The San Francisco call. [volume], January 20, 1901, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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to their doom: they sipped the gre«a
spirits and tbc5r fiarr.r? faculties were
thus spurred to greater d««ds b» the greea
terror. Dut they Invariably paid the us
•jai penalty — dtathln the madhouse or ia
\ v ..(- slums. Another cf its fffects capti
vates novices: taken , In £mall quantities
it has no apparent: effect on the gait of
the drinker; they iiever reel or stagger,
er.d there is no sign about them to fce
tray the fact that they are under the In
fluence of an Intoxicant. Each drinker,
however, can ptand only a certain amount
ni the drug. If he ventures a half-grass
more than this amount the chances are
that be wi:! drop , to the floor a* though
felled by a bludgeon, all. bis faculties par
alyzed and entirely unconscious. He will
remain in this condition/ for hours, and
when h!s t^-r.ses return. -"'he, will feel as
thouph suffering som« agonizing illness.
Franre has just entered upon a nation
al crusade EgaJn* t tiie green terror. No
other country on earth. Is ouch' a victim
to this insidious monster." Imagine a na
tion the elze of France that annually con
r-j.-r.es 10^)50,000 quarts of absinthe. A.
zna.n doea not have to be an Emlle Zola
with a mind to picture the horrors of aJ>
¦ir.tbe drinldar &a set forth in "L'Aaso
r.-iolr" to know what a dreadful situation
this mnzaM U9> It amounts to one quart
mt abetsthe to each three lnh&bit&nts, ln
cindir.r men. women and children. The
reports of the Mlnltter of Flntnoe show
CbAt there to «a ehmnche —tier to •very
• -
three buildings ; Farie, 'That » mean*
nrore absinthe shops ttan there are v.his
ky mills on. our notorious Barbary coast.
Consider; how* much *ni6re, deadly is tr»«
effect of absinthe' than whisky and think
what that means to the French nation.
It means %the near wreck of," the nation
In mind, bo<Jy"and bouI. At least • thatV
what her^ legislators foresee In the start
tins and liorrlble •ituation. They hav*»
grappled with the 'terrifying monster as-,
gresslvely and actively and have just
passed a bill- in vthe' House' of Deputies
forbidding the. manufacture or sale of ab
sinthe, which Is pronounced "dangerous"
by the Academy of Medicine. It is un<|er
stood among the Goverifcient offlclals«Chat
this means that the academy' must now
promptly do, everything possible 'to res
cue France from the eolli of the VGreen
Terror.**
It wu by no ordinary mean*, that
absinthe drinking , was Introduced Into
France. Th« .; «tory .befliM back in
UU. when the 'French * troop* were
fighting la iUs«rla> Th» soldi «r« were
rre&tlr bothered § br>the aemdly 'Xrrl
c*n fevers. The beet preventive * Alt
covered waa abetnthe. At that time the
Freach soldiers had not eren b«*rd of *i>-
ftsth*. and w%«a tn« Aootora orthrrta tnras
to taX* ¦¦ a, \ f »w drops In their J claret ! ttuoh
&mt th«gr fou^bc •toutly «*»Jn»t 'tit* bm4- <
iete«," Wm thoo«1j ft was supposed ti?b«
•flectlT* la : aruarflinf ; off the f •v«r.\- Onul
uaily th*y acquired the uauai- tact* for
'."¦'-'- -¦ .¦', -. /:: ¦' '. ':-¦ - " '¦¦¦¦¦¦¦?=:.;-';-".¦ •} . ¦" : > ' ¦"
SX may be truly said, thai if alco
holismV: is moral decay, {absinth
t . .isnijis its triple distillate; for of all
the : essences br^ liqueurs none are ; so
pernicious, \ botn in J their • moral • and
physical -effects _ upon ; the 'human
economy,- as absinthe.. .
Its ; degenerative effects are"proba
bly most intensely impressed upon
the nervous ' system, a s well evidenced
in twitching : of .^ the * muscles,', the.
