May 9, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



731 



as wine and beer, is a poison in the ordinary- 

 sense of the word. In all that we say on 

 this point we must bear in mind that the 

 intelligent boy knows well, and as a man he 

 will know better, that people have always 

 been accustomed to moderate drinldng, as 

 it is commonly called, and yet live in ex- 

 cellent health to good old age. If we tell 

 him that alcohol in small quantities is 

 poisonous in the sense in which he under- 

 stands the woi'd, he will see that we are 

 exaggerating, that we are teaching for ef- 

 fect, and he will instinctively rebel against 

 the teaching. We may say, and say truth- 

 fully, that the moderate use of alcohol is 

 fraught with danger. But the cases where 

 the occasional glass leads to excess are the 

 exceptions. If we present them to the 

 thoughtful boy as the rule or the common 

 result, he will detect the fallacy and dis- 

 trust the whole doctrine. We may be 

 right in saying that alcohol often does harm 

 to health when people do not realize it, that 

 it prepares the system for inroads of dis- 

 ease, that there is a graduation of injury 

 from forms scarcely perceptible to the ut- 

 ter ruin of body and soul. But to present 

 the 'horrible examples' as a common result 

 of drinking is illogical in itself, contrary 

 to right temperance doctrines, and hence 

 injurious to the children we teach. For 

 that matter I believe the picturing of the 

 frightful results of vice to young and in- 

 nocent children is more harmful than use- 

 ful. We ought not to teach that alcohol 

 in small quantities is harmful. Still more 

 should we avoid sajdng that it is commonly 

 beneficial. Some of us as individuals may 

 believe that its use in small quantities is 

 generally desirable, but there is nothing 

 in either the facts of common experience 

 or in the results of scientific inquiry to 

 justify the inference as a general principle. 

 It is under some circumstances a valuable 

 nutriment in the sense that it can yield 

 energy to the body, but not in the sense that 



it can build tissue. It is under other cir- 

 cumstances a poison in the sense that it is 

 injurious to health. When taken in large 

 enough quantities and for long enough time 

 it is destructive to life. It is sometimes 

 very useful and sometimes very harmful, 

 but the harm that comes from drinking, 

 in many communities, vastly exceeds the 

 good. 



While we cannot deny to alcohol a nutri- 

 tive value, that value is very limited. In 

 yielding energy to the body, it resembles 

 sugar, starch and fat, though just how and 

 to what extent it resembles them experi- 

 mental inquiry has not yet told us. It dif- 

 fers from them in that it does not require 

 digestion and is hence believed to be more 

 easily and readily available to the body. 

 It is not stored in the body for future use 

 like the nutrients of ordinary food ma- 

 terials. The quantity that may be advan- 

 tageously used is small. If large amounts 

 are taken, its influence upon the nerves and 

 brain is such as to counteract its nutri- 

 tive effect and it becomes injurious in vari- 

 ous ways. And finally there are many 

 people who begin by moderate use and are 

 led to disastrous excess. Alcohol may be 

 useful to one man and harmful to another. 

 One may take a considerable amount 

 without apparent haxm while another may 

 be injured by very little. One may use it 

 habitually without injury, while another 

 may not. In sickness it may be a priceless 

 boon, but it may likewise be the cause of 

 physical, mental and moral ruin. The boy 

 or the man, as long as he is in good health 

 and does not need alcohol or medicine, is 

 in general better off without it. 



In spealdng of the Connecticut school 

 physiology law, the speaker said, in sub- 

 stance : 



The last Connecticut Legislature re- 

 pealed the former law, which, though less 

 objectionable than those of some other 

 states, including New York, was felt by 



