The Washingtonian, or, Total abstinence advocate. (Augusta, Ga.) 1842-1843, April 01, 1843, Image 1

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TBK WASBXSfQTOmVt VOL. I.] THE WASHINGTON!AX. PUBLISHED BY JAMES McCAFFERTY, TWICE EVERY MONTH. Office on Macintosh street — opposite the Post Office . TERMS. For a single cony, for one year, One Dollar; for six i copies, to one address, Five Hollars ; for ten copies, to one address, Eight Dollars—-and so in proportion. Payment in all cases to he an te in advance. .£/- All mail, must be rose paid, to receive attention. Ricbmoud County Washington Total Ab stinence Society. OFFICERS. Dr. Joseph A. Eve, President. Coi. John Milledgk, d Hawkins Hoff, Dr. F. IVI. Robertson, Vice Presidents. Dr. I. P. Garvin, J. \V. Meredith, I Wm. Haines, Jr. Secretary if Treasurer. MANAGERS. James Harper, Wm. F. Pemberton, John G. Dunlap, Wm. O. Eve, Jesse Walton, A. Phillips, E. E. Scofield, Dr. Benjamin Douglass, j James Godbv, J. L. Mimms. ■■ . ; i PHRENOLOGY Versus INTEMPERANCE. A LECTURE OX TEMPERANCE, Considered Physiologically and Phrenotogically, or the Laws oj L'fe and the principles of the human constitution, as dccclopcil by the sciences of Phrenology and Phy siology, ifc. ifc. BY O. S. FOWLER, A. 8., PRACTICAL PHRENOLOGIST. [Continued.) These drinks sometimes induce a preaching and praying disposition. This never occurs in the earlier stages ofdnnk—never till they have so deadened tile animal organs that large and wore vigorous (because less stimulated,) moral organs may in one case in thousands, take on wore stimulant than the partially deadened pro pensities are able to receive, but such piety, such religion, such, intellect will never either tit a man for Ins duties in this world nor h:sdestinies in the next. I grant that these drinks sometimes stim ulate the brain as a whole, yet this very rare ex ception does not invalidate the general law under consideration, especially since it occurs only where the moral and intellectual organs decided ly predominate. Having shown that alcohol stimulates the mor al and reasoning organs less than it does the ani mal, the inference is plain, that the former, in the confirmed sot, retain their vigor long after the latter have been stupilied; his reasoning organs clearly perceiving the wreck and devastation thus made ot the entire man, whilst his still vigorous moral faculties reproach him for his impiety, his suiciJc, his abuse ol his family, and all his other sins of both omission and commission; thusleav-; ing his mental condition the most miserable and paw tty imaginable. This principle may perhaps be contested. It will be objected that this proposition is toosweep ing. and this inference subject to many and im portant qualifications, growing out of differences in climate, temperament, phrenological dcvelope menis, and a great variety of both counteracting .and concurring causes. It is freely admitted that a oreat number and variety of causes and condi tions combine to modify and qualify every great physiological principle, that in some states ot the nervous system these diinks will produce a far greater effect than in some other states, that tea anil coffee will stimulate some and injure some constitutions more tiian strong drink will others, that these drinks will injure some but benefit oth-1 ers, &c., &c.; but still the point at issue is this, this only —is or is not this proposition a general law of our nature, and are not these exceptions traceable to the action ot other causes instead ot j being nuliifiers of this law 1 Our object should be, not to see who can argue the most plausibly, j or cavil the most ingeniously, but what are the ; facts in the case 1 What is the voice of nature, that we may learn and follow her dictates, and J thus secure our own happiness! It is due to truth that we should here make the following qualification ot this principle, that where the talents are of a high order, and the intellectual faculties have been much exercised, these drinks will often excite these faculties to greatly in creased action, because of their greater suscepti bility to the influence of stimulus. There may: be other exceptions, but our bussiness is to state this general law, not to fortify it against all the quibbles of those wild “love the good creature,” for "there is no reasoning against a man’s appe tite. TOTAL ABSTINENCE ADVOCATE. PROPOSIITON IX —Alcoholic drinks short- ■, en human life. Every action of either brain or 1 j nerve, every exercise of thought, or feeling, or j sensation, every motion of the body, every con- j j traction of every muscle, in short, each and every j j function and exercise of the animal or mental i I economy, cquses a proportionate expenditure of j that animal power, that vital energy, which we l ! showed in Proposition IV. to be manufactured j by the vital temperament, or the internal organs, i In children and youth, this class of