\nof these articles, to supply them to customers who wish to purchase?\n\nWe answer, that no man has a natural right to do wrong; that is, to\nengage in any pursuit by which he makes gain out of loss and injury to\nhis neighbor. The essential principle of government is the well-being of\nthe people. It guarantees to the weak, security against the strong; it\npunishes evil doers, and seeks to protect its citizens from the evil\neffects of that unscrupulous selfishness in the individual which would\ntrample on the rights of all the rest in its pursuit of money or power.\n\nNow, if it can be shown that the liquor traffic is a good thing; that\nit benefits the people; makes them more prosperous and happy; improves\ntheir health; promotes education and encourages virtue, then its right\nto exist in the community has been established. Or, even if the good\nclaimed for it be only negative instead, of positive, its right must\nstill be unquestioned. But what if it works evil and only evil in the\nState? What if it blights and curses every neighborhood, and town, and\ncity, and nation in which it exists; laying heavy taxes upon the people\nthat it may live and flourish, crippling all industries; corrupting the\nmorals of the people; enticing the young from virtue; filling jails, and\npoor-houses, and asylums with a great army of criminals, paupers and\ninsane men and women, yearly extinguishing the light in thousands of\nhappy homes? What then?\n\nDoes this fruit of the liquor traffic establish its right to existence\nand to the protection of law? Let the reader answer the question for\nhimself. That it entails all of these evils, and many more, upon the\ncommunity, cannot and will not be denied. That it does any good, cannot\nbe shown. Fairly, then, it has no right to existence in any government\nestablished for the good of the people; and in suppressing it, no wrong\ncan be done.\n\n\nPROHIBITION NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL.\n\nHow the question of prohibition is regarded by the highest legal\nauthority in the United States will appear from the following opinions\nofficially given by four of the Justices of our Supreme Court. They are\nexpressed in no doubtful or hesitating form of speech:\n\nChief Justice Taney said: \"If any State deems the retail and internal\ntraffic in ardent spirits injurious to its citizens, and calculated to\nproduce idleness, vice or debauchery, I see nothing in the Constitution\nof the United States to prevent it from regulating or restraining the\ntraffic, or from prohibiting it altogether, if it thinks proper.\"--[5\nHoward, 577.]\n\nHon. Justice McLean said: \"A license to sell is a matter of police and\nrevenue within the power of the State.\"--[5 Ibid., 589.] \"If the foreign\narticle be injurious to the health and morals of the community, a State\nmay prohibit the sale of it.\"\n\nHon. Justice Catron said: \"If the State has the power of restraint by\nlicense to any extent, she may go to the length of prohibiting sales\naltogether.\"--[5 Ibid., 611.]\n\nHon. Justice Grier said: \"It is not necessary to array the appalling\nstatistics of misery, pauperism and crime which have their origin in the\nuse and abuse of ardent spirits. The police power, which is exclusively\nin the State, is competent to the correction of these great evils, and\nall measures of restraint or prohibition necessary to effect that\npurpose are within the scope of that authority.\"--[Ibid., 532.]\n\nThat the State has a clear right to prohibit the sale of intoxicating\ndrinks, because this sale not only hurts all other interests, but\ndestroys the health and degrades the morals of the people, has been\nfully shown.\n\nThe question next to be considered is, Can prohibitory laws be enforced?\nand if so, will they remove from the people the curse of drunkenness?\n\n\nCAN PROHIBITORY LAWS BE ENFORCED?\n\nAs to the complete enforcement of any salutory law, that depends mainly\non the public sentiment regarding it, and on the organized strength of\nits opposers. If the common sentiment of the people were in favor of\nevery man's liberty to steal whatever he could lay his hands on, it\nwould be found very difficult to convict a rogue, no matter how clearly\nexpressed the law against stealing. A single thief in the jury-box could\ndefeat the ends of justice. A hundred loop-holes for escape can always\nbe found in the provisions of a law with which the majority of the\npeople are not in sympathy. Indeed, it often happens that such\nloop-holes are provided by the law-makers themselves; and this is\nespecially true in too many of the laws made for the suppression of the\nliquor trade.