BEER IS A HABIT FORMING DRUG
Eminent physicians ridicule the claim of the brewers that beer,
even assuming that it were pure and unadulterated--and entirely
free from poisonous drugs and chemicals--is a beverage of high
food value and ranks with milk as a blood producer.
A bulletin issued by the Department of Health of the City of New York
in relation to the question of alcohol as food states that ten cents
worth of beer provides 240 calories of food energy, while ten cents
worth of oatmeal will provide 3,720 calories.
There is no question that the indulgence in beer is merely an
acquired habit. To those who have not cultivated it, its taste
is generally repugnant.
Total abstinence for a while invariably cures the habit. I have
been told by a number of former strong adherents to the cause of
the brewers, residing in territory now "dry", that even they are
wondering why they ever saturated their systems with beer. Physicians
condemn its use and claim that the widespread idea that alcohol is
a stimulant is wrong. Beer is fast becoming an outcast.
Fresh fruit juices, notably grape juice and apple cider, and other
satisfying beverages, well flavored, with a considerable food value,
are daily growing more popular and will take the place of beer.
"_To rid the saloon of crime and vice would decrease the sale of beer_"