ALCOHOL.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLII, Issue 1765, 17 March 1921, Page 6

ALCOHOL.

ITS BENEFITS AND DANGERS,

(By Telegraph—" Times” Special.) WELLINGTON, Last Night.

As a result of the decision of the Minister of Education that tempera.nco teaching should have a well-es-tablished place in the syllabus of the public schools, the Department of Education has published, for the guidance of teachers, a pamphlet which deals, from the scientific point of view, with alcohol in relation to the human mind and body. The controversial aspects with which New Zealanders are so familiar arc ignored, though the advocate of temperance will, of course, find much to satisfy him in this presentation of a resume of modern scientific knowledge concerning the effects of alcoholic beverages on the human system. "Is alcohol a food?” is one of the questions asked and answered by the pamphlet. The evidence presented goes to show that its food value is trivial and unimportant, though scientific opinion concedes something to popular belief when its recognises a food value in beer and stout, "which is dub rather to the sugar they contain ■ that the alcohol.” Possibly the pamphlet, if it gets into the hands of controversialists, will fan afresh the flame of dispute over the protective value of alcohol in cases of exposure to* infection. The evidence says this authority points rather to its depressing the vitality and interfering Avith the protective mechanism of the body. A good deal of space is gi\ r en to the summary of medical opinion on alcohol as a cause of insanity and other diseases, its effect the mind, and the capacity for Avork and thought, its relation to crime, infant mortality, and the physique of the race, Avhile the economic aspect is not forgotten. Some consolation is provided for the believer in alcohol by an admission that there are instances Avhcre the immediate effect of a dose of alcohol appears to be a,dA r antagcous. The yalue Avidcly attributed to the rum ration in the Army under conditions of acute discomfort, cold, and nervous strain inseparable fro nr trench Avarfare, says the pamphlet, may- he so explained. Finally the compilers are careful to explain that the facts they present are no warrant for am inference by any . child against the intelligence or good faith of a parent who uses alcoholic drinks "for,” it proceeds, "such parent may be acting in accordance with public sentiment as to Avhat Avas right and helpful in. his locality at the. time his Jnabits Avere, formed. But from generation to generation, Ave make improvements in our manner of liA’ing as AA'ell as in methods of transportation and business.”

> Though care seems to have been taken to avoid touching on the thorny subject of Noav Zealand’s licensing laAvs and the triennial polls, it can Avell be imagined that this production of the Department of Education, despite its well-defined official circulation. Avill be one of the widely quoted publications Avhen the. next licensing campaign begins.