\n\nIs this an argument against the enactment of laws to protect the people\nfrom great wrongs--especially the weaker and more helpless ones? To the\nhalf-hearted, the indifferent and the pusillanimous--yes! But with\nbrave, true men, who have at heart the best interests of humanity, this\ncan only intensify opposition to wrong, and give strength for new\nefforts to destroy its power. These have an undying faith in the\nultimate victory of good over evil, and mean, so far as they are\nconcerned, that the battle shall continue until that victory is won.\n\nJudge Pitman has eloquently expressed this sentiment in the closing\npages of his recent work, to which we have more than once referred.\nSpeaking of those who distrust the practicability of securing such\nlegislation as will effectually destroy the liquor trade, he says: \"They\nare appalled at the power of the traffic. They see that it has uncounted\nwealth at its command; that it is organized and unscrupulous; that it\nhas the support of fierce appetite behind it and the alliance of every\nevil lust; that it is able to bribe or intimidate the great political\nparties. All this is true; but still it is not to be the final victor.\nIt has all the elemental moral forces of the human race against it, and\nthough their working be slow, and their rate of progress dependent on\nhuman energy and fidelity, the ultimate result is as certain as the\naction of the law of gravity in the material universe. Wealth may be\nagainst us; rank may affect to despise us; but the light whose dawn\nmakes a new morning in the world, rarely shines from palace or crown,\nbut from the manger and the cross. Before the aroused consciences of the\npeople, wielding the indomitable will of a State, the destroyers of soul\nand body shall go down forever.\"\n\n\nTHE VALUE OF PROHIBITORY LAWS WHEN ENFORCED.\n\nIt remains now to show how far prohibitory laws, when enforced, have\nsecured the end for which they were created. On this point, the evidence\nis clear and satisfactory. In Vermont, a prohibitory law has existed for\nover twenty-three years. In some parts of the State it is rigidly\nenforced; in others with less severity. Judge Peck, of the Supreme Court\nsays: \"The law has had an effect upon our customs, and has done away\nwith that of treating and promiscuous drinking. * * * _In attending\ncourt for ten years, I do not remember to have seen a drunken man.\"_ In\nSt. Johnsbury, where there is a population of five thousand, the law has\nbeen strictly enforced; and the testimony in regard to the town is this:\n\"There is no bar, no dram-shop, no poor, and no policeman walks the\nstreets. It is the workingman's paradise.\"\n\nConnecticut enacted a prohibitory law in 1854. In 1855, Governor Dutton\nsaid, in his annual message to the General Assembly: \"There is scarcely\nan open grog-shop in the State, the jails are fast becoming tenantless,\nand a delightful air of security is everywhere enjoyed.\"\n\nIn Meriden, the chaplain of the reform school testified that \"crime had\ndiminished seventy-five per cent.\" In New London, the jail was\ntenantless. In Norwich, the jails and almshouses were reported \"as\nalmost empty.\" But in 1873, the liquor influence was strong enough in\nthe legislature to substitute license for prohibition. The consequence\nwas an immediate increase of drunkenness and crime. Two years\nafterwards, the Secretary of State declared that \"there was a greater\nincrease of crime in one year under license than in seven years under\nprohibition.\"\n\nVineland, New Jersey, has a population of ten thousand. Absolute\nprohibition is the law of that community. One constable, who is also\noverseer of the poor, is sufficient to maintain public order. In 1875,\nhis annual report says: \"We have practically no debt. * * * The police\nexpenses of Vineland amount to seventy-five dollars a year, the sum paid\nto me, and our poor expenses are a mere trifle.\"\n\nIn Potter County, Pennsylvania, there has been a prohibitory law for\nmany years. Hon. John S. Mann says: \"Its effect, as regards crime, is\nmarked and conspicuous. _Our jail is without inmates, except the\nsheriff_, for more than half the time.\"\n\nOther instances of local prohibition in this country could be given, but\nthese are sufficient.\n\nBessbrook, a town in Ireland of four thousand inhabitants, has no\nliquor-shop, and whisky and strong drink are strictly prohibited. _There\nis no poor-house, pawn-shop or police-station._ The town is entirely\nfree from strife, discord or disturbance.\n\nIn the county of Tyrone, Ireland, no drinking house is allowed. In 1870,\nRight Hon. Claude Hamilton said: \"At present there is not a single\npoliceman in that district. The poor-rates are half what they were\nbefore, and the magistrates testify to the great absence of crime.\"\n\nIn many parts of England and Scotland there is local prohibition, and\nthe uniform testimony as to the absence of pauperism and crime is as\nunequivocal as that given above.\n\n\nTHE MAINE LAW--ITS COMPLETE VINDICATION.