352 HOW DOES MAN DETERMINE THE VALUE OF FOOD? 



effect upon the liver and circulation, because it burns too fast 

 and hence throws into the circulation substances which are harmful 

 to health. This indicates that alcohol is a poison. Furthermore, 

 statistics show conclusively that certain diseases, notably cirrhosis 

 of the liver, are greatly increased by the excessive use of alcohol. 



A commonly accepted definition of a poison is : any substance 

 which, when taken into the body, tends to cause the death of the 

 organism or serious detriment to its health. That alcohol may do 

 this is well known by scientists. No one who reads of the increase 

 in the number of deaths from adulterated or " bootleg " liquor can 

 draw any other conclusion than that alcohol is a dangerous sub- 

 stance, especially in the form in which it is illegally sold by 

 " bootleggers." " Home brews " of various kinds often have 



other poisons formed in 

 them, besides alcohol, and 

 thus are doubly dangerous. 



Dangers from alcohol. 

 The annual table of deaths 

 from alcoholism in large 

 American cities, compiled by 

 the Scientific Temperance 

 Federation from data fur- 

 nished by city health offi- 

 cials, continues to show a 

 smaller number of deaths 

 from this cause than in the 

 pre-prohibition period, 

 although there has been an 

 increase since the first prohibition years. The following figures 

 represent the total deaths from alcoholism in nineteen cities of 

 more than 300,000 population. These cities included in 1920 

 about 19,000,000 of the 105,000,000 people in the United States. 



disappearance of 



year- 



% doseuXr 



isor 



7.4-1% 



1913 



647% 



1Q24- 



3.66# 



1929 



2.55% 



1 





In the last 25 years, a marked decrease in the 

 number absent on Monday is noted in the records of 

 a large manufacturer in the state of Delaware. 



Total Deaths from Alcoholism in Nineteen Large Cities 



1916 . . . 



. . . 1954 



1920 . . . 



... 321 



1917 . . . 



. . . 1817 



1921 . . . 



... 503 



1918 . . . 



... 820 



1922 . . . 



... 828 



1919 . . . 



... 558 



1923 . . . 



. . . 1261 



