It is evident that alcohol does a great deal of harm to 

 certain individuals and a certain amount of harm to all who 

 use it habitually. No man who wants to do anything diffi- 

 cult, and to do it well, uses alcohol beforehand. No sur- 

 geon about to perform a difficult operation would dream of 

 taking a drink. No athlete would think of drinking before 

 running a race. When a person wants to be at his best, to 

 have his nerves and muscles and his whole body working 

 most smoothly and effectively, he does not use a drug. 



So it is with nations. The evil effects of alcoholic drinks 

 upon national efficiency, and the wastefulness involved, were 

 strikingly recognized in the European War. The Russian 

 government stopped the sale of vodka (the Russian strong 

 drink), and the governments of France and England passed 

 laws to restrict drinking. As soon as the European nations 

 wanted to be at their best, to meet a great crisis, they laid 

 aside the burden of alcohol. 



Now that the United States has entered the world con- 

 flict the policy of "down glasses till the war is over," 

 should be the slogan of every man determined to give his 

 country his best service in an hour of crisis. 



It is important to remember that both alcohol and many 



„,, ^ . other harmful and often habit-forming 



The Patent , .. , , , . , . 



■** j- • t- -i drugs are often taken unknowingly in van- 

 Medicme Evil & , . , . j- • a * 



ous kinds of patent medicines, borne 01 



the commonest and most widely advertised "tonics" and 

 "spring medicines" owe any effect they have to the fact 

 that they are composed largely of whiskey. Remedies sup- 

 posed to cure catarrh, tuberculosis, and other diseases often 

 contain opiates that may lead to a drug habit. Medicines 

 advertised to soothe babies usually contain morphine or 

 opium, and headache cures frequently contain deadly 

 poisons, such as acetanilid. The use of such preparations, 

 except on the order of a physician, is most unwise. Patent 

 medicines and their misleading advertisements do immeasur- 

 able harm by arousing a false sense of confidence and de- 



26 



