THE RELATION OF ALCOHOL TO HEREDITY 217 



Alcohol weakens efficiency and moral courage, and thus leads 

 to begging, pauperism, petty stealing or worse, and ultimately to 

 life in some public institution. In Massachusetts, of 3230 inmates 

 of such institutions, 66 per cent were alcoholics. 



The Relation of Alcohol to Heredity. — Perhaps the gravest 

 side of the alcohol question is in its relation to heredity. If each 

 one of us had only himself to think of, the question of alcohol might 

 not be so serious. But drinkers may hand down to their unfortu- 

 nate children tendencies toward drink, as well as nervous diseases 

 of various sorts ; an alcoholic parent may beget children who are 

 epileptic, neurotic, or even insane. 



In the state of New York there were in 1925 about 45,000 insane 

 persons in public and private hospitals. It is believed that about 

 one fifth of them, or more than 0000 patients, owed their insanity 

 to alcohol used either by themselves or by their parents. In the 

 asylums of the United States there were then nearly 240,000 insane 

 people. Taking the same proportion as before, there were 48,000 

 persons in this country whom alcohol had made or had helped to 

 make insane. 



Summary. — In this chapter we learn that instincts, which are 

 acts performed without any previous learning, may be modified 

 through training. Such are habits, which make us slaves or free, 

 depending on the kind of, habits that rule our daily lives. We 

 have found that most of our daily routine is habit and that 

 habits may be learned most easily when we are young. We have 

 learned, too, that habits may be formed quickly if one acts on 

 every opportunity, makes a strong start, and keeps at it. We 

 find that bad habits may be replaced by good ones, and we 

 should make every effort of will to make this substitution in our 

 daily life. 



The hygiene necessary to keep the nervous system in good 

 condition consists of fresh air, good food, elimination of poisons, 

 rest, recreation, and sleep. The sense organs must be kept from 

 overstimulation and the eyes in particular must be watched for 

 defects. 



The latter part of the chapter sums up the reasons why alcohol 

 is a dangerous narcotic habit former, and from the viewpoint of 

 human efficiency, why it is dangerous. 