organs great i ly predominates, laying in that fountain that rc -1 senior us animal power, or that constitutional vigor on which the brain and muscles can draw, ! in after life. *ft her things being equal, the larger this reservoir, the longer an individual will live; but when this fund of vitality is exhausted, | he must die inevitably. Food and sleep are the i feeders or inlets of this reservoir, whilst every I mental and physical 'effort draws upon it, When-1 ever the expenditure by the latter exceeds the j supply by the former, a draught takes place on the original stock of vitality, that is, on the constitu tion, the inevitable effect of which is to hasten death. Alcoholic drinks therefore shorten human life by destroying that balance of the temperaments which we have already shown to be indispensa j ble to the preservation of life and health. This law of the animal economy might be apt | ly compared to a merchant or business man, who i lias his thousand pounds in bank, reserved to be i used only in case ot necessity. Aside from this, ! he is making his daily deposites and drawing his checks, so as to keep about square with himself. At length his expenditures exceed his receipts, and he is compelled to draw on his thousand | pounds. Instead ofreplacingthe amountdrawn, j he draws again, and again, and again, small ■ draughts, perhaps, but numerous. By thus con stantly reducing and finally exhausting his origi nal fund, he inevitably induces bankrupey. Now the original stock of vital power laid up by Na ture in the child and youth, is to him the thous and in bank; whilst his daily receipts by food and sleep, and his expenditures by labor and mental action, are his checks on bank. These, in the ordinary and healthy action ot the man, will just about keep pace with each other, till old age, drawing by small but certain draughts, finally uses up this fund of life, causing death to coine and close the scene. Thus theorder of our nature is to spin out our days to a good old ago of intelligence and enjoyment; while alcoholic drinks, by powerfully stimulating the brain, nerves and muscles, cause a prodigious exhaus tion of the powers ol life, yet make no deposites and furnish no supplies, because, besides being indigestible, and containing no nutriment, they at first over stimulate the stomach, only to per manently weaken and eventually destroy it; for it is a notorious fact, that hard drinkers cat less than others. Hence, by impairing both appetite and digestion, and that at the very time when the greatest rc-supply of vitality is demanded, every glass of alcoholic drinks proportionately exhausts the reservoir of life, and thereby brings death nearer. This coincides with the fact that the energies of the system, including the health, spirits, &c., sinks as far below zero as ardent spirit raises them above. To take alcoholic stimulants, is to commit suicide in proportion to the amount taken. Let hard drinkers, and also moderate and occasional drinkers, one and all, remember this clear principle of our nature, and drink ac cordingly. Do you wish to shorten your span of life, and hasten your dissolution one knot or ten knots per year, drinks your one glass or your ten glasses per day; and just as surely us there is a God in heaven, just assurely as you are a human being and governed by the invariable laws of life, just so surely will your end be attained; but who ever wishes to prolong his earthly existence, must abjure stimulants, in every form, in every degree. To evade by saying that although they may have this effect upon some they will not upon you, is utter folly. Ifyouarenot a human being, it you are incapable of being stimulated by it, it you can wash your open wounds in it without their smarting, if you have no nerves, no feeling, no brain, no mind; then indeed, but not till then, may you drink to your hearts content, without ! incurring these terrible penalties. But as surely as vou have a nerve in your body, or are capable ; of experiencing the least particle of sensation, as surely as you have as much mind or sensat on as a lizard or a snail, just so surely will alcohol fer ret out and stimulate that mind and that sensa- j Hon; and as surely as it stimulates, just so surely s will it draw proportionally on the powers ot life, j 1 and thereby hasten the period of termination. No more are the motions of earth and sun, or the , descent of bodies to the earth, or the growth and decay of the vegetable kingdom, or the phenome- , na of optics, of mechanics, of chemistry, &c., gov- j erned each by their respective laws, which are all i certain and fixed and uniform, than are you gov-; AUGUSTA, Ga. SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 1843. OR, erned by this invariable law oflife; and hence as'soon, of their own accord, and in opposition to their respective laws, will the stone mount up wards, the water ascend the inclined plain, the sun stand still or move backwards, the seasons fail to return in due order, men sec without eyes, or chemical affinities cease, as you can drink al ' cohol in any form or degree without shortening ! your life, and inflaming your animal, and weak ening your moral nature. You reply, “ But 'facts are stubborn things.’ Messrs. A. B. and C. have drank daily these for ty years, and are alive and active yet.” 1 reply, they will be found to be widc-chested and broad shouldered, indicating so great a predominance of their vital powers over their brains and nerves, i that their small daily potations do not stimulate ; them enough to draw much on the powers oflife. | The lessbiain and mind a man lias, the less in jury will these drinks do him. A round-should | ered, broad-faced, blunt-nosed, lazy, easy, dull, listless, slow, thick-headed, neither-something nor-nothing sort of a nobody, may indeed drink a quart of grog without scarcely walking up his sluggish animalship, (anil so can an old lazy ox,) but in exact proportion to one's power of mind and keenness of feeling, will alcoholic liquors stimulate that mind and those feelings, and thus shorten life, A fact in proof of this position is. that when men of great talents take to drinking, it kills them sooner than it does ordinary men. Hence, since it is the mind, not the coat nor the body, but the mind that makes the man, if these drinks will not hurt you, it is because you have so little to be hurt, so little mind to be affected. A small fly once lighting upon the horn of an ox, said to him, “ I beg your pardon, Mr. Ox, butif I burdenyou I will remove,” “O no, not at all, I did not know you were there,” was the reply. When your mind compared with your body is as significant as this fly was, then, but not till then, may you stimulate without shorten ing life, or rendering yourself an animal; and the more of a man you are, the more of a beast will it render you. These drinks will not stimulate the snail or the toad, the swine or the rhinoceros, in proportion as they do mankind, nor will the w hip, and for the same reason. Your boast there fore becomes your shame. But even if you have but a little mind, is that any reason why you should render it still weaker! Again: the high pressure principle of the pres ent day calls all our mental faculties into power ful action. Men now live quite too fast without being stimulated. Hence alcoholic drinks stimu late and thus injure them double and triple as much as they did forty years ago. They also in-’ jure the inhabitants of our cities and villages more than those of the country, yet neither are safe. Still further: the constitutions of our young men are not to be compared with those of our old men: hence, alcohol will kill them off sooner than it did the A., B. and C. mentioned above, who did not probably contract this habit till they were about forty years old. Alcohol will not injure men in the decline of life as much as it will young and middle aged men, because, first, their bodies are less susceptible of being stimulated by it; and, secondly, at this period, their strength has ascended to the top of their heads, farther from its influence. It might be added here that persons of a highly active mind and lively feelings, besides being the more injured by these drinks, are more in danger of being ruinied, and that soon, for being highly excitable, they love the excitement of drink, es pecially iftheir friendship be strong, and once in the current, they will surely be carried over the falls. With such the work is short but fearful. 2. Having incontcstibly shown that stimulants shorten life by cutting off the other end of exis tence, I add that they also cut off this end of life on which we are living. The one great end of man’s existence is enjoyment, as is evinced by every contrivance of his body, every faculty of his mind. These stimulants abridge his enjoy ment by disturbing the equable, harmonious ex ercise of both his physical and his intellectual powers, and by violating every condition of hap piness—animal,mental and moral. Nay more; it is one of the most prolific sources of positive misery that exist; of misery to drinkers, of mis ery to their families, and to all in any way con nected with them. Thus alcohol lights the taper : oflife AT BOTH ENDS. 3. The principle is universally conceded and enforced in all our medical works, that the vio | lent exercise of the passions is not only a sworn enemy to health and physical and mental enjoy ment, but also shortens the days of the passion ate man. Having incontcstibly shown that in ; toxicating drinks stimulate the animal passions to I an ungovernable extent, and weaken the powers | that control them, the inference is plain and for cible that they thereby consume the life of man. 4. It also consumes it in the middle by worse than wasting the means of sustaining life. A bushel of grain is capable of sustaining a delight* fill exercise