"lockjaw" spasms [of "the trunk; legs
and" • These "-' ultimately become
grouped" into ; a": result r which f: very
closely ; re»«n bles , the ; attacks of * epi-*
kpsy^r" "falling sickness.*!
Absinthe, ¦ while" not : truly; (ia\th«
chemical sense) an alcohol' proper, yet
from actual, demont tratioas of its ef
f«ct* upba animal life, hlghtr and
lower, gives results which are closely
allied to these obtained in. the inves
tigations of the effects « of amyllc
alcohol.. Perhaps one cf the most pe
culiar.of these is one not unknown to
chronic absinthites, viz. that which
might be termed divided conscious
ness, where the victim performs some
act'which he " had catsf ully ' planned
some time. previously," and at present
performs, but '. is absolutely , uncon
scious that he is doing so.- It being as
if the* brain had impressed upon tho
body/ something to be done, and then
went asleep. Thebody^ some time
later," machine- like, carries out tha
impress, while th« /patient's mind
talcea no notice of what is being done.
This automatic seanoo is a weird dslu
sion which mxke* ih* Tictiza - a
strange enijjnia to the jurist and to
the psychologist. *
"Absinthe, although mildly named
a benevolent liqueur, is a demon in
disguise, and "its addition to the list
of Intoxicants is ' an act of a moat
criminal character, for it is certainly
cne of. the hideous aids by which
roan's inhumanity to man makss
countless thousands mourn. Icde-d,
surely will the nation or the individ
ual > which becomes sotted and de
based with absinth© realize In their
degeneration that the- bitterness of
"wormwood" is irremedlaJly their
portion. If the salt of poisons is
guarded and restricted, why should
then* deleterious aewnts b* had tot
the tiifiTiyr - ¦
the Insidious stuff and In a year or so they
wete more willing to- give up their allow
ance of .'claret than tfce- "green medicine'.','
When, they returned" to France' they'car
tifd the habit of ''absinthe drinking along
with * them and i quickly spread . it among
their fellowii , in the various, garrisons,
Very soon absinthe, drinking 'became such
nn evil In the army that regulations were
framed entirely forbidding It. lender these
regulations .French soldiers and sailors
who are' caught driVjklng it are severely
punished. v . •;-:...:
Absinthe wa3 discovored and started on
its, carVer as an old woman's remedy j for
fever. ..Like many otherdcadly drugs. : Jt
Is j a wholcpom« specific for. certain . ail-:
ments f when" ¦ ii.v^n ir. t-mperate quantl-
ties, its abuse by Its victims Is what
make* it such a deadly scourge. Its first
makers, according t6 history, were two
.old crones In the Swiss" Mountains. They
gathered and brewed herbs for a precari
ous living and among other discoveries
they •¦ found thaU brewed wormwood was
good for fevers. They gathered the leaves
and flowering tops mixed, them with va
rious other aromatic plants, and pounded
the mass! , Th* bruised particles were af
terward'covered with alcohol and soaked
for eight day3. A green llqUor was- then
distilled/ to- which, a' certain percentage
of anise Feed .oil was, addod. These old
women sold the absinthe, roughly brewed,
to their customers strickpn with' fever.
The patlents'wore solemnly, warned,' how-
- The pijrmy aids made a rush at th»
absinthe victim, his hair rose en end and
with a wl:<1 yeil he ma>"e a leap for tha
window and jumped out.
One story tcld of rne young ab^lr.th*
victim who shot himself in tho i'iwell
strret resort illustrated the kind of hallu
cinations with which ne was constantly
terrorized. He was sitting in hia room
one night when suddenly ha heard tha
sound of apnro.ichtr? rnu3io. Pr>«erjtly
a full bras3 band yof p gmy r:.u _,"ci.i:i »
marched gayly into aio room, ev«»y in
strument blarlnq Its screechy best. Fol
lowing the fcar.ii w.is an open barouche
drawn by four horses beautifully capari
soned. In the vehicle was a little p:gtny.
who alighted, bowed solemnly to tha
dazed absinthe victim and politely an
nounced that there was goir.s to be a
hanging. Several aids stepped forward
and with thair assistance a caiiows wu
erected on the chandelier.
