STRAIGHT TALK ON ALCOHOL
Great Majority of Men Must Learn
Gradually to Like It, Because
They See Others Drink.
Why do we drink? Because our
bodies are walking aquariums, and we
bare to keep the protoplasm of our
cells swimming iu water, or it won't
live. So long as we drink only water
there is little danger of our taking too
much*- except by drowning ourselves;
but when we begin to mix things with
it trouble begins. Certainly on gen
eral principles it would appear that
the simplest, cheapest, and most ra
tkmal thing would be to take our
necessarily daily three pints of wa
ter "straight," without mixture of any
sort—clear, fresh, and sparkling from
the spring; but for some strange rea
eon, man lias never been satisfied to
do this, but must add something to
the water before he will call it a
drink, writes Woods Hutchinson,
A. M., M. 11., in Sunday School Trtb
une. Aud he doesn't appear to have
been particularly lucky in Ills nddi
tions.
The first and commonest addition
which he has made to his drinking
water has been an unintentional one,
sewage, which, though it may give the
special flavor that we so much ad
mire to the water of our own partic
ular well, is neither appetizing nor
wholesome, especially when It con
tains typhoid bacilli. Up to 50 years
ago, !>0 per cent, of civilized humanity
drank, more or less diluted, sewage,
and it was only recently that we ills
covered the damage that tills inno
cent-looking mixture dot's, and began
breaking ourselves of the habit.
Mun's earliest and commdbest Inten
tlonal addition to the water he drinks
was also the product of a germ—the
toxin of the yeast bacterium, alcohol.
He could Jiardly be considered ideally
fortunate in this addition either; for,
although it gave him a good deal more
exhilaration and enjoyment, It was
always at a price, both before and
after taking. Just how heavy a price,
and by how many paid, we are only
beginning to discover and suspect.
Sewage probably kills many more
than alcohol, but there are other and
crueler penalties than death.
A large part of our drinking water
has always been taken In ilio form of
mixtures with some other substances.
These beverages are always much
more expensive than the plain water,
often quite troublesome to secure and
prepare, have little or no food value,
are of doubtful effect in moderation,
and usually injurious in excess. Why
they should ever have come into such
universal use, in ull races and in all
ages of the world, is one of the stand
ing puzzles of human nature.
There Is, moreover, one most stri
king and, from a biological point of
view, most significant fact, that eager
ly as these beverages have been con
sumed, and constantly as they have
been In use by the race for from 10
to 20 centuries, we have never de
veloped an Instinct or natural appe
tite for them. No child ever yet was
born with an appetite or instinctive
liking for beer or whisky; and very
•few with u real liking for the (uste of
tea or coffee, although they soon
learn to drink them for the sake of
the Btigar and cream In them. Thus
nature has clearly marked them off
from all the real foods on our tables,
showing unmistakably that they are
not essential either to life or health;
and, what Is even more important
from our potut of view, that they are
absolutely unnecessary and probably
positively harmful, In childhood, and
during the period of growth.
It Is much to be doubted whether
an appetite for alcohol would even de
velop naturnlly later In life, if we
were left entirely to our own devices
Certain It Is that the great majority
of men have to learn gradually if not
positively to teach themselves, to like
It, because they see everybody else
taking it. and think it would be child
ish or unmanly not to be nble to
Bwallow', and at least pretend to enjoy
It themselves If no child ever drank
alcohol until he really craved it, as
he instinctively craves milk, sugar,
meat, and bread and butter, there
would be extraordinarily few drunk
ards in the world. Our other food In
stincts have shown themselves worthy
to be trusted—why not trust this one.
and let alcohol absolutely alone, at
least until you have reached full tna
turlty of mind and body, and acquired
the precious privilege of making a
fool of yourself if you wish?
Judge on the Curse of Drink.
Lord Coleridge, addressing the
grand Jury at the opening of the
Clamorgati assizes the other day, said:
"I have kept during the 12 months
preceding January 1 this year a care
ful record of all the criminal cases
brought before me, and 1 can tell you
as a matter of fact that 44 out of
every 100 of these crimes would never
have been committed except for drink.
