"SOCIABILITY"

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3168, 20 August 1917, Page 6

"SOCIABILITY"

THE DRINK PROBLEM AFTER THE WAR AN ILLUMINATING REPORT Reviewing the report of the Inebriate • Institutions at Lara and others places, the Melbourne "Age" says:- Sociability" is the main cause of drunkenness, and it is feared that for the future the after-effects of active service will be its powerful and more tragic allay. These statements nre "based on the report of, the inebriate institutions, which, was laid before the State Parliament. _ A study of this document, with its copious comparative figures, will brine- home to the most tolerant of "good fellows' the blighting consequences of alcoholism, ana the terrible cost in disease, .race enfeeblement, madness, and despair that ;s is paid by tho victims. Contemplation of the official story, which takes m only a fragment of the drink eyil «.it exists in Victoria, will suggest, too, that as a matter of public policy awl social economies the last wortl Us not. yet been written in the form of controlling legislation. Of the 112 cases treated at Lai a during 1916. "sociability" is said to have been the "exciting cause" in no fewer than 61 "Business worry , comes next with 11 cases, and "domestic causes third with 8. Dealing with this fatal ™d ill-named "sociability," the medical officer observes that the habit of frequenting public-noußes as a conventional custom-not from an eppeMe for alcoholic drinks, but for the sale nf 'company,' ns nearlv all patients put it is OTOuped under the heading eociaHilitv' (3no finds that three out of every five patents will declare that .the necesfiitv uder the 'shouting , system of havin- as many drinks as there are person" of the party at visit t<> an hotel has been the cause of their acqiurine the feeling of being-unable to exist Without alcohol!" The t *dm« hours is credited with a diminution amount of drinking, but valuaMe ns le-al restrictions may be, the paragraph quoted indicates the need of some. U ns else. K has often been suggested hat when tho hotels are closed aganot libnnrir," mil other attractions ot tie 1«M "rlulSC'Wnd dßrald 1» »i* available ExUience at Lara ? eem to show, however ffiat 'th'ero is proportionately, 1080 cases that have passed through Lara include the following classes:--Clerical •••••••; ' J™ • Artisans and mechanics w> Professional men •• 1 !j rrnrekeepers and tradesmen S3 Labourers •*' Pnstoralists and farmers ..... » "Shouting" seems to afflict all types of men anf, while its prohibition might not reform the drunkard, there, wonM certainly bo a notable decline in the rate at wtiich drunkards are made.

War and Alcoholism. The serious suggestion made by the medical officer as to the possible connection between war eftecte and alcoholism must be given weight in the discussion of future measure. The fact that eleven overseas soldiers who had been in battle during the present war were admitted to Lara last year suffering from the combined effects of "shell shock" and drink seems to justify the fear. Further investigation shows, however, that five of those •vho were suffering from "shell shock had been inmates of the inebriate home before they enlisted. "Shell shock" of the kind is therefore not limited to soldiers. Nevertheless, Dr. Godfrey observes that "it is reasonably probable that in tne future a large number of soldiers sutterino- from the nerve-racking effects pi warfare will attempt to seek relief in alcohol, and will swell the numbers of its victims for a time at least. This is a form of disease against which the Defence Department will require to be on its guard, otherwise men may become a burden to themselves and their connections and a source of heavy loss to the country. Any evidence of the dnttine of nerve-shattered men will demand prompt and strong measures. Pending the passage of "anti-shouting" legislation the general public should understand that the offering of liquor, to soldiers on service or discharged, is not a k ndness, but a cruelty. Medical experience is that most of the inebriates who have enlisted have broken down under tho military training, and that dnnki o b" soldiers who have come through battle with the agonies or unstrung nerves means hopeless degradation. Indeed, it may be argue,} that it is cruelty to ofita liquor to anybody, even when pleaded with to "save a life."