\n\nBut it is to the State of Maine, where a prohibitory law has existed for\nover a quarter of a century, and where prohibition has been put to the\nseverest tests, that we must look for the more decisive proofs of\nsuccess or failure.\n\nOn the evidence which Maine furnishes, the advocates of legal\nsuppression are content to rest their case. In order to get a brief, but\nthoroughly accurate and reliable history of the Maine law, we addressed\na letter to Hon. Neal Dow, of Portland, Maine, asking him to furnish us,\nfor this volume, with the facts and evidence by which our readers could\nfor themselves judge whether the law were a dead letter, as some\nasserted, or effective and salutory. In reply, Mr. Dow has kindly\nfurnished us with the following deeply interesting and important\ncommunication:\n\n\nTESTIMONY OF HON. NEAL DOW.\n\nPORTLAND, October 12th, 1877.\n\n     T.S. ARTHUR, ESQ.:\n\n     _Dear Sir_--I will gladly furnish you with a brief history of the\n     Maine Law, and a statement of its operation and effects in Maine,\n     in the hope that the wide circulation of the work you have in\n     preparation may serve to correct the mistaken notion that prevails,\n     to the effect that the law has failed of any useful result, and\n     that the liquor traffic is carried on as extensively in Maine as\n     ever it had been, with all its baleful effects upon the moral and\n     material interests of the State.\n\n     In the old time the people of Maine were as much addicted to the\n     use of strong drinks as those of any other part of the country; and\n     the effects of this shocking habit were seen everywhere in shabby\n     buildings, neglected farms and in wide-spread poverty. There were,\n     in this State, magnificent forests of the best pine timber in the\n     world. The manufacture of this timber into \"lumber\" of various\n     descriptions, and the sale of it, were the leading industries of\n     Maine. The products of our vast forests were sent chiefly to the\n     West India Islands, and the returns were mostly in rum and in\n     molasses, to be converted into rum by our own distilleries, of\n     which there were many among us, in various parts of the\n     State--seven of them in this city, running night and day. This rum,\n     almost the whole of it, whether imported or home-made, was consumed\n     among our own people. It was sent in the way of trade and in\n     exchange for \"lumber\" into every part of our territory; not a town\n     or village, or rural district escaped, however remote or thinly\n     populated it might be.\n\n     The result of this was, that almost the entire value of all this\n     vast industry went down the throats of our people in the shape of\n     rum, either imported or home-made. I have heard men say who had\n     been extensively engaged in this lumber trade, that Maine is not a\n     dollar the richer, and never was, on account of this immense\n     business; but that the people were poorer in consequence of it, and\n     more miserable than they would have been if the pine forests had\n     been swept away by a great conflagration.\n\n     The effects of this course of trade were seen everywhere throughout\n     the State. In scarcely any part of it was there any evidence of\n     business prosperity or thrift, but, generally, there was abundant\n     evidence of poverty, untidiness and decay. In the lumbering towns\n     and villages, where the innumerable saw-mills were, the greatest\n     bustle and activity prevailed. The air resounded with the loud\n     noises coming from these mills. Night and day they were \"run,\"\n     never ceasing until the \"logs\" were \"worked up.\" Relays of hands\n     were employed at all these lumbering centres, so that the saw-mills\n     never stopped even for an hour during \"the season,\" except for some\n     occasional repairs. All these men drank rum; a quart a day per man\n     was a moderate quantity; but a great many of them required two\n     quarts a day. The result of this was, that the entire wages of the\n     men were consumed in drink, except a meagre share that went to the\n     miserable wives and children at home.\n\n     Everywhere throughout the State the results of this way of life was\n     to be seen--in the general poverty of the people, and in the\n     shabbiness of all their surroundings. But some persons conceived\n     the idea that all this evil was not necessary and inevitable; that\n     it came from the liquor traffic, which might be prohibited and\n     suppressed, as lottery-tickets, gambling-houses and impure books\n     and pictures had already been. And they devoted themselves\n     constantly and industriously to the work of correcting the public\n     opinion of the people as to the liquor traffic by demonstrating to\n     them that this trade was in deadly hostility to every interest of\n     the State, while no good came from it, nor could come from it, to\n     State or people.