lar muscular
bands of the gut together in their abnormally contracted state! The
presence of feces and gases above the zone of the disease will increase
the irritation and contraction of the affected portion of the
intestine. Consequent upon these changes wrought by inflammation, gases
and excrementitious material are perforce imprisoned in the intestine,
inducing constipation, foul fermentation, flatulency, diarrhea,
indigestion, nausea, loss of appetite, sick headache and, in fine,
autogenetic poisons, the source of auto-infection, ending in
auto-intoxication, the chronic poisoned condition of the system.

Since the most common cause of chronic constipation, internal
sluggishness and uncleanliness, is known, too much cannot be said in
condemnation of the wide-spread abuse of "liver and atony persuaders"
and the use of irritating suppositories and dilating bougies, candles,
etc. The numerous and various drastic purgative nostrums--which
literally fill our medical literature--and the universal demand for
them, are evidence of this very common disease, which disease is
rendered worse by the drugs taken for the relief of a foul intestinal
alveus. An abnormal amount of watery secretion is forced by the drug
into the foul canal, to mix there with its contents, of which the major
portion is retained and re-absorbed into the system. And to make the
bad condition and treatment worse, all such sufferers, as a rule, drink
very little water, some scarcely any.

The demand for an irritating stimulus to "open the bowels" (the
exciters contribute to close them) is largely due to the popular error
in thinking, "I can treat my own bowels quite as well as the doctor, if
not better." No intelligent person would think of stimulating and
irritating daily an inflamed region of tissue on the outer portion of
the body; yet this is precisely what intelligent persons do when they
habitually use liver and peristaltic persuaders. The primary disease in
the lower bowels and the consequent symptoms are gradually aggravated
as the "physic" habit is formed.

As in the case of opium fiends and drunkards, so with habitual
cathartic drug-users, should they be suddenly deprived of the
accustomed artificial stimulus and irritant they become absolutely
miserable, mentally and physically. It is a well-known physiological
fact that every artificial stimulation of the intestines is followed by
a corresponding loss of vitality and reaction. Now that the al