Meanwhile the band had disappeared
As soon as the executioner announced
that the callows was ready, the music
was again heard approaching In the dis
tance. Thl? time the bar.d was playing
a funeral march. It marched, in solemn! v,
followed by two pigmy prisoners heavily
Iror.ed. They were duly and impressively
hanged from the gallows. And asnin tb*
band marched out. The little executioner
bowed cerpmonioualy and solemnly an
nounced that there would be another
hacgir.g. Again tr=e mu^lc was heard ap
proaching In the distance and playing a
dismal fur.era". march. The bard marched
In a5 before, but this time no ->ismy prla
oners !r. chafn? follow u.
-The absinthe victim loeke* around curi
ously and then said: "Who's gains to b»
harped T'
¦ "You," answered the executioner. "Step
forward, pleiise." And the band started
up vigorously, "See, tho Conriuerins Hero
Comes:"
Alfred D. Musset, the famous poet, was
another victim of ;h^" fe!l destroyer. Reg
ularly, night afier ni&nt, he went to the
cafe and consumed .¦lass after s.ass of
the green liquor, whica he frequently sai-l
was dragging him to in early deaih. Fin
ally he succumbed completely to thij
green terror and was often picked up un
conscious on the .streets. 3o the green
terror destroyed one of the greatest poet.3
of France.
In the old Parisian days Tortonfa fam
ous cafe we* the resort of writers and ar
tlsis. who went there before the tlinner
hour to drink their absinthe. For many
years the green li'juor was drawn frora
the same <4 I barrel, which was periodi
cally filled Kvith aosintne brought from
Neufcha:el. Among tne your.R men who
were present every evening in the crowd
were Theodore Harriere. Famous as ha
wis he became one of the most notab'a
victims nt tho sreen terror ana many wer«
uie stories tcld around the cafes of th»
*terr'fylntc dreams antt visions he ha.I.
One night, so it^is related, be was lytr.5
Inbed reatlinj? by iht gas*ight when ha
fancied he tuw a lar^re baboon corns
Loundine , into the* room.- The baboon
looked rarefulb* about, then made a baclc
oomersault and diaappeured through a
wall bf tne room.- r'redjnlly he appeared
cressrd' In evening attire— ailk hat ar<l
monocle — and leatl:ng another baboon at
tlrei! as a danseuse. The first animal
carefully removed his silrf hat and mor
ocle.went to a pipe lying on the tabl»
and began to Craw fruni it a long rope,
with the ulrs and graces of a prestuiiglta
teur. When he had urawn oui some thir
ty feet of rope tne iwj baboons seized tht»
ends and stretched it as a Ugh: rooe ba
tween the sides of the room just abova
Barriert's bed. Then a trumpet blared, a
ehout .went up and the animals from
Noah's ark began to walk through tha
JBldea of the room and across tho tight
rope. Barriere sa'.v coons, monkeys, spar
rows, ca.ts-and dcg3 go over the bendi \g
rope, but when a g^sa-nilc elephant ap
peared and clumsily tool; the first step
over his bed he gave a wild yell of terror,
which brousht in his attendant from. a*»
adjoining room.
Tne recent s-talUtics taken by the Got
eminent cf the nnrnBers of absinthe drink
ers a ad sellers and aJ?a «i the amount of
Via deaoly liquor manufactured hat'9
fr.ghtcRfd the lawnakT.i and a? ! 1-1
France as a naticn is roused. la Jt t#j
late? These v.ho have studied the fate of
China In the grip of th° opium terror
think that it is. They point to the fact
thai statistics! already show that tho
amount of absinthe '•'jnjumerl is tremen
dous ami that not only has It played havoo
among: the worklnc people, -but that tha
nv:st brill ant mir.ri.* of the country, such
as Alfred de Mussel. Guy <i? Maupassant.
'ihetaore iiarriere. An»ire-.v Oil!. Baude
laire, who translated tne. w«jrk3 of Poe
Into French, ami a host of other men of
letters and of genius burned the'.r brains
away with ilt» green (!a:ae and died mis
erable deaths.
U is only within the last half dozen
yrars that the kt;;> of al>s*;tthe on the na
tion haa aroused t'rance, to the reaUzatioa
that 11 i:i in deadly peril. Four years ago
Henri Kocheforc' reco rnized the Insidious
work of the deadly li.;t:or on the Frencn
people and vigorously- started a crusada
against it. This' warning: cry was: "Atv
smthe is the tar.e of tne nation and la
killing France. Reuse up and do battle
flgainst th.a deadly enemy before it la too
late- and we arc lost."
¦
ever, to take only a few drops in watar
three times a -lay. Gradually the remedy
found favor, bin it was not till the 5'renca
soldiers in Algeria discovered its stimu
lating effects thvt its use as s, drink bo
came genetal. That was some fifty years
ago. In that time tho green terror has
overrun the country to which It was in
troduced and tiireatens to demoralize tne
ration..
ITS SaV Frandfffo'ln the. prlp of the
I Grotn Terror* :'-¦•="
Society is nil agnfr over the recent
/ ruu-overy that a. coterie of girls In a
fashionable apt wn boarding school have
h^n cauRii? tir>pling absinthe. The a_h
rlntbp habit has existed for 5on\« time-in
rertala Btr&tas of society, nut this Is the
first Intimation that the insliious grepn
terror is dorn^ralizhig the young. To say
tVirtt society Is shocked Is putting It
mildly.
Every effort hns b<*n made t> hush tM
p andaJ. but it has leaked out. Just ho*
ih. girl? succurnt>ed t? the srwn terror
ls< rot known, t»ut they probably tastM
:t 'Must fcr fun" r.t a mUlnJg^ le&si. It
rich!!arateu th<rm r»nd polished thf!r Bit*.
The next lafk was nnt cnmpleTP without
Bb5im.hr-. Then they found that it stlmu
'r'M their faculties bofnre an "r-x" ami
they covertly partook of !t. In a short
time the green terror bad them recure In
lt!> fanes. s
Now one of the frlri!'. whose nervo-n
fy^tcm has become compV'cly shattered.
Is in a Fjiiiitarlum fightSrp to escape from
th«> destroyiriK pr!p of tne green terror.
Two of the other girl? arc home threat
ened with nervous r^^ation. for th<>:r
rfi--ke<l nerves aro at the mercy of th<*
terrible dreams pictured by their lively
and overwrought imagination?.
This Is not the first time by any means
that society has been shocked by the dis
covery th>-.i the creen terror was Insidi
ously et »ork h«>re. Not two years &*o
the wcekiy paper*, carefully concealing
e:i names.: published the f^ory of a very
•weaJihy J'a'-iSc avenue wonan wbo be
came the victim of abrintbe tippling. One
day sha created a memoraUe scene among
• .i fnghrened guests. Physicians
•¦ •¦ hurr:« -lly ?v:mmnnr»d and she was
carried raving In delirium to her rooms
end later 10 a sanitarium. Another nota
ble recent case is that of the son of n
prominent rni'.iionaire Market street mer
oi.ar.i, who shot himself In a. Powell street*
resort while erased with drink, in the
pr:i> of the green terror.
Opium, morphine and cocaine are no
more !i;s:^ous and deadly In wrecking the
hums: 1 , system than is absinthe. Whisky
and other ppirltous liquors are as mineral
wa-.tr? compared with it. Fancy a. light
preen crink that Is prepared in a score of
tempting- ways, one of which is bound to
tickle the palate of the drinker. To Its de
votee It rapidly becomes the first neces
t;ty of i:fe. To get it they will sacrifice
anything.
For a time Its effects on the novice are
pleasing, alluring and genial. The brain
»nd ;;:! the physical functions are stlmu
lat'-<3 and a dull person tinder its effects
may zeezn almost brilliant. It was thjs
well-known s-i'mulatir.c rffrct that 1'Jred
i ..,. of the- most brOllaiit inlhdVof Paris^
SAN FRANCISCO IN THE
GRIP OF THE
GREEN
TERROR