230 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ous questions concerning the drink problem, and tlie remedies 

 offered, many new facts and conclusions will appear. From this 

 point of view, the accumulation of facts and their comparative 

 accuracy is required, with indifference concerning any possible 

 conclusions they may indicate. Wherever personal feelings and 

 self-interest enter into such inquiry, the value and accuracy of 

 the results are impaired. As in a law court, the question is 

 simply one of facts and their meaning. Some of the facts may 

 be grouped and studied ! 



In a general way it may be stated that the physiological ac- 

 tion of alcohol on the body is practically unknown. Theories of 

 its value as a food, as a nutrient, and as a force-producer, and its 

 usefulness as a beverage, when examined, are found to be unveri- 

 fiable or untrue. Evidence of its value in health and in modera- 

 tion rests on theory and superstition, and is not sustained by 

 appeals to facts. 



The question of its value as a medicine is by no means settled. 

 Men eminent in science, and fully competent to decide, express 

 doubt, or deny its value altogether. Leading physicians and 

 teachers of medicine prescribe less and less spirits, and the extent 

 of its use in disease is becoming more limited every year. 



The evidence of its value as a beverage is doubtful, to say the 

 least, while the disastrous effects of alcohol can not be questioned, 

 and the accumulated evidence of years brings this fact into in- 

 creasing prominence. 



A historical retrospect of the legal efforts to control and re- 

 strict the use of spirits suggests an evolution and growth that 

 has not been considered before. Outside of biblical literature, 

 whose teachings and laws are so often quoted, a remarkable chap- 

 ter of legal enactments and restrictions can be traced. Beginning 

 with the fragmentary inscriptions found on Egyptian papyri 

 and monuments, and extending to the codes, philosophies, and 

 enactments of the greatest philosophers, rulers, and judges of 

 Grecian and Roman civilization, there is a continuous record of 

 prohibitory laws and restrictions concerning the use of spirits 

 and drunkenness. The laws of the Spartans were far more abso- 

 lute than any modern enactments, and were also remarkable for 

 the clear comprehension of the nature of spirits and their action 

 on the body. These laws were active for many years, and were 

 highly commended. 



English history contains many records of prohibitory, restrict- 

 ive laws, some of which were very prominent for a time, then 

 fell into disuse. Laws of similar import have followed the path 

 of civilization from the earliest dawn and wherever spirits have 

 been used. They have been urged and defended by the greatest 

 philosophers, teachers, and leaders of civilization. 