I need hardly point out what happi
ness, what increased happiness, to the
community, what lessening of expend
iture in gaols and in asylums, what
moral improvement would result from
any improvement in the habits of the
persons who come before me charged
with crime."
i ■ :
What a need there is for effort and
energy in the cause of God; for real
’religion and common sense.
POTATO WORSE THAN OPIUM
Habit of Smoking Dried Stems of Or
dinary Field Tuber One of Most
Vicious Practises.
"Even worse than opium smoking is
tile smoking of the dried stems of the
ordinary Held potato,” writes an emi
nent physician In an exchange. "The
potato vine is a poisonous growth
The apple or reed, which grows on
the potato and looks like a small, un
dergrown green tomato, which U is
in fact, for the potato and tomato are
blood cousins. Is especially potent In
its baleful effects if one smokes it.
"t'sually the vice starts in boyhood
days on the farm, when the youngster
of the family steals his father’s pipe
and hides with it and some matehe*
down behind the garden fence or be
hind the barn next to the field of
potatoes. He doesn't dare to take up
the straight tobacco, but he tries out
some dried potato stern in the pipe,
"The smoke «>>(« the experimenter
into a delicious dreamy state at first,
but the heart action accelerates in a
minute or two in an effort to throw
off the poison through the lungs and
skin. The dreamy state quickly dis
appears, the face gets flushed and the
heart action rapidly increases to se
vere palpitation.
If the dose has been large the vic
tim feels a wild, Here® elation Hint
Impels him to action of any kind. In
this state he may do anythnig, but the
stage Is reached much more quickly
than with alcoholic liquors.
"The eyes become blind and cloud
ed. The pupil dilates as though bel
ladonna had been applied. The motor
centers are affected and there is par
alysis of the lower limbs, and the
smoker's face gits pale, while drops
of sweat stand out.
“At this stage the heart action
weakens and there is either stupor or
syncope, iti which the victim of the
potato poison lies practically para
lyzed and unable to move, while his
brain is In an Insane whirl. This rep
resents the height of the intoxication
and it Is followed by acute depression
and melancholia and a slow return of
the physical powers.
"The potato stem smoke speedily
draws a victim down. He grows pale,
Is gaunt and emaciated, ends up with
violent acute mania, usually with
homicidal tendencies.
"I only hud one case of the kind.
A boy of Ifi (flight the habit trying to
tlnd a substitute for tobacco. He only
lasted three years. There wasn't any
thing that could be done for him.
"Tills young chap couldn't be re
strained by any of the usual drugs.
He was kept in bed, roped down, dur
ing tfio maniacal stage that he went
through. Morphine didn't seem to do
any good. The moment he was freed,
after recovering somewhat, he would
make a rush for the nearest potato
vines, trying to get and smoke the
stems, which lie secreted In many
plnces cunningly hidden.”
JUDGED BY COMPANY WE KEEP
Professional Burglars Induce Drunken
Man to Assist In Attempt to
Rob New York Store.
A man under the influence of
liquor was passing along an uptown
street In New York one night lately
when he saw two men, one of whom
apparently wanted to open a store,
hut was experiencing some difficulty.
Theseml-intoxicated man kindly vol
unteered to help him, and while he
was doing so a policeman came along
and arrested all three. In court it
came out that two of the men were
professional burglars, and the third—
the drunken man—was merely a cas
ual observer, whose brain was so mud
dled with liquor that he did not know
what he was doing. The criminals
pleaded guilty to attempted burglary,
and the honest drunkard was warned
by the Judge, who suspended sen
tence, that tf he ever got Into trou
ble again within the next 25 years,
he could be brought back to court
and tried over as an accomplice, lie
left the court a different man, vow
ing to stay sober for the next quarter
of a century.
Drugging Children.