\n\n     This educational work was carried on persistently for years;\n     meetings were held by these persons in every little country-church\n     and town-house, and in every little wayside school-house, where the\n     farmers and their wives and children assembled at the call of these\n     missionaries, to listen to their burning denunciation of the liquor\n     traffic, which lived only by spreading poverty, pauperism,\n     suffering, insanity, crime and premature death broadcast over the\n     State. The result of this teaching was, that the public opinion of\n     the State became thoroughly changed as to the character of the\n     liquor traffic and its relation to the public prosperity and\n     welfare.\n\n     When we thought the time had come for it, we demanded of the\n     Legislature that the law of \"license,\" then upon the statute books,\n     which represented the public opinion of the old time, should be\n     changed for a law of prohibition, representing the improved public\n     opinion of the present time; and, after two unsuccessful attempts\n     to procure such a law, we obtained what we desired, an act of\n     absolute prohibition to the manufacture and sale of strong drink--a\n     measure for which we had labored long and industriously for many\n     years.\n\n     At the time of the enactment of this statute, now known as the\n     MAINE LAW the world over, the liquor traffic was carried on\n     extensively in the State, wholesale and retail, precisely as it is\n     now in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and in every other State\n     where that trade is licensed and protected by the law. The Maine\n     Law went into operation immediately upon its approval by the\n     Governor, and by its provisions, liquors kept for sale everywhere,\n     all over the State, were liable to be seized, forfeited and\n     destroyed, and the owners to be punished by fine and imprisonment.\n     The municipal authorities of the cities and towns allowed the\n     dealers a reasonable time to send away their stocks of liquors to\n     other States and countries, where their sale was permitted by the\n     law.\n\n     The liquor-traders availed themselves of this forbearance of the\n     authorities, and did generally send their stock of liquors out of\n     the State. The open sale of liquors came instantly to an end\n     throughout all our territory, and where it continued, it was done\n     secretly, as other things are done in violation of law. The\n     manufacture of intoxicating liquors was entirely stopped, so that\n     in all the State there was absolutely none produced, except cider,\n     which might be made and used for vinegar.\n\n     The effect of this policy of prohibition to the liquor traffic was\n     speedily visible in our work-houses, jails and houses of\n     corrections. The jail of Cumberland County, the most populous of\n     the State, had been badly over-crowded, but within four months of\n     the enactment of the law there were but five prisoners in it, three\n     of whom were liquor-sellers, put in for violation of the law. The\n     jails of Penobscot; Kennebec, Franklin, Oxford and York were\n     absolutely empty. The inmates of the work-houses were greatly\n     reduced in number, and in some of the smaller towns pauperism\n     ceased entirely.\n\n     But, during all this time, in every part of the country, reports\n     were industriously circulated that the law was inoperative for\n     good, and that liquors were sold in Maine as freely and in as large\n     quantities as before the law. These false statements were\n     industriously and persistently made everywhere by those interested\n     in the liquor trade, and by those impelled by appetite or passion.\n     It is sufficient for me to say here that the Maine Law, from the\n     first, has been as faithfully executed as our other criminal laws\n     have been, though there has been, at certain times, and in certain\n     localities, considerable complicity with the violators of it, on\n     the part of many officers of the law, so that the Legislature has\n     at last provided heavy penalties for the punishment of prosecuting\n     officers, justices of the peace and judges of municipal and police\n     courts, in case of failure in their duty. I am glad to be able to\n     say that the judges of our higher courts have, from the first, been\n     true to their duty in the administration of this law, as of all\n     others.