ALCOHOL IN RELATION TO BIOLOGY 521 



" Resolved, that the American Medical Association opposes the 

 use of alcohol as a beverage; and be it further 



" Resolved, that the use of alcohol as a therapeutic agent be 

 discouraged." 



The United States Pharmacopoeia, the accepted guide book 

 of medical preparations, was revised in 1917, and " whiskey " 

 and " brandy " were struck out from its lists, which are supposed 

 to contain all the useful drugs; "port wine" and "sherry" 

 were left out several years ago. Dr. Harvey Wiley, perhaps the 

 most celebrated food and drug chemist in this country, was chair- 

 man of the committee which made these changes. The present 

 opinion of the best physicians is well voiced by Dr. J. N. Hurty, 

 Secretary of the Indiana State Board of Health. He says, " Al- 

 cohol is opposed to the public health, for it hurts any animal 

 organism into which it is taken. It is not a food; it does not aid 

 digestion; it does not further the good of the body; on the con- 

 trary, it hurts." 



Alcohol and Efficiency. Apart from its disastrous effect of health, 

 the results of the use of liquor on actual ability to do work must be 

 considered. The loss of labor due to alcohol -caused disease equaled 

 the work of 150,000 men per year in the United States alone under 

 unrestricted traffic. Sobriety will increase our total efficiency as a 

 Nation, from ten to twenty per cent, adding to the country's 

 wealth over two billion dollars besides what would have been 

 spent for the liquor itself. To balance this enormous total, the 

 revenue from liquor comes to less than half a billion. 



Waste of Resources. Furthermore there is great waste of food 

 stuffs in the manufacture of liquor. The enormous amounts of 

 corn, barley, rye, and fruits can ill be spared when the cost of 

 living is so high. Coal and transportation facilities are also used 

 by the liquor business to a very great extent. Every pint of 

 beer wastes a pound of coal to make it, and other beverages in 

 similar proportions, to say nothing of the rolling stock required to 

 transport the raw materials and finished product. The time and 

 skill of thousands of workmen are engaged in the manufacture 

 and sale of liquors, which in the present shortage of labor in es- 

 sential industries might be much better employed. 



