546 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



" So I am bound to believe, on the evidence, that if you 

 take alcohol habitually in any quantity whatever, it is to 

 some extent a menace to you. I am bound to believe, in 

 the light of what science has revealed : (i) that you are 

 tangibly threatening the physical structures of your stomach, 

 your liver, your kidneys, your heart, your blood-vessels, 

 your nerves, your brain ; (2) that you are unequivocally 

 decreasing your capacity for work in any field, be it physical, 

 intellectual, or artistic; (3) that you are in some measure 

 lowering the grade of your mind, dulling your higher es- 

 thetic sense, and taking the finer edge off your morals; 

 (4) that you are distinctly lessening your chances of main- 

 taining health and attaining longevity ; and (5) that you 

 are entailing upon your descendants yet unborn a bond of 

 incalculable misery. 



" Such, I am bound to believe, is the probable cost of 

 your ' moderate ' indulgence in alcoholic beverages. Part 

 of that cost you must pay in person ; the balance will be the 

 heritage of future generations. As a mere business proposi- 

 tion : Is your glass of beer, your bottle of wine, your high- 

 ball, or your cocktail worth such a price? " 



Effect of alcohol on adolescents. The cases which have 

 been cited show the effect of alcohol on adults. All authori- 

 ties are agreed that the effects are much worse on growing 

 boys and girls in the adolescent stage (from twelve to sixteen 

 years). There are two reasons why alcohol is especially 

 injurious to boys and girls at this stage. One is because 

 the growing body is more susceptible to the injurious effects 

 of the alcohol, and hence more harm is done than to an 

 adult. The second reason is that during this age habits 

 are more easily formed than later in life. A habit once 

 formed at this age is more apt to become fixed, and, on the 

 other hand, the longer a person goes without forming the 

 drink habit, the less chance there is that he will form it in 

 later life. 