\n\n     In much the larger part of Maine, in all the rural districts, in\n     the villages and smaller towns, the liquor traffic is absolutely\n     unknown; no such thing as a liquor-shop exists there, either open\n     or secret. The traffic lingers secretly only in the larger towns\n     and cities, where it leads a precarious and troubled life--only\n     among the lowest and vilest part of our foreign population. Nowhere\n     in the State is there any visible sign of this horrible trade. The\n     penalties of the law, as they now stand, are sufficient to\n     extinguish the traffic in all the small towns, and to drive it into\n     dens and dark corners in the larger towns. The people of Maine now\n     regard this trade as living, where it exists at all, only on the\n     misery and wretchedness of the community. They speak of it\n     everywhere, in the press, on the platform, and in legislative\n     halls, as the gigantic crime of crimes, and we mean to treat it as\n     such by the law.\n\n     For some years after the enactment of the law, it entered largely\n     into the politics of the State. Candidates were nominated by one\n     party or the other with reference to their proclivities for rum or\n     their hostility to it, and the people were determined in their\n     votes, one way or the other, by this consideration.\n\n     Now, the policy of prohibition, with penalties stringent enough to\n     be effective, has become as firmly settled in this State as that of\n     universal education or the vote by ballot. The Republican party, in\n     its annual conventions, during all these years, has affirmed,\n     unanimously, its \"adhesion to prohibition and the vigorous\n     enforcement of laws to that end;\" and the Democratic party, in its\n     annual convention of this year, rejected, by an immense majority,\n     and with enthusiastic cheers, a resolution, proposed from the\n     floor, in favor of \"license.\"\n\n     The original Maine Law was enacted by a vote in the House of\n     eighty-six to forty, and in the Senate by eighteen to ten. There\n     have been several subsequent liquor laws, all in the direction of\n     greater stringency; and the Legislature of this year enacted an\n     additional law, with penalties much more stringent than any which\n     had preceded it, without a dissenting vote. No one can mistake the\n     significance of this fact; it was an unanimous affirmation of\n     adhesion to the policy of prohibition, after a steady trial of it\n     and experience of its results for more than a quarter of a century.\n     And, since that time, the people have passed upon it at the late\n     annual election by an approval of the policy and of the men who\n     favor it--by an immense majority. If it be conceded that the people\n     of Maine possess an ordinary share of intelligence and common\n     sense, this result would be impossible, unless the effect of\n     prohibition had been beneficial to the State and to them.\n\n     While we were earnestly at work in bringing up the public opinion\n     of the State to the point of demanding the prohibition of the\n     liquor traffic, as a more important political and social question\n     than any other or all others, I was startled at hearing a gentleman\n     of the town of Raymond declare that in his town the people\n     consumed in strong drink its entire valuation in every period of\n     eighteen years eight months and twenty-five days! \"Here are the\n     figures,\" he said; \"I know the quantity of liquor brought into the\n     town annually. I am so situated that I am able to state this\n     accurately, beyond all possibility of doubt, except that liquors\n     may be brought here by other than the ordinary mode of\n     transportation without my knowledge; but the quantities stated in\n     this paper (which he held in his hand), and their cost are within\n     my knowledge.\" This was part of a speech to his fellow-townsmen,\n     and his statement was admitted to be true. Now there is not a drop\n     of liquor sold in that town, and there has not been any sold there\n     for many years. This statement may strike us at first blush to be\n     tremendously exaggerated, that the people of any locality should\n     consume in strong drink the entire value of its real estate and\n     personal property in every period of less than twenty years. But\n     let us examine it.\n\n     We learn from the Bureau of Statistics that the annual liquor bill\n     of the United States is seven hundred millions of dollars. This\n     does not include the enormous quantity of \"crooked whisky\" which\n     has been put upon the market with or without the knowledge,\n     consent, assent or complicity of our public officers, from the\n     highest to the lowest. The drink bill of the United Kingdom, with a\n     population smaller than ours, is more than this by many millions.