THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 117 



Self-indulgence, be it in gratification of such a simple desire as 

 that for candy or the more harmful indulgence in tohacco or al- 

 coholic beverages is dangerous — not only in its immediate efTects 

 on the tissues and organs, but in its more far-reaching efTects on 

 habit formation. 



The Moral, Social, and Economic Effect of Alcoholic Poisoning.— 

 In the struggle for existence, it is evident that the man whose in- 

 tellect is the quickest and keenest, whose judgment is most sound, 

 is the man who is most likely to succeed. The paralyzing effect 

 of alcohol upon the nerve centers must place the drinker at a dis- 

 advantage. In a hundred ways, the drinker sooner or later feels 

 the handicap that the habit of drink has imposed upon him. 

 Many corporations, notably several of our greatest railroads (the 

 New York Central Railroad among them), refuse to employ any 

 but abstainers in positions of trust. Few persons know the num- 

 ber of railway accidents due to the uncertain eye of some engineer 

 who mistook his signal, or the hazy inactivity of the ])rain of some 

 train dispatcher who, because of drink, forgot to send the tele- 

 gram that was to hold the train from wreck. 



In business and in the professions, the story is the same. The 

 abstainer wins out over the drinking man. 



Not alone in activities of life, hut in the length of life has the ab- 

 stainer the advantage. Figures presented by life insurance com- 

 panies show that the nondrinkers have a considerably greater 

 chance of long life than do drinking men. So decided are these 

 figures that several companies have lower premiums for the non- 

 drinkers than for the drinkers who insure with them. 



" Other Narcotics in Common Use. — Narcotics are very widely 

 used by the human family for the relief which they give from j)ain 

 or fatigue, or for the direct pleasurable sensations which they 

 impart. All are deadly poisons w^hen taken in sufficient quan- 

 tities. Those most common (after alcohol) are tobacco and opium. 



" It has already been shown that tobacco may affect unfavorably 

 many parts of the system, and is especially injurious to the young. 

 It stimulates in small quantities and narcotizes in larger ones, 

 working its efTects directly upon the nervous system. Nicotine 

 is a powerful poison found in tobacco. It affects the ner\'e cells, 



hunter's BIOL. — 27 