■f the charges are made good
against the druggists who were arrest
ed the other day for selling cocaine
to children the utmost penalty permit
ted by the law should be instantly
imposed upon—if convicted — men
guilty of an unspeakably atrocious
crime. The doctor who makes an In
valid and suffering woman familiar
with morphine, cocaine or any seduc
tive opiate runs a very great risk, lie
has himself, In his student days, wit
nessed the ravages of chloral or mor
phine in the student body, and, if a
worthy practitioner, Is 'ware of the
habit. The alleviation of pain be
comes with certain suppliant tempera
ments an excuse for dissipation of
time and dolce far niente. The pallid
faces, the drooping eyelids of number
less tuen and women to be seen on the
streets tell a ghastly story. Those
who are responsible for the illegal
sale of the cause of this should be
made to suffer, says Philadelphia
Press. Put, above all, the man who
aids and abets the drugging of a
child is a scoundrel for whom no pun
ishment known to the law can be too
, severe.
PRIVILEGES Cr FRIENDSHIP.
To be told when to go home.
To be told when to stay home.
To be Joked atx t his personal ap
pearance.
To hear both sides of the family
quarrel separately
To agree with bo'h sides of the fam
ily quarrel when In ai d separately.
To hear the comp.’etion of the fam
ily quarrel that he wishes his arrival
had interrupte 1.
To stay at lion e and take care of
the children while the other guests
are taken driving.
To make himself at home In the II
brary without having been given the
key to the book shelves.
To he reminded oi his youthful flir
tatious in tin* presence of new and en
tertaining young women.
To walk from (lie station in rainy
weather because It is so bad for Uu»
family horses 10 be out In the rain.
To be given a small room in the
attic so that the spare chamber may
be ready for possible but unexpected
company.
CONVERSATION.
Conversation is one of the blights
of civilization.
The art, of conversation is a lost
one and the art of keeping still de
mands cultivation.
As a consequence the \»omen talk
about cooks and clot lies, and the men
about weather and women.
Conversation may be divided into
chats, arguments, piffle and palaver,
with gossip and quarrels as side is
sues.
The trouble is that were we to try
to develop the art of keeping still we
should immediately begin to talk
about it.
People spend thousands of dollars
in education, in books, in travel, iu
theater tickets and all that in order
to be able to carry on a conversation.
Conversations are fortunately for
gotten as soon as they are over, other
wise people would lie so mortified
over their inane remarks that they
would seek new friends every dny
The idea that when people meet it is
necessary for them to talk inis grown
out of helpless self-distrust. Not over
five out of a million people say any
thing when they converse.—Life.
POLAR PROVERBS.
All's not a pole that glitters.
He poles best who poles last.
Too many Cooks spoil the pole.
There’s no pole like a north pole.
Where there's a pole, there's a way.
Uneasy lies the man who finds the
pole.
It’s an 111 wind that blows nobody
north.
Polar communications corrupt good
manners.
A friend at the pole Is worth two In
the bush.
A discoverer Is known by the com
pany he keeps.
One dash for the pole makes the
whole world kin.
A good claim Is rather to be chosen
than great riches.
Don't count your records before they
are watched.—Carolyn Wells In Judge.
SOME SUPERSTITIONS.
Pass me salt, pass me sorrow.
To find a horseshoe lu the road Is a
sign of good luck.
_
If you dream of snakes It Is a sign
you have an enemy.
It Is a sign you are going to be rich
"if you tumble upstairs.
Six weeks after you hear the first
katydid look for the frost.
The bones of rheumatic persons
ache when a storm is brewing.
Karly to bed and early to rise makes
a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
Learn to rise early.
Learn to eat slowly.
_ 1
Learn to retire early.
Learn to love the open air.
Learn to rest at odd moments.
Learn to eat one hearty meal a day.
Learn to look at things from an
[ other's point of view.
UNTIL JANUARY 1st
SIX MONTHS
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Grand Opening
The New Zimmerman Music
House has thrown its doors
wide open, and in the fullest
sense are now ready to serve
p the public in their line.
/ A full line of all kinds of
Musical Instruments will be
l carried, together with exten=
sive assortment of Sheet Mu=
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TWO CARL0AD5 High Grade Pianos just re=
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Zimmerman house
FALLS CITY, NEBRASKA