\n     This valuation--seven hundred millions of dollars--is the price, by\n     the quantity, taken from the figures as they come into the public\n     office, while the cost to the consumers is vastly greater. Now,\n     this sum with annual compound interest for ten years, amounts to\n     the enormous figure of eight billions nine hundred and forty-four\n     millions one hundred and forty-one thousands of dollars--almost\n     nine thousand millions of dollars! For twenty years the amount is\n     twenty-five billions two hundred and forty-five millions six\n     hundred and eighty-one thousands of dollars. Twenty-five thousand\n     two hundred and forty-five millions of dollars and more; actually\n     as much, within a fraction, as the entire value of the personal and\n     landed property of the United States! My friend of Raymond may\n     well be credited in the statement made to his fellow-townsmen.\n\n     Now, as the result of the Maine Law, in Maine, the wealth and\n     prosperity of the people have greatly increased. This can be seen\n     in every part of the State, and is obvious to the most casual\n     observer who knew what Maine was before the law of prohibition and\n     knows what it has been since and down to the present time.\n     Evidences of industry, enterprise and thrift everywhere, instead of\n     the general poverty, unthrift and shabbiness of the old rum-time.\n\n     The share of Maine of the National drink-bill would be about\n     thirteen millions of dollars, and but for the Maine Law, we should\n     be consuming our full proportion; but now I feel myself fully\n     warranted in saying that we do not expend in that way one-tenth of\n     that sum. A mayor of the city of Portland, in a message to the City\n     Council, said: \"The quantity of liquor now sold is not one-fiftieth\n     part as much as it was before the enactment of the law.\" The\n     difference, whatever it may be, between the sum we should waste in\n     strong drink, but for the law, and that which we actually squander\n     in that way, we have in our pockets, in our savings banks and in\n     our business, so that Maine has suffered far less, financially,\n     during this crisis than any other part of the country.\n\n     I have said the drink-bill of Maine, but for prohibition, would be\n     about thirteen millions of dollars annually, in proportion to that\n     of the whole country. Now, this sum, with annual compound interest\n     at six per cent., in ten years will amount to one hundred and\n     seventy millions three hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred\n     and twenty-eight dollars, and in twenty years to four hundred and\n     sixty-three millions eight hundred and fifty-four thousand four\n     hundred and twenty dollars--more than twice the entire valuation of\n     the State by the estimate made in 1870, which was two hundred and\n     twenty-four millions eight hundred and twenty-two thousand nine\n     hundred and thirteen dollars. There was a reason then for the\n     fact, that in the old rum-time the people of Maine were poor and\n     unthrifty in every way--and for that other fact, that now they are\n     prosperous and flourishing, with a better business than that of any\n     other State, proportionately.\n\n     Notwithstanding the fact that in Portland a great conflagration\n     destroyed ten millions of dollars in 1866, burned down half the\n     town, and turned ten thousand people out of doors, the prosperity\n     of the city has been steadily on the increase. Its valuation, in\n     1860, was twenty-one millions eight hundred and sixty-six thousand\n     dollars, and in 1870, twenty-nine millions four hundred and\n     thirty-nine thousand two hundred and fifty-seven dollars. In the\n     last year the increase in valuation, in spite of the hard times,\n     was four hundred and eighty thousand dollars, while Boston, with\n     free rum, has lost more than eight millions, and New York and\n     Brooklyn has experienced an immense depreciation.\n\n     I think I have said enough to satisfy every intelligent,\n     unprejudiced man that the absolute prohibition and suppression of\n     the liquor traffic has been in the highest interest of our State\n     and people.\n\n     I am very truly, yours,\n\n     NEAL DOW.\n\nAnd here we close our discussion of the most important of all the social\nquestions that are to-day before the people; and, in doing so, declare\nit as our solemn conviction, that until the liquor traffic is abolished,\nand the evils with which it curses the people removed, all efforts at\nmoral reforms must languish, and the Church find impediments in her way\nwhich cannot be removed. The CURSE is upon us, and there is but one\nCURE: _Total Abstinence_, by the help of God, for the individual, and\n_Prohibition_ for the State.","title":"Grappling with the Monster; Or, the Curse and the Cure of Strong Drink","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":69623}