for
oxidation purposes in the blood and tissues, through the
respiratory process, it would be equally absurd to administer
alcohol in all cases in which it is desirable to increase the
processes of oxidation, as a long series of experiments has
shown that the presence of alcohol diminishes the efficiency of
the respiratory process in direct proportion to the quantity
used.

"How much longer will practical writers continue to recommend
for the same patient on the same day, fresh air, sponge baths,
and vasomotor and respiratory tonics to increase the absorption
of oxygen and oxidation processes, and alcohol in the form of
wine, whisky and brandy to directly diminish the respiratory
function and all the oxidations of the living system?"

In his address before the Medical Congress for the Study of Alcohol,
held at Prohibition Park, Staten Island, July 15, 1891, Dr. Davis
said:--

"If the foregoing views regarding the effects of alcoholic
liquids on the human system in health, are correct, what can we
say concerning their value as remedies for the treatment of
disease? If it be true that the alcohol they contain acts
directly upon the corpuscular elements of the blood, and so far
diminishes the metabolic processes of nutrition and
disintegration as to lessen nerve sensibility and heat
production, and favor tissue degenerations, their rational
application in the treatment of any form of disease must be very
limited. And yet the same errors and delusions concerning their
use in the treatment of diseases and accidents are entertained
and daily acted upon by a large majority of medical men as are
entertained by the non-professional part of the public.
Throughout the greater part of our medical literature they are
represented as stimulating and restorative, capable of
increasing the force and efficiency of the circulation, and of
conserving the normal living tissues by diminishing their waste;
and hence they are the first to be resorted to in all cases of
sudden exhaustion, faintness or shock; the last to be given to
the dying; and the most constant remedies through the most
important and protracted acute general diseases. Indeed, it is
this position and practice of the profession that constitutes,
at the present time, the strongest influence in support of all
the popular though