of thought and virtuous emotion nearly a month long. By consuming fifty to a hundred bushels of grain per day, the distillery or brewery consumes fifty to one hundred months of thought and study, of friendship and parental love, of intellectual and moral enjoyment. If you reply, that but for the distilleries there would be more grain than mouths, I answer, by reducing your distilleries you augment the num ber of human beings'; first, by prolonging the lives of the drinkers, and thus also increasing their families; and secondly, increasing the means of subsistence would tend to multiply marriages, and render them more fruitful, not only in our own, but especially in other countries, to which our grain would then go. If you again answer, that the slops of distiller ies and breweries are converted into milk, flesh, &c., I answer, that a statement recently signed and published by a large number of the New York and Philadelphia physicians, attributes no small share of the astonishing mortality of the children of our large cities (above one-half of all that are born) to the use of the milk of cows fed on still-slops. Those who have seen and tasted the pork thus fattened, know how unsuitable it is for food, to say nothing of its greater liability to be diseased. Indeed, its price in market is low, and none but the poorest classes will knowingly use it at all. Again: a large proportion, say from half to three-fourth, of the nutrition of the'grain is con sumed by the process of distillation, and nine tenths more by its being fed first to the animal and then to the man; and even then, whilst flesh contains only 55-100 of nutrition, wheat contains 80-100, that is, J more, so that not one onc-hun dreth part of the original nourishment contained in the grain distilled, finally reaches man. But what is still more, the proposition is abundantly susceptible of proof that whilst animal food is heating and stimulating in its nature, and there by excites the animal organs, bread stuffs arc cool ing, and adapted to the exercise of the moral and intellectual organs. Finally as “time is money,” money is time. For example, a capitalist builds and furnishes a house which costs him ten thousand dollars, which at two dollars per day’s work, makes 5,000 days, or some fourteen years of time put into that house. Now the estimated cost of alcoholic drinks is one hundred million dollars annually, which at two dollars per day, amounts to fifty million days, or some four thousand lives of man’s precious time, of his probation, of his earth ly existence, his all, consumed annually in merely paying for this deadly drug, not to men tion the time of the laborers employed in its man ufacture and sale, nor the time expended in drink ing it, nor the 30,000 drunkards killed annually by its use, nor the lives of hundreds of thousands rendered worse than valueless long before they die. Even in this imperfect view of the subject, how vast is the consumption of man’s precious exis tence, by the use of this destroyer of the life of man, this worse than murderer of millions, this foe to morality, intelligence and happiness, this hot-house of animal passion, this enthroner of ail that is vicious and miserable, and dethroner of all that is good and great in our nature. Inference. —Since alcohol shoitens human life, no crime is greater than that of making t rending or drinking it. Man’s existence is his all. Whatever shortens man’s existence, cuts him off from all the blessings and enjoy ments of life. Upon the value oflife I will not here descant. Ask the dying man what he will give for a day or an hour longer. “My all, and a world of thanks besides!’’ W hat punishment is too great for the murderer'! None; not all combined. Yet he only abridges the period of man’s earthly exis tence. Whoever furthers this result, be it by fire or sword, by the knife or the gun, by arsenic or laudanum, or by intoxicating stimulants, is e qually guilty and equally deserving of punish ment, because, mark well the ground of the infer ence, they one and all do precisely the same thing— they shorten human life. Still farther. “ The partaker is as bad as the thief.” All those who aid or abet, directly or in directly, any criminal result, are guilty and pun ishable. If one thief should engage you in con versation and thereby enablo his partner to pick your pocket, would be punishment of the actual thief satisfy you! Should one robber stop the horse of his victim, a second drag him from it, a third hold his hands, a fourth plunge the fatal dagger to his heart, a fifth rob, and a sixth bury him, would the law be satisfied with the condign punishment of the fourth one, or the actual mur derer! Docs not every principle of law, every element of right and justice, every principle of reason, require the punishment of them all? I appeal whether this principle of common law is not also a principle of common sense and of even- [No. 21.