TO THOSE WHO DRINK HARD— YOU HAVE SLIPPED THE BELT
Men have explained variously their reasons for drinking to excess.
An able architect drank too much every night. He said that he HAD to drink. If he went to bed perfectly sober his mind went on working and dreaming, after he had gone to sleep, and he woke up fatigued and unable to attend to his work.
"I don't want to drink," said he, "but in order to do my work I must have the sleep that follows what is ordinarily called taking too much."
Other men explained excessive drinking as follows:
"I must have the mental excitement that comes from drinking."
"You can't imagine the delightful agility of the mind under the influence of alcohol."
"The brain works more quickly, more energetically, more freely."
"After drinking a certain amount I can live more in an hour than
I could ordinarily in a month," etc. ——
These men who believe that alcohol improves the mind, stimulating it to better effort, constitute a very large class, perhaps the largest class of those who